I've noticed alot of people switching to golf cart 6V batteries in their RVs. What are the advantages/disadvantages to that?

Because they have more lead and thusly hold\store more energy.

Example....Optima Yellow top= 44lbs Trojan T-125= 66lbs

Got tired of my 12 volts running down in the middle of a cold night. Nothing like waking up to cold air blowing from the heater cuz there is not enough juice left to let the furnace stay lit at 4am. A couple of 6v's and I've never thought about it again.

So, more Ah than a deep cycle Marine?

When they are wired in, it's like having one big 125lb. 12v battery.

I use 6 volt also heater problem gone

X 3. Best thing I ever did to the RV.

Did mine last week! I can't wait for a cold night in the dunes!

my two trojans have NEVER gone dead and trust me my wife tests them a lot. Before with 12V's they would go dead every once in a while in the middle of the night.

Capacity and longevity for the multiple deep discharges the battery will see over it's lifetime. I suspect once socaldmax sees this thread, he'll have a nice tasty technical explanation..

6 volt batterys are "designed" for long use (amp hours), and discharging/re-charging. That is their design. Perfect for Inverters and lots of DC use. Been using them for many years in the offshore-marine use. Perfect for RVs and trailers.

This is a great explanation. 6V golf cart batteries are designed for the abuse of drunken golfers who abuse the crap out of the carts and lazy employees who don't maintain them as well as they should. They have much thicker plates for more power over a longer period. They can take a lot more deeper discharges and still bounce back, and they're much cheaper than deep cycle batteries. I've seen some deep cyle or RV batteries sell for over $200 ea., Costco sells golf cart batteries as low as $75 ea.

1 optima yellow or blue top deep cycle 12 volter has 55 amp hrs cost $179 each. 2 6 volt US 2200's has 232 amp hrs cost $90 each. All the math you need.

Where have you seen the US 2200s for $90??? Thats a pretty good deal!!!

bought four of them here in June. Had to have them price match one of their local competitors but they did.
Battery Systems
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480-968-8068

2 six volt deep cycle batteries will last longer than (4) 12 volt batteries under the same conditions. I have proved it with customers over 13-14 years ago when I worked at 3 different RV dealerships. I just bought my 39' GearBox and you can bet that when those batteries give me 1 minute of problem/trouble, they're out and I'll get 2 6 volt ones to replace them.

Trojans are good, and there was one we used that were oil filled, I think. Was it the Trojans? That was a while ago since I worked there. Oh well, I've ate, slept, and drank since then!!!


BBTank

I'm sure this has been beaten to death, but...

The trailer is ready for a battery swap... you guys have convinced me to go 6-volt. I currently have 2 12 volts and I'm going to 2 6 volts... but my question is - Do I need to upgrade/swap out anything else? Does everything else work like it did before or do I need to change anything else to make it work?

The way it was explained to me all you have to do is swap out the 12s for 6s (wired properly obviously)... however I heard someone mention having to upgrade their converter or something. School me please... hoping to do the swap this before hitting the dunes this weekend.

Your two 6 volts wired together will act like a 12 volt battery, period. Nothing else will be needed. Enjoy!

I had to upgrade my converter. It seemed to take a lot more to charge the 2 6volts than the 2 12s. My lights started blinking everytime I ran the converter, until it finally died. I had a small 30amp and went to a 55 amp converter. No problems since.

Had that same problem. Lights would flicker. Bought a 55Amp Iota off Ebay, problem solved.

I had to buy deeper battery boxes.

When my two 12 volts die, I am going to go to 6 volts. But, is it worth it to go to four 6 volts on a 26 foot toyhauler? I have the Onan 4000 Microquiet generator. Any issues I should worry about if I go this route?

Thanks

It all depends on how much power you are going to use and how much room you have for the batteries. On our toyhauler I am using two Trojan T-125's which are a little taller and have more capacity than the T-105's and regular RV/marine batteries. I went with taller batteries instead of having a rack welded on for four batteries. As far as 6V being cheaper I don't think that is the case anymore. The good 6V batteries were about $120 each.

Just remember that 6V batteries probably won't fit in your old battery boxes and you'll have to find new ones. I found mine at Camping World for about $15 each.

Fabricating and welding a rack for 4 6 volts is exactly what I am thinking of doing. Just by looking at the propane tanks I think I would have to put them on top of the rack for the two additional batteries. I guess I would have to see once I start doing it and play around with things to see how it would all fit together.

My question though is would my generator have any problems charging four 6 volts? I eventually want to put in a good inverter so that we don't have to turn on the generator to watch TV, etc. and the 4 6 volts would give me peace of mind. the 2 12 volts have died om me before and I have had to turn on my truck to charge them just enough to get the generator running. Hate that!

I would get the 6 volts at Costco, any problems with 'em and they go back, 100% refund, no questions asked. Battery boxes are cheap enough not to worry about.

Fabricating and welding a rack for 4 6 volts is exactly what I am thinking of doing. Just by looking at the propane tanks I think I would have to put them on top of the rack for the two additional batteries. I guess I would have to see once I start doing it and play around with things to see how it would all fit together.

My question though is would my generator have any problems charging four 6 volts? I eventually want to put in a good inverter so that we don't have to turn on the generator to watch TV, etc. and the 4 6 volts would give me peace of mind. the 2 12 volts have died om me before and I have had to turn on my truck to charge them just enough to get the generator running. Hate that!

I would get the 6 volts at Costco, any problems with 'em and they go back, 100% refund, no questions asked. Battery boxes are cheap enough not to worry about.

The Gen will have no prob charging 4 6 volts, That is the same set-up in my Moho!