Thankyou for this video. We got a new camper and its all solar. No more propane fridge. Came w a 12v lead acid and a 200 watt solar panel. Definitely not enough to keep the fridge cold when panel not getting enough sun! We are in the process of getting 2x 6volt batteries now. Looking forward to longer power during travel and dry camping next summer.
@@MamaT-d7n just to let you know if you have a 12v fridge you may want to look at lithium instead due to the power requirements and for dry camping. Please feel free to look at some of our other videos on the 12v fridges and power usage as it maybe more than the 6v system could handle.
We're FTers who boondock most of the time, so we decided to go with 3.2v batteries. Since we upgraded to 8, 280ah LiFePo-4 prismatic cells wired in 2p,4s configuration to make a 12v (nominal) 560ah battery. This is over 5 times the usable capacity of a couple GC-2s that our motorhome came with, and they fit in the exact same space as the original 2, 6v GC-2s and even weigh about 35lbs less than a pair of golf cart batteries. They are maintenance free, charge much faster, don't suffer from the Peukert effect so power our inverter better and have a 6000-8000 cycle life, so they might last longer than I do. They cost about $1,500 to build with a 350a BMS and 5a active balancer, but when you consider the 50+ lead acid batteries that they will replace they are much cheaper in the long run.
Lithium is superior in every way compared to led acid and you have a amazing setup from the looks of it. I do think 12v and 6v' still have their place for weekend people who don't have heavy power needs and dont boondock often. We also love that lithium continues to get cheaper and I do see a point where lead acid batteries for RVs and trailers will be obsolete. Thanks for the amazing comment !!!
6 volt is the way to go. I have gotten as much as 5 days. Now mind you just minimal lights and heat at night. Mine were Trojan. Getting ready to buy a new set for my new trailer.
They are such a great value and we appreciate you sharing your experience with the 6v batteries. And you are correct for minimal needs of lights and the heater and such they provide far better value than the 12v equivalent. Thanks for the great comment !
You did a good job explaining this man! I was always wondering if this was better, if so by how much etc. I always thought well two batteries have to be better than 1 but there’s more to it. Once I saw the depth I was a bit confused and wondering if this was ~$200 well spent or if I was going to be an idiot and buy something that more or less got me to where I was. Especially when we started talking 6v.
Appreciate the feedback . It’s a great initial upgrade for power with low cost , especially when I feel the next step from a 6v setup is to lithium. But that’s why we did the video to detail the benefits out. Thanks for the great comment and let me know if you have any other questions!
@@UniqueAdventurez thanks! I have my heartland t281 in the shop now getting dual 6v and a solar kit added along with issues from shakedown resolved. One area I would think would be interesting to explore and may have good affiliate perks would be the prefab garages and such like VersaTube. A lot out there and hard to know where to start as a consumer.
Great info. I saw someone else a while back that went from 12v to 6v. Right now we have two 12v marine batteries, but we might switch to 6v when these batts die out. And I know they will eventually. Would love to have lithium, but not going to pay the price for those. Just too much! We want to keep it simple and cheap whenever possible.
I would definitely recommend the 6volts when your 12 volts kick the bucket. The beauty with lithium is that it is starting to come down in price as it gets more competitive with the market. Thanks for checking out the video !
@@UniqueAdventurez I see no beauty with lithium bought 3 200 but when i FOUND OUT YOU NEED THIS OR THAT WITH IT TO WORK it's like paying twice I resold to someone who already had the proper set up for it I stick with the "KISS" formula , keep it simple stupid.
@@leopoldpoppenberger8692 there are some extra cost for sure with lithium. Also did a video on that as well. You can drop them in , but only get 85% of the power output. Upgrading the charge converter or adding a small solar array will allow for the right charging profiles to get up to 100%.
Sounds like the 12vs are good for your option. If you don’t boondock often and have enough solar to keep you topped off then you got the right setup for your situation. Thanks for leaving the great comment !
Great video Glen! We have been researching battery upgrades- We have four 6 volt- 100 amp house batteries in our RV- We are wanting lithium but don't want to pay for them- Chasing RV Sunshine ☀️ Joel, Deb & 🐕 Maya
lithium is a big jump, but is totally worth it if you do plan on doing a fair amount of dry camping. the difference starts to add up when you can camp more basic and save some money here and there. But 4 6volt batteries is no slouch of a system. A lot of great battery options out there. thanks for checking out the video !
I am running 2 12v batteries. Only because I started with 1, then a couple months later when I added a portable fridge to my van I added a 2nd 12v battery because I didn't want my original battery to go to waste.
that’s a good point for sure. our new trailer we just bought came with 2 12v bstreries , but won’t be able to keep up with the 12v fridge. An option is always selling them to someone who is ok running a basic 12v battery as well, just so they don’t go to waste. But at the end of the day if the 2 12v batteries work for your application and power needs, then go with it ! Thanks for the great comment !
@@UniqueAdventurez I too have a new trailer, it's a 2022 Cougar with a 200 watt solar panel and 2 standard 12v batteries, and it won't go 4 hours into dark without the 12volt fridge sucking all the power out of them. By morning the volts will be about 11.6... I hear thats a damaging low.Is that about how long yours lasted? Should I expect two 6v's to get me to daylight? Thanks for the video, great job. Just for a little clarity when you say go down to 50% is that roughly 12.3 volts?
Lithium is a investment , but it definitely has cost savings over the long haul. Plus in your Tab a smaller footprint of batteries and lighter weight might be appealing. Thanks for the checking out the video !
Thinking about using my RV battery to power a Starlink Mini. Seems like the Starlink draws about 30ish watts while operating. What gauge wire should I use and how long can that wire be? Obviously the Starlink needs a clear view of the sky which sometimes means placing it away from the RV some distance.
Great questions Lawson. There are some great tables online that can help with conversion. Just google “power wire gauge” and some stuff will come up. For your circumstance I would recommend 14 gauge should get you up to 70-80 feet if needed , that’s also buffering some extra wattage and extra distance for you 30 watt need. But you should be safe with that. Hope that helps and thanks for the comment !
I have this same set up in my RV. What do you use to trickle charge the batteries. Are you charging each battery or just charging the series together as 1 big battery?
@@GrillManDan when we had this 6v setup we just charged with a trickle charger as we took them out of the trailer yearly and plug them in for a couple hours once a week. Charged as 1 12v battery.
Great question. With either 6v batteries or 12v batteries as we describe, you don’t need to change chargers or converters. The only time that is really need I believe is when you upgrade to lithium. I know some solar chargers controllers have settings for AGM batteries , but with the current battery options out there I wouldn’t recommend AGM to anyone.
excellent explanation 👍 one ? when we get back from camping i always plug my camper in at my house does that hurt the batteries constantly having a charge we have a 12v fridge reason why i plug it in
Great question Kyle, I don’t think it hurts to keep them topped off. But shouldn’t need to be plugged in all the time. Unless you are running your 12v fridge , then you most certainly want to have it plugged in.
I am just starting out want to boondocks with my camper got 2 6v 350 ah batteries. 400 watt solar panels. Will that work for now. I can get more batteries if needed
Sounds like you got a decent set of batteries if you got 350ah and 400 watts of solar. I definitely would trial out your usage dry camping and make adjustments on your power needs. Happy camping !!
Do I need to upgrade anything else on my rv to go from one 12v to two 6v batteries? I believe with lithium you need to upgrade your inverter and add a dc/dc charger so your truck can charge your batteries. I just want to make sure there is nothing crazy like that for this two 6v system. Great video by the way!
Appreciate the feedback. Not much is needed . Just the jump wire to make the 2 6volts a 12v system and new battery boxes (6volts are taller than 12 volts). No change in charging profile. Hope that help you out and feel free to reach out if you have more questions!
Thanks for the excellent video. In the same vane, I'm building a small solar/battery system to run the needs of a small work shed to power saw, drills, a standard refrigerator and other misc. tools. I'm thinking in the neighborhood of 600 to 800 watts and pairing with either 2 100 AH 12 volt or 1 200 AH 12 volt. Which, in your opinion would work better? Thanks for your time.
Thanks for the comment. For your question. Looks like you have some high wattage items on that list. It all depends on where you live and how much sum you get to see if that is enough solar. A standard house fridge would need an inverter to convert from AC to DC power , which you will have some power loss and would need to be at minimum of 2-3k watts, you may not have enough power with 200ah of standard 12 volt lead acid batteries (as you can only safely use 100ah at that point. Plus most table saws run around 1800 watts, so a 1800 watt discharge coverted to 12v is 150 amp draw. I know if i was doing this for lithium I would most likely do 2 batteries at it ususally doubles the discharge rate ( as they would have 2 sepereate battery management systems or BMS's). I wouldn't be as concerned starting with the 600-800 watts of solar, that would bring you in a good chunk of power, but I think you might need some more batteries to run it independently. Hope that helps some. Feel free to keep chatting about your questions as this is a great question.
Super helpful!! I'm new to the RV world having just inherited my parent's class A coach. The batteries need replacing so I started looking at 6v. So you're good with the Interstate batteries? I've gotten my car batteries at CostCo for years, but being new to RV'ing, I'm a bit nervous about the 6v. Talk me off the cliff....thanks!
The 6v batteries will supply more power than the dual 12s. The GC2s at Costco are good batteries and the interstate batteries have always been good. Should be around 100 per battery. The only thing with lead acid batteries is just not using past 50% capacity and maintaining the water levels inside the batteries. If you are doing light BOONDOCKING with not too extensive power needs or you have generator to recharge, then these are tote ticket. Any high power needs or massive power consumption then I would look towards lithium. But that is more spendy. We had the GC2s from Costco in for 2.5 years with no problems. Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other questions !
I just bought a trailer and a friend recommended this exact setup. I am thinking of getting a solar panel to be able to extend the time I can spend dry camping. What size solar panel do you think I should get to keep this setup running?
Teo, great question. It really depends on your power needs and consumption and the style of camping you do. Our 1st trailer which had a propane fridge and basic power needs we used about 25 ah a day. So 100 watts in decent sun should be able to keep up with 25ah of usage. Our new trailer has a 12v fridge and consumes roughly 80-100ah a day. So it really depends on how much power you are using. If it needs to be a portable panel I would probably start with a 100-200watt suitcase. Most people can get by with that.
One downside to solar---if you have it installed n the roof great---but if you use it on the ground you run the risk of it getting stolen when away from your camper. Just a thought, I've had two taken.
I just purchased 2006 crescendo motor home on Air stream diesel cumming. I drove from Richmond Indiana to Nevada. No problems. I parked for two days. Try to start it, had no power to the engine or dash monitors. Checked disconnects switch, ok. And the motor home plugged into 110. The generator starts OK. Not sure which battery bank is used for the generator. Chassis or coach. Any help here would be appreciated. also two 6v batteries in series for 12 volts.
I would think from what you have described and what research I did with motorhomes I believe the coach batteries power the generator. The chassis battery will charge the coach batteries , and the coach batteries should power the generator. Looks like the chassis battery might have failed. If it’s new to you I would probably take them all to the auto parts store and have them bench tested to see where you stand. Hope that helps !! Thanks for the great question.
I really want try a comparison video of equal AH 6V vs 12V systems. I have 4 group 31 AGM 100AH 12V batteries in parallel for the total battery cost of $485. Since AH dont increase in series if i had 4 of these 6V batteries, 2 series pairs then paralleled it would be essentially the same AH rating and pretty much the same weight.
Located in Québec i have a dire stove in my 23 feets camper 2 12volts battery and 2 propane tanks looking forward to have 4x 100w solar panel now I only have 1
My RV uses 4 6V Golf cart batteries. Would I get more amp hours if I ran 4 12V Deep Cycle Marine batteries? Walmart sells 12V Marine batteries for $97 each which is actually cheaper than the ^V Golf cart batteries that cost $150 each at Napa.
I don’t believe so. But would need to run the capacity rating of n the 12v batteries you are speaking of. But usually it’s like 50-60 amp hours per 12 v deep cycle marine batteries. They will be cheaper , but will cut your power bank down by close to 50-60%
I think you could in a pinch becuase when you take 2 6v batteries you are essentially making a 12 v battery. The issue becomes with battery power capacity as you will want the batteries capacity to match to provide for extra charging. I would strongly reccomed either going with the 6v's or also looking at lithium. If weight isn't an issue then the 6v's would probably do. Let us know what you end up with !!!
My motorhome has 2 6 volt batteries is it okay to replace them with 2 12 volt lithium batteries. I plan on installing solar panels and a victron charge controller and inverter.
That is correct . No issues going to lithium from 6volts as 6 volts are wired in series to make a 12v battery bank. A lot of upfront cost , but usually cheaper in the long run to go lithium. Thanks for the comment !
Good question,will be no different with charging from a traditional 12v setup as the 2 6v batteries make a 12v system. the only change is increased battery capacity. Hopefully I answered your question right . safe travels
Yes, that is 1 box for 2 batteries. You can order though Amazon or go to a batteries plus store. Just make sure you tell them if you are doing a 6v GC2 or a regular 12 volt deep cycle battery. The 6v batteries are taller than the 12 volts. Hope that helps
lithium is getting cheaper every day, and soon the cost difference will be minimal. for example, today a pair of costco 6-volt gc2's run about $200 a pair for 105ah usable capacity, a li time 100ah lifepo4 battery is $279, for $80 difference you get almost the same usable capacity, physically smaller and lighter, and a much longer usable lifespan.
You are 1000% spot on. I have mentioned in some of my other battery videos (6v vs lithium) that there will be a point here in the next couple of years (video is over a year old) where it just wont make sense. We are hovering close to that as you have stated. The competition and manufactures that are producing these batteries are continuing to bring the price down (great for the consumer). There is a small percentage that would benefit from a 6v setup , but is shrinks by the day. Great comment !!!
This is one of the best/easiest/cheapest upgrades a trailer owner can do. We have 2 six volt batteries and the built in solar panels on the Geopro gives us plenty of battery power when we need it. If you add an 2nd 12volt you also add a lot of weight vs 2 six volts right?
1000%. the best budget mod for the money for sure. weight might actually be more with the 6volt setup, but for the power increases it’s worth it. Glad you are getting good use out of your 6 volt system.
Great question. At the time we wanted a more budget friendly setup. The AGM provides a maintenience free setup, but is still limeted by the same constraints as the 6v setup (50% discharge). For us it wasn' worth the extra money, and the last time I checked , AGM is a pretty penny more. Thanks for the great question !
I don't think there will be any difference with 6v vs 12v with charging as they both use the same lead acid system. The differences really come evident when you change into solar. Lead acid batteries cant take a huge amount of charge at a time compared to lithium , so its just a slower constant charge, especially when you get close to being full. Hope that helps !!!
i will put that idea into a video and its a great question. Essentially you would be running a series parallel setup where you would have 2 banks of 2 6v batteries.
@@serega4087 not really. Depending on how the wiring goes you either multiply the amp hours or the voltage, for example. If you wire the 6v 65 ah batteries in series then you increase the voltage , so it would be a 12v 65hr battery. If you wire the 6v 65ah battery in parallel, then you would have a 6v 130ah battery bank. There is a way to do series parallel , but you need 4 batteries to accomplish this. Hopefully it makes sense , let me know if it doesn’t and maybe I can do another video on it.
AGMs do shine with the ability to be maintenance free, but with the cost at 200$ + per battery doesn't provide the best value as it still has to abide by the 50% DOD rule. for 200$ you can get 100ah usable with the 6v setup vs 50 ah usable for the same cost with AGM. I think the market is shrinking for AGMs and RV use. if you are needing a 200 ah AGM (100 ah usable ) you are almost getting up to lithium pricing and at that point I would suggest going to lithium for weight and longevity / increased amount of cycles.
@@UniqueAdventurez I just bought two Aims agm 6v 225 amp hour batteries, they showed up Saturday. $219 ea + $40 to ship the pair, so yeah, $239 ea. Ainsworth in Reno, NV. Did I do ok? We'll see!
@@bob_frazier it just for budget reasons your setup is getting into lithium type of money for the same usable amp hours. new 100 ah SOK lithium battery is under 600, which is what we have now. But there are decent lithium brands in the 400-500 range. Not that it won’t work , far from it you will probably be happy with the AGMs. But for a fraction of the weight and space you could be in lithium at that price. Hope the setup works well for you my friend !!
@@UniqueAdventurez I really appreciate you taking the time to have this conversation! My concerns about Lithium were simply having to change out my inverter and so on, this way everything's the same, but yeah, the weight is 140 pounds for the two batteries. Oof!!!
I think over the past year they have been hit or miss. The good thing with Costco is if you are going to have issues it should be during the warranty period and then you could just take them back. Gotta love Costco !!
F. You endorsed batteries in parallel, a faulty installation for the ignorant public. Golf cart batteries? Besides cost, flooded batteries can be dry charged until you need them and the electrolyte can be diluted for longer life.
Parallel on a 12v system is what most people are doing, not many people have 24v systems on a basic setup and is a bit more advanced. Series on the 6 volt system to maintain a 12v setup.
@@UniqueAdventurez Wrong. Popular? Yes. Sound? No. Batteries in parallel fight each other. Let WW2 Germany endorse batteries in parallel. They lost half their Panzer 4 tanks to batteries in parallel. A simple isolation switch would have solved their problem. A RUclips creator is a teacher. Get it right, then post it up. Try a US WW2 battery Training manual. They got it right. No batteries wired in parallel.
For the cost the 6vs carry more capacity with a smaller footprint . It would take 3-4 12 v batteries to equal the power output of some of the 6v setups
If you're not sure how much use a person can get out of a 12v battery that renders your video pointless. Your video wad supposed to discuss the possibility of 2 6v batteries being an upgrade as compared to a single 12v battery. But at 2:44min you say you aren't too terribly sure how much you can run on a 12v battery. So WTF?! Maybe find something you know about and make a video about mmmmmmmmmmnnńĥú⁵t
Personally not every 12v battery is created equal . Plus everyone’s power needs are different. What I do know is that in the instance we talked about with our batteries adding 1 12 battery was going to be less amp hours than going to a 6v setup. But at the end of the day everything depends on an individuals power needs.
Spot on be using 6 volts for years to replace 12 volts. Works good for boats too . Only drawback is weight.
The weight is kinda of a letdown . Never thought I’d the marine application, but makes sense. Thanks for the great comment !
The weight is bad, but the amp hours are alot higher. Went from two 160s to 210ah 6 volts
Thankyou for this video. We got a new camper and its all solar. No more propane fridge. Came w a 12v lead acid and a 200 watt solar panel. Definitely not enough to keep the fridge cold when panel not getting enough sun! We are in the process of getting 2x 6volt batteries now. Looking forward to longer power during travel and dry camping next summer.
@@MamaT-d7n just to let you know if you have a 12v fridge you may want to look at lithium instead due to the power requirements and for dry camping. Please feel free to look at some of our other videos on the 12v fridges and power usage as it maybe more than the 6v system could handle.
@@UniqueAdventurez ok i will look. Thankyou!
We're FTers who boondock most of the time, so we decided to go with 3.2v batteries. Since we upgraded to 8, 280ah LiFePo-4 prismatic cells wired in 2p,4s configuration to make a 12v (nominal) 560ah battery. This is over 5 times the usable capacity of a couple GC-2s that our motorhome came with, and they fit in the exact same space as the original 2, 6v GC-2s and even weigh about 35lbs less than a pair of golf cart batteries. They are maintenance free, charge much faster, don't suffer from the Peukert effect so power our inverter better and have a 6000-8000 cycle life, so they might last longer than I do. They cost about $1,500 to build with a 350a BMS and 5a active balancer, but when you consider the 50+ lead acid batteries that they will replace they are much cheaper in the long run.
Lithium is superior in every way compared to led acid and you have a amazing setup from the looks of it. I do think 12v and 6v' still have their place for weekend people who don't have heavy power needs and dont boondock often. We also love that lithium continues to get cheaper and I do see a point where lead acid batteries for RVs and trailers will be obsolete. Thanks for the amazing comment !!!
You can also get a larger group size as well in a 12 volt to get more amp hours. Not many people talk about that…Great video.
True about different group sizes. Really just compared to what is coming factory on most RVs. Thanks for the great comment !!
We are planning to go the 6v route on our new trailer. That with a little bit of solar should be enough to make it through a weekend.
6volts for weekend use with some solar is a good option, definitely better to start with the 6volts if that is the direction you are wanting to go !
Replaced our 2 12v batteries with 4 6v golf cart batteries in series/parallel. Lots of amp hours…downside is the extra weight.
The extra weight is a con, but with it to have the extra power. Hope the 6v setup is working well for you.
6 volt is the way to go. I have gotten as much as 5 days. Now mind you just minimal lights and heat at night. Mine were Trojan. Getting ready to buy a new set for my new trailer.
They are such a great value and we appreciate you sharing your experience with the 6v batteries. And you are correct for minimal needs of lights and the heater and such they provide far better value than the 12v equivalent. Thanks for the great comment !
You did a good job explaining this man! I was always wondering if this was better, if so by how much etc. I always thought well two batteries have to be better than 1 but there’s more to it. Once I saw the depth I was a bit confused and wondering if this was ~$200 well spent or if I was going to be an idiot and buy something that more or less got me to where I was. Especially when we started talking 6v.
Appreciate the feedback . It’s a great initial upgrade for power with low cost , especially when I feel the next step from a 6v setup is to lithium. But that’s why we did the video to detail the benefits out. Thanks for the great comment and let me know if you have any other questions!
@@UniqueAdventurez thanks! I have my heartland t281 in the shop now getting dual 6v and a solar kit added along with issues from shakedown resolved. One area I would think would be interesting to explore and may have good affiliate perks would be the prefab garages and such like VersaTube. A lot out there and hard to know where to start as a consumer.
Great explanation of how & why you would want to upgrade to 6 volt batteries! Thanks for sharing! Steve
Appreciate the kind words , there are definitely circumstances to upgrade and to not upgrade. Thank you for checking out the video!
Great info. I saw someone else a while back that went from 12v to 6v. Right now we have two 12v marine batteries, but we might switch to 6v when these batts die out. And I know they will eventually. Would love to have lithium, but not going to pay the price for those. Just too much! We want to keep it simple and cheap whenever possible.
I would definitely recommend the 6volts when your 12 volts kick the bucket. The beauty with lithium is that it is starting to come down in price as it gets more competitive with the market. Thanks for checking out the video !
I heard unless you're spending 3 or 4 k On the whole system lithium batteries aren't worth it with all the extra stuff you have to buy.
@@UniqueAdventurez I see no beauty with lithium bought 3 200 but when i FOUND OUT YOU NEED THIS OR THAT WITH IT TO WORK it's like paying twice I resold to someone who already had the proper set up for it I stick with the "KISS" formula , keep it simple stupid.
@@leopoldpoppenberger8692 there are some extra cost for sure with lithium. Also did a video on that as well. You can drop them in , but only get 85% of the power output. Upgrading the charge converter or adding a small solar array will allow for the right charging profiles to get up to 100%.
I’m running two 12v with a 190 watt roof mounted solar. I never use the camper off the grid so it works for me.
Sounds like the 12vs are good for your option. If you don’t boondock often and have enough solar to keep you topped off then you got the right setup for your situation. Thanks for leaving the great comment !
Can you show how to hook up 6 , six volt batteries from a golf cart to use as a storage bank on a 12 volt solar pane
Great video Glen! We have been researching battery upgrades- We have four 6 volt- 100 amp house batteries in our RV- We are wanting lithium but don't want to pay for them- Chasing RV Sunshine ☀️ Joel, Deb & 🐕 Maya
lithium is a big jump, but is totally worth it if you do plan on doing a fair amount of dry camping. the difference starts to add up when you can camp more basic and save some money here and there. But 4 6volt batteries is no slouch of a system. A lot of great battery options out there. thanks for checking out the video !
I am running 2 12v batteries. Only because I started with 1, then a couple months later when I added a portable fridge to my van I added a 2nd 12v battery because I didn't want my original battery to go to waste.
that’s a good point for sure. our new trailer we just bought came with 2 12v bstreries , but won’t be able to keep up with the 12v fridge. An option is always selling them to someone who is ok running a basic 12v battery as well, just so they don’t go to waste. But at the end of the day if the 2 12v batteries work for your application and power needs, then go with it ! Thanks for the great comment !
@@UniqueAdventurez
I too have a new trailer, it's a 2022 Cougar with a 200 watt solar panel and 2 standard 12v batteries, and it won't go 4 hours into dark without the 12volt fridge sucking all the power out of them. By morning the volts will be about 11.6... I hear thats a damaging low.Is that about how long yours lasted? Should I expect two 6v's to get me to daylight? Thanks for the video, great job. Just for a little clarity when you say go down to 50% is that roughly 12.3 volts?
Thanks for clip, exactly what I was needing to know. And, go Utes!
Thanks for the comment , and yes , GO Utes !!! Good luck with your rv batteries.
Very important information. We're considering lithium but the price keeps us thinking.
Lithium is a investment , but it definitely has cost savings over the long haul. Plus in your Tab a smaller footprint of batteries and lighter weight might be appealing. Thanks for the checking out the video !
Thinking about using my RV battery to power a Starlink Mini. Seems like the Starlink draws about 30ish watts while operating. What gauge wire should I use and how long can that wire be? Obviously the Starlink needs a clear view of the sky which sometimes means placing it away from the RV some distance.
Great questions Lawson. There are some great tables online that can help with conversion. Just google “power wire gauge” and some stuff will come up. For your circumstance I would recommend 14 gauge should get you up to 70-80 feet if needed , that’s also buffering some extra wattage and extra distance for you 30 watt need. But you should be safe with that.
Hope that helps and thanks for the comment !
I have this same set up in my RV. What do you use to trickle charge the batteries. Are you charging each battery or just charging the series together as 1 big battery?
@@GrillManDan when we had this 6v setup we just charged with a trickle charger as we took them out of the trailer yearly and plug them in for a couple hours once a week. Charged as 1 12v battery.
What about the charger & converter that came with rv. Do we need to upgrade too?
Great question. With either 6v batteries or 12v batteries as we describe, you don’t need to change chargers or converters. The only time that is really need I believe is when you upgrade to lithium. I know some solar chargers controllers have settings for AGM batteries , but with the current battery options out there I wouldn’t recommend AGM to anyone.
Good sharing I enjoyed this so much 👍
Happy new year friend thanks for sharing With Us with my support 🥰 💓
Thanks for supporting the channel !
excellent explanation 👍 one ? when we get back from camping i always plug my camper in at my house does that hurt the batteries constantly having a charge we have a 12v fridge reason why i plug it in
Great question Kyle, I don’t think it hurts to keep them topped off. But shouldn’t need to be plugged in all the time. Unless you are running your 12v fridge , then you most certainly want to have it plugged in.
I am just starting out want to boondocks with my camper got 2 6v 350 ah batteries. 400 watt solar panels. Will that work for now. I can get more batteries if needed
Sounds like you got a decent set of batteries if you got 350ah and 400 watts of solar. I definitely would trial out your usage dry camping and make adjustments on your power needs. Happy camping !!
Do I need to upgrade anything else on my rv to go from one 12v to two 6v batteries? I believe with lithium you need to upgrade your inverter and add a dc/dc charger so your truck can charge your batteries. I just want to make sure there is nothing crazy like that for this two 6v system. Great video by the way!
Appreciate the feedback. Not much is needed . Just the jump wire to make the 2 6volts a 12v system and new battery boxes (6volts are taller than 12 volts). No change in charging profile. Hope that help you out and feel free to reach out if you have more questions!
Thank you for the in depth video .. I like the 2 6v battery setup. Keep it up :)
Appreciate the kind words , we truly thank you for the feedback. The 6vs are definitely a great option for minimal cost !
Awesoemn video. Clear and informative. Thanks
Appreciate the great comment . Glad it helped you out !!
Thanks for the excellent video. In the same vane, I'm building a small solar/battery system to run the needs of a small work shed to power saw, drills, a standard refrigerator and other misc. tools. I'm thinking in the neighborhood of 600 to 800 watts and pairing with either 2 100 AH 12 volt or 1 200 AH 12 volt. Which, in your opinion would work better? Thanks for your time.
Thanks for the comment. For your question. Looks like you have some high wattage items on that list. It all depends on where you live and how much sum you get to see if that is enough solar. A standard house fridge would need an inverter to convert from AC to DC power , which you will have some power loss and would need to be at minimum of 2-3k watts, you may not have enough power with 200ah of standard 12 volt lead acid batteries (as you can only safely use 100ah at that point.
Plus most table saws run around 1800 watts, so a 1800 watt discharge coverted to 12v is 150 amp draw. I know if i was doing this for lithium I would most likely do 2 batteries at it ususally doubles the discharge rate ( as they would have 2 sepereate battery management systems or BMS's).
I wouldn't be as concerned starting with the 600-800 watts of solar, that would bring you in a good chunk of power, but I think you might need some more batteries to run it independently. Hope that helps some.
Feel free to keep chatting about your questions as this is a great question.
If my 5th wheel currently has two 12v, can I get two 6v and have enough power or would I need four 6v?
depends on your power needs , but you should increase at least 30% in power going from 12v to a 6v setup
Super helpful!! I'm new to the RV world having just inherited my parent's class A coach. The batteries need replacing so I started looking at 6v. So you're good with the Interstate batteries? I've gotten my car batteries at CostCo for years, but being new to RV'ing, I'm a bit nervous about the 6v. Talk me off the cliff....thanks!
The 6v batteries will supply more power than the dual 12s. The GC2s at Costco are good batteries and the interstate batteries have always been good. Should be around 100 per battery. The only thing with lead acid batteries is just not using past 50% capacity and maintaining the water levels inside the batteries.
If you are doing light BOONDOCKING with not too extensive power needs or you have generator to recharge, then these are tote ticket. Any high power needs or massive power consumption then I would look towards lithium. But that is more spendy.
We had the GC2s from Costco in for 2.5 years with no problems. Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other questions !
I just bought a trailer and a friend recommended this exact setup. I am thinking of getting a solar panel to be able to extend the time I can spend dry camping. What size solar panel do you think I should get to keep this setup running?
Teo, great question. It really depends on your power needs and consumption and the style of camping you do. Our 1st trailer which had a propane fridge and basic power needs we used about 25 ah a day. So 100 watts in decent sun should be able to keep up with 25ah of usage.
Our new trailer has a 12v fridge and consumes roughly 80-100ah a day. So it really depends on how much power you are using. If it needs to be a portable panel I would probably start with a 100-200watt suitcase. Most people can get by with that.
One downside to solar---if you have it installed n the roof great---but if you use it on the ground you run the risk of it getting stolen when away from your camper. Just a thought, I've had two taken.
Twin 6vdc Trojan T105's!
Solid option indeed !!
Very interesting 👍😃
Appreciate you checking out the video !
Great content, thanks. It helped
appreciate the comment , really helps us out ! Glad you got something out of it.
I just purchased 2006 crescendo motor home on Air stream diesel cumming. I drove from Richmond Indiana to Nevada.
No problems. I parked for two days. Try to start it, had no power to the engine or dash monitors. Checked disconnects switch, ok. And the motor home plugged into 110. The generator starts OK. Not sure which battery bank is used for the generator. Chassis or coach. Any help here would be appreciated. also two 6v batteries in series for 12 volts.
I would think from what you have described and what research I did with motorhomes I believe the coach batteries power the generator. The chassis battery will charge the coach batteries , and the coach batteries should power the generator. Looks like the chassis battery might have failed. If it’s new to you I would probably take them all to the auto parts store and have them bench tested to see where you stand. Hope that helps !! Thanks for the great question.
If you don't boondock, why would switching to 6volts ever be worth the extra cost?
Good point as we mentioned about your camping style being a factor. If you don’t dry camp then the 12v setup may just work instead of the upgrade.
I really want try a comparison video of equal AH 6V vs 12V systems. I have 4 group 31 AGM 100AH 12V batteries in parallel for the total battery cost of $485. Since AH dont increase in series if i had 4 of these 6V batteries, 2 series pairs then paralleled it would be essentially the same AH rating and pretty much the same weight.
True , but also twice the footprint !!
Great video. Thank you
Appreciate the feedback , hope it helped !!
Do you think adding à solar pannel on them To charge them would be enouth?
Depends on your power needs , how you camp and where you are geographically located. But any amount of solar is better than nothing.
Located in Québec i have a dire stove in my 23 feets camper 2 12volts battery and 2 propane tanks looking forward to have 4x 100w solar panel now I only have 1
thank you i will try it.
Keep us posted on how it comes out !
My RV uses 4 6V Golf cart batteries. Would I get more amp hours if I ran 4 12V Deep Cycle Marine batteries? Walmart sells 12V Marine batteries for $97 each which is actually cheaper than the ^V Golf cart batteries that cost $150 each at Napa.
I don’t believe so. But would need to run the capacity rating of n the 12v batteries you are speaking of. But usually it’s like 50-60 amp hours per 12 v deep cycle marine batteries.
They will be cheaper , but will cut your power bank down by close to 50-60%
@@UniqueAdventurez Ok. I'll stick to the golf cart batteries. Thank you.
Very helpful!
Appreciate the feedback Dustin !!
right now i have 2-12volt batteries . but have space next to generator to add 2-4 (6volt). could add 6 volt batteries with my 12 volt batteries?
I think you could in a pinch becuase when you take 2 6v batteries you are essentially making a 12 v battery. The issue becomes with battery power capacity as you will want the batteries capacity to match to provide for extra charging. I would strongly reccomed either going with the 6v's or also looking at lithium. If weight isn't an issue then the 6v's would probably do. Let us know what you end up with !!!
My motorhome has 2 6 volt batteries is it okay to replace them with 2 12 volt lithium batteries. I plan on installing solar panels and a victron charge controller and inverter.
That is correct . No issues going to lithium from 6volts as 6 volts are wired in series to make a 12v battery bank. A lot of upfront cost , but usually cheaper in the long run to go lithium. Thanks for the comment !
What dose the two 6 volt batteries do to my charging system on my ,, trailer,,, and or pickup ?
Good question,will be no different with charging from a traditional 12v setup as the 2 6v batteries make a 12v system. the only change is increased battery capacity. Hopefully I answered your question right . safe travels
Thank you
Your welcome !! Hope it helps you out!
I just did this for my TT but now my fuse box fan is constantly running while plugged in to my house. Is that okay?
That can you are hearing from your fuse box is the charge converter. This is a normal occurrence when you are plugged in ! Great question !
Great information 👍
thanks for checking it out as always !
Do you have one box for 2 ? Were do you get the box. Thank you.
Yes, that is 1 box for 2 batteries. You can order though Amazon or go to a batteries plus store. Just make sure you tell them if you are doing a 6v GC2 or a regular 12 volt deep cycle battery. The 6v batteries are taller than the 12 volts. Hope that helps
lithium is getting cheaper every day, and soon the cost difference will be minimal. for example, today a pair of costco 6-volt gc2's run about $200 a pair for 105ah usable capacity, a li time 100ah lifepo4 battery is $279, for $80 difference you get almost the same usable capacity, physically smaller and lighter, and a much longer usable lifespan.
You are 1000% spot on. I have mentioned in some of my other battery videos (6v vs lithium) that there will be a point here in the next couple of years (video is over a year old) where it just wont make sense. We are hovering close to that as you have stated. The competition and manufactures that are producing these batteries are continuing to bring the price down (great for the consumer). There is a small percentage that would benefit from a 6v setup , but is shrinks by the day. Great comment !!!
How you conect on the rv if’s 1 battery motor and the others 2 how
Are you talking about a motor home type setup ?
This is one of the best/easiest/cheapest upgrades a trailer owner can do. We have 2 six volt batteries and the built in solar panels on the Geopro gives us plenty of battery power when we need it. If you add an 2nd 12volt you also add a lot of weight vs 2 six volts right?
1000%. the best budget mod for the money for sure. weight might actually be more with the 6volt setup, but for the power increases it’s worth it. Glad you are getting good use out of your 6 volt system.
How come you didn't go with AGM? THANKS
Great question. At the time we wanted a more budget friendly setup. The AGM provides a maintenience free setup, but is still limeted by the same constraints as the 6v setup (50% discharge). For us it wasn' worth the extra money, and the last time I checked , AGM is a pretty penny more. Thanks for the great question !
What about charging with solar ?
I don't think there will be any difference with 6v vs 12v with charging as they both use the same lead acid system. The differences really come evident when you change into solar. Lead acid batteries cant take a huge amount of charge at a time compared to lithium , so its just a slower constant charge, especially when you get close to being full. Hope that helps !!!
Nice info! -S
appreciate you guys coming and checking out the video !
Can u do a how set up 4 6v battery bank for rv
i will put that idea into a video and its a great question. Essentially you would be running a series parallel setup where you would have 2 banks of 2 6v batteries.
@@UniqueAdventurez isnt different 6v at 65ah or 12v 65ah? Basically 2 6v 65ah same as one 12v 130ah?
@@serega4087 not really. Depending on how the wiring goes you either multiply the amp hours or the voltage, for example.
If you wire the 6v 65 ah batteries in series then you increase the voltage , so it would be a 12v 65hr battery.
If you wire the 6v 65ah battery in parallel, then you would have a 6v 130ah battery bank.
There is a way to do series parallel , but you need 4 batteries to accomplish this. Hopefully it makes sense , let me know if it doesn’t and maybe I can do another video on it.
What battery setup do you use ? 6 volts are a cheap way to upgrade your RV power for sure.
👍👍
Thank you !
Why NOT talk about Deep Cycle 12 volt???? Those don't have the weakness of starting batteries.
These are the types of batteries that manufacturers and dealers are placing in these trailers.
Good AGM batteries aren't much more expensive and are maintenance free and can be used n any position.
AGMs do shine with the ability to be maintenance free, but with the cost at 200$ + per battery doesn't provide the best value as it still has to abide by the 50% DOD rule. for 200$ you can get 100ah usable with the 6v setup vs 50 ah usable for the same cost with AGM. I think the market is shrinking for AGMs and RV use. if you are needing a 200 ah AGM (100 ah usable ) you are almost getting up to lithium pricing and at that point I would suggest going to lithium for weight and longevity / increased amount of cycles.
@@UniqueAdventurez I just bought two Aims agm 6v 225 amp hour batteries, they showed up Saturday. $219 ea + $40 to ship the pair, so yeah, $239 ea. Ainsworth in Reno, NV. Did I do ok? We'll see!
@@bob_frazier it just for budget reasons your setup is getting into lithium type of money for the same usable amp hours. new 100 ah SOK lithium battery is under 600, which is what we have now. But there are decent lithium brands in the 400-500 range. Not that it won’t work , far from it you will probably be happy with the AGMs. But for a fraction of the weight and space you could be in lithium at that price. Hope the setup works well for you my friend !!
@@UniqueAdventurez I really appreciate you taking the time to have this conversation! My concerns about Lithium were simply having to change out my inverter and so on, this way everything's the same, but yeah, the weight is 140 pounds for the two batteries. Oof!!!
You didn't mention if you had solar
On our first trailer , we didn’t have solar. Our current trailer has 380 watts on the roof
I’m looking at these batteries for my trailer and the reviews are horrible.
I think over the past year they have been hit or miss. The good thing with Costco is if you are going to have issues it should be during the warranty period and then you could just take them back. Gotta love Costco !!
F. You endorsed batteries in parallel, a faulty installation for the ignorant public. Golf cart batteries? Besides cost, flooded batteries can be dry charged until you need them and the electrolyte can be diluted for longer life.
Parallel on a 12v system is what most people are doing, not many people have 24v systems on a basic setup and is a bit more advanced. Series on the 6 volt system to maintain a 12v setup.
@@UniqueAdventurez Wrong. Popular? Yes. Sound? No. Batteries in parallel fight each other. Let WW2 Germany endorse batteries in parallel. They lost half their Panzer 4 tanks to batteries in parallel. A simple isolation switch would have solved their problem. A RUclips creator is a teacher. Get it right, then post it up. Try a US WW2 battery Training manual. They got it right. No batteries wired in parallel.
Takes too long to get to the point.
Lot of information to get in .
Bad video
What would you have wanted different in the video ?
Why not 2 12v batteries
For the cost the 6vs carry more capacity with a smaller footprint . It would take 3-4 12 v batteries to equal the power output of some of the 6v setups
If you're not sure how much use a person can get out of a 12v battery that renders your video pointless.
Your video wad supposed to discuss the possibility of 2 6v batteries being an upgrade as compared to a single 12v battery. But at 2:44min you say you aren't too terribly sure how much you can run on a 12v battery. So WTF?! Maybe find something you know about and make a video about mmmmmmmmmmnnńĥú⁵t
Personally not every 12v battery is created equal . Plus everyone’s power needs are different. What I do know is that in the instance we talked about with our batteries adding 1 12 battery was going to be less amp hours than going to a 6v setup. But at the end of the day everything depends on an individuals power needs.