Battery

[Chris C]

Does anyone have any recommendations on the most economical place to purchase a Blue Top Optima Battery?

[madjack]

http://www.1st-optima-batteries.com/ best price I have found on the web, with the free shipping it even beats out local distributors because of sales tax
madjack

[Chris C]

Thanks, Madjack, that's the site I'd settled on, but just wanted to make sure I wasn't leaving too much money on the table!

[Larwyn]

I gave up, quit shopping, paid around $160 including state sales tax at Sam's Club.

Oh, and I have yet to go back with an old battery for my $8.00 "core charge/regund".

[asianflava]

Yup, Sam's Club for me too.

I was going to buy one when I was in FL, I made some money at our stop over in Biloxi plus sales tax is a little cheaper. I went to a Sam's Club in Clearwater and the had the Exide Spiral batteries instead. Pretty much the same guts, but not what I wanted.

[GeorgeTelford]

Hi Chris

You could save loads and by a normal battery, What would make you want an Optima?

[Chris C]

From what I've heard from others, and read, it seems that the deep cycle Optima is the best thing out there for long term usage. I plan on being hooked up to AC electricity about 5% of the time I camp.

[Chris C]

George,

You never came back about the battery. Other than cost, what is your objection to Optima?....................and what other battery would you recommend, and why? I'm open to opinions here.

[Chip]

Chris,, If I am reading ya right you are seldom gonna be hooked up to shore power and are gonna rely on battery for everything,,, in that case I would want the most battery I could find,,, but in my case I very seldom go without 120V power so anything larger than a small battery is wasted money,,, I usually leave it home when shore power is available and use a 120/12V convertor,,

A lot will depend on the access to power you are gonna have when in da woods,,

chipper

[GeorgeTelford]

Hi Chris

I you are going to spend that kind of money, outright the best deep cycle battery is a traction battery.

Optima's are pretty decent batteries, traction will beat em hands down for the money though.

[Chris C]

I'm afraid I've never read any literature describing a traction battery. What is it? Is it an AGM?

[GeorgeTelford]

Hi Chris

No its the type of lead acid battery used for forklifts and golf carts.

[Chris C]

Oh, okay. I'll do a Google search and see what I can find. Do you think it's better than an AGM?

[Chris C]

Chris,, If I am reading ya right you are seldom gonna be hooked up to shore power and are gonna rely on battery for everything,,, in that case I would want the most battery I could find,,, but in my case I very seldom go without 120V power so anything larger than a small battery is wasted money,,, I usually leave it home when shore power is available and use a 120/12V convertor,,

A lot will depend on the access to power you are gonna have when in da woods,,

chipper

Yes, Chip, you're right, I'll be using battery as primary. I really don't care for organized camping, so AC won't normally be available. I'll try to pop into an organized campground every 3 or 4 days unless I invest in a Honda generator. Even then, I'll only use the generator to recharge the battery. My girlfriend's C-PAP machine uses 40 amps a night, and there will be the normal interior lights, ground lights, galley lights, and eventually a DVD player and flat-screen. So I agree, get the biggest dang battery I can afford money/weight wise.

[Italia]

Hi Guys,

I also expect to be mainly camping in the sticks. I plan to use 2 -6volt
golf cart batteries wired together to get 12 volts and then wired to a 1200 watt inverter. The tow vehicle uses a 7 prong plug so that the trailer batteries can be recharged when the tow vehicle is running and an isolator installed on the trailer to keep the trailer from discharging the tow vehicle battery when the tow vehicle isn't running. I plan to use my electric chainsaw and other 120 electric tools for short periods of time. Down side is the weight, and both batteries and inverter should probably be mounted in the kitchen area to keep from adversely affecting the tongue weight. It is a bit of space sacrifice and certainly not for everyone so I guess you just got to want it.
Dan