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Old 02-28-2018, 08:19 AM   #29
wingnut60
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Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Where we park it
Posts: 2,838
MASTERDRAGO,
As you get in to some time with your trailer, you will find a lot of these answers by yourself from experience. Your needs will reflect your camping style--hooked up all the time or not hooked up a lot/most/any of the time. One 12volt battery will do fine if you are always in a campground with electricity; having more/better batteries becomes a large item only when trying to get by without being hooked up--running out of battery power only happens when you most need it. Running out of battery power AND propane at the same time in winter conditions will christen you as a newly-experienced pro camper.....
The marine/deep cycle batts are not true deep cycle, but work just fine if you do the hookup camping. If the batt list starting cranks amps, then it isn't a true deep-cycle.
Yes, if one batt goes dead, it will affect the other, and you should always have batteries of the same ratings/age. Doesn't mean you can't put an old batt with a new batt, but you will find out this doesn't work as well as 2 new identical batts.
Again, with time and experience, you will learn things others have already come across and learned from--you can use a battery charger with a converter and you will get the charge accomplished much quicker. But, converters have gotten much better over time, so now many are multi-stage and work well. A battery monitor other than the red lights/bars/% will be a big help in understanding what is going on with charge/discharge. It is also helpful to know what some of the electrical draws actually are all the time--amp meter best for this.
You always have to keep in mind the mfgs work off lowest level of efficiency/cost with highest profit in mind--they don't provide the best of anything if they can find a lower-cost product to use.
Hope this hasn't been too wordy, but the electrical system of an RV is the heart and having heart attacks is never fun.
Joe
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2016 Tiffin 40 QBH
2015 38RSSA, traded
2005 TK3 #1869, 10 yrs of memories,
2017 F450 KR--one more Ford is it
2009 F450 4x4-died; 2010 F450-retired
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