Agm battery replacement

[dennis 221]

So I emailed stock battery people, none in stock an $155.00 to ship. So after reading all the posts on here.???? For you that have stayed amg 75ah. what brand do you suggest .would love to hear from those that have done this. Thanks ps.not interested in lithium upgrade

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

East Penn Intimidator/Deka is what ATC uses. No complaints from me.

 

[fish more]

I bought my replacement batteries from Batteries Plus. They have several options for AGM Batteries.

 

[steve whiteside]

costco!

 

[ckent323]

I use two 6 v, deep cycle, Lifeline 220 Ah AGM batteries in our camper.

Heavy but they have served us well since 2017.

They are under the rollover couch. I use the original battery, less than convenient, location for storage of vehicle recovery straps and shackles.

 

[pvstoy]

Your space is going to govern what size batteries you can put back into that same space.

 

[dennis 221]

WS.that's who I emailed none in stock an shipping price is nuts.but I do like their battery

 

[dennis 221]

Thanks fish more..that's y I want news batteries, to fish more.trip to Alaska next year

 

[ckent323]

We drove our truck with FWC camper to/from Anchorage in 2018 (something like 65 days) and we took the ferry to Whittier (with stops in Ketchikan, and Juneau) and drove back in 2021 going through Jasper, Banff, Wyoming , Iowa and then Colorado and home to California (82 days).

I am glad we had 220 Ah (110 Ah usable) of battery and the 200 W of solar in 2018 and happier that we had a 360 w solar panel in 2021. Both trips had multiple days of heavy cloud cover and rain. While a number of camping locations had power many did not. We never had to run our batteries below 50% SOC on either trip but on the 2018 trip I had to manage the electrical use closely. On the 2021 trip we always had plenty of power.

 

[Beach]

Renogy AGM

 

[CPT Davenport]

I have had amazing results from VMAX AGM batteries. I have a set of 155ah that were in my camper for 5 years then moved to my off grid cabin for the last 5 years. 10 years old and still running strong. I never let them get below 50% ever. I have also used VMAX in several boats as a trolling motor power supply. Again, great results and they respond quite well to solar charging.

Free shipping from the big A is a bonus as they are quite heavy.

 

[craig333]

I'll second the vmax. I didn't even want to mention I had chinese batteries for years before I decided they were good batts. Free shipping for something that heavy really sold me.

Eight years later I'm starting to see some degradation. Taking a bit longer to charge now.

 

[JWL]

I have never been happy with my Deka (stock) battery from day one. My camper was built during the first Covid shutdown and I’m assuming the battery was left discharged or something so it never rested at a full charge. So after 2 years I’m think about replacing as well.
But I have to ask. With the price of Lithium batteries going down and in some cases the same as the better AGM’s listed Here, why not go Lithium. I used to be concerned about the wiring issues etc but after reading KP’s Manifesto?? It just seems the positives far outweigh the negatives.

 

[dennis 221]

So which 75 ah VMAX AGM ?? they have lots of them listed..they look like a good option. Thanks

 

[CPT Davenport]

So which 75 ah VMAX AGM ?? they have lots of them listed..they look like a good option. Thanks

In my opinion, a 75ah AGM has insufficient storage capacity for our rigs with only 37.5ah of usable power. I would recommend getting the largest 12v (or combo of 6v) ah battery you can fit, also remember that they are super heavy.

I know you mentioned not wanting lithium (perhaps due to charging issues in below freezing temps?), but here is a quick weight to power comparison between my previous set up and current system.

Amazon a pair of 155ah AGM run $600 and have a combined weight of 180lbs with a usable 155ah of juice.

Amazon single 206ah lithium is $1029 and weighs in at 47.6lbs with a full 206ah of useable power.

Saving weight in my rig is a concern so for my application and the average temps I camp in, the benefits of switching to lithium was worth the increase in price. Well over twice the storage capacity and only 1/4 of the weight.

That said, after 10 years of service my AGMs are bullet proof and are still serving me well powering my off grid cabin up north.

Form follows function, the choice is yours.