My bus came with two giant "commercial" batteries from Centennial Battery Systems. Lead-acid "starter" batteries, it seems; although I can't find anything on the label that identifies their type, they have 6 vents on top where you can add water.
Both were dead, but only a year old.
One was for the bus and the starter. One was exclusively for the wheelchair lift. They tied together through a battery isolator. Either it was bad, or the relay that controlled its operation was bad, because I got new batteries for the motor/bus (two wally world batteries in parallel) but the wheelchair lift battery was killing them overnight. It is deformed on top, like something overheated and melted inside maybe?
I disconnected the wheelchair lift battery from the isolator, and now have no problems with the motor/bus batteries. They stay charged for months.
I ditched the old wheelchair lift battery, and temporarily installed a new(er) automotive starter battery to power the lift (without connecting it through the isolator or directly to the other batts) to see if the lift works. YEA it does!
I also want to install solar some day, but in the meantime, I also want a battery (or set of batteries) that is a deep-cycle to power stuff in the skoolie like interior 12V LED lights, laptops and computer monitors, maybe an occasional blender or, if I can get away with it, a toaster oven, etc. Just enough for an overnight orgy of electrical gluttony, or a week of conservative usage of low powered lights, without worrying about my starter batteries in cold weather. (I've run the inverter with just the laptop for several hours on the two starter batts, and the motor started right up afterwards)
Until just recently I thought I needed some ridiculous set of electrical equipment to get everything to work together, i.e. 12VDC alternator -> lead-acid batts -> inverter to 110VAC -> deep-cycle battery charger -> deep-cycle batteries <- plus a solar-panel-to-battery-controller thingy.
Now I see people here talk about DC to DC chargers, and AGW deep cycle batteries that can be charged directly with your alternator! Wonderful for the "house" side of the skoolie!
But how about the wheelchair lift? I never did figure out how many amps it pulls. But can I safely run it under load, perhaps twice a day 5 days a week on any deep cycle battery (or set of them) or is this pulling too much too fast for a relatively small set (I have room for two more fairly large typical automotive-sized batts in the factory underbelly battery box - 4 total) ??? And will I be able to charge the deep cycle batts back up with my alternator within a half-hour drive, as a drained starter battery would?
Or should I stick to using starter batts for the wheelchair lift, and just take the hit on longevity as I use them for interior stuff. As it is now, I have a single LED light with a magnetic base that runs off a few AA or AAA duracells, and they last me months. I'm not into a vibrating refrigerator (rather, actual quiet nights parked in the woods), so my daily usage will likely be low (don't know what the laptop and monitor will take, though, including loss though the invertor)
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