Need New Battery, Auto Or Deep Cycle

[Prior_Pete]

I never camp off grid so my battery is just to say I have a battery, so I'm not worried about draining & charging over & over. When in storage the trailer is always plugged in. Is it cheaper & does it make sense to just stick a same size automotive battery in or is there some reason I'm not thinking of that says I should have deep cycle?

[Passin_Thru]

A deep cycle battery has the cells farther from the floor allowing more flaking off of the lead, lead is thicker to resist vibration and walls are thicker for the beating they get. They won't last any longer in AMP hrs than a regular battery. Amp hr ratings are Amp hr ratings you can't change them.However you can drain them dead and they will come back.

And just how long is forever? Is it sooner than now or never?

[Heiny57]

Walmart deep cycle, will last forever.

[rbpru]

I am using a new RV/Marine battery from my nephew's trolling motor. It has the same Amp hour rating as my three year old deep discharge battery, so I thought I would give it a try.

Our deep discharge battery will last us three days; that is more than enough time for us.

The only times we camped without electricity, was out west when we would overnight at a county park or other non-electric facility.

If you intend to do any amount of non-electric camping, that is another issue altogether.

[Rainier]

I got a Marine/RV deep Cycle Battery at Walmart for 75 bucks. I think its made by Johnson Control. 75 bucks is a small price to pay in case you ever need the extra juice if you go off the grid.

[SoundGuy]

mbopp wrote:
If you always have electric hookup, the only reason to have a battery is for the trailer emergency break-away switch.

Actually that's not necessarily the case ... if the OP's trailer has a slide it may require a battery as a power source to operate the slide. Mine is a shallow sofa slide and will operate with just the converter supplying power but many larger slides do require a battery to power the slide mechanism.

[pianotuna]

I'd get a sealed lead acid battery. Do make sure the converter only does 13.2 volts.

I'd tend to not plug in for storage, as doing so may shorten the battery life.

[horton333]

There is nothing to be gained spending the extra money on a deep cycle in your case. Even if you do have the odd power failure at the campsite or want a minutes of light at the side of the road a car battery still has you covered even if not as well.

[time2roll]

Sure a low cost start battery will serve the function as long as all goes as planned.
If you get stuck some place when the power goes out you may appreciate one night of having lights and furnace on the deep cycle.

[ktmrfs]

go with a rv/maring battery. won't cost any more and will last much longer, even in your limited use.

[mbopp]

If you always have electric hookup, the only reason to have a battery is for the trailer emergency break-away switch. I know several contractors that just use a lawn mower battery on their small equipment trailers.

[MFL]

I would not use an auto battery, although if always plugged in, it may work. An RV/marine battery is a better choice than auto, and similar in price. You don't really need a true deep cycle for your use.

Jerry