battery question

   / battery question #1  

Billc

Gold Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2000
Messages
357
Location
Northwest Georgia
Tractor
Kubota 5400 4x4 with ROPS, canopy, 1001 loader, heavy duty quick release bucket with tooth bar, 280 Bush Hog brush cutter, 6' Bush Hog box blade, 6' Bush Hog plug aerator, 3 point hay spear, 6' Lands
Yet another question that has nothing to do with tractors.

I need a new battery for the 5th wheel. There is a battery company called Optima. They are suppose to put out a great battery. I need a marine deep cycle battery. Here's my question: The Optima battery is $199. That's big time expensive for a battery. I can get a marine deep cycle from Wallyworld for maybe $50. I understand the Optima is a lot better, is it $150 better? Anyone use them?

Thanks for any info.

Bill Cook
 
   / battery question #2  
Bill, What makes the Optima so much better for the size? Is it a gell cell battery? An oil filled battery?

First what size battery are you looking for-srm24/27or29?
Do you have an inverter in your trailer?
Second your 5th wheel has only one battery?
If it has two batteries they should be replaced at the same
time with the same type of battery.

For a deep cycle battery your looking for the battery with the largest plates. Bottom line. There is alot of hocus-pocus when it comes to batteries.
CCA is at 32 degrees
MCA is at 80 degrees
Both of the above numbers are sort of bogus when it comes to a marine deep cycle battery. The deep cycle is exactly that made to cycle down at a slower or longer time frame. So the amp hours of the battery comes into play. Cranking amps is for starting an engine, but it's used as a base on alot of batteries.

Another thing that comes into play is what type of converter you have in your trailer and also how you use the trailer.

A ferro-ressonant converter= higher 110 voltage in higher dc voltage out. Bad side dirty dc voltage, can have up to 6 volts ac on the dc voltage. Also the battery charger leg is usually only a few amps so once a battery is discharged it will take a couple of days to get it charged. Most people don't realize that!!!

Linear converter=constant dc voltage out reguardless of incoming a/c voltage. Bad side always putting out some amperage to the batteries. If the trailer is left plugged in for long periods of time and no dc is being used in the trailer, a linear will cook the batteries dry. Battery charging rate is up to the rated amp plate on the converter. Must have a battery to get a cleaner dc voltage.

Swithmode newest style of converters. Bumps the frequency up before switching to dc for a very clean voltage. Also will shut completly down so your battery wont be overcharged on most models.

Sorry for being long winded but for me a good Interstate battery would be fine. Make sure it's a marine deep cycle and not a marine starting battery. Go for the highest amphour for the same given time not the CCA of the battery.
Any other questions just ask------Did I even come close to answering your question?/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
Gordon
 
   / battery question #3  
Good on ya Gordon, for the battery/converter post!

Give us more anytime /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif !!

Larry
 
   / battery question #4  
{from Optima’s Web Site…}

Optima Batteries

<font color=blue>Longer Battery Life, Greater Savings. In performance tests, the Optima lasts longer than conventional, flat-plate batteries. Up to two to three times, providing years of reliability.</font color=blue>

Could be marketing hype… but you can have 4 or 5 batteries for the price of that One Optima… Hey, it’s your money.../w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

18-35197-JD5205JFMsignaturelogo.JPG
 
   / battery question #5  
My horse trailer is kind of like a travel trailer in that the front is a living quarters. I still have the original battery from when I bought the trailer in 1995, it's an interstate deep cycle rv battery. I paid around $40 for it from my uncle who's a dealer. It has been run down too many times to count from the girls and me leaving lights on. It always charges right up with no problem and will run lights and such for a weekend when we are camping or at a rodeo. I can't see how the optima could peform much better than this one has.

18-35034-TRACTO~1.GIF
 
   / battery question
  • Thread Starter
#6  
Gordon, you didn't give too much info. You have to understand that I'm a battery dunce. Reading your post the word "huh?" was used a lot. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif Funny, I'm a decent electrician, I can wire a house, no problem, but give me a battery to work with and I don't get it.

I'll get the info for the 5er later this week and post what I have. Any help you can give me is greatly appreciated.

There's only one battery in the 5er. It's used to extend the slideouts, turn on lights when I have it stored, little stuff like that. I don't dry camp. The problem is the battery I have is not sealed. It leaks. I take the battery out regularly and clean the battery area with baking soda and water. The battery is shot. As I said, I'll get my questions and info together later this week and torchure you with lots of "duh?" questions.

John, I'm coming up with the same conclusion you did. Why buy one Optima when I can buy 4 other batteries. I did go to the web sight. I called them but only got recorders. I called a sales rep in Atlanta that sells Optima products. He did a fine job of reading the pamplet to me.

Rich, we've been looking for a horse trailer with living quarters. We have a Sooner 4 horse trailer with a bare bones area up front. I want to add an airconditioner, bed, sink, and bench seat, presto, you have living quarters! I can do the work myself. BUT this isn't what Mama wants.

We go to Equitanna in Louisville evey year. Two years ago my wife went without me. She asked about getting a horse trailer with living quarters. I told her if she found a show stopper of a deal for $20,000 she could buy it. After one whole day there she called. She starts telling me about this trailer she found. Remember, we had decided that $20,000 was the limit. I specifically used the words "show stopper of a deal". We are real estate investors. My wife understands that you fall in love with the deal, not the house (read horse trailer here). So she's telling me about the trailer. She uses words like bathroom, kitchen, and mud room. I try to ask, "All of this for $20,000?" She won't let me get the sentence out. I'm thinking, this is a heck of a deal, we're buying this. Then she mentions slideouts. DING DING DING DING, the warning bells go off. I cut her off mid sentence. I ask her how much. She tries to go on telling me about what all it has, I cut her off again and ask how much. She tries to tell me about all the places we'll go riding, I cut her off and ask how much. This goes on 4 or 5 times. Finally she says it's only $40,000 MORE than the $20,000 I wanted to pay!!!!! Some how I managed to say no /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif.

Bill Cook
 
   / battery question #7  
Yea I know what you mean about the price Bill, STICKER SHOCK!!! I got a pretty good deal on mine. It's the smaller living quarters. What they call the weekender package. AC, toilet, sink, cab., water, lights, frig., etc. Mine is the 720 Sundowner four horse gooseneck. This one was a closeout model that the dealer here got from another dealer that went out of business. Then sundowner was having $2500 rebate on the 720's so I picked this one up for $22k. If you look on the internet you can find four or five year old ones for around the 20k range. My wife wants a shower and midtack in one so I've been looking around. The new prices have gone up so much that trade-in mine is still worth what I paid for it! But still I don't really want to sink another 10 or 15k into a horse trailer. There are also some really good places out there that can build you living quarters as well. Good luck in you search.

18-35034-TRACTO~1.GIF
 
   / battery question #8  
Let me see...if my math is correct using Dr. Rich's battery example... 6 years {and still going!} @ $40...

Why, that's 30 years of 5 batteries for the same as One Optima... /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif

Now the real question is... will the trailer last that long? /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

18-35197-JD5205JFMsignaturelogo.JPG
 
   / battery question #9  
I have the Optima in my truck. My brother-in-law uses them in his Jeep. All of the Medic units, as well as BC rigs, in the Fire district I work in use Optima's.

The Optima is a spiral core gel cell battery. That has some real benefits. One, it is a fully sealed battery; you do not have to worry about leakage or fumes in you RV. You can even mount the thing upside down if you like, so mounting is much more flexible.

The Optima is suppossed to last longer than a regular battery. I've only had mine for 3 years. But, my B-in-law has had his(two of them) for eight. He has taken them down hard under extreme winching conditions a number of times; they have handled it very well. One time he had a Winch supply wire rub through. It totally discharge one battery in a BIG hurry. It recovererd, and after repairs he was winching again in a few hours. They are basically the battery of choice for that application. Randy has also done on-trail welding when people have broken down; they supply plenty of current for that(Of course this is using his Premier welder)

My expierience is limited, but I see these batteries in a lot of emegency vehicles. They hold up very well to the load from all the lights, radios, ect.

The spiral gel cell is also less susceptible to vibration too, although that shouldn't be an issue in a 5th-wheel.

I need another battery for my Camper too; it is hard to justify the cost. But, for me the benefits do outweigh the cost. I won't winch with my camper, or run emergency lights and radios.

But, I do like the fact the it is clean, I don't have to worry about fumes, and it will last. In general you don't have to dink with the thing. It stays really clean, since there are no fumes. There is no fluid to check or top off. There's no gunk to get on your hands and clothes when you do need to take it out, or reinstall it.

RobertN in Shingle Springs Calif
 
   / battery question
  • Thread Starter
#10  
Thanks Rob, good post.

BC
 
 
Top