Wes,
Can't say that I'm the battery expert here. but I live aboard a
sailboat half the year and I have done away with my "starting" battery
and rely on my 6x6v golf cart bank to do the job. However, I live in
Mexico and it never gets really cold here... so if you're in a climate
that freezes, the high discharge rate of the starter battery might be
needed. I think it may be that you would need more than one battery to
handle the load, as well. My system on my Westy will be a bank of two
6v deep cycle batteries (about 100 amp) with an isolation diode (a big
one)  under the back seat and the normal starter battery. I like to
read in bed and listen to the stereo, have a dvd player, too. I would
run the fridge on propane. Another option might be a small Honda
generator... anybody out there using a genset?

Jim C
71 Bayview
86 Westy 2.1

On Sep 24, 2008, at 8:31 PM, pickle vanagon wrote:

> Rather than adding an aux deep cycle battery to a westy, how about
> just
> replacing the starter with a deep cycle?
>
> As I see it, the advantages over adding a second battery are:
> Usually when you add an aux battery, only the fridge is hooked up to
> it.  I
> don't really care to run the fridge off a battery.  What I mostly
> care about
> is extended capacity for the 12v dc ports, all of the interior
> lights, the
> stereo, etc.  It seems like changing over all the wiring for this
> stuff
> could be a pain.
> Won't take up any extra space.
> Maybe I need to replace my starter battery now anyways (hint hint.)
>
> Disadvantages:
> You can still run down your battery.
>
> But I figure the point is that it will take longer to run down your
> battery
> this way.  And I always travel with a little jump-start battery
> anyways
> (just in case), so if need be, the deep cycle could just be jumped.
>
>
>
> So, what's up with this idea?  Worth doing? Or should I just bite
> the bullet
> and rewire all the lights/power ports/etc to an auxiliary deep-cycle?
>
> Thanks,
> Wes