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11-30-2017, 04:41 PM
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#1
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Member
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: SoCal
Posts: 6
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2720 battery type
I'm picking up a 2008 2720 next week and both batteries are dead. I do not know if they are the original batteries, and from the TM website link to the owner's manual, there is no reference to what type of batteries are supposed to be installed.
If anybody knows what type was recommended by the factory, I'd really appreciate the help.
John
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11-30-2017, 05:30 PM
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#2
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TrailManor Master
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 893
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I suggest you get two GC2 batteries. They are cheap and copious and a very common choice.
I would suggest you avoid AGMs as house batteries, they are supposed to never need water but they lose some during charging or harsh use and there is no way to put it back. I also very strongly suggest that you install a master battery switch if there isn't already one, and that you get a battery protector like the one at this link.
I guarantee you that you will leave that master switch on sometime and the batteries will run flat, if you don't have the protector. If they work at all after that they are never the same.
This is what sealed batteries were originally meant for. The acid would not run out while the car was vertical. Of course lots of people want maintenance-free batteries.
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12-01-2017, 06:54 PM
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#3
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TrailManor Master
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Somerset, OH
Posts: 1,868
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I don't think TM ever installed batteries. It was left to the dealers.
If the batteries are dead they are most likely shot. Most RV batteries have a one year warranty. There should be a date code on the batteries.
__________________
Art & Joyce
Current camper: Motor Home
Previous: 2009, 3023-QB and 2003 2720
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12-31-2017, 09:42 PM
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#4
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Member
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: SoCal
Posts: 6
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battery info
Thank you for the information. The batteries don't have the date they were purchased or first installed on them Usually, it's done by removing the appropriate stickers, but not on these guys. They are Interstate GC2 6 volt batteries linked in series to provide 12 volts to the trailer.
I'm going to test them with the TM set up in the driveway before we take our first trip. I should be able to use my multi-meter to determine the rate at which it loses it's charge. I don't yet know what is considered normal with this trailer, so I'll be doing some learning.
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01-03-2018, 09:50 AM
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#5
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TrailManor Master
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Orlando
Posts: 2,796
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Well mine had the recess cut for a GRP27 in the rear compartment. I added shelving to mount two GC2s which fit exactly.
__________________
Looking for a 24/17 in or near Florida.
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01-03-2018, 04:50 PM
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#6
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Site Team
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: The mountains of Scottsdale, AZ, and the beaches of Maine
Posts: 10,178
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JAPetal
... from the TM website link to the owner's manual, there is no reference to what type of batteries are supposed to be installed.
If anybody knows what type was recommended by the factory, I'd really appreciate the help.
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As noted by tentcamper and others, there is no "supposed to be" and no "recommended by the factory". The factory left it to the dealer, and most of the time, the dealer made the cheapest choice possible - a Group 24 battery from Interstate Battery. Available most anywhere. A few dealers installed a Group 27 battery, slightly larger, and again from Interstate. But I don't recall any dealer going further than that for a default installation. By the way, "Group" is battery-speak for "size".
These batteries are quite adequate to the needs of most TMers, and weren't a bad choice. TMers who planned to do a lot of boondocking could ask the dealer for a bigger/better battery (or battery pair), paying for the upgrade of course. Or they could upgrade the battery themselves. A common upgrade, as Bruce and Padgett point out, is a pair of 6-volt golf-cart batteries such as GC2. Batteries with even higher capacity (and higher cost) are available, of course, for those who take their boondocking really seriously. But if you plan to spend every night in a campground with an electric hookup, there is no point in spending the extra money.
If you are planning to install a common 12-violt battery, you should look for one that is called a "deep cycle" battery. This is not the same as "deep cycle/marine" battery, by the way. There are a number of threads here on the forum where this is discussed - the Search tool will bring them up.
Enjoy your "new to you" TM.
Bill
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01-04-2018, 08:48 PM
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#7
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TrailManor Master
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Somerset, OH
Posts: 1,868
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We have had 2 - 12v group 31 batteries on different campers, which gave us about 210 amps. I like this method rather than the 6V GC batteries because if one die,s I can limp along with one.
Planning to add a second group 31 battery this year because of or camping plans for the year.
__________________
Art & Joyce
Current camper: Motor Home
Previous: 2009, 3023-QB and 2003 2720
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01-05-2018, 07:52 AM
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#8
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TrailManor Master
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Orlando
Posts: 2,796
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Have had grp31 ATMs in RVs before and excellent battery but
- is heavier than a GC2
- one grp31 costs about the same as two GC2s
- two GC2s exactly fit side by side against the street side wall in my rear compartment.
__________________
Looking for a 24/17 in or near Florida.
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01-05-2018, 09:13 AM
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#9
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TrailManor Master
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: Somerset, OH
Posts: 1,868
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I get my flooded cell g-31 for about $100. You must be think of the AGM G-31 at about $170 at sams
__________________
Art & Joyce
Current camper: Motor Home
Previous: 2009, 3023-QB and 2003 2720
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01-05-2018, 07:47 PM
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#10
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TrailManor Master
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Orlando
Posts: 2,796
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Yes, have bought a couple of the Grp31 AGMs at Sam's. Drove a GMC motor home with 455 Olds to northern Arkansas without a functioning alternator (drive during the day, charge in motel at night...)
Nice thing about a GC2, can get near a quart down and plates are not exposed. Has a big resovoir.
__________________
Looking for a 24/17 in or near Florida.
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