Batteries

Lauinger · May 6

For a TAB 320s that doesn’t use a ton of electricity, what’s the best battery option if you only have one 12v with a 100W solar panel?
Flooded, Sealed or AGM?

BrianR · May 6

I think the consensus would most likely be Lithium Ion. They have more usable amp hours than other batteries and zero maintenance. Downside is cost.

Lauinger · May 6

Thanks. My model would require a replacement of the converter to accommodate Lithium.

pthomas745 · May 7

You do not "need" to change the converter because of a lithium swap. Many owners here have lithium batteries and converters that "only charge a lithium to 85 percent." I have the same type of converter, a lithium battery for the last three years, and a solar panel setup that does the job just fine.

Sounds like in your other thread you were discussing a lot of time boondocking. Also monitoring the "lead acid" battery properly. If you allowed your two year old battery to discharge to less than 50 percent too often, then that could be the issue with your failing battery. So, examine your battery monitoring strategy and method. Maybe a stand alone multimeter instead of the solar controller for voltage, etc.

If you are convinced you don't want a lithium battery, your choices could be a larger lead acid battery. This would require figuring out if and where the larger "Group 31" battery could fit in the tub's battery space. There are many Group 31 batteries with 100AH capacity (50 AH "usable") that are decent upgrades. Like the one below.

https://www.amazon.com/Universal-Power-Group-100Ah-Battery/dp/B00S1RT58C

Note the dimensions of the battery. Here is a link to the battery you have now. The Group 31 is larger in every dimension.

https://www.interstatebatteries.com/products/24m-efb

If you want to stay with the Group 24, this battery has come up in threads in the last year or so. A well rated, 80 AH deep cycle.

https://www.batteriesplus.com/product-details/marine_rv/battery/duracell-ultra/sli24magmdc

"Lithiums are nice" we will all say, but you do have a propane fridge and solar, so that does reduce your power needs a lot.

Lauinger · May 7

Thanks!! Great observations.

Marceline · May 7

Lauinger said:

Thanks. My model would require a replacement of the converter to accommodate Lithium.

You only need a way to get a lithium battery fully charged on a regular basis. That can be a solar controller configured for lithium or an external 110 charger. It doesn't have to be the converter. I have a 2013 T@B with an 90aH LiON Energy battery that I installed in Jan 2020. It works fine.

elbolillo · May 7

With the great pricing being offered by a number of manufacturers in LiFePo4 batteries, it really makes so much sense to go lithium.

Grumpy_G · May 7

Prices have indeed come down a lot, the cheapest 100Ah LiFePo battery on the jungle web site is $140. I wouldn't recommend going that cheap but in the low 200s you can find batteries with low temperature charging protection. Just make sure it says *charging* protection, many claim "low temperature protection" but that merely means it will turn off the output at really low temps.

Homebodyatheart · May 7

I think your answer depends on your type of camping, on grid vs off grid. I own a 2017 320S. I almost always camp with hookups, and if I don’t then I use propane. I had the dealer install a group 27 battery before I took possession in early 2017. Eight years in now it still holds a charge. I do have a portable solar panel if needed. Lithium batteries are “the thing to have” and the question is ”do you really need them.” You are the only one who knows how you intend to camp. Best of luck with your decision!

BrianR · May 7

My first battery upgrade was to a Group 27-120a/h battery from the stock 74 a/h. It worked with a slight mod in the original tongue box.

Keef · May 11

After listening to the carbon monoxide detector going off in the middle of the night way too often due to a low battery charge, we switched from the stock 12 volt battery in our 2021 Tab 320 to two Golf Cart batteries (GC2) from Costco. Cheap. A heck of a lot more battery capacity. Fits in the front tub without rewiring the whole trailer. Adds about 60 lbs to the tongue weight, but the trade off has been worth it for us. I imagine that someday we'll join the lithium world, but for now this setup works.

Here's one discussion thread on the golf cart battery scenario.

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/12124/golf-cart-battery-types-ratings

RalphD · June 6

I have a 2023 320S boondock light with one 13 volt Lead acid battery. I would like to add a second lead acid battery in parallel to extend my amp hour capacity to at least 3 days in boondock mode. I have a second new deep cycle marine thats reading at about 12.6 to 13 volts when fully charged. Is there any issue in setting up the batteries in parallel? ie WFCO concerns?

pthomas745 · June 6

Trying to get two batteries that are not very close in age/amp hour ratings, etc, is not optimum.

So: work out the "amp hour rating" of each battery. What "Group Size" are they? Most Tab "stock" batteries are "Group 24, 80 amp hour batteries." So, see if those parameters match, at least.

There are ways to "add a spare battery" without any major rewiring. Some owners took a "spare" battery, and with some simple adaptations had an extra battery to use quickly and easily. You would just have to take the time to make the switch from one to the other.

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/7008/anyone-carry-a-spare-battery/p1

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