New Lead Acid Batteries; Charge & Monitor Upgrade?

[peteco]

I noticed a bulge and a small crack at the positive terminal on my 9-year old Deka GC15 lead acid batteries. The sidewalls were also bulged somewhat, which I had noticed starting a few years ago. These batteries have worked great despite probably undercharging from the Tripplite 750 inverter charger. Yet whenever I checked the specific gravity the cells would show full charge and very little variance between cells. I have always kept the water above the plates. I could boondock for 2-3 days with careful use of power. So I am not sure why the batteries bulged like they did. Perhaps long trips subjected the battery to high voltage (14+v alternator charging)???

I just replaced with 2 Duracell SLIGC115 lead acid batteries (same as the Deka GC25, great price from Batteries+ $117). I am wondering if I should upgrade my charging system from the Tripplite RV750ULHW and add a battery monitoring system. A variety of systems and charge settings have been mentioned over the years on the forum here. So what would be the latest recommendations for a system like mine?