Hydraulic reservoir seal? Missing?

My next big investment of time will be lube lube lube on the cables, pulleys, guide rods, etc.

I have yet to do ANY of that, and that could be slowing the lift down substantially.

The problem was not with the seal between the halves, it was the molding that covers the bottom of the outside of the top half. It is plastic and is supposed to be sealed with caulking but they missed a spot. I applied clear silicon sealer to the seam, hopefully eliminating the leak. It was such a small gap that it was barely noticeable but it was capable of wicking in water.

The battery that was last standard from the factory was an Interstate SRM-24, 550 CCA, 690MCA, deep cycle battery. That is a group 24 size. Have you checked the battery voltage after it has been charged then left to sit for a few hours? It should be at least 12.6 volts.

This website gives some really good information about batteries: http://www.marxrv.com/12volt/12volt.htm

RichR said:

The problem was not with the seal between the halves, it was the molding that covers the bottom of the outside of the top half. It is plastic and is supposed to be sealed with caulking but they missed a spot. I applied clear silicon sealer to the seam, hopefully eliminating the leak. It was such a small gap that it was barely noticeable but it was capable of wicking in water.

The battery that was last standard from the factory was an Interstate SRM-24, 550 CCA, 690MCA, deep cycle battery. That is a group 24 size. Have you checked the battery voltage after it has been charged then left to sit for a few hours? It should be at least 12.6 volts.

This website gives some really good information about batteries: The 12volt Side of Life (Part 1)

Click to expand...

Hey RichR -

Thanks for the input. The PO did say that he had just had some exterior trim/molding replaced; I'm wondering if that was it. Could very well be what caused the damage.

What about the battery? I'm not sure how to compare what I have to the specs you listed. I can compare CCA, but that's about it. It's literally just 6 days old - so I'm thinking that the 12.6+ volts will be good.

Here's the short version: would you put this battery in your trailer? I may be able to return it and put in the recommended battery with it being so new...

For RV use a deep cycle battery works best. They are designed for repeated low amperage power drains and recharges. Car batteries are just the opposite where they have a heavy short drain when starting the engine and get a quick recharge. The marine starting batteries fall in between those. It has to do with the makeup of the battery and how they react to different rates of power draw. The plates in batteries different thicknesses and have different materials separating them. Batteries used in the wrong application can get warping of the plates causing them to short out and die an untimely death. Your battery has 690 amp as does the Interstate deep cycle, theoretically the deep cycle will last longer in an RV because of how it is made even with the same power specifications.

The article that I attached goes into detail explaining the differences.

One thing to keep in mind is the size of the battery so it will fit into the compartment. The different group numbers indicate the physical size.

Answering your question, I would go for the deep cycle if possible.

Well, no time tonight. Didn't get to wrench on anything this evening. Maybe this weekend...