Here we go, I just received 2 x 12 volt 225 AH batteries form Trojan. This time they were more affordable about $580 for both batteries & I picked them up directly from the warehouse. The first time around I paid about $880 for my 2 x 6 volt 400 amp hour Surrettee batteries, a large part of the cost 25% - 30% or more was for shipping. Each battery weighs about 128 lbs. These batteries are rated for approx 1,200 cycles at 50% discharge. With my use they should last about 5-6 years or longer. Time will tell. The trick with Batteries is to never ever let them run dry & to always properly charge them as close to 100% as you possible can.
I got my Batteries from Barb & Pat at the solarbiz.com , both real nice friendly lady's. They have great prices and Barb & Pat fixed it so I could get a local PU just 2 miles from my house. There was a small $30 PU fee , but then the guys there need a little money to run the forklift & load them into my truck.
http://www.thesolarbiz.com/Trojan-J185H-AC-12V-Battery-225-AH
The batteries are in a really heavy duty plastic case
They were even fully charged at over 12.6 volts
It sounds like your batteries will last quite a while. You've got the right idea - not running them down too far. I have never been below 70% on the house battery banki, even using a full time voltmenter to monitor it. I ran the van's battery dead three times and killed it forever! (it was one of those cross between a starting / deep cycle)
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