Girl w/ SMB - battery questions

[86Scotty]

For starting batteries I would definitely go with the discounted Duracell brand from Batteries n Bulbs/Batteries Plus. They pretty much always have a discount going on their site. I shop online and purchase them for store pickup, drive right over to the store and get them a few minutes later. I'm 5 minutes from a store though. All but their cheapest batteries are East Penn/DEKA and are a really good battery for the money.

@unreng - "We have a 4DL as the house battery in the van, but haven't been able to use it since the van's in the shop, so can't provide feedback."
- You'll be pleased with a 4d when you get up and running. Most late model SMB's have one 4d. If you have any solar at all, even a 100w panel, all the better. The 4d is plenty for most average camper van's power needs.

[boywonder]

Originally Posted by Peanut4x4

Okay! So I think I’m going with Odyssey 65-PC1750T For the starting batteries & am not replacing the house battery(ies) at this point. They don’t seem to need it. Does anyone have a better recommendation for starting batteries?

Laura & Peanut

What's the resting voltage of the house batteries when the sun isn't out??


Fully charged batteries that aren't tired should be around 12.8V.

[moorefc]

Take a look at Costco for starter batts.....lead acid for price, difficult to beat...Connecticut is pretty cool (battery water evaporation). The comments and picture describing your batts under your side door look like they may be the house batts. Generally the starter batt is in the engine compartment. Sportsmobile puts house batts under the side door (rarely under drivers side mid section), on either side of the rear door in wells, sometimes under a goucho inside..Sportsmobile uses AGMs generally and they can be a large 4D, or smaller.....I may be missing something....

[daveb]

Originally Posted by moorefc

Generally the starter batt is in the engine compartment. Sportsmobile puts house batts under the side door (rarely under drivers side mid section), on either side of the rear door in wells, sometimes under a goucho inside..Sportsmobile uses AGMs generally and they can be a large 4D, or smaller.....I may be missing something....

Pretty sure in a van with a 6.0PSD, the 2 stating batteries are under the frame on passenger side.

[Mike Wilson]

There have been a lot of good suggestions and here is one for what NOT to buy.
Stay clear of Fullriver batteries. Tried a 4D AGM several years ago and the battery lost capacity in about a year or so. Could have received a rebate for another one but I just want a battery that works. Went back to Lifeline.

Mike

[86Scotty]

Mike, never even heard of those but I’m in the east. Who sells them? Not looking of course, just curious.

[Mike Wilson]

There is a chain of stores that deal only in batteries, mostly automotive but also larger RV types. The place is called Battery Systems. Not sure if they are in other places too. Brand I mentioned Fullriver is from China and is about 100 dollars or so less than the Lifeline battery. For the price, it seemed worth a try but I would rather go with a higher priced battery that will give me longer life. Changing them out is a bit of a pain since the large 4D types are HEAVY.
Maybe I got a bad one but Lifeline seems to be one of the better brands. You just need to take care of it. Don't over discharge it. Keep it charged and you and the battery will be happy.

Mike

[86Scotty]

Thanks. Interesting. We don’t have that chain on this side. Can’t go wrong with Lifeline.

Anyway, back to girl’s battery situation...

[REF]

Yes, on the 6.0 diesels, the 2 batteries mounted under there should both be starters. The house 4D AGM, most likely a Lifeline if original from SMB, would be mounted towards the rear.
If you haven’t already purchased, I 2nd what 86Scotty and others suggested/recommended. I’ve used East Penn/Deka AGM starting and their AGM 4D house batteries for years, Batteries Plus has them branded as Duracell, I just purchased 2 AGM deep cycles for another application from them online and picked up in store using the discount code.