Thor factory installed batteries

[Oneilkeys]

There is a lot of misunderstanding on batteries. Read this for a good primer.


Deep Cycle Battery FAQ

While deep discharging a deep cycle battery is bad for it and will reduce its life span, a couple of times will not kill a good one. A starting battery is a different matter. That is why it is so important not to let your starting battery fully discharge while it is in storage. Overcharging kills batteries as often as discharging below 80%. That why your charger/converter is so important.

[Steve70605]

Replacing mine today. Have had issue since I bought the coach in July 2016. Battery tech said batteries could have been a bad batch. Only 1 of the 4 batteries in the bank passed load test. The other 3 failed down to 0 volts under load of 145A for 10 seconds. They are from WorldWide Battery out of Indianapolis. Thor does not warranty the batteries. The coverage from WWB is $60 per battery IF they beilieve it is a battery fault! Not much comfort in that warranty! I purchased Interstate 225A replacemants at $159 each. We'll see how they last.

Note: Batteries were maintained. SG 1280 most cells +- 5, water levels fine. Periodic equalizing charge. Two of the batteries had individual dead cells with SG <1100 (Non -Readable)

[samven]

If they dont have a local distributor to test and verify the failure, how will they determine the warranty status. Shipping them back will cost more than they are offering which may be the plan.

[Steve70605]

Agree. They send the instructions that have you take pictures with load tester and various other readings. But, as you stated, these do not show "cause".

Like I said - little chance of obtaining warranty payment. They will always find a way to say it is not their fault.....

[airforceret]

The factory battery that came in my Keystone Cougar lasted about 2 years. It was underrated for having triple slides. The aftermarket replacement did an outstanding job and was still going strong when we sold it.

[dkeltner]

Originally Posted by Allan Cooper

Can anyone comment on the quality of the factory installed batteries on Thor Motorhome products? Poor, fair, good, excellent quality? How many years should one expect them to last? Many thanks in advance.

I didn't have my new Thor Windsport more than 3-months and the batteries failed.
Thor wouldn't back the warranty claiming that it was the battery manufacturer's warranty (National Battery). The battery manufacturer wouldn't back up the battery warranty because it wasn't properly date stamped. I'm furious, $600 repair bill. I want't to know how many Thor owners are having battery issues. I'm mounting a recall effort if the problem is bigger than mine.

[Bob Denman]

I'm sorry to hear that you had trouble with the batteries...
But I'd still like to welcome you to the forum!

It seems that the folks who keep a close eye on battery water levels, and keep them properly charged; are the ones who have the fewest problems...

[Kev]

My Thor Windsport is one year old and the batteries are still going strong. I replaced the WFCO with a Progressive Dynamics Smart charger and keep the fluid levels at the proper level.

[Beau388]

If you go to look and an new coach and it is not plugged into shore power, then you must insist that the house batteries be replaced with new deep cycle batteries before you sign the papers. It is not the Harris batteries fault they were not kept charged. Any deep cycle flooded battery will fail if deeply discharged 4 or more times. If you go to MHSRV or NIRVC, you will that every motorhome is on shore power even though the are up to 800 on the lots.


WFCO converters get a bad rap, undeservedly. Thor Industries buys about 1,100 a month from WFCO. A very few will fail at some inopportune time. These converters/power centers are made to Thor's specifications to fit the coaches and batteries Thor installs. They are simple three stage converters made for deep cycle batteries. They don't have the fourth mode of other chargers and the charger doesn't allow a multitude of voltage, amperage or charging profiles of the more expensive converters. When the Thor MC list price is above $200,000, Thor MC installs a different (more expensive and complicated) flexible charger and and power center.

[gmc]

Originally Posted by dkeltner

I didn't have my new Thor Windsport more than 3-months and the batteries failed.
Thor wouldn't back the warranty claiming that it was the battery manufacturer's warranty (National Battery). The battery manufacturer wouldn't back up the battery warranty because it wasn't properly date stamped. I'm furious, $600 repair bill. I want't to know how many Thor owners are having battery issues. I'm mounting a recall effort if the problem is bigger than mine.

Welcome to the forum... and good luck with your effort.
As mentioned in the thread, the factor neither Thor nor the battery manufacturer has control over is how the battery is treated from the time it was installed until you took delivery. Batteries are often not treated nicely on the dealer lots... Not saying its intentional - but it happens.
It is unfortunately somewhat common to have issues, but difficult to show where the cause is.

My first rig (a well used unit) I had the dealer replace the coach batteries as part of sale... I was lucky as I didn't detect the issue until I drove off their lot, but they stood behind the sale and replaced them at no charge when the load test failed.. A small local dealer (non-chain) in Canton, MI. (and was before I found this forum)

On my next rig was something I looked for - also a used rig but only a season old - and they had already replaced the batteries. Those are still doing fine almost 4 years later.

[javelin]

I purchased our 2013 ACE 30.1 new in Fall 2012 which is equipped with 2 X 160 AH Harris 12v coach batteries; Motorcraft for the chassis battery. I still have the same original batteries in this coach and have so far had no problems, but in fairness, we rarely boondock so the coach batteries have probably never been discharged below 80%. After the first year I replaced the WFCO converter with a Progressive Dynamics Intellipower converter with wired remote to ensure that the Equalization charge (14+ volts) cycle was being done (the remote allows you to force equalization if you want). I could never see the WFCO converter do that (randomly monitoring voltage cycles unless I just missed it). I also ensure that water levels are checked in Spring and a few times through the travel season – always use distilled if you can for any top ups. In Winter I remove the batteries from the coach and use a regular car battery charger equipped with an equalize timer for manually forcing the equalization state for 3-4 hours once each month. I don’t leave the charger on the batteries in Winter……but I am religous about the monthly charge top up and equalization. Since we are now entering year 6 it is probably almost time to replace the lot…….typical new vehicle chassis battery these days lasts 3-6 years typically but here they see severe Winter duty. We still have had no start issues with either the V10 (chassis battery) or generator (coach batteries); or running slides. Now I have said that, Murphy’s Law will kick in……next time we are on the road. Long booster cables and Toad are on standby.

[DenverTransplant]

We replaced the Harris batteries after the first season we had the coach. They weren't holding a charge and I'd read from many posts about how poor they were and how Harris wouldn't honor warranties. I had a WFCO converter in a trailer we had and it was really good at boiling off the battery water.

We replaced the WFCO converter with a Progressive Dynamics and replaced the Harris batteries with a pair of Interstate 6 volt batteries. We bought them directly from Interstate and got the version that was rated at 225 amp-hours. Costco sells a 6 volt Interstate battery but its a different battery with a lower amp hour rating (but a lower cost too). One of the batteries had a cracked case, which Interstate replaced at no cost. Since then I've had zero problems with the Interstates. I keep checking water levels and have only added water to them once.

I also installed a Trimetric battery monitor to better track what is going on with the batteries and have installed 200 watts of solar on the roof with a Bogart SC-2030 solar charger that integrates with the Trimetric. The solar keeps the batteries charged up all of the time. The lowest we've had while boon docking is about 85% of capacity, which gets replaced during the day.

[TyCreek]

This old thread revived ... a well maintained battery will last a long time my OEM Harris had unmeasurable degradation after 3yrs of pretty good use. They needed water the day I got the rig home after its pretty direct path from east coast production line to my NW pickup. They needed a lot of water that first night home but never used excessive amount from that point on. Had I not taken care of that right away Im sure they would have been dead in short order! I look at blaming the initial battery prep and what they are subjected to without maintenance before people buy and then folks not checking them until there's a problem (when it's already too late).

[Long & Winding road]

My OEM Harris batteries only lasted 11 mo before they would not take a charge. I always checked the water every mo. and I never left it on charge more than a day or two per a week so they didnt over charge. Two weeks is the longest they went without a charge and I never killed the batteries (until the end of life when they just failed after like 30 minutes of use and would not work without being plugged in).

I switched over to TWO 6 volt / 220 amp hour Full River AMG's and love them so far.