Battery advice

[bobwhite215]

Hi all. Looking for general advice on batteries. I've scoured the forum, and found lots of detailed construction and wiring info, but virtually nothing on just choosing a battery.

In general, I am trying to decide on type and placement of a battery in my teardrop build.

A traditional RV/marine deep cycle, or a golf cart battery appear to be economical choices. However, I am worried about the off gassing of a lead acid battery, and think I would be forced to mount it outside on the tongue. I really don't want to do that for aesthetic and weight distribution issues.

The sealed AGM batteries look to be a good choice, but there are still concerns. Charging could be a problem if I understand the heat and overcharge issues correctly. It would be so much simpler to just charge off of the tow vehicle. Also, I see where they still recommend mounting in a vented box, so there must still be gassing issues. I really don't want to sleep next to a battery giving off fumes.

Are these my only choices? Am I overthinking it? Any advice or experience would be much appreciated.

Thanks.


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[halfdome, Danny]

I agree with not wanting a battery in the places you mentioned.
I've always mounted my group 24 deep cell batteries in these battery trays.
I make a sealed removable hatch in the floor to access and install the batteries.
Danny

[tony.latham]

I like Danny's idea...

I've got a Group 27 in our tongue box. It's way more battery than we need. This spring I'm going to switch over to a 12V 35AH U1 Deep Cycle AGM. 20 Amps of useable power is more than we'll ever need and I'll dump thirty five pounds.

Tony

[bobwhite215]

I agree with not wanting a battery in the places you mentioned.
I've always mounted my group 24 deep cell batteries in these battery trays.
I make a sealed removable hatch in the floor to access and install the batteries.
Danny

Thanks. I like that idea a lot. Do you enclose the battery itself in some type of box, or just hang it under the floor like that? No ground clearance issues?

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[halfdome, Danny]

The trays hangs 5 1/2" above the pavement and even if I lost a 205/75R15 tire and was just riding on the 15" rim, it shouldn't scrape the pavement.
I allow enough room between the underside of the floor and the trays for connecting the battery cables.
I don't enclose the batteries with anything more than what the trays provide, never had any issues.
Danny