Battery State of Charge

[phillyg]

If I put my 12v batteries on a charger (seperately) and can only get them up to 12.32v, which appears to be only 70% charged, does this mean I should replace the batteries, or can I continue to use them for a while as long as I'm not boondocking?

[JABURKHOLDER]

A couple of suggestions. Deep cycle batteries (or any type of rechargeable battery) develop a "memory" and sometimes do not fully recharge. Try hooking up something to one battery (maybe a sealed beam headlight) at let the battery drain to dead. (the headlight will no longer be lit) Then try recharging at a 2 amp slow charge and see what you get. If the results are the same, replace them. You need good batteries to "absorb" the load for things like slides, level up, etc so you don't kill your converter. Use the old batteries for a trolling motor for you boat if you have one.

[jcurtis934]

If the plates were ever exposed, they will not be the same again. Same goes with putting in any water other than distilled. If they only charge to that level, your charging system in the Montana is going to be working harder to attempt to bring them up to normal. I would not want to live with them, but it is your call.