Hi all. I recently purchased a 2008 Inspire CC Founders Edition. I am a newbie but we've used it some and have really enjoyed it. The house batteries in my coach are old and need to be replaced. I currently have 4 Interstate Golf Cart batteries. They are 6 volt. Where could I find information confirming that these are the correct batteries?
I looked online at reviews for these batteries and of course, most people put them in their golf carts but the reviews were not very good. I am open to other batteries, but given that the wiring is already set up for 4 batteries, if possible I would like to continue with 4 and ideally they will be around the same size as the Interstate batteries in place now.
I do not anticipate we will boondock very often and when we do, I would anticipate running the generator continuously anyway. We are in Texas and while we intend to travel throughout the country, I doubt we will ever be in extreme cold temperatures if any of this matters.
Any advise is most appreciated.
There are better batteries than what you or I have but you need to do a cost trade off. I use whatever four 6 volt golf cart batteries that Sam's sells. The last set and the previous set I bought are 220 amp-hr and the four give me 220 amp-hr usable power. I ran my last set for a little more than 5 years. I was pleasantly surprised that they lasted that long and had I been willing to live with less capacity I could have easily gotten another year out of them.
I can easily run my 2000 Magna overnight with a residential refrigerator before I need to recharge the batteries. My boon docking is usually an overnight stay at Walmart or similar and I usually arrive with the house batteries fully charged. If it I need to cool or heat the motor home I'll do so with the generator running until I go to bed and then I'll shut things down and rely on the inverter to power the refrigerator. In the morning I start the generator to make coffee and use the microwave and begin charging the batteries before I start rolling down the road.
Assuming that you are staying with wet cell lead-acid batteries, I highly recommend Trojan T-105 batteries. We have been on the road (mostly full-time) for 25 years and these batteries have lasted in excess of 8 years each time with good care. We have replaced them at the 8 year point, not because they have gone bad, but to be on the safe side because they are 8 years old. I'm a believer.
Take a look at Crown golf cart batteries too -- something like the CR-235 model. Probably at least as good as comparable Trojan batteries and also a bit easier on the wallet. The set we installed nearly 12 years ago on the recommendation of an FMCA rally seminar presentation are still going strong.