Dear RV Doctor,
I watched one of your television shows where the family with a hybrid trailer needed a stronger battery. You replaced their 12-volt battery with two 6-volt batteries. I have a 26-foot RV and it has only one 12-volt battery. Would it be better for me to use two 6-volts? Would I get more amps with two 12-volt batteries instead? I also have a converter but no inverter in my trailer. If I pull into a campground or parking lot where I need to run off battery power, the lights work but the outlets do not. How would I install an inverter into my trailer and how hard would it be? John Okragleski, (via Internet)

John, to replace your battery depends on the size (capacity) you have now. On RV Roadtrips, I replaced a group 27 12-volt battery with two 6-volt batteries. In that case the single group 27 was rated at about 105 amps. The two 6-volt batteries were rated at 225 amps. So even by adding a second group 27 battery, (105 + 105 = 210 amps), the two 6-volts in series had the larger storage capability. Plus they were true deep cycle batteries which is my preference. So it comes down to a matter of doing the math. And that starts by determining the size and rating of your existing battery. As for your interior receptacles, they are 120-volt AC only. All the lamps are 12-volt DC powered. For the receptacles to be hot, you'll need either a generator or an inverter. An inverter, however, requires a very large battery bank which will quickly be drained by using high current devices. Inverters are relatively easy to install; no problem for the average handyman. Just be sure you have enough battery power. Batteries, generators and inverters all should be "sized" according to the application. Sizing charts are easily found on the Web. I would suggest a small, true sine wave inverter wired to a dedicated receptacle in order to conserve battery power rather than a larger unit to power every circuit.

-Gary Bunzer
Send your troubleshooting questions to Gary at gbunzer@cox.net and be sure to visit the RV Doctor on the web at www.rvdoctor.com to find other articles and pertinent information.
Questions of general interest may appear in a future issue. Due to the heavy volume of mail received, personal replies are not possible. All effort is made to ensure the correctness of Gary’s responses; however, not all answers will apply in every instance. Some situations may mandate a visual inspection and further hands-on testing. If you choose to follow these instructions, make sure that neither personal nor product safety will be compromised. If you do not feel comfortable performing a procedure, call your local RV service facility and schedule an appointment or visit Camping World Supercenters nationwide.

Check out the television show RV Roadtrips, hosted by the RV Doctor. It airs Friday evenings at 10:00 PM ET/PT on the DIY Network.

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