Can a bad hand at playing vice versa lead to a dangerous situation—it can if you do not know the main difference between car and RV battery.
Which Car Battery Is Better For My RV?
WHOA THERE, WIND AND THUNDER—chill.
The fact is, folks, the question above pre-supposes that all batteries are the same—and that is wrong (on a lot of levels).
For the most part, any city (all over the world) requires a set of these babies: the battery products, of course.
But not every item that you find in an auto-part shop is at an equal, unfortunately—including quality of production.
For example, there are (probably) only two trendy items when one goes over choosing a vehicle.
• A car
• A recreational vehicle (or van)
And, of course, the applications or products that power these vehicles are a non-sequitur—you need them as much as the rest of the world outside the local borders.
While the temptation is excellent (and many fall trap on to this) to glue all the pieces together into one box, it is a big mistake.
The car and your recreational vehicle may (indeed) operate on “wheels” (as people say); it does not mean that mean they do not possess specifications to them.
These items do get their operations from their specific functions/applications, as well as a host of other features.
Surprisingly, even experts can fall prey to just using batteries for one job and let them do the job of another.
Heck, without much “caution to the wind,” you might get a penance if you even get a thought (now and then), that one item is better for all items —“multi-purpose” as the kids call them now.
LET US DIAL IN ON THAT, RIGHT NOW
And so, the question of “which is better?” now falls appropriately on to the fray, unto different (appropriate) categories—which are, indeed, critical.
AND, THOSE ARE 2 QUESTIONS, QUITE FRANKLY SPEAKING
Q1 – Is a car item “better” than an RV product?
Q2 – Are they not the same, mostly?
AND, HERE ARE THE ANSWERS FOR THOSE QUESTIONS
A1 – A car item is not better for an RV or recreational vehicle.
A2 – They can interchange, but it is not, at all, optimal—not even healthy.
So, what are all this fuss and the big deal then? –below is a break down that might interest you regarding the answers above.
If you want to continue, let us ask the right questions, starting with the first set below.
Is There A Difference Between Deep Cycle And Marine Battery And A Starter?
Starter
• This term designation is indicative of an item that uses a configuration system for enhancing cranking power.
• Usually, the ability to “crank” (or send in currents) in the least amount of “starts” necessary is vital
• Appropriately so, “great” items under this designation can deliver the most in the least—and under great cold weather, too.
• The standard label in association for this is usually a CCA number, and the higher the number, the more influential the product.
• More often than not, a CCA of 600 – 800 is quite common in a significant number of high-performance brands.
Deep-Cycle
• This term designation is indicative of an item that uses a configuration system for enduring several discharges and sustaining voltage ranges.
• Usually, the ability to “reserve” (or save currents) in the highest number of hours is critical.
• Appropriately so, “great” items under this designation can do its job even during cold weather conditions and powering several applications.
• The standard label in association for this is usually an RC number, and the higher the number, the more duration in minutes.
• More often than not, an RC of 120 – 150 is quite common in a significant number of high-performance brands.
Marine
• This term designation is indicative of an item that uses a configuration system that both enhances and endures—primarily, dual-purpose function.
• Typically though, since “marine” requires both a starter motor and a trolling motor, finding the right balance is critical.
• Appropriately so, “starter, deep-cycle and dual-purpose” items are under this designation, and people often “pick and choose” what is the right combination.
• The collective genius in this is the acknowledgment that all batteries possess some degree of starter and deep-cycle functions.
• More often than not, though, it does not stop for some brands to specialize and highlight one function over another—hence, all the labels.
Is It OK To Use A Deep Cycle Battery In My Car Or A Starter In My RV?
Now that some basic terms are out of the box, below is an overview as to what to do with the information. Or you can visit at batterymanguide.com – Battery Man Guide to read everything you should know about this information.
• If you possess a boat, it is perhaps better to use a dual-purpose item as your “marine” product.
• Preferably, you need to dig into an appropriate ratio (your preference) for both the CCA and the RC.
• You can divide and conquer: that is, get a good brand for your starting motor and another brand for your trolling motor.
• Some say that deep cycle is all you are going to need when it comes to powering up a boat—but, some healthy skepticism never hurt anyone, either.
NOW, FOR YOUR CARS
• A car on any day is going to possess an alternator system (of sorts), which mostly takes all that voltage from your starter.
• Since the alternator is at play, it makes feasible sense to employ a product with a high cranking.
NOW, FOR YOUR RECREATIONAL VEHICLES OR VANS
• A recreational vehicle is a different design from a car, in that it does not possess an alternator (or something to that degree), which means a different item is a requirement.
• Since you need to power both your vehicle and other applications at a sustainable pace, it makes sense to employ a product with a more considerable reservation of capacity.
FOR AN RV – GET A “DEEP CYCLER”
You can, of course, interchange them—but the results will not appear as pleasant, especially putting an ideal car product over to an RV.
At least, for this segment, the difference between car and RV battery is not minuscule, at all, and people must not “play with fire”—safety first!