House Battery(s)

We do not boondock therefore I am asking this about the house batteries.  Ours 2008 2350 came with 2 12v house batteries.  Does the slide use the house batteries?  If so, will just 1 12v work ok?

Thanks, Bob

Hi Bob,

Yes, but I advise to buy the ideal battery.

I wonder if having one 12V AGM battery would be better than two 12V wet acid batteries because of my past troubles with two different pairs of 12V house batteries that seemed to fight each other.  One always drained much faster than the other, the imbalance always causing boil-overs during charging.  In the case with both pairs, the condition weakens the battery pack which got noticeably worse by year #3,  and a disaster by year #4.

I switched to two 6V AGM batteries which has been a real blessing for more battery reserves for boondocking, battery tray cleanliness, and retaining good clean reliable battery connections.

If going "AGM", your on board Tripp-Lite inverter would need to be configured for AGM technology.  The time spent is reading through your Tripp-Lite owners manual.  You flip a switch or two and you are all set.

We do not boondock therefore I am asking this about the house batteries.  Ours 2008 2350 came with 2 12v house batteries.  Does the slide use the house batteries?  If so, will just 1 12v work ok?

Of course 1 is still 12v, but why. Everything in your coach operates from those batteries except the step.

The battery slide-out tray holds two and the water is easy to check, why buy AGM, more money.
If you don't let them discharge below 12v ever, those batteries will last over 8 years.

Ron,  Thanks for the input.  I agree with the batteries eating each other up. 

John,  Thanks for your input.   Just cus I gotta a tray that pulls out, it ain't easy to check and fill.  The weight of the 2 batteries could be up to 140 lbs.  Excess weight to carry for no real reason.

Bob,

Is your battery compartment exposed to the rear tires?  It was so on our 2007 when we bought it.  Long ago, I reconfigured the battery cables SHOWN HERE to add a shield which worked out okay.  It was not as smooth working the battery tray afterwards, but it was still better than all the road grime and pavement water going all over the battery terminals & cables, the tray, and drawer glides.  I completely resolved the cable bend resistance when removing the battery tray and installing the two taller AGM 6V batteries.  Without a battery tray, my PC battery compartment today SHOWN HERE requires maintenance-free batteries which I am perfectly fine with.

With one 12V AGM battery in the tray along with a protective shield, the only time you would slide out the tray is when replacing the battery.  And with one battery and lots of extra room, the cables will be easier to handle when operating the tray.

If you wonder, our 6V AGM batteries are notably heavier than my 12V wet acid batteries were.  I bought them (Duracell brand) from Sam's club at about twice the price of conventional lead acid deep cycle 12V batteries.  So far they have lasted more than twice that of our old 12Vs, and they are not problematic yet.  Also, they hold a lot more energy for boondocking which I realize is not important to you.