Dry camping without a generator

[Lloyd]

There are a lot of things that can figure in here.
You have received some good advice in some of the posts.
Here's my 2 cents.
You folks have already spent a good amount of money on your camper. If you want to experience dry camping, spend a little more and buy 2 good batteries. Not the cheapest ones they have at the local station either. My recommendation would be two deep cycle 6 volt batteries wired in series. That should take you through a 3 day camping trip. It will also make your trip a lot more enjoyable. Plus if you treat them right, the batteries will last for years. Mine are 6 years old now.
Another thing to remember is--when a battery gets to 50% on the charge/discharge how ever you want to word it. It's essentially dead. If you discharge a battery to that point very many times it will be shot.
Spoiled food, slides that don't want to come back in, co detectors that are not working. All that can make for a unpleasant camping experience.

[Papa-T]

Originally Posted by harley

Remember that if you think that running the truck with the harness hooked up will charge quickly...think again ( I have tried it for 1 hr...waste of fuel). it will take an awful long time as the wire from the truck battery to the trailer batt is small.
If you need to do this ,simply face truck to trailer and hook jumper cables directly to trailer battery .Was told that leaving tow/haul or headlights on makes alt charge stronger .

Very true. Would take a very long time. I would recommend trying to purchase a small generator. Even maybe find a used one. Even a 1000 watt would charge the battery good.

[JBOURQUIN]

Originally Posted by firefighter65

Maybe think about a small solar panel, one that could be moved around during the day. Maybe not much gain but every amp would help.

This is what I do. For the last 2 years probably close to 90% of our trips have been to state parks with out any hookups. I've got a small solar panel that plugs into a cig lighter to maintain a battery. I put the alligator clips on it, hook directly to the battery and throw it on the roof. May not make much of a difference but seems to help for a 2-3 day trip. Also switched all lights to LED and don't use the fridge, just pack coolers.

[dedmiston]

Just one note of caution.

I like Lloyd's suggestion of upgrading to two 6v batteries in series to make a 12v system, but that setup isn't completely foolproof. If you have any trouble with either of those six volt batteries, then you essentially have a zero volt system. I've run six volt batteries for thirteen years now and I've had catastrophic failures with a battery twice, which has left me without any power.

My policy is to either run at least four 6v batteries or stick with 12v batteries in parallel. That way if any one of the batteries goes out, you still either have one more 12v battery or another bank of pairs of 6v batteries.

It's very unlikely that you'll fry a 6v battery, but it's happened to me twice, so it isn't impossible.

[AbbaZabba]

When and where are you going? If you end up needing to run your heater, you will kill the stock battery IMO. Heater pulls small amount of power just like your fridge on propane does. I upgraded my batteries to a pair because of the amount of times we go dry camping. Our stock battery didn't last half the night when I was taking the camper home, only use was the lights to find a bed 9 PM and the heater. Battery was dead and I was freezing by about 2:30.

If you end up upgrading your batteries I can show you how I did mine. Upgrading mine helped, we do run the Honda a couple hours during the day when no one is around but go for a long time with no issues.

[COCamping]

Thanks for all the advice, I'll need to look into some of the options, as we have plenty of time to plan and possibly purchase new equipment for our trailer. We are headed to the Grand Junction, CO area (4700ft) in July. We will be at a state park with a spigot near our site as well as bathroom/shower facilities. So we are quite confident we can minimize use of power in our trailer for most everything. But since the fridge can run off propane we were considering using the fridge instead of coolers, knowing it would draw from the battery for the indicators and thermostat which is why I was asking if it'd be possible to run for 3 days on propane/battery.

I'm not a big fan of generators, but would definitely be on board with additional batteries as well as solar. So I'll look into it some more.

We are entering our 2nd full season with this setup, so we still have a learning curve and customizations to add as we figure out our style. We used to only dry camp with a popup, so we're quite comfortable with no heat/AC, no lights (flashlights/lanterns), no inside water etc. We have the means to put the slide out and jacks down while hooked up to the running truck. We know we can operate those on just truck power should the battery die completely. When my husband winterizes the trailer he returns it to storage with no battery and is able to operate those as long as the truck is hooked up and running.

AbbaZabba I'd love to know more about your setup, how long it lasts for you, what you are running on them, and what the upgrade cost. Since you are local to us, so we'd likely have similar results and costs.

[fredtx]

We run 2 x 6v 215ah gc2 batteries, portable 100w solar wired direct to battery with 10awg. Fridge on propane, use lights, stove fan, heater, radio, waterpump as usual. Can stay out until the black tank is full. Just conserve if it gets cloudy for a few days. Then on the way home, stop for a night at the most upscale rv park we can find. Happy Trails

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[COCamping]

Originally Posted by fredtx

We run 2 x 6v 215ah gc2 batteries, portable 100w solar wired direct to battery with 10awg. Fridge on propane, use lights, stove fan, heater, radio, waterpump as usual. Can stay out until the black tank is full. Just conserve if it gets cloudy for a few days. Then on the way home, stop for a night at the most upscale rv park we can find. Happy Trails

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-T537A using Tapatalk

I'd love have the details on your setup? Which brand batteries and solar you went with, they wired in parallel or series? Also do you have something that you use to monitor your battery levels?

This sounds like the perfect setup for us. Here in Colorado there are more sunny days than not so solar has always been a thought for us. For this particular trip we'll be at a state park with bathroom facilities so we don't have to worry too much about the tanks, as we'll use those facilities a majority of the time. Especially with a family of 5, tanks could fill fast if we don't.

[Lloyd]

My setup.

I have a 135 watt Kyocera panel and it's rated at 7.63 amps.
Plus, Two 6 volt Trojan t-105 deep cycle batteries.
Here's a pic of the panel, and the controller, which is rated for 25 amps.
Attached Thumbnails

__________________
08 CF26RK
2013 Ford f150 Eco Boost 3.73 Gears-Max tow-Max pay- Tuxedo Black
Reese Select 16K
135 Watt Kyocera Solar Panel
25 Amp Go Power Regulator

[fredtx]

2 x 6v Duracell 2gc 215ah batteries in series equals 12v

Our solar power consists of:
Suaoki 100W 18V 12V Solar Panel, portable in home made PVC stand

SS Power Technology Solar Charge Controller
(both from Amazon)
10awg wire, normally 5' long, but have 20' extention to reach the sun if parked in the shade.

We constantly conserve, but don't suffer when boondocking. We use 25 to 80 ah a day. No AC or microwave, but I'll trade those for the great outdoors 6 out of 7 days a week. Happy Trails

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-T537A using Tapatalk

[fredtx]

Originally Posted by Lloyd

My setup.

I have a 135 watt Kyocera panel and it's rated at 7.63 amps.
Plus, Two 6 volt Trojan t-105 deep cycle batteries.
Here's a pic of the panel, and the controller, which is rated for 25 amps.
Attached Thumbnails

__________________
08 CF26RK
2013 Ford f150 Eco Boost 3.73 Gears-Max tow-Max pay- Tuxedo Black
Reese Select 16K
135 Watt Kyocera Solar Panel
25 Amp Go Power Regulator

Nice setup Lloyd

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[Lloyd]

Thank you.
Wish I could find room for two more batteries and another panel.

[johnboytoo]

You CAN Lloyd - bigger rv