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Old 07-26-2021, 02:01 PM   #1
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Suggestions on Group 24 batteries.

Not going to replace the batteries right now but am looking for options in the near future. Any suggestions on decent batteries at a reasonable price?

Not looking for any type in particular. They can be flooded, AGM or even LI-FE but I'm not looking at spending more than $300 for a pair so that pretty much rules out the Lithium's. The current size is group 24 and I don't see a way to get anything much bigger in. They're currently installed next to the starter battery just behind the curb side head lights. I'm not running an updated IOTA DLS-55 converter so I can Tayler the charge to pretty much any battery type by changing out the IQ4 smart charge module.

I don't do a ton of boondocking except for one event I go to every year where I'm running self contained for a week. It may get a little colder and I may have to run a furnace over night without the generator. I have thought about carrying a couple of extra batteries and jumpering them to the current coach battery bank to add additional capacity. Maybe leave one disconnected just in case I need it to start the generator.
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Old 07-27-2021, 05:44 AM   #2
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I use Exide flooded batteries, deep cycle on everything. Get the ones with removable caps so you can check the battery juice with a battery hydrometer or add water as necessary, Regards, Bob
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Old 07-30-2021, 10:23 AM   #3
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Upon further thought, I'm thinking of changing from 2 group 24 12V batteries to two BCI Group GC2 6V batteries. Dimension wise, they should fit in the same area as the group 24. A little taller, but I have plenty of room above. Two 6V batteries give me more AH capacity then two 12V batteries. Golf cart batteries are better designed for deep cycle use as well.

No as for brands, the three that I'm currently investigating are Trojan (T105), Crown and Duracell. I've seen all three listed at similar prices with similar capacities. Two in series would give me the 12 volts needed and have a total of ~225 amp/hr @ 20hr rate.

Any opinions on 6V vs 12V? Specific brand?

The prices I'm seeing range from $115-$139 each. A bit higher than the Walmart brand 12Vs but still within my budget.
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Old 07-30-2021, 02:49 PM   #4
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Honestly, I just use two of whatever GC-2 6 volt golf cart batteries that are available at the local Costco or Sam’s Club. I keep them properly watered with a battery watering system, 150 watts of solar on the roof, an MPPT controller, and a four stage converter I got from BestConverters. Keeps them up to charge and doesn’t boil them off.

I’m not a lover of parallel 12 volt batteries.
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Old 07-30-2021, 03:09 PM   #5
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My basic needs for battery power is to get the hitch jack up and down when I pick up my trailer from storage, the ability to allow my refrigerator to operate on LP when I'm on the road, and finally power for trailer brakes in case the break away switch is activated. I don't boondock and at a minimum I stay at campsites that provide power.

So I use the basic Marine/RV batteries since my Classic has two storage slots for group 27 batteries. Costco sells Group 27 Interstates for $92 each. Group 24 batteries go for about $82 or so.

I'll get at least 4 years or more from them if I watch the fluid level and pull them in the winter and keep a maintenance charge on them. I finally pulled the old Walmart batteries out this spring. I bought them in 2016. Costco was lower in cost this year which is why I went with their Interstates.

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Old 07-30-2021, 04:12 PM   #6
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The 6 v. golf cart batteries are generally considered better. How you keep them charged also matters—a three stage converter/charger is less likely to cook the batteries and maintain them better. I don't know how the batteries are charged in a MH, but I suspect they are house batteries and the engine has its own battery, thus a converter may be involved in house batteries.
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Old 07-30-2021, 06:13 PM   #7
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I've gotten 7 years out of two sets of stock Interstate batteries. I just went with AGMs from NAPA. They were about $220 each and are 79 amp hour.
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Old 07-30-2021, 07:13 PM   #8
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I've had great success with Trojan batteries. Had the T105s in my first coach and have their L16s in the current one. Four years so far and holding steady. Treat 'em right and they will last.
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Old 07-31-2021, 06:20 AM   #9
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Thanks for the replies guys. In my case I'm limited to two group 24 footprints. The GC-2 footprint is the only other size that seems to be able to fit. A little taller but height should not be a problem. At 225-245 amp/hr, the golf cart batteries seem to be the highest capacity I can fit. I do have an IOTA DLS-55 w/IQ4 4 stage converter/charger and plan on implementing a battery watering system.

I have a relatively local golf cart shop that will sell me the Trojan T105s for $115 plus tax. The only issue is they're located some 40 miles from my house so it would be a day trip to pick them up. The local Batteries Plus store has Crown batteries for $130 each and is just down the road. I have a commercial account with them so the batteries are around $15 less than normal retail. Might be worth the extra cost just to save time and gas.

I have a trip planned for a few days starting on the 16th but will not have any real boondocking involved. I have another trip planned for a week in November. That trip will be a week long and entirely on battery or generator. Probably plan to replace the batteries some time between the two trips. I may need to run the furnace at night on the second trip so good batteries would be more critical on that one.
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Old 07-31-2021, 08:01 AM   #10
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I was very happy with Trojan batteries on my boat, but when it came time to replace the six batteries on my previous motorhome I went with NAPA since they were local and figuring they are located just about everywhere should I have a problem.
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Old 07-31-2021, 09:59 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SVTOTEM View Post
I was very happy with Trojan batteries on my boat, but when it came time to replace the six batteries on my previous motorhome I went with NAPA since they were local and figuring they are located just about everywhere should I have a problem.
Checked on the NAPA batteries, but what I found was more costly than the Crowns or the Trojans. Actually a little surprised about that. They had a good amp/hour rate but would come in at $30 more each. I do like the idea of more dealerships in case of trouble though, but in practice, I've never really had any issues with my batteries between replacements over the years. The only reason for looking at replacement now is because my converter went belly up and took my batteries down to a VERY low voltage. Currently using a pair of Walmart group 24 dual purpose 12V batteries. Those have done me well for a few years but looking at better options.

Right now it's more about the reputation and reliability of the manufacturer up front. I know that both Trojan and Crown have a good reputation and are sold at many golf cart stores. I figure it may not be an issue finding a service center.
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Old 07-31-2021, 11:33 AM   #12
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Don’t know size of your battery compartments, but we have Group 27 Trojan AGMs in our 87 and they fit. Going strong after 3 years.
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Old 07-31-2021, 12:09 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 92landyacht View Post
Checked on the NAPA batteries, but what I found was more costly than the Crowns or the Trojans. Actually a little surprised about that.
NAPA batteries are made by Deka (East Penn Mfg) which is a very good battery and company. Deka also makes the Duracell batteries for Batteries + Bulbs outlets.

When my Lifelines run out I'll probably just put some Deka flooded cells in there. I've had good service out of the ones I use in my boat. We don't boondock and I keep the Lifelines charged with solar on the roof. That's the most important thing, keeping them charged up all the time, just like in your car.
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Old 08-07-2021, 03:34 PM   #14
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Went to my local Batteries Plus and found out that they carry Trojan T-105's in stock. Not listed on the web site though. Priced them out and they quoted me $140 each plus core deposit. The core charge was $18 each so I'm thinking of keeping my current 12V pair and using them for trolling motor use or as a bank I can just jumper in if I need the additional capacity. They're still in decent shape so I hate to just let them go for a $36 core. Last night I tried a slow load test and they were able to maintain voltage above 12.0V for 8 hours with an 8 amp load. Voltage was dropping quickly near the end.

Plan to decide on what replacements I'll get after my next trip but before the November week long boondock.

I know that the T-105s are 225 amp/hour @20 hour rate. They do make the T-125's that are 240 amp/hour capacity but they cost a bit more. AGM's and Lithium are out due to cost v/s benefit factor. Plan to install a battery watering system to make it more convenient but the batteries are accessible and I only have 2 to water. Trojan's HydroLink watering system is a little pricey as well but it may still be worth it.

The new IOTA DLS-55 with IQ4 is working well. Observed it doing a cycle where it went from 13.6V (Float) to 14.6V (Bulk) to 14.2V (Absorption) and back to 13.6V over a 12 hour period. Seems to do it once every week.
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Old 09-17-2021, 08:46 AM   #15
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Finally ordered the new batteries. The ones I settled on were Duracell model SLIGC125 235AH 6 volt deep cycle GC2 golf cart batteries. Being made by East Penn Manufacturing was a huge plus. Equal to the Deka Pro Master model GC25.

Ordered 2 yesterday. Pricing, using a commercial account, turned out to be $133 each + core. They'll give me partial credit toward core for my old Walmart 12V batteries. They didn't charge me in advance to order them in. They should be in on Tuesday and installation will depend on weather and my mood.

The Batteries Plus manager was a little surprised that they had them. There seems to be a serious battery shortage right now. Everyone was out in the area. The new batteries are being drop shipped to the store direct from East Penn MFG. At least I'll know that they'll be fresh batteries.

Any suggestions on how I should break in the new batteries? Would like to have maximum capacity before my trip to Road Atlanta during the week long boondock for the Motul Petit Le Mans in Novermber.

Since the race is scheduled a month later than usual I'm concerned about needing to use the heater over night. Generator will recharge them during the day but I don't want to have dead batteries in the morning. Kind of hard to start the generator when the coach batteries are dead. I was thinking of picking up a 100W solar panel kit just in case.
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Old 09-30-2021, 04:41 PM   #16
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Picked up the Duracell GC125 batteries today. Two 6V 235AH@20hr batteries will soon be installed. Plan on doing the installation tomorrow. Does look like the chassis battery will have to be removed first in order to gain good access to the coach batteries.

Any suggestions on what should be done prior to removal of the batteries. Current check list is as follows:

1: Cut off power to my inverter

2: Disconnect AC power to converter

3: Disconnect power to chassis battery. First flip knife switch and then disconnect positive and ground cables

4: Disconnect power to coach batteries. Flip knife switch and then remove positive and ground cables.

I know it sounds simple, but I'm concerned with the order of disconnections. I don't want to create any surges that might effect chassis or coach components.
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Old 09-30-2021, 09:28 PM   #17
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Always disconnect the NEGATIVE battery leads FIRST to avoid shorting the positive to ground with a tool. I have first-hand experience with this problem many, many years ago under the back sheet of a Volkswagen Beetle…melted the wrench…and I still have the scars!
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Old 10-01-2021, 04:21 AM   #18
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What Rich said - always remove the negative side of the batteries first.

Even then, be careful that the wrench doesn't make contact with anything as you loosen the terminals. Amazing how big a punch a battery has, even when partially discharged or nearly dead. I've had a similar problem removing the batteries from the back of an old MG which caused acid to be tossed from a battery. Luckily my jeans caught the worst of it and not my face.
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Old 10-01-2021, 08:35 AM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rmkrum View Post
Always disconnect the NEGATIVE battery leads FIRST to avoid shorting the positive to ground with a tool. I have first-hand experience with this problem many, many years ago under the back sheet of a Volkswagen Beetle…melted the wrench…and I still have the scars!
Quote:
Originally Posted by richard5933 View Post
What Rich said - always remove the negative side of the batteries first.

Even then, be careful that the wrench doesn't make contact with anything as you loosen the terminals. Amazing how big a punch a battery has, even when partially discharged or nearly dead. I've had a similar problem removing the batteries from the back of an old MG which caused acid to be tossed from a battery. Luckily my jeans caught the worst of it and not my face.
Good thinking guys. Just completed the installation!!! Everything went easier than I thought it would. The only issue was a minor one. I needed to replace the original negative cable to the coach battery bank. Leave it to AS to make it harder than it needed to be. The bolt that held the cable to the frame was in a location that didn't allow direct access to a socket from below. Needed to use a couple of swivels to get the socket on the head of the screw and then have a helper (my wife) hold the nut from above with a wrench.

Just some notes for people with a early 90's LY.

1: The two GC2 batteries fit exactly between the two hold down studs with only a little wiggle room but enough to easily maneuver them into place.

2: Because the GC2 batteries are shorter in length they were actually fairly easy to swivel into location. Installed the far battery first and was able to get the other one in place easily. One note though. Make sure you plan out the orientation of the batteries first before installing them. Makes for less maneuvering. These things are HEAVY so use a proper holding strap to make things easier. This is the one I used from Amazon: Hold Down Strap

3: Height of the GC2 batteries are not an issue. A little taller than the group 24's but I had plenty of room above to work on the batteries and there was no interference with any of the AC components above.

4: Removing the coach battery first is a definite plus to make it all go easy. It also gave me better access to the ground cables.

5: I replaced one of the ground cables that used the older style post connection. I replaced it with a 24" 1/0 gauge pure copper cable. One end had a 5/16" eyelet and the other end had a 3/8" eyelet.

6: I used a 13" 1/0 gauge cable with 5/16" eyelets on both ends to connect one battery to the other in series.

Still thinking about how I'm going to hold down the batteries but that's a minor issue. I did install a battery watering system to make watering an easy process. The system I used was from a company call WaterMyBatterys.com. The kit was complete and easy to install. I purchased it on Amazon and it came with the hand pump assembly for the same cost as the kit without it. The caps just snapped right in and even came already plumbed with tubing. Each cap has an indicator to tell you when the batteries are full and when they need watering. Total cost was $54 and I think it was money well spent. Especially for people like me that are bad about doing this type of thing.

Batteries are now on the IOTA DLS converter and are going through their first charge cycle. Current voltage is 14.6V as expected. I now have a solid coach battery system with 235AH batteries giving me a solid 117AH's of usage at 50% maximum discharge. Nearly double capacity over my two 67AH 12V batteries that only gave me 67AH's of real usage. Original batteries were Walmart marine batteries dated 4/18. They still held a good charge but I wasn't comfortable using them on a week long boondock in mid November at Road Atlanta.
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Old 10-01-2021, 10:48 AM   #20
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This thread got me thinking of replacing my 4 yr old Interstate wet cell gp. 24.
I went to call the Interstate store near me only to find it's no longer Interstate Batteries.
Seems like Interstate used to be owned by Johnson Controls but has been sold to a Canadian company, Brookfield Business Partners. That company closed 13 stores in my area.

Now it has me wondering if a new Interstate Battery will be as good as the old ones? I can still buy a gp 24 Interstate from a distributor for $150-160 plus a core charge. I considered Costco, but I'd have to join and it's 20 miles across town.

Time to branch out? Trojan? (I used to argue that they all came from the same factory and just got different labels.)

I've never boondocked, but this year has me branching more with Harvest Hosts, etc.

I will stay with the 12v. group 24.
What to do?
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