Coach battery recommendations requested

[RV-there-yet]

I have a 2000 Pleasure Way Excel RD (wide body Dodge van). It has 2 coach batteries that are pretty weak. I have them out of the unit and plugged into a charger in the garage, but it that doesn't bring them around I'll need to replace them.

Currently running 2 Walmart EverStart 24DC batteries. Space is a consideration. Nothing much bigger (physically) will fit. Looking at Costco and Walmart websites and not seeing very good reviews on the batteries offered on there.

What do you recommend and why. Thanks for your insights. Trying to get this thing ready to go for a Labor Day weekend trip. The unit sits a lot. What's the best practice when not using the van? Plugged into shore power? Or not? Trickle charger? Or not?

[GallenH]

My 1997 PW had a single size 24 battery. I think it was rated at 80AH. When it went, I replaced it with a LifeLine battery. Expensive..BUT..

In addition to the quality, LifeLine is very good about the specs for their batteries. I was able to see from the physical drawings of their batteries and their dimensions that I could go with a group 27 battery at 100AH. It was a very snug fit in my battery box. BUT I found that if I removed the "ears" for the lifting strap (and, of course, the strap) it fit easily, no problem. The dimensions for the case vs. case with strap ears were on their site.

BTW: I used a battery lifting strap from a local auto parts store to lift the battery in.

You'll get a lot of other battery recommendations. If it's say Costco or Walmart, go into the store and take measurements. You'll probably find that you can replace yours with group 27 batteries, and get a 25% increase of capability.

[mkguitar]

my first costco interstate deep cycle lasted 5.5 years.


of course i bought another of the same




keep the casing clean ( so it doesn't discharge through dirt)


keep the electrolyte level correct with distilled water
( I collect the water from my AC unit, this time of year it makes at least 5 gal a day, I also use in window washer and radiator)


keep a good state of charge- I recently found out that starting in 2006 PW used a converter with the "charge wizard" built in. you can also by the charge wizard as an add on.


I have meager DC needs when off grid, I am good for 5 to 6 days, I have a small solar panel which helps put some back in


2¢

[hbn7hj]

Go lithium if you can and you will never look back. Twice the capacity for the size and much quicker charging rates if you use a generator. Not as important if you use solar. Just an opinion.

[gilly]

We also have a 2000 PW and our deep cycle marine Interstate batteries lasted 10 years. I replaced them with the same. We live in the Bay Area and never unplug the battery cables but also use our van every 1-2 months. I can go 4-5 days off grid by being fugal. I wasn’t able to find a lithium battery that would fit into my battery box. We are very limited to size because of the pull out box they fit in and since the old Imterstate. Batteries lasted so long we continued with that brand. We don’t have a generator or solar. Good luck.

[Boondocker]

We have 2 AGM house batteries in our RT SS Agile that are 7 years old and are not showing any signs of age. I keep reading that you get 5 years out of them if you're lucky. We also live in the Bay Area and never unplug the cables. Knock on wood that they give us another few years. We have a generator and solar but seldom use the generator.