6v Questions

[rblomquist]

Guys, I'm looking at potentially switching to 2 6v cart batteries for my trailer as I'm noticing a diminished capacity on the 2 12v "deep cycles" that came with the unit. We dry camp for 2-4 days every month and was thinking that having the extra capacity of the 6v's would be that much nicer for running the TV, stereo etc, plus saving even more hours on the rv's generator.



Will 6v's fit in the same space as 12v's? I have a "rack" behind my propane tanks that easily fits 2 12v's right now with lenght to spare (side-to-side).



How much heavier are the 6v's? My rig is super tongue heavy as it is.



Will the generator and/or shore power hook up charge them the same as the current 12v's or would I need to switch to some other power charging apparatus?



Can you use the standard deep cycle golf cart 6v for cranking/starting the generator?



Thanks in advance.

 

[klenger]

The Trojan T-105 is the benchmark for 6v golf cart batteries. The demensions are 10-3/8L x 7-1/8 W and 10-7/8 H and weigh 62 lbs. The 20 hour rating is 225 amp-hours.



Connect them is series and they will act exactly like a single 12 volt battery, except will have more capacity. No special charger is required.



The link to the Trojan website is http://www.trojanbattery.com/ and then do a product search for the T-105. There are many other manufactures building a similar battery, but Trojan seems to be the benchmark that everyone compares to.



Also, take a look at http://www.klenger.net/arctic-fox/solar/index.html for details on the electrical system in my 5er.



Good luck.

 

[JohnE]

A pair of 6 volt batteries in series will usually have better tolerance to a low grade charger than 12 volts in parallel.

 

[rblomquist]

Sounds good guys. I found some T-104s here in town for $71 each. The guy also mentioned the T-120 which he said was the same size but had a higher rating, I think he said they were $10 more. All I need to do now is measure the space I have between the existing battery angle iron holders to make sure the 6v's will fit.



Rich

 

[EricBu12]

Rich.

I was in the same boat. I had 2 batteries behind the Propane tanks and they were in 2 separate boxes. Now my interstate 6 volt batteries are in a single long box that holds both end to end. The with is the same but the hieght is taller so I needed a bigger box. The box fit in the rails exactly, just had to drill new mounting screws for the box (Just 2 lightweight screws... 2 straps hold the lid and box on. ).



I would suggest to supplement the batteries since you dry camp, to get a solar panel kit. Now they are expensive but having a full 12 volts for 3-4 days straight is very nice. see some here http://www.batterycountry.com/ShopSite/solar-chargers.html



Scroll to the bottom and see the 225 watt kits. also at the very bottom is the black panel that is a 21 amp controller. This thing keeps the solar panels from over charging the batteries. A 100 watt kit is almost the bare minimum to have to keep the batteries charged enough to run lights and stuff. That 225 watt system is what I have and I always have enough charge to even start my generator if I need 110 at any time...

 

[Buffalo]

You can, also, get 6v at Costco or Sam's Club somewhere in the vicinity of $47. 99 ea. They are a little taller than the regular RV batteries. You can put the box lid on but, it doesn't completely close. It does work, though. You will, also, need a jumper cable from the negative of battery one to the positive of battery two. I went to an auto parts store (Autozone) and got a small tractor battery cable for this purpose. Worked well. An awful lot of people are switching over to the golf cart batteries. Hope this helps. Joe.

 

[rblomquist]

Great info guys. Wanna make sure though, I noticed that these batteries are not rated for cranking. Assume that they'll crank a generator ok though?

 

[klenger]

I have no problem with starting the generator with the T-105's in my camper. The starter draws about 150 amps.

 

[Glen]

All batteries will crank. Starting batteries have more, thinner plates which give more starting amps. The thinner plates are quickly destroyed by deep-cycle operation.

Glen

 

[rblomquist]

Called my local Sam's and they have some off-brand 6v's for only $49 apiece however, I've never heard of the name and the guy said they had no data on the batteries at all. Also, camping world has the 2200 Interstate's but they wanted $89 a piece so it looks like I'll be getting the Trojan T-106s sometime in the next few weeks (before next trip).



Guy I work with has some 6v's and he put them in this case http://www.bluesea.com/product.asp?Product_id=24910 That case really kicks butt I must say. Unfortunately for me, it wont fit in where my exiting angle iron is and I don't want to modify it (at least not now).