Average life of chassis (cranking) batteries??

smlranger · 12-31-2006, 03:04 PM

I've noticed one of my chassis batteries ('maintenance free' Champions) sweating juice out of one corner. They crank the beast just fine and I keep them charged when the rig is sitting with a Battery Minder. Date on batteries is Jul 03. I'm of a mind to replace them but was wondering, on average, how long the cranking batteries last on these diesels. Obviously, these batts were replaced by the original owner since the rig was built in 2002.

They are 650 CCA, 180 AH batteries.

smlranger · 12-31-2006, 03:04 PM

I've noticed one of my chassis batteries ('maintenance free' Champions) sweating juice out of one corner. They crank the beast just fine and I keep them charged when the rig is sitting with a Battery Minder. Date on batteries is Jul 03. I'm of a mind to replace them but was wondering, on average, how long the cranking batteries last on these diesels. Obviously, these batts were replaced by the original owner since the rig was built in 2002.

They are 650 CCA, 180 AH batteries.

CC38EL · 01-01-2007, 06:20 AM

I don't have specific information on how long chassis batteries should last. It's been written elsewhere that a battery properly maintained can give 'years' of service, whatever that means.

But I can tell you that my 02 Ultimate Advantage still has it's original chassis batteries and they still crank the beast just fine. They are of the maintenance free configuration and I run the coach and generator at least once a month for over an hour.

We purchased our coach in Apr 02. Tires were dated 0698 (Feb 98) but the date of the battery birth is not visible. So we speculate that the batteries are between 6 and 7 years old.

Jim

RKL2 · 01-01-2007, 08:49 AM

Smlranger....Mine are 2002's with a BatteryMinder attached...Still strong....RKL

John_Canfield · 01-01-2007, 11:23 AM

Gary - over a period of 40 years of vehicle ownership in my life, I figure batteries lasting three to five years on average. Occasionally I'll have one go in a couple of years and once in a while I'll have a battery last six years.

Winnebago just replaced one of my chassis batteries in October - I suspected I had a problem for several months but it wasn't a priority issue to be resolved since I could always bridge the house and chassis batteries to start the engine.

Where there is only one battery to start the engine (and when it is Jane's car), I never go more than three or four years on a battery. It just isn't worth it to me to try to get an extra year or two out of a battery. The inconvenience of a dead battery far outweighs the 80 buck expense of the replacement.

Pusherman · 01-01-2007, 11:27 AM

I replaced the original engine batteries on my '00 Journey last April; 6+ years out of them and they were still going strong, but I replaced them for preventitive reasons.

Geechee · 01-01-2007, 04:26 PM

I have to agree with John_C that the average life expectance for a lead acid auto battery is about 3 years. That said, my '96 Explorer is only on its second battery. The OEM was just replaced last year after being in service for 10 years. The Braves chassis battery is coming up on three years since the coach rolled of the assembly line and is showing no sign of depleted power. Since it was mostly installed by WCC, it already has to be over three years old. However, the house batteries have already been replaced once when each developed a bad cell. The key seems to be not allowing the battery to discharge completely and by all means not allowing them to remain in a discharged condition for any time period. Keeping water at the proper level and the terminals clean are important to extending their lifespan. A parasitic drains is a death sentence for any lead acid battery.