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Originally Posted by rickst29
Unless you're running the fridge on 12v in camp (and you absolutely shouldn't do that), your battery should have held up through the night, with maybe 10-20Ah of total power loss during the night.
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Unless you are also running the furnace, which consumes a lot of power if the temps are even moderately cold.
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The inexpensive Walmart 'deep cycle batteries' are actually combination batteries, attempting to balance the goals of deep-cycle use and motor starting use.
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If the battery in question has a cca rating, it is most likely a pure motor-start battery, and not a deep cycle battery or a combination (aka marine) battery. Among the three, a motor start battery is the worst choice. Walmart sometimes has true deep cycle batteries in stock, but my experience says not often
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I brought it into a Walmart and they did a battery test with a battery testing machine. Told me it's a dead battery.
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Some WalMarts (not necessarily all) test your battery with a simple handheld voltmeter - in other words, no load. This tells you pretty much nothing, but they will still tell you your battery is bad, and you should buy a new one. I even caught a Ford dealer doing this to my F-150 once. A true battery tester is a sheet metal enclosure maybe 6 inches on a side, with a carry handle, vent holes, and heavy cables and clips.
I have had decent luck with WalMart batteries - but you need to know what is happening.
Bill