Costco batteries

[cliffy49]

Just wondering if anyone has purchased the Costco GC@ 6 volt batteries in the last 18-24 months.

I am thinking about converting my single Marine/RV battery to 2 6 volt deep cycle batteries. Since Costco is about a mile and a half from the house they were my first choice. After reading the reviews for the Interstate GC2 I am not sure.

All the reviews I have read on the Costco site are very bad if not down right horrible. I realize that most reviews seem to be written by some one that has had a bad experience with the product, that is why I am asking for any new users or purchasers to give me some insight on there experience.

Thanks in advance for all the help.

[Gjac]

harley4275 wrote:

cliffy49 wrote:
I want to thank everyone for their help in this matter. I think I will pay the 10% upcharge and purchase batteries from Sams Club.

Probably the same batteries as Costco just different name...go trojan 105 like suggested and done for yrs.

I have been hearing the same thing. My Sam's club batteries I bought in 2007 are still good and I think they were Duracell. They were half the price of the Trojan 105's that only lasted 4 years. I think Sam's and Costco change from year to year. There have been more recent reports of Battery Plus 6v GC batteries holding up well, I think they are Duracell.

[Grodyman]

I have had great luck with them, but they are 210 amp hours vs. the 225 amp hours of the white Interstates and Trojans. Usually more than enough though for 3-5 day boondocking.
Gman

[mrw8i]

My 35' Toy Hauler has four 5-year old Costco (cheap Interstate), still going strong. I have a watering system on them so easy to add water every month.

My 17' trailer has two 5-year old Costco, both bad. I did not keep up with adding water, because it's difficult to get to them, I should have put a watering system on them. Today I bought two new Costco (cheap Interstate) batteries to replace the two that went bad (my negligence).

[cliffy49]

harley4275 wrote:

cliffy49 wrote:
I want to thank everyone for their help in this matter. I think I will pay the 10% upcharge and purchase batteries from Sams Club.

Probably the same batteries as Costco just different name...go trojan 105 like suggested and done for yrs.

It is really difficult to justify the T-105s at $150+ core charge if boondocking is not something we are comfortable with. I realize that they are probably the top choice but since we have never tried boondocking before I simply can not afford to spend that kind of money on batteries.

[harley4275]

cliffy49 wrote:
I want to thank everyone for their help in this matter. I think I will pay the 10% upcharge and purchase batteries from Sams Club.

Probably the same batteries as Costco just different name...go trojan 105 like suggested and done for yrs.

[gkainz]

I bought a pair of Costco 6v batteries last month, even after seeing a recent uptick on negative reviews. Hopefully I either got a good pair or a pair that will die before the warranty ...

[cliffy49]

I want to thank everyone for their help in this matter. I think I will pay the 10% upcharge and purchase batteries from Sams Club.

[Blazing_Zippers]

We've had Costco 6 volts on three trailers now. The last set lasted less than 10 months and two went bad. Costco said to bring all of them back to replace--I did. They do honor the product.
I think a better choice would be Trojan 105's. They cost more, but maybe you get what you pay for.
Would I buy more Costco batteries? I don't know.

[kscaddo]

Not 18-24 months, but I bought 6 of the Costco bats in 2015 for my golf cart. All dead about 6 months ago. OTOH, The Sam's Club bats I had prior lasted almost 8 years. YMMV & regards.

[GTO66]

Not sure if there the best but the price good, and much better than what you have. Enough stores across the country to easily exchange. Back in the day I bought sears batteries for the same reason, but that ship has sailed...

[Gulfcoast]

The golf cart batteries at Sam's Club have good ratings on their website.... Duracell.

[Crabbypatty]

Not all 6 volt batteries are the same. Buy Industrial not commercial grade and you get what you pay for. Buy cheap get cheap. I bought Trojan t 125 forklift batteries for my first TT. Sold it at 10 years Batts still going strong. Second TT it was a no brainer, bought another set but after 4 years we decided to trade up. Bough a fifth wheel and took the Trojans off of the Sunnybrook and installed in the fiver then added two more. Four batteries 480 amps. Yes they are $450 for two, but 10+ years of perfect service, is worth it to me as we dry camp more than plug in.

What you really need to understand is that flooded cell batteries if you discharge them more than 50% you shortening their life. After using a VOM to check batteries I installed a Trimetric battery meter. Just got back from a week on the beach. Dry camped and with solar and inverter never started the generator.

[otrfun]

Purchased two GC2 batteries from Costco back in Feb 2019. Been working great. Just put a 65a load on them for 80 min. as a test a couple of days ago. Voltage was 12.25v at the end of the test. Took about 3 hours to charge them to 90-95% with a 45a converter. No complaints.

[wopachop]

cliffy49 wrote:
Since Costco is about a mile and a half from the house they were my first choice. After reading the reviews for the Interstate GC2 I am not sure.

Mine have a sticker that says 2/19. They are the lighter weight batteries that get the bad reviews. Ive been taking specific gravity notes since brand new. Mine are working fine, but i barely use them. Only been weekend camping 3 or 4 times. They dont even have 30 cycles on them. For a battery rated for 1000s.

The graphs ive seen say they dont even reach full capacity until over 100 cycles. Good chance mine will die from age instead of cycling.

I will know their entire life. Curious myself to see how it goes. I would say buy them for these reasons.

1. Price is good
2. Costco is close
3. Guessing youre not a full time boondocker that will drain and charge the batteries daily?