Bob,
GC batteries will have more capacity and live longer, which will make your boondocking experience more pleasant.
On my coach I am currently using four 6V Crown CR-260 golf cart batteries. They are rated for 260 amp/hrs, so with four of them, that is 520 amp/hrs of total capacity, 260 amp/hrs of usable capacity. The batteries are almost five years old and have been performing as great as when I just got them. In my humble opinion, Crown is slightly better than Trojan, but at a better price. The nice thing about this battery is it is 7.06 in wide, when most other brand GC batteries are 7.2 to 7.3 in width. This slightly narrower battery made the difference, where it just fit into the original battery tray, without the need of modifying anything. The fit was very tight, we had to squeeze them in there but it worked out well. Now I don't know if your battery tray is exactly the same as mine, but it is something worth looking into. A few years back, a fellow Safari owner upgraded to GC batteries, he just put 6 inch boards to raise the floor of the tray above the metal angle iron dividers and then strapped the batteries down, so this might be an option if you choose to go with a different brand.
For what it's worth, here is some comments from a boat forum, by a fellow who was in the Golf Cart Battery business for a long time.
[
Re: Are Trojans that much better?
Hi Everyone, I haven’t posted much on the forum as I usually only read and learn. I love this discussion of batteries and all the information that I am reading. Having been in the Golf Cart Battery business for many years I just wanted to chime in here.
Firstly...the batteries that you buy from Sam’s, Costco, BJ’s etc. that are labeled Duracell, Energizer, Ray-o-Vac and who knows how many other “Buzz word Brands” are for the most part distributed and privately labeled by East Penn or Johnson Controls. However, please don’t conclude that because they are sold by East Penn or JCI that they are made by them. Most if not all of the cheaper batteries are made in Equator or Mexico. No they’re not made in China….apparently our closer 3rd world industrials have lack of distance on their side or whatever.
Trojans are probably one of the best batteries on the market...just ask them. That said, an equally good battery would be “Crown”, Google it. You can find Crown at more competitive pricing than Trojan but not as cheap as the imports.
On “Seawings” I use 6 Crown CR235 6 volt batteries, I get the better quality, same warranty as Trojan (18 months) but not the huge price tag. I choose these as I believe they are the best value for the dollar.
The bottom line on all batteries that I’ve dealt with (and that’s about all of them) is if you treat them right, they will treat you right. Think of them as a horse...you wouldn’t stick a horse in a barn for a year or two with out feeding or watering it. Like wise you wouldn’t stick $400-$700 worth of batteries in a boat with inadequate charging and watering. I’ve seen Trojans, Crowns and Duracell/Deka all last 8 years and I’ve seen them last 8 months. ]
Since you are going solar, I highly recommend that you read the blog written by Handy Bob Solar.
www.handybobsolar.com
He was using solar in a 5th wheel, full-timing for about 15 years (he now lives off grid in a house he built himself), starting around '99 when solar was expensive and not as popular, and there was also a lot of ignorance out there at that time regarding voltage loss due to inadequate wiring, also inadequate charge voltage for solar application, especially when the winter solar days are very short. He figured all this stuff out and has helped a lot of people along the way, including correcting/improving botched installations. His article, labeled "The Battery Charging Puzzle" is key to read, even though I suggest to read his whole blog and take notes. This will help you to avoid the common pitfalls.
Considering the cost of batteries, I strongly suggest that you get a shunt based battery monitor. There are many brands out there, I use the Trimetric TM2030RV, made by Bogart Engineering. I highly recommend it, as it is very accurate and simple to use. Bogart also makes a 30amp charge controller (SC2030) that works in conjunction with the Trimetric, to fine tune the charge algorithms. The Trimetric can work with up to two of those charge controllers. This is the system I have set up on my coach (960W), and it has more than exceeded my expectations. When comparing to other solar installations and max charge amperage output, I find that my system puts out more amps per rated watt of solar than many out there, it is a lot of bang for the buck. If you want more details on my setup PM me.
BTW, the reason I have a large amount of solar, is because I have to be able to charge my mobility scooter overnight and then recover the next day. It works very well in the summer, even when there are cloudy days. On shorter days, I could use more panels, as I'm not able to tilt them, but the possible expansion is for another day at this point.
One last point, if you happen to run you batteries below 50% every once in a while, it is not the end of the world, as it really won't hurt them, as long as you recharge them back up promptly and you equalize them after a deep discharge. Of course shallow cycles do provide a much longer battery life overall.