Six Plus Six Equals One Thousand Eight Hundred Ninety-eight and Fifty Two One Hundredths

Our rig has two banks of batteries.  One bank of two 12 Volt batteries is for the chassis and are used to start the nine liter diesel engine.  We replaced them a short time ago.  The other bank called the house batteries didn't necessarily need to be replaced but as they were coming up on their fifth birthday I thought it prudent to replace them now when I could purchase them at an attractive price instead of paying full retail for them.

Dust-covered battery bank

The house batteries in most class A RVs are a bank of six volt golf cart batteries (size GC2) wired in a series-parallel bank to provide twelve volts in enough ampere-hours to power the refrigerator for around one day without needing to be recharged.

The Heavy Duty Wiring And Fuses

When our rig was built, Newmar installed a bank of eight GC2 batteries but in an improved Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM) chemistry. AGM batteries feature a fiberglass mesh to contain the electrolyte between the cathode and anode plates which allows them to be placed closer and tighter then traditional flooded lead acid batteries. This format makes them more structurally sound (shock and vibration damage resistant) and more energy dense.

Another advantage is lower maintenance as they are of a valve regulated AKA sealed design so I don't have to check electrolyte level on forty eight cells on a monthly basis.  WIN!!!! Down side is they cost more than a traditional lead acid battery.

Flooded and AGM GC2 Batteries On The Shelf At Sams's Club. An Inexpensive Upgrade.

I was looking for a national retailer to purchase my eight batteries. The MSRP on a Duracell GC2AGM battery is $368.99 each ($2951.92 for the set) however some Sam's Clubs have them for $217.72 each ($1741.76 for the set) a savings of  $1210.16!!!!!!!

New Batteries Installed With The Help Of My Friend Glen

Some fellow RVers recommend that I purchase Lithium Ion batteries instead. Those batteries would cost around $700 each. However, they'd have a much longer lifespan.  I will just buy sets of AGM chemistry batteries and save some money.

Where Are We Going Next?