Forest River battery problem

[chriss111]

Hey people,
I bought the old Forest River trailer. I did not check the battery before I bought the trailer, but now I understand that it drains very fast. What can cause it. We have usual bulbs. Possibly, if I change the bulbs to LED the situation will be better. Who can advise the LED lamps? I saw that the fixtures I can leave.
Thanks

 

[ScottLewis]

Virtually all batteries have a finite lifespan. Yours may just be at the end of it's useful life cycle. If it's less than 3 years old it may just need water. LED bulbs will use less power but are usually pricey.

 

[p-Bar]

Agree with Dan. Pull the batteries and charge them and have them load tested .

 

[B.G. Smith]

Agree with above. I ordered some replacement LED for our trailer and they weren't as bright as the bulbs. The bulb types do pull a lot of juice, some as high as 3 amps. I replaced the bulb type lights in a trailer I once owned to fluorescent, big improvement but I don't know if they are still available? bg

 

[SnoKing]

The Furnace fan is the biggest battery hog! I single group 24 is lucky to go one day without recharge in most rv trailers. Two group 27's in parallel or two 6V golf cart batteries will do much better. When the lights are dimming you are way below 50% on the batteries and starting to really hurt them. SNOKING

 

[w6pea]

You would be better off replacing what you have with 6v Golf Cart/ Deep Cycle batteries. In my RV I have 6 U2200 6v Interstate batteries, and solar panels. I can go for a long as 2 weeks with out having to run the generator. (that's with the solar system shut off) My batteries are flooded batteries. I would recommend that you switch to AGM batteries. You might look at this blog, he has several articles about agm batteries. Good Luck.
http://www.mellomikeadventures.us/

 

[chriss111]

Virtually all batteries have a finite lifespan. Yours may just be at the end of it's useful life cycle. If it's less than 3 years old it may just need water. LED bulbs will use less power but are usually pricey.

Well, I think that it is better to test the battery. I plan to do it on weekends. I do not really know when the previous owner changed the battery. So It may be more than 3 years..

I know that LEDs are pricey, but I heard that people consumer much less energy with them. I ordered the cheapest package of LEDs on Ebay. Im going to fix them inside the trailer. Currently, I do not have any fixture outside, so maybe this one will be good https://www.mrosupply.com/lighting/...r-light-fixtures/1431490_stl360_rab-lighting/

I hope that these basic measures will help to prolong the battery life.

 

[TJJEEPER]

I used these guys to retrofit my toy hauler. They have almost every bulb imaginable and in the different color temperatures. I believe they carry the florescent retrofit as well but won't guarantee it. Usual disclaimers, just a satisfied customer.
http://www.m4products.com/

 

[Brian Sullivan]

On my Forrest River the propane co. Detector will drain battery's with in about one week.

 

[p-Bar]

On my Forrest River the propane co. Detector will drain battery's with in about one week.

Brian that shouldn't be drawing that much. Maybe a replacement is in order