I have 2 deep cyle batteries on my trolling motor. It's a 24v system and has a Guest 2 bank 4amp onboard charger. I checked the water in the two deep cycle and one of the deep cycle batteries was fine. The one that wasn't fine took 3/4 of a gallon of water. The battery is less than a year...
I haven't done this but according to my manuel you can remove your tilt ram while leaving the power trim system in place. There is also a kit with the o-rings to rebuild the ram. On your balls, make sure your using the right stuff. Regular grease doesn't work. Use the 2-4-C w/teflon...