I am starting to think about my battery set up.  There are a lot of things to think about (absorbent glass mat vs. other materials, amp hours, 12v vs. 6v, etc.), but it’s hard not to think I might just start with a $79 12V Marine/RV Battery from Costco.  The cost just can’t be beat and that battery should be 120ah (other deep cycle batteries in that range go for at least $200).  I certainly don’t have $1,800 for a multi-6V Trojan set up right now, so why not just spent eighty bucks to “get by” for a while?

You’re not supposed to use “starting” batteries for powering things in your Airstream (you should be using batteries specifically for “deep cycle” use), but for this price, I can’t imagine not going this route, at least for a while.  And I believe these are actually engineered for both deep cycle and cranking/starting, so I should be fine.

I know I have lots more to learn about batteries, etc. and I will be doing a lot of research before selecting and installing all the components of my solar array, but for the time being, it just seems like this battery can’t be beat for the price.