Batteries in New FWC Hawk

[Bwht4x4]

I pick up my new Hawk on Dec 23rd and I'm trying to figure out how to deal with the batteries.

I ordered the Auxiliary battery option, but what I'm not liking about the option is the fact that it comes with a group 24 battery and not a group 31 battery.

I don't plan on having a solar panel or a generator for quite some time. I also didn't get a refrig with the Hawk, but I did get the heater and the full LED light option. So other than the heater it's just the lights, fan and water pump needing power.

I'm considering just going with the single battery from FWC and then once home selling the new group 24 they give me and putting in two new group 31 batteries.

1. So, will one or even two group 31 batteries fit in the battery box on a newer Hawk ( know they're bigger than the group 24 batteries)?
2. Are two group 31 batteries total over kill?
3. If you order a 2nd deep cycle battery from FWC is it stored right next to the first battery or does FWC have to tweak the build to accommodate the second battery.

 

[fish more]

My pair of 24's work great, think about your weight, 31's are much heavier and take up much more room.

 

[Bwht4x4]

I'm wondering if I should stay with one battery and not go with duals. I could sell the group 24 battery that comes with the camper and buy a new group 31 battery for a little more power.

fish more; how long can you go on your dual group 24 batteries?

 

[SunMan]

I run a single group 31 using only lights (fluorescent), ARB fridge, H2O pump (infrequent) and fan (infrequent depending on season) and I get 3-4 days which rarely gets tested as we are ralmost never in one place that long. I've realized I just don't need solar. The furnace might be your only issue. I use an Olympian for heat.

 

[Bwht4x4]

Unless it was dead of winter and under 25 degrees at night I doubt we'd be using the heater all night long. I'm betting it wouldn't get used more then 4 hours in a single day.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

• So, will one or even two group 31 batteries fit in the battery box on a newer Hawk ( know they're bigger than the group 24 batteries)? I would check with FWC to get the dimensions on your battery box. It seems to me that when I asked about this for my Granby, they said that two group 31s would not fit.
• Are two group 31 batteries total over kill? My 2cents worth is that they are, unless you're staying in one spot for days on end, with no chance to connect to shore power. I would probably go with a second group 24, once you get delivery and see what you have for room, or for $200, you can order the portable solar in a bag. That is less than a AGM group 24, and would give you more boondock time.
• If you order a 2nd deep cycle battery from FWC is it stored right next to the first battery or does FWC have to tweak the build to accommodate the second battery. FWC said that the batteries would be together in the Granby. My assumption is that your Hawk will be the same.

 

[Bwht4x4]

On my last elk hunt I stayed in the same spot for over 15 days. I'll end up getting solar or a generator for situations like this. I'm leaning toward a generator so I can have the peace of mind if we loose power at home or I need to run tools away from the house. For shorter trips I'd like to only have the batteries handle our needs.

 

[Captm]

Bwht4x4, how do you plan on charging your house battery?
Cheers

 

[Bwht4x4]

If it's a short trip I won't likely charge it while on the trip, unless I do a little driving while we are at a spot.

If it's a longer trip I'm leaning toward getting a generator. I hunt with an ATV so a little more unleaded fuel isn't a big deal. I'm going to look into solar too and see if it's something I want to do.

 

[Kispiox]

It is simple to do an audit of your specific use. Look up the amp hour draw of each device/fixture then estimate the worst case amount of time you will use each one before charging. AH X hours or partial hours = total AH hours each device. Then total up all fixture/devices and that is your specific use. If that does not exceed 80% of the AGM battery capacity, you are good to go. If it does then get more capacity. At the end of the day AGM batteries like to be Duty Cycled to 80% so it is best to not size the battery beyond that. If you operate in very cold climates you may also want to size the capacity up say another 10%.

DC Refrigeration is the biggest draw, so get gas or ice. I use my Loaded Hawk with all LED in very cold weather and the solar has it charged even on a cloudy high latitude day before noon. With solar, I could probably get by with the one 20ah group 24 battery. If you move every day with the truck charging, you could get by with one battery too. If you camp in one spot for a while, you will like having solar. If you have a half ton truck you will like saving weight. Solar weighs less than capacity.

My apologies for all the "ifs". However, it is really specific to your use. If I had it to do over again, with solar, I might just go with one 24, but I would definitely go solar. If you decide not to go solar, I think FWC will wire for it so a later addition is easy. It all boils down to different AH strokes for different folks. BTW,... blenders have big AH draw.

 

[coguzzi]

what floor plan do you have? i have the side dinette hawk and 2 31's will fit (not fun to get them in there). i only have 1 31 installed but wanted to make sure 2 would fit. should be the same battery box for the roll over couch, so no problem. 2 31's will not fit in a front dinette.

i have a very small solar panel (55w), furnace and compressor fridge but frugal with power otherwise. as soon as the sun comes out every morning im back to full charge in no time

 

[Captm]

Your alternator and wire size connecting to your house battery will determine how well your battery(s) charge on the road. Why not upgrade the wire size to the house battery so it can take a proper charge. (I'm making the assumption that it is undersized from checking out the campers at the dealer.) Upgrade your truck battery to match the house, add http://www.bluesea.com/products/7622/ML-ACR_Automatic_Charging_Relay_with_Manual_Control_-_12V_DC_500ANow you have a 2 battery system, add in a battery monitor and solar panel you'll be good to go.
This system has worked well for us.
Cheers

 

[Bwht4x4]

Kispiox - Thanks for the info. I'll run the calcs and see what my use will look like.

coguzzi - I have the rollover couch due to the larger bed it creates. That is good info too about your ability to recharge quickly.

When we are out on a hunting trip I don't foresee the need for a refrig due to the amount of ice we carry. I'm actually thinking that we won't ever need or want the refrig either due to our effective use of the ice chest. My last hunt was in Sept and I was going for 21 days. I bought 350 lbs of ice on my way there in Reno and when I got home 21 days later I still had about 50 lbs left.

So, based on the idea that we likely won't need a fridge I'm thinking a small solar panel would work really well. I bought the Yakima racks and solar plug so I could easily mount one up on top.

 

[Bwht4x4]

Your alternator and wire size connecting to your house battery will determine how well your battery(s) charge on the road. Why not upgrade the wire size to the house battery so it can take a proper charge. (I'm making the assumption that it is undersized from checking out the campers at the dealer.) Upgrade your truck battery to match the house, add http://www.bluesea.com/products/7700/ML-RBS_Remote_Battery_Switch_with_Manual_Control_-_12V_DC_500A . Now you have a 2 battery system, add in a battery monitor and solar panel you'll be good to go.
This system has worked well for us.
Cheers

Captm - I'm not quite following you mainly due to the fact that I am waiting to pick up my camper and don't have it here in front of me and I'm not sure how they wire the camper to the truck's power. FYI, I drive a 2005 Dodge ram with the CTD.

Is the camper wired to the truck's alternator or the truck's batteries?

What do you mean by upgrading my truck's batteries? I have fairly new Sears DieHard Platinums in there right now.

 

[Captm]

What do you mean by upgrading my truck's batteries? I have fairly new Sears DieHard Platinums in there right now.

Sorry, I should have asked you what you have for a truck battery. Do you have two batteries in your Ram?
I do not know how FWC makes the connection to the vehicle system. I didn't think to ask when we ordered our Fleet because I knew I would redo it the way I want it.
I would imagine that they connect to the truck battery via fuse. I'm sure someone can chime in with the correct answer.
Cheers

 

[Bwht4x4]

Yes, the Ram with the diesel runs two batteries.

 

[rotti]

Truck battery is isolated from a draw from the camper.
You can kill the camper batteries but the truck will always start.

 

[Beach]

I would opt for 2 24 series before installing a 31 series, you will have more capacity, (about 11/2 times) that of a 31 series and you will have redundancy should one battery fail while you are out camping(unless the bad one draws down the good battery). A high quality 24 series has approx. a 80/ah rating, 27 series have about 95/ah and the 31 series about 110/ah, according to my battery charts at the shop. Remember that you'll only get about 80% of the rated capacity before battery performance starts to fall off. As mentioned, total up you usage and go from there.

 

[fish more]

I have used the batteries for five days plus without recharge. Using refer,heater,lights and water pump. I mounted a marine onboard dual charger for use with 110 plug in or use my Honda 1000 for remote recharge. When camping extended stays and fishing with my boat, I use the Honda to charge my trolling motor batteries, which are also AGM batteries. But for most two or three day trips, no charging needed.

I was able to mount both AGM batteries in the area of the stock battery location, my Hawk is a '09, the area for the battery was intended for up to a group 27 battery. I installed both batteries on their ends to get to fit in the space provided. You can mount AGM batteries in any position but upside down. I am using Cabela's AGM batteries since I installed in 2009, have been a great product so far. I use the camper at least 2-3 times a month.
'

 

[Kispiox]

The Exide. FP-24AGM-DP(s) that came with my Hawk are rated 60 AH each. After my post which I did off the top of my head, That earlier stated 20 AH was knowing at me even before Beach's post. Thanks Beach for drawing attention! Very tactfully I might add, thank you. Based on 20 Bwht4x4 would have been looking for more places to stash batteries. Anyway, the top of my head isn't so smart any more, and each 24 has a 60ah rating.