jornvango
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We just bought a used 2009 fifth wheel to put on our land and live in while we build. The one thing that doesn't work on the fifth wheel is the battery so the first thing to do is to replace that.
Before we start buying stuff for the fifth wheel, we have a few questions that hopefully someone can help us with.
1) Since there is plenty of room in the battery storage compartment, we can pretty much fit whichever battery group size. Does the group size matter? In our old Casita trailer, we only had very limited room for 1 battery so of course we had to buy the correct group size. How does this apply to the fifth wheel?
2) The fifth wheel only as one battery (which is dead). We'd like to put at least two or three 12V AGM batteries. I assume we can connect the RV to one of these three, and connect the batteries in parallel (positive to positive, negative to negative) to keep the batteries 12V?
3) We're going to hook up a Renogy solar panel (with built-in controller). Do we simply connect the solar panel to one of these three 12V batteries?
Thanks!!
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corvettekent
Marysville, WA
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I would use two FLA 6-volt golf cart batteries wired in series.
Yes, if your solar panel has a built-in charge controller you can wire it the batteries. You are going to need a few hundred watts of solar.
Are you not going to have 120-volt power to build the house?
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valhalla360
No paticular place.
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If you have shore power there is no purpose in upgrading the battery bank, beyond a single cheap 12v battery.
AGM are for planes or boats that do not stay level, since the acid won't spill. They offer no advantages in an RV, doubly so if it stays parked.
If you don't have shore power, 6v golf cart batteries are a good traditional approach, alternatively lithium are becoming more cost competitive but make sure your charging system is compatible.
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wildtoad
Blythewood, SC
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A good read on setting up batteries in parallel. https://www.impactbattery.com/blog/post/........arge-marine-and-rv-batteries-in-parallel
Tom Wilds
Blythewood, SC
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JRscooby
Indepmo
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Building without shore power?
If have power on site I would just hook to that and don't worry about a battery until ready to go mobile with the RV.
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jornvango
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Thanks!
We won't have access to shore power. The house will be off grid and run on solar.
I'm thinking one or two batteries in the RV to charge with Renogy. I can monitor and add panels if needed.
We are thinking about getting a Jackery with solar panel separately to place in the living area to charge our phones and laptop.
Heating will be catalytic so no RV battery needed. Or perhaps a diesel heater once I can get around to taking on that project.
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Veebyes
Bermuda & Maryland Eastern Shore
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When living off the grid battery power, along with water capacity is king.
Good choice with going with AGM batteries. Put in as much as you have room for. Most RVs don't have much room for batteries so measure up and see what will fit. The more amp hours the better.
You likely have enough room for 2 group 27s, maybe 2 group 31s, a single 4D, possibly an 8D, or 2 6V GC batteries.
We have been using a single AGM 4D. The first one had a lifespan of nine years. The second has been in since 2018. Going strong. Don't anticipate replacing it until 2027, if we are still travelling.
There are some advantages of the AGM, in addition to their longevity. They self discharge at about the rate of the wet cells and while in use they hold their voltage longer, giving more useable amps per cycle than the wet cell. The better battery comes at a cost however. For the serious dry camper well worth it.
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valhalla360
No paticular place.
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If you will be off grid for months, can you put in the house solar system first and feed the rv off that?
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pianotuna
Regina, SK, Canada
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Spend more money on solar panels and add batteries as necessary.
Start with an energy audit. Do panels for 125% of the load.
I would choose one company for the solar--and other electrics--such as victron. I would definitely use a hybrid inverter charger even if there is no shore power.
Regards, Don
My ride is a 28 foot Class C, 256 watts solar, 556 amp-hours of Telcom jars, 3000 watt Magnum hybrid inverter, Sola Basic Autoformer, Microair Easy Start.
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laknox
Arizona
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jornvango wrote:We just bought a used 2009 fifth wheel to put on our land and live in while we build. The one thing that doesn't work on the fifth wheel is the battery so the first thing to do is to replace that.
Before we start buying stuff for the fifth wheel, we have a few questions that hopefully someone can help us with.
1) Since there is plenty of room in the battery storage compartment, we can pretty much fit whichever battery group size. Does the group size matter? In our old Casita trailer, we only had very limited room for 1 battery so of course we had to buy the correct group size. How does this apply to the fifth wheel?
2) The fifth wheel only as one battery (which is dead). We'd like to put at least two or three 12V AGM batteries. I assume we can connect the RV to one of these three, and connect the batteries in parallel (positive to positive, negative to negative) to keep the batteries 12V?
3) We're going to hook up a Renogy solar panel (with built-in controller). Do we simply connect the solar panel to one of these three 12V batteries?
Thanks!!
Check out my cousin's YT channel, BeginningFromThisMorning, where they detail the build-out of a '64 GMC bus into an RV that is 99% solar. Almost 3500 watts of solar and 2800 ah of battery storage via a Nissan Leaf battery. If you have questions, don't hesitate to contact them as they're very good about answering. Might take a day or two, though. Juan, cousin's hubby, keeps up on the latest in solar, so even though his rig is already getting "dated", he can probably answer questions about the latest stuff.
Lyle
2022 GMC Sierra 3500 HD Denali Crew Cab 4x4 Duramax
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