battery and charger for hawk shell

[tree]

getting ready to pick up my hawk shell. and was torn between solar and generator. I have a used Honda 2000, so im thinking of using an onboard marine battery charger. I have 3 AGM batteries already. I need ideas on what size batteries everybody uses in their hawks. mine are small golfcart size, 35AH AGM. I can get 1 more. was thinking of using a promarine or a NOCO gen4 or similar onboard charger with 4 banks. or is 2 batteries enough? it seem battery bay can fit 2 larger group 27 batteries, or 3 to 4 smaller ones. I want to know what is best. maybe 2 larger ones. but I want to see if anybody has mounted an onboard charger yet? I even like the ac cord port you can mount on the outside wall. thanx
also what I will be running is led interior and exterior lights, heater/furnace. and a small inverter that runs my tv/dvd.

 

[ntsqd]

Pick the best-fit battery arrangement that results in the most amp-hour capacity.

Were I doing it right now I would go with the Ctek D250S Dual for a battery charger/isolator. Can plug either solar or vehicle alternator power (or both!) into it and get 5 stage charging out of it.

I have a BatteryMinder 120 VAC charger mounted near the batteries and I have only used it twice. However the second time was to pick up a nearly flat battery bank and the current solar controller did not appear to be doing anything with the bank voltage that low. I had flirted with removing it until that happened and now I'll leave it in place.

 

[tree]

Pick the best-fit battery arrangement that results in the most amp-hour capacity.

Were I doing it right now I would go with the Ctek D250S Dual for a battery charger/isolator. Can plug either solar or vehicle alternator power (or both!) into it and get 5 stage charging out of it.

I have a BatteryMinder 120 VAC charger mounted near the batteries and I have only used it twice. However the second time was to pick up a nearly flat battery bank and the current solar controller did not appear to be doing anything with the bank voltage that low. I had flirted with removing it until that happened and now I'll leave it in place.

thanx for the info. ya I might switch out my 4 small 35AH batteries for two bigger ones, I just get the 35AH for free. so I grabbed them. ordered for a surgical table but didn't fit. im leaning towards the NOCO G4 charger.

 

[Trailbob]

I used a single group 24 agm battery for the first 15 years that I owned a Hawk, but switched to two group 24's this fall. My current group 24's have 75 ah each, for a total of 150 ah. If the batteries are kept above the recommended minimum level of 50% discharge, that gives 75 usable amp hours with two group 24s. I never had a problem with a single group 24, but I added an ARB 12v fridge (in addition to my camper's propane fridge) so I wanted the extra capacity. Where you camp (i.e. how cold), and the length of your camping trips will have an impact on your battery needs. I suggest a minimum of one group 24 agm. But if you think you would need two, the time to do it is now so the batteries are the same age. Other options that other owners have used are single group 27's or even group 31's. I didn't pursue that option due to the weight (meaning they're too heavy for my old back to lift in and out of the battery compartment in the camper).

Solar is a nice addition, and there are many threads on portable vs roof mounted. My preference is to have roof top solar, but also have a folding panel for use when in the shade. I do a fair amount of fall/early winter camping during hunting season, and find I sometimes still use my Honda 2000 generator when it is cloudy or when I am parked in the trees.

My suggestion would be to have at least two methods of charging the batteries. First, have a 120VAC hard mounted smart charger that is compatible with agm batteries. That way you can use your generator if needed, or plug into shore power when available. Then have the ability to charge the battery with the vehicle. Finally, have a solar charging option.

Before jumping into solar, you might spend some time educating yourself on it. I learned a lot from this guy (long, but good info): https://handybobsolar.wordpress.com/the-rv-battery-charging-puzzle-2/

 

[tree]

thank you trailbob, this is the exact info I was looking for.