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New owner battery install question.

brmiller
Explorer
Explorer
Installing a battery in our travel trailer and I'm not sure I've hooked it up correctly. After install the lights work and radio work but none of the ac outlets are working? I'm not sure if this is a polarity issue or if I don't have the correct battery to be able to power the AC outlets?

Sorry for the lack of noobness but hoping to get some guidance and advice.

I have the positive and negative lines hooked up according to the manual but the the smaller gage red and white wires, I'm not sure what those go to? Any suggestions?





this is the battery that was recommended to me?



thank you in advance for any help.
25 REPLIES 25

aftermath
Explorer II
Explorer II
You guys are funny, and informative. Thanks for a good start to my day. Yes, it is all a bit silly when you think about it.

I am getting ready to head out on a fishing trip and have charged my 12 volt batteries to around 12.85 volts. I am good to go, at least for a few hours during the cold night. Won't leave my generator at home. Good to go.
2017 Toyota Tundra, Double Cab, 5.7L V8
2006 Airstream 25 FB SE
Equalizer Hitch

SoundGuy
Explorer
Explorer
aftermath wrote:
And, now that I think about it. Why do they call them 12 volt batteries if at 12 volts they are already at 50% discharge? They should call them 12.8 volt batteries. Of course everyone knows that a 12 volt battery is not actually 12 volts. It starts at 12.8 then goes down to 12 and then hits "empty" at 10.8 Everyone knows this, don't they?


What an absurd argument. If that were the case then a 9 volt battery would have to be called a ~ 9.5 volt battery or a 1.5 volt a ~ 1.6 volt and each would be 50% depleted at half those values, which of course is not the case. :R And a 12 volt battery is considered 100% drawn down @ 10.5 volts. As for what voltage a deep cycle battery is fully charged that depends on the type of battery it is - flooded, AGM, GEL, etc - which are not all "full" @ 12.8 volts. It's not that complicated. 😉
2012 Silverado 1500 Crew Cab
2014 Coachmen Freedom Express 192RBS
2003 Fleetwood Yuma * 2008 K-Z Spree 240BH-LX
2007 TrailCruiser C21RBH * 2000 Fleetwood Santa Fe
1998 Jayco 10UD * 1969 Coleman CT380

dieseltruckdriv
Explorer II
Explorer II
aftermath wrote:
And, now that I think about it. Why do they call them 12 volt batteries if at 12 volts they are already at 50% discharge? They should call them 12.8 volt batteries. Of course everyone knows that a 12 volt battery is not actually 12 volts. It starts at 12.8 then goes down to 12 and then hits "empty" at 10.8 Everyone knows this, don't they?

Well, anyone that boondocks or dry camps much figures it our pretty quick! When the furnace doesn't work because the battery is too low to trip the sail switch so the propane will come on and make heat on a cold night even though the fan is running.....
It might seem daunting, but this really does turn into fun, playing with all these new toys.
2000 F-250 7.3 Powerstroke
2018 Arctic Fox 27-5L

aftermath
Explorer II
Explorer II
And, now that I think about it. Why do they call them 12 volt batteries if at 12 volts they are already at 50% discharge? They should call them 12.8 volt batteries. Of course everyone knows that a 12 volt battery is not actually 12 volts. It starts at 12.8 then goes down to 12 and then hits "empty" at 10.8 Everyone knows this, don't they?
2017 Toyota Tundra, Double Cab, 5.7L V8
2006 Airstream 25 FB SE
Equalizer Hitch

aftermath
Explorer II
Explorer II
SoundGuy wrote:
aftermath wrote:
When you hear "don't discharge your batteries below 50%" I don't think many know what that means. Look at the chart and a 50% discharge will take you down to 12 volts which makes no sense what so ever.


Why does it "make no sense"? :h Full depletion of any 12 volt deep cycle battery occurs @ 10.5 volts, 50% is just a general guide for the masses, nothing wrong with drawing the battery / batteries down further as long as you don't do it too often and recharge ASAP. This general recommendation also applies more particularly to flooded batteries but with more & more starting to use other types such as AGM, GEL, lithium, etc, this general rule of thumb is also becoming less so. For the average user though it's still a reasonable guideline to follow if you expect to get any life out of your RV battery.


For the "regular" guy, half of 12 volts is 6 volts. I was just trying to point out that there are those who might think this is what is meant by discharging to 50% capacity. That is all I was trying to say. It is nice that you know that "full depletion of any 12 volt deep cycle battery occurs @10.5 volts.." I actually didn't know this when I started into this whole trailer maintenance some 30 years ago. I am glad that there are folks like you out there to keep us up to speed.
2017 Toyota Tundra, Double Cab, 5.7L V8
2006 Airstream 25 FB SE
Equalizer Hitch

westend
Explorer
Explorer
deltabravo wrote:
My inverter
Good work! You truck camper guys really get to know fitting stuff into small spaces. Props!
'03 F-250 4x4 CC
'71 Starcraft Wanderstar -- The Cowboy/Hilton

Vintage465
Explorer III
Explorer III
There must be a couple different thoughts on percent of charge. Usually it's something like this:
12.6-7 =100%
12.5 =90%
12.4 =80%
12.3 =70%
12.2 =60%
12.0 =50%..............Dang! Guess they're right 12.0 is 50% discharged!
V-465
2013 GMC 2500HD Duramax Denali. 2015 CreekSide 20fq w/450 watts solar and 465 amp/hour of batteries. Retired and living the dream!

FrankShore
Explorer
Explorer
50 amp battery won't last long at all when you're unhooked from regular power. You could move to a AGM (never any maintenance) like a 12v Lifeline Battery and get triple the amp hours. Or if you want to go 6v (typically a golf cart battery) that would work too. They sell 6v at Costco for great prices.

I'd also suggest a portable solar panel w/ a long extension cord, that way you can follow the sun easier.
2014 F-250
2014 Minnie Winnie 2351DKS (Traded In-Burnout-Use A Surge Protector!)
2015 Arctic Fox 22G (Great Trailer But Heavy - Traded In)
2018 Lance 1685 w/ Solar & 4 Seasons Package
1999 Beneteau 461 Oceanis Yacht
En Norski i en Fransk båt - Dette må jeg se!

deltabravo
Nomad
Nomad
My inverter
2009 Silverado 3500HD Dually, D/A, CCLB 4x4 (bought new 8/30/09)
2018 Arctic Fox 992 with an Onan 2500i "quiet" model generator

brmiller
Explorer
Explorer
mobeewan wrote:
Checked the model number on your battery and it is a hybrid (dual purpose) marine starting battery. More for use on a boat for DC power along with starting the engine. It has deep cycle plates along with starting plates. Do not discharge it below 50 percent before recharging or it will shorten the battery life. A true deep cycle would serve better and allow discharging down to 20 percent before recharging and it will serve longer than a marine starting battery.

There was some a lot of good information on the following link about DC power for RV'ing.

The 12 volt side of life.


Thanks for the info. As of now we are just planning on camping at full hook up campgrounds for this first season of ownership.

once we are more comfortable with rving and we have the camper set up the way we want I will look at a deep cycle gel cell battery and installing a solar panel for those times we dry camp.

SoundGuy
Explorer
Explorer
aftermath wrote:
When you hear "don't discharge your batteries below 50%" I don't think many know what that means. Look at the chart and a 50% discharge will take you down to 12 volts which makes no sense what so ever.


Why does it "make no sense"? :h Full depletion of any 12 volt deep cycle battery occurs @ 10.5 volts, 50% is just a general guide for the masses, nothing wrong with drawing the battery / batteries down further as long as you don't do it too often and recharge ASAP. This general recommendation also applies more particularly to flooded batteries but with more & more starting to use other types such as AGM, GEL, lithium, etc, this general rule of thumb is also becoming less so. For the average user though it's still a reasonable guideline to follow if you expect to get any life out of your RV battery.
2012 Silverado 1500 Crew Cab
2014 Coachmen Freedom Express 192RBS
2003 Fleetwood Yuma * 2008 K-Z Spree 240BH-LX
2007 TrailCruiser C21RBH * 2000 Fleetwood Santa Fe
1998 Jayco 10UD * 1969 Coleman CT380

Atlee
Explorer
Explorer
Not on my Jayco. The positive cable is red and the negative cable is black.

GordonThree wrote:


Double check your manual and look at your reverse polarity fuses.

BLACK is typically positive in the RV world, not negative. I believe you have both your positive and negative cables both connected to the negative terminal on the battery.

White is negative, black positive, red is non standard positive for an RV.
Erroll, Mary
2021 Coachmen Freedom Express 20SE
2014 F150 Supercab 4x4 w/ 8' box, Ecoboost & HD Pkg
Equal-i-zer Hitch

aftermath
Explorer II
Explorer II
The 12 volt side of life is a GREAT source. When you hear "don't discharge your batteries below 50%" I don't think many know what that means. Look at the chart and a 50% discharge will take you down to 12 volts which makes no sense what so ever. But it is something to watch.

I purchased a small digital voltage meter for trailers that fits into the cigarette lighter looking DC fixture in the trailer. I can check my batteries easily and run the generator when needed.

Don't be in a hurry to buy expensive batteries. You might want to look into a good generator. I use mine to top off batteries and to run the ac outlets when we are out in the sticks.
2017 Toyota Tundra, Double Cab, 5.7L V8
2006 Airstream 25 FB SE
Equalizer Hitch

mobeewan
Explorer
Explorer
Checked the model number on your battery and it is a hybrid (dual purpose) marine starting battery. More for use on a boat for DC power along with starting the engine. It has deep cycle plates along with starting plates. Do not discharge it below 50 percent before recharging or it will shorten the battery life. A true deep cycle would serve better and allow discharging down to 20 percent before recharging and it will serve longer than a marine starting battery.

There was some a lot of good information on the following link about DC power for RV'ing.

The 12 volt side of life.