Best battery for a 2003 Brave

[neil30076]

I'm looking at replacing the main starting( not coach) battery on my 2003 Brave ( Ford Chassis) .
Over about a month it is getting low on charge - no trickle, its on a storage lot - and i have a 2700 mile x-country CA to NC road trip coming up in late november - and i want to be safe - yes, my coach batteries are new, but i need extra insurance.
Suggestions? Optima, regular?

 

[SargeW]

An Optima is a very good battery, but a good quality lead acid deep cycle starting battery would be a good choice at half the price.

 

[neil30076]

Lead - acid-
That was my thinking also, so what size would you go for?

 

[SargeW]

Probably something from Exide, like from this list:  http://www.showmetheparts.com/n2ebattery/  It's got some good choices, depending on the size of the motor you are pushing the rig with.

 

[Wizard46]

I put an Interstate in my '02 Brave and had several years of good service before I traded.

 

[Alfa38User]

SargeW said:

.... but a good quality lead acid deep cycle starting battery would be a good choice at half the price.

But he stated it was the chassis (starting) battery he needed... so why the need for a deep cycle (Marine) type of battery? 

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

I'm guessing your Brave has a Ford v10?  That engine, in a heavy duty application like an RV, typically has a battery with a rating of 750 CCA, or close to that. You also need to know the BCI case size, e.g. Group 27 or 60, so that it fits in the battery tray. You should be able to find both a size (BCI group number) and a CCA rating number on the battery you now have.

 

[SargeW]

Deep cycle batteries actually make excellent starting batteries.  The plates in a deep cycle battery tend to be thicker and can take a deeper discharge.

 

[Ned]

Because deep cycle batteries have such thick plates, they make terrible starting batteries.  You want a lot of plate surface area to supply the large starting current, but for a short time, to start an engine.

 

[Castranova]

A tech I know suggested golf cart batteries because they retain their "juice" longer.

 

[Molaker]

Deep cycle batteries actually make excellent starting batteries.  The plates in a deep cycle battery tend to be thicker and can take a deeper discharge.

Because deep cycle batteries have such thick plates, they make terrible starting batteries.  You want a lot of plate surface area to supply the large starting current, but for a short time, to start an engine.

Interesting discussion.  Obviously, "start" batteries are best for all around chassis batteries.  But, Sarge's comment started me to thinking.  Typical MH usage does not often require starting during excessively cold weather, so maybe a high starting amps battery is not so important in the chassis battery.  A good deep cycle (as long as current rating is high enough) might hold up better due to commonly higher parasitic current drains encountered in MH applications.  Just thinking...

 

[Ned]

If one type of battery would meet all service requirements there wouldn't be different types.  Use the appropriate battery for its intended purpose.

 

[gwcowgill]

Keep in mind that batteries perform best in temps above 70 degrees. As the temps drop a battery will lose it's capability to do the job.

 

[Alfa38User]

A tech I know suggested golf cart batteries because they retain their "juice" longer.

Golf Cart batteries are excellent for house batteries, however, they are useless for starting batteries that the OP was asking about.

Most Golf cart batteries are either 6 Volts or 8.5 Volts and are physically larger than a typical starting battery. You would need two of the 6V type in series for 12V so it very likely they would never fit for most starting battery applications.

 

[neil30076]

I'm guessing your Brave has a Ford v10?  That engine, in a heavy duty application like an RV, typically has a battery with a rating of 750 CCA, or close to that. You also need to know the BCI case size, e.g. Group 27 or 60, so that it fits in the battery tray. You should be able to find both a size (BCI group number) and a CCA rating number on the battery you now have.

Thanks Gary, yes, it is a V10. Current battery is a delco group 24. 600 CCA.  There is plenty of room for a physically larger battery, and i may go to a 750 CCA if i can find one that fits. I've pulled the BCI table with physical sizes so that should be easy. Still need to figure out what killed it - its date code suggests March 2011, so it should be good. I'll be doing a drain test on the rig to see if something is taking it down.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

At only 600 CCA, I suspect it was just being asked to do too much for its plate design. A 6.8L V10 takes a bunch of amps to crank the starter, even though in an RV it usually only has to do it in warm weather. Plus its only 600CCA when brand new - the available power deteriorates over time anyway. An undersized battery saves money upfront, but makes you pay back later.

 

[Ernie n Tara]

Hi,

I made the mistake of letting a handyman pick up a battery for my V10. He bought the lowest price (and therefore smallest capacity) battery in the size. I replaced it two  months later after getting tired of using the Emergency Start switch. Moral; get a large capacity battery (750 or better) in the first place.

Ernie

 

[SargeW]

Over about a month it is getting low on charge - no trickle, its on a storage lot

The deep cycle comment is based on this comment.  During long periods of sitting I have found that my deep cycle batteries respond better when they have had no charge source.

 

[gwcowgill]

I would personally disconnect the batteries if they will set in storage. Parasitic loads can be caused by many things such as computer memory, radio memory, dirty battery losing current across the top of the battery. Disconnecting the negative terminal will stop most drains except loss across the top of the battery and this can be eliminated by keeping the batteries clean.

 

[Mexray]

Every Ford chassis I've seen in my battery bizz is a Group-65 type...try to find as close to (or higher) 900 CCA's as you can - there are several G-65's with different ratings, and you need the highest rated one...

If you now have a Group-24 starting battery, it doesn't fit the battery tray properly, as the G-65 is a bit longer & wider than a G-24...

Hope that helps...