2 Deep Cycle Batteries....so many choices!

[Extreme]

So I decided to buy a 600 watt Bluetti Solar Generator (no solar panels) to watch TV in our 2500RL rig.
I also plan to buy 2 Deep Cycle Batteries to run the rig when we are dry camping.
But we only plan to dry camp 1-3 days at a stretch.
Primarily we will be at National Parks or Private parks like KOA's and such .

What batteries (other than Lithium) would give me the largest amount of power for our daily/night use.
I should add we will be charging these batteries each day, as needed, thru either with our truck (while driving from spot to spot) or our Inverter Generator.
Which do I choose from Golf Cart, Marine, AGM, 6 volt or 12 volt?

Eventually we may go to Lithium but the dollars aren't there yet for this complete change over in my rig.
Any help you could give me on this would really be appreciated.
Thanks to everyone....this is a great community for Newbies like me.

[rootusrootus]

Comes down mostly to weight and price. For perhaps $300 you can get a real world 110-125 Ah of capacity at 12V by using a pair of GC2 golf cart batteries wired in series. Will weigh 130-150 pounds. A comparable lithium will cost you $900 if you want the really nice Battle Born one, or $570 for a decent Chinese lithium (SOK), and will weigh about 30 pounds. To really use the full capacity of the lithium you'd want to upgrade the converter, otherwise you'd probably lose 10-15% of capacity because it won't fully charge at 13.5V.

I feel your pain. I do the math on this, think "Well, I want plenty of capacity, so there goes a couple grand on the batteries, then I want an inverter, so there's a few hundred bucks at least, and the converter, which is another couple hundred bucks, but hey, by then I might as well just get the nice inverter/charger for $1200, and the battery monitor, and ..." now we're talking real money . I may still decide to go for the whole thing, but sometimes it feels like I just turned my wallet upside down and started shaking it, and I want the spigot of money flowing out to be turned off . A couple of GC2 batteries would probably do us fine, if we didn't care about running any A/C devices while boondocking, and they're a lot cheaper. But in the long run the lithiums may actually be cheaper in reality, and I can theoretically always take those with me to the next trailer if they're worth keeping.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

[SolarPoweredRV]

So I decided to buy a 600 watt Bluetti Solar Generator (no solar panels) to watch TV in our 2500RL rig.
I also plan to buy 2 Deep Cycle Batteries to run the rig when we are dry camping.
But we only plan to dry camp 1-3 days at a stretch.
Primarily we will be at National Parks or Private parks like KOA's and such .

What batteries (other than Lithium) would give me the largest amount of power for our daily/night use.
I should add we will be charging these batteries each day, as needed, thru either with our truck (while driving from spot to spot) or our Inverter Generator.
Which do I choose from Golf Cart, Marine, AGM, 6 volt or 12 volt?

Eventually we may go to Lithium but the dollars aren't there yet for this complete change over in my rig.
Any help you could give me on this would really be appreciated.
Thanks to everyone....this is a great community for Newbies like me.

Your best bet for Lead Acid batteries is 6 volt, Golf Cart, batteries. They store more energy and they are built for deep discharging, they also are more resistant to being damaged if you discharge them beyond 50% (DOD). Additionally, they can be purchased at a good price at places like Sams Club, Costco and Batteries Plus (BP is where I bought mine). If you are buying your coach new you could probably get your Dealer to install them for you.

I strongly recommend you purchase 4 6v batteries, all at the same time, because, unlike Lithium batteries, you can not add batteries at a later date. This is because the 4 batteries act as a single battery when installed and Lead Acid batteries do not work very well together if they are of different ages or from a different manufacturer. They work best when the entire battery bank is matched by age and manufacturer.

If you have already purchased your coach and don't want to do the install yourself, you could get a Mobile RV Technician or Mobile Mechanic out to do the install for you, just remember to keep the cables as short as possible to minimize your energy losses due to cable length.

When buying your batteries, you want to concentrate on their Amp Hour ratings, the more the better (up to a point). Do not purchase any battery that is rated with CCA (Cold Cranking Amps) this type of battery is designed as a starter battery and is not the "Deep Cycle" battery type that you need. Most 6v GC batteries are in the 215 - 235 Amp Hour range, these are the most common and price competitive batteries.

FYI: in a 4 battery installation, you would connect 2 batteries in series and then connect the 2 sets of batteries in parallel to maintain your 12 volts. I have linked to a good source for an explanation of wiring 6v batteries in "Series/Parallel Combination" (complete with pictures):

https://www.atbatt.com/how-to-wire-6...configuration/

[Extreme]

Thanks but on this link I primarily looking for the Non-Lithium advice on which battery would be best to use.
But I appreciate your response.
Have a great day!

[SolarPoweredRV]

Comes down mostly to weight and price. For perhaps $300 you can get a real world 110-125 Ah of capacity at 12V by using a pair of GC2 golf cart batteries wired in series. Will weigh 130-150 pounds. A comparable lithium will cost you $900 if you want the really nice Battle Born one, or $570 for a decent Chinese lithium (SOK), and will weigh about 30 pounds. To really use the full capacity of the lithium you'd want to upgrade the converter, otherwise you'd probably lose 10-15% of capacity because it won't fully charge at 13.5V.

I feel your pain. I do the math on this, think "Well, I want plenty of capacity, so there goes a couple grand on the batteries, then I want an inverter, so there's a few hundred bucks at least, and the converter, which is another couple hundred bucks, but hey, by then I might as well just get the nice inverter/charger for $1200, and the battery monitor, and ..." now we're talking real money . I may still decide to go for the whole thing, but sometimes it feels like I just turned my wallet upside down and started shaking it, and I want the spigot of money flowing out to be turned off . A couple of GC2 batteries would probably do us fine, if we didn't care about running any A/C devices while boondocking, and they're a lot cheaper. But in the long run the lithiums may actually be cheaper in reality, and I can theoretically always take those with me to the next trailer if they're worth keeping.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

I understand your frustrations. However, for us the decision was simply how much boondocking do we intend to do and for how long? Since we really like boondocking and intend to primarily boondock our choice was made easier.

In our case, we were able to justify the cost of our system by calculating the dollars saved by not paying for a campground. Basically, boondocking for 150 nights pays for our entire system, after that we are making money. Note: I installed the system myself and saved a lot of money on the batteries, otherwise, my system cost the same as most systems would using primarily Victron components.

Another way to look at the investment is in your enjoyment. We really, really, like having 120 volts available to us wherever we go. If we stop at a rest area for lunch, we can use the microwave or even the Air Conditioner to cool the coach down (of course we would only use the A/C if we thought we could fully recharge the batteries before Sundown). Additionally, we don't have to worry about conserving energy on the 12v side and we can be comfortable knowing that we will not run out of battery power in the middle of the night because we set our furnace too high. We also can freely operate our slides, even while in storage, without worrying if the batteries will be drained too low.

Our Solar System, Tesla batteries and Inverter have really added to the convenience we enjoy with our Solitude. We would be hard pressed to travel without our robust energy system.

[WhittleBurner]

Thanks but on this link I primarily looking for the Non-Lithium advice on which battery would be best to use.
But I appreciate your response.
Have a great day!

We have 2 6 volt batteries that we bought reconditioned 5 years ago. We are getting to replace them now and plan on getting golf cart batteries. After some research talking to people here in Florida that have golf carts we decided on the Trojan 105. They are 120 each. We do boondock but not a lot. We have gone up to 10 days though. We have a 100 watt solar panel on a long wire so we can drag it out to where the sun is. No ac or using a lot of things in the trailer to run the batteries down. We stay outside most of the time so no need to run anything. Doing this the batteries don't come close to going dead. Been working for us for many years now.

[xrated]

So I decided to buy a 600 watt Bluetti Solar Generator (no solar panels) to watch TV in our 2500RL rig.
I also plan to buy 2 Deep Cycle Batteries to run the rig when we are dry camping.
But we only plan to dry camp 1-3 days at a stretch.
Primarily we will be at National Parks or Private parks like KOA's and such .

What batteries (other than Lithium) would give me the largest amount of power for our daily/night use.
I should add we will be charging these batteries each day, as needed, thru either with our truck (while driving from spot to spot) or our Inverter Generator.
Which do I choose from Golf Cart, Marine, AGM, 6 volt or 12 volt?

Eventually we may go to Lithium but the dollars aren't there yet for this complete change over in my rig.
Any help you could give me on this would really be appreciated.
Thanks to everyone....this is a great community for Newbies like me.

As far as 6V GC batteries go, I have two Trojan T105 batteries in mine. I bought them new in the spring of 2017 so they will be going on 4 years old in a few months. Each battery is rated at 225 AH but when you hook them up in series, to get 12VDC, the AH rating isn't doubled, it stays at 225 AH. If you bought two 12VDC batteries and hooked them up in parallel, the voltage stays the same (12VDC), the the AH is doubled. Trojan is a great brand, albeit maybe more expensive than some of the others, but I've also heard people talk of them lasting 10...11...12 years.