Lowrance sonar & TM upgrade on RT188

[clguide9x]

I have a '14 Ranger RT188 that I bought recently.

It has a MK edge and a single 5" Lowrance unit at the console.

I was thinking of putting either dual 7" or 9" Elite FS units on it, and upgrading to a Ghost TM as well.

I'm a little concerned power-wise, since this boat is a 24V system. My previous boat was a 36V so I never really worried about it...I could leave the sonars on and run the TM all day long and still get a few days between charges. Am I going to have to be charging all the time with the bigger displays and TM?

Also, to anyone who has mounted the 9"+ units on the Ranger RTs, what mounts did you use at the console/bow?

Thanks in advance.

[Team Colibri]

Assuming you use lead-based batteries, you should always charge your batteries every time they have been used. Your units and TM use seperate batterybanks, each should have enough available Ah for your needs.

[Bill Reynolds]

My 2015 RT only has room for 3 Group 27 batteries (prefer group 31’s on TM) and I can fish 12 hours on my Ultrex without a problem. From what I hear, you should get even more time with the Ghost. I always recharge after each trip.
When mounting the Ghost to the deck, be aware of the angle so as to reduce the amount the head hangs over the gunwale. My Ultrex is mounted in the same holes as the MK Maxxum and it hangs over way too much.
I use Precision Sonar mount at the console, pricey but really good quality. I prefer a bridge mount on the bow, mine has 4 inch rise but I wish it was 6 inches
BTW: Prior to mounting the 9 inch HDS on the Precision Sonar mount, I had a 7 inch HDS flush mounted in the dash. Was a lot of work but I was happy with the result. The 9 inch HDS was too wide to fit the dash but the FS model may fit.
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[Bassakwards]

I just added a ghost to my RT last weekend. It was a pretty simple job, just time consuming. I had fortrex originally 4 of 6 holes lined up, I had to drill 2 more. Up front I've got 1 HDS carbon 9 on a precision sonar bracket. I just ordered a carbon 12 from BPS and I'll be moving my other carbon 9 pup front adding active target. I run 2 27 agm and 1 31 agm. I've never not had enough power. Although, most of my trips are less than 8 hrs.