1 battery or 2?

[kooblekidz]

Hi all,
I've got a '78 Tradewind and the batteries are gone. I'm only going to use it once this fall and hate to buy 2 new batteries if I can get by with one. Is there any reason I can't limp by with one? Also, if I do should I leave a dead battery hooked up to the other cables? I'm going to be plugged in at a campground, but I know it's always better to have a good battery in the mix.
Thanks,
Eric Hedin

[overlander63]

You can limp by this winter with one, and if it's only going to be there "to have a battery", you can probably get by with a really cheap one. If you out a second, bad battery in there, hook up the positive terminal to the bad battery, but not the negative terminal. This will keep the positive terminal from dangling, and grounding, and shorting out.
Then, next spring, you can get a pair of good group 24 or group 27 deep cycle batteries to put in the there.