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Old 02-26-2021, 06:04 PM   #1
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Hurricane 29M
State: California
Posts: 33
THOR #5061
New Chassis battery

Love this site - so many modifications to make and so little knowledge on my part. I need to replace the abused chassis battery on my 2017 Hurricane V10 and wondered what suggestions you have. I want a sealed unit that I can't abuse. Any ideas to share?

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Old 02-26-2021, 06:27 PM   #2
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: ACE 27.1
State: Florida
Posts: 14,126
THOR #7035
I just replaced my chassis battery on my ACE. It was the Motocraft OEM FLA battery that came with the coach, So on a 2015 chassis it could be 7+ years old.

I have never had a lick of problem with it until last weekend on the way back from Tampa we stopped in Bushnell to fill up on cheap gas. When i went to start the engine I had nothing! No dash lights, nada, zippo. I did notice the gauges moved ever so slightly. So I reached over to the emergency start button, held it for about 30 seconds and turned the key - I got maybe 1 rotation of the starter, but that was progress!

So I got up and started the generator. I had replaced my trombetta relay last year with a higher amperage heavy duty one and I figured instead of holding the emergency start switch to get some juice in the chassis battery I'd let the converter do it at a higher voltage and amperage. After about 5 minutes I tried again and it cranked right up. I shut off the generator and continued home.

I was pretty resigned to buying a new battery but when I got home and got the RV unloaded it started right up. I measured the chassis battery voltage at 12.6 VDC after sitting for a half hour so I figured I needed to load test it. Of course I couldn't finf my 100 Amp battery load tester so I conencted a 500 watt inverter to it and tried to turn it on - it immediately whined with no load. I measured the battery voltage again and it was 10.1 VDC. All cells had plenty of water so this was a classic dead cell symptom.

Checked online to see if my local Wally World had a replacement 3 year free replacement battery and they did. I also noted that HomeDepot had the same 3 year free replacement battery(Exide Brand) in stock at the same price but for me, retired Navy, that means 10% cheaper - $90 instead of $100.

So I loaded up the core and headed to HomeDepot fully expecting to find old stock batteries (6+ months old manufacturing date) and expected to continue on to Wally World: BUT NOOOOOO! They had this month's date on their batteries so I scooped one up, brought it home and installed it and fully expect another 5+ years out of this battery.
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2016 ACE 27.1
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Old 02-26-2021, 07:20 PM   #3
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Hurricane 31S
State: Texas
Posts: 4,157
THOR #6411
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dennisemory View Post
Love this site - so many modifications to make and so little knowledge on my part. I need to replace the abused chassis battery on my 2017 Hurricane V10 and wondered what suggestions you have. I want a sealed unit that I can't abuse. Any ideas to share?
The MotorCraft battery has a unique slot for the battery hold-down clamp, so check to see if the battery you choose has such a slot. The size is BCI group 65. No water batteries are known as VRLA (valve regulated lead acid) batteries in flooded or AGM varieties. Be sure you get a starting battery. If you plan to store the coach for several months as a time, the extra coat of an AGM starting battery may be warrantied. Batteries Plus had a good selection of VRLA group 65 batteries
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2016 Hurricane 31S
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Old 02-26-2021, 07:58 PM   #4
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Hurricane 29M
State: California
Posts: 33
THOR #5061
Sounds familiar - drove to gas station - filled up - would not start - battery dead - AAA got me started and drove home. The original battery was replaced 18 months ago with Super Start Extreme which I have abused - let sit - low water - non use. I got MH to start today and ran for 1/2 hour. Turned off and battery read 14.4DCV. 1 hour later it would not turn over and start again and battery now reads 11.4DCV. I'm too old to be chasing batteries so I will get the best I can find. House batteries are the next project. Thanks to all for help.
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