How long does the truck battery last

[harrisgowing]

Our 2004 RSB has over 115,000 miles and we still have the original truck battery. We have had it tested, they say it is fine, and we have had no problems, other than when we left the headlights on overnight and it charged right up after jumping. I would appreciate any input on how long these things typically last. I have visions of being stuck somewhere with a dead battery and no cell coverage. Thanks!

Judy Harris

[bigdipper]

Our 2004 RSB has over 115,000 miles and we still have the original truck battery. We have had it tested, they say it is fine, and we have had no problems, other than when we left the headlights on overnight and it charged right up after jumping. I would appreciate any input on how long these things typically last. I have visions of being stuck somewhere with a dead battery and no cell coverage. Thanks!

Judy Harris

That battery owes you nothing. Buy Walmart's best.
Ralph

[harrisgowing]

Thanks, Ralph. You are speaking to the choir, just trying to convince the DH!

[jobrien]

I put a new one in my 2006 this past year. It was starting fine, but I did let it drain down a couple of times and didn't want to take a chance on it failing at a bad time.

The service center I take it to recommended a Delco because of their warranty and ease of dealing with the company in case of a warranty issue.

I'm definetly on the proactive side, rather than being reactive.

John

[dsfriday]

Have 65,000 on our 2007 chassis, built 07-07, with orginal battery. Plan on running until it fails. Coach equiped with the transfer switch that will pull from the coach batteries to start engine, when the time comes, hope it works, maybe I should try it ahead of time. When in storage, use a 3 stage charger on engine battery and leave coach pluged in & have replaced orginal inverter with new with the 3 stage charger.

[jobrien]

The jumper switch will start the engine, but I'm not sure if the electronics in the engine require a certain voltage to work properly and keep the engine running.

With all the electronics involved, it may just go in to limp mode or keep stalling.

Either way, not a pretty picture if you're on a highway or at night.

John

[hrgermany]

My choice of batteries has always been Interstate Batteries.Good warranty
and easy availability in many places.

Hans Rueckert
1995 BF 26FT RSB

[bill crommett]

Years ago the man at the garage told me that a battery would last "about" 5 years.. At the time I thought that was a ridiculous statement because of the different conditions a battery was exposed to. Since then, experience has shown that he was 'about' right. So now I change batteries at the firs sign of weakness, or when the calender starts to twitch.

[bcope01]

I replaced my OEM 2003 chassis battery, after having let it run all the way down one too many times while the coach was stored, with an equivalent from Costco about 2 years ago. Good battery at a reasonable cost.

Now I keep a $25 4-step battery tender on my chassis battery when the coach is stored. Works great!

http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Tender-02 ... der+junior

Bill

[harrisgowing]

Wow, we are double the 5 year rule on the Born Free and an MDX. I remember when we had to replace batteries every 4 or 5 years. Guess we have just been lucky with these 2 vehicles. Think we will be buyng new batteries! Thanks for all of the information, we really appreciate it.

Judy Harris

[bill crommett]

After running the coach battery down to "just barely" I installed a battery disconnect on the positive post when I put the BF in storage. The hood is getting awful heavy, but the disconnect saves a bunch of gas to make sure the battery is fully charged.

[Mike Jean Bandfield]

Car batteries are one item where the old adage 'You get what you pay for!' applies - as long as you are buying from a reputable dealer. In my experience, the batteries that come with new vehicles are generally mediocre ~4-5 years; although the batteries (X2 diesel) in our 2005 BF have had an easy life and should get us thru this year - 8+ years! I will replace them with Kirklands. I highly recommend Costco's Kirkland brand batteries (cranking and deep cycle) for consistent quality and value.

I also have my own adage: Buy the biggest battery that will fit.

In general, the new cars employ better technology for maintaining memory on less current. My '93 truck has no fancy electronics and the radio and CPU will run the battery down in 2 weeks. Our '99 Buick will go at least 2 months without a problem and our 2005 BF has often gone 4 months in storage but lately I've had to charge it before engaging the glow plugs after sitting idle for a couple of months.

Our BF doesn't have a bridging switch but we carry a 10' leftover piece of old 10 gauge romex in case we need to jump the chassis batteries to the coach batteries. With this little piece of insurance us cheap old buzzards can get every last amp out of the coach battery before replacing it.

[Dude]

I have always understoold that a car battery will last about 5 years as well. My BF has a sticker in the cab from the original owner with the dates the batteries were installed. 2009 for the car battery and 2010 for the house battery. Although I just had to change the house battery because it didn't have enough volts to fire the furnace.

[Mike Jean Bandfield]

There's a lot that goes into the care and feeding of house batteries. It's easy to overlook things and the simplest oversight can kill a battery. It's not the same as your car battery.

[Robert D. Grant]

Believe it or not, but the original two Ford Motorcraft chassis batteries on our 1998 7.3 liter diesel powered Born Free lasted from April 1998 to October 2009 when we replaced them, not because they were bad, but because we were leaving on a big trip down the Baja in Mexico and we didn't want to take any chances.