2002 Itasca, two 12V house batteries?

[frederick w]

Just bought MH, Ford chassis, last summer. It has two interstate 12V house Batteries.

Thinking about going with two 6 volts.

What came std. in 02 from factory 6 or 12 volt house batteries?

Are interstate Batteries any good?

Thanks in advance.

[Tom-NC]

Hi,

In my estimation 2 12v batteries are better then 2 6v batteries because if one 12v battery goes bad the other one can be used if the bad one is disconnected . If a 6v battery goes bad then you only have 6 v left. Also if Winnebago thought 6 volt batteries were better they would install them from the factory.

As far as Interstate batteries go they are the best and I use them in my RV and my Boat. I have tried Walmart batteries in my boat and they don't last.

In closing I would like to say that you should say with 2 Interstate 12v Batteries and a good 12v Starting battery.

[FIRE UP]

fredrick,
Well Sir, one of the primary reasons most folks turn towards 6V golf cart batteries is the fact that they have in most cases, more amp hrs per given size than the 12V units. They also have a better "cycling" rate. That is, they can take going all the way down to almost dead and, be brought back to a full charge more times than the 12V counter parts.

The plates are thicker and there's more of them, hence, the heavier weight. There are multiple RV batteries out there for the choosing. The types, sizes, and brands are up to the individual. I've had "Trojans" in the past and, to me, they performed just so-so. On our present coach, it came with three, Interstate 12V Deep cycle Marine house batteries. In less than a year, one developed a shorted cell. I replaced it at a $75.00 pro rated cost. One month later, a second one developed a shorted cell.

Well, after doing some research, I found out I was not the only one. Interstate had gone down hill. So, after some measurements, calculations, and cost analysis, I installed (4) Costco, 6V Deep cycle Golf cart batteries for $89.00 each. They've now been in there for over a year and perform flawlessly.

Another important point that folks like 6V units is, they endure the rigors of dry camping better than 12V units. That's not to say 12V units don't work, it's just that for reasons listed above, the 6V units work better. It kind of depends on just how much dry camping you plan on doing. If you don't plan on doing much dry camping, than the change over to the 6V units really won't help your situation much.

And to your question about Winne installing 6V or 12V from the factory, I can't speak for all Winnes or Itascas but, there are many coach builders out there that installed them from the factory. Our previous coach, a '99 Fleetwood Bounder 34V came from the factory with 6V units.
Scott

[Journey39n]

You can get some very high ah 12v batteries that do a terrific job. But at what cost.

I went with 2 CostCo 6v to replace my two group 31 12v batteries when one went bad. Used them for a year, were a little light when boondocking, but worked. Last year, I added 2 more for a bank of 4, all the ah I can use. Still have less money invested than if I would have replaced the oem batteries model for model.

[Hikerdogs]

Originally Posted by frederick w

Just bought MH, Ford chassis, last summer. It has two interstate 12V house Batteries.

Thinking about going with two 6 volts.

What came std. in 02 from factory 6 or 12 volt house batteries?

Are interstate Batteries any good?

Thanks in advance.

Your unit came with 2, 12 volt Group 29 batteries from the factory. The newer units come with 2 group 31 batteries. The group 31s are physically a little larger and have more capacity.

Do some research before buying new batteries. They are not all created equal. The group number i.e. 24, 29, 31, etc. is only the physical size. Even within the group rating there are minor differences in height and width.

I have seen a huge difference in the power output of different batteries within a given group size. When researching group 29 batteries for our motorhome last year I found some with an AH rating 1/3 above others in the same group. When you see a battery significantly cheaper than others in the same group it's usually because they are less powerful and/or have a much shorter warranty.

We've used Diehard group 29 batteries as replacements. Our originals died at about 3 years old. We replaced them with Diehards in 2004, and they were just replaced again in 2012. That's 8 years on a set of batteries.

[bachler]

Must share my experiance;;In our Ultimate we have 3 31 house Batteries. with in one year we had to replace all 5 batteries. I use DYNO: They are made here in Seattle. shipped all over the world. In our previous MH. that we used for snowmobiling The batteries were 9 years old and tested out the same power as when New;;. Several important things. There are only 3 manufacturing plants in the USA. And Wallmart has the same battery as Interstate same MANUF. and a lot of others.. . I have worked in the fishing industry batteries are very inportant of a boat.. The main thing is NEVER LET A Battery set even overnight without being fully charged.. Much less a week or two;; ( I have had someguy say I can't charge the battery only but once every other week, That is the guy That has a Short lived Battery) . The plates Pos.neg.Start sulfating Imeditaly Not in a day but Now. think of it as Drinking coffee and not emptying the grounds out of the cup. after a while there are so many grounds and no room for coffee. So if you want a battery to last, It must be used Charged and disscharged.. The topic... 6 V vers. 12 V When charged and treated as they should be. There is no differance. Now to go the other way . Put 12 Volts IN a golf cart. That is another story.. Each has there purpose,, Life is good;

[frederick w]

Thanks guys for the info.

Just a note. The 02 Itasca I purchased last summer (Ford chassis) had the original battery (eng.) that was mfg. in 2000. 12yrs. old !

The original battery in my 2000 Merc. van was still going strong after 9 yrs.

I now have a new Ford battery (engine start) in the 02 MH.

[Hikerdogs]

Originally Posted by frederick w

Thanks guys for the info.

Just a note. The 02 Itasca I purchased last summer (Ford chassis) had the original battery (eng.) that was mfg. in 2000. 12yrs. old !

The original battery in my 2000 Merc. van was still going strong after 9 yrs.

I now have a new Ford battery (engine start) in the 02 MH.

Whoever makes the batteries for Ford seems to do a good job. I took the battery out of my 99 Expedition in 2004 thinking it wasn't long for this world. It's been in my end loader since then and still starts it on a regular basis. I had to use it just last week to dig out of a foot of snow. Not bad for a 14 year old battery.

[Ramzfan]

You guys must be living right...everytime I've bought a new car or whatever, I get almost exactly what the manufacturer says. If its a 36 month warranty, the battery lasts 3 years or so. I am going to do what FireUp did though, I'm switching to 4 six volt batteries this summer.

[FIRE UP]

Originally Posted by Ramzfan

You guys must be living right...everytime I've bought a new car or whatever, I get almost exactly what the manufacturer says. If its a 36 month warranty, the battery lasts 3 years or so. I am going to do what FireUp did though, I'm switching to 4 six volt batteries this summer.

Going the 6V route is a matter of choice. Many do it because, like us, they still do a fair amount of dry camping and the 6V system seems to be a proven way to go. I don't keep track of the latest in battery technology but, maybe it's possible that the 12V deep cycle market is finally coming about and putting out some quality, long lasting, multi-cycling (full discharged to full charge rate of cycles) and good ampere hours batteries. If they are, good for them and the folks that use them.

Many of us have dry camped for years and rely on good battery power to get us through our stay at our campsites. It all depends on how much generator time you run, if you've got solar power to assist in keeping your batteries charged during the day, how much you use and or, conserve battery power and more.

So, again, if you find some 12V units that are reliable, at least equal to the AH rate of many of the GC batteries out there and you don't have to take out a loan for them, then by all means, go for it. Good luck.
Scott

[Bart anderso]

12 volt gc batteries seem t o be the way to go now. I am going to try them out next and see how well they work out