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Old 07-01-2015, 12:58 PM   #1
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Cold Overnights & No Generator

Hi folks!

We don't even have our new TT yet, but we're planning a big trip late Aug/early September. Yellowstone & Grand Tetons will be the main attraction. Although the convenience of full-hookups is tempting... I am drawn to the campgrounds with more space and therefore less amenities. Some of the CGs in Yellowstone that are most appealing to me not only have no hook-ups, but also do not allow any generator use. (And are first-come first-served, but that's not a question for this forum. )

That time of year it's possible we'll have weather in the 30s, even maybe 20s at night from what I read. Possibly some snow. Will be above freezing in the daytime - likely 50s or 60s.

We're a young family with two small kiddos, so there are some practical limits to how much we can reduce usage and how cold of an inside temp we can all deal with overnight.

We would like to camp in one of these campgrounds for around 3-4 nights.

Expected usage:
-2 quick showers/day
-2 baths total
-Some water usage for cooking
-Camper has all LED lights
-Furnace to keep inside temp around 60 overnight - this is the biggie I'm concerned with as I've heard the fan can use up battery very quickly when it's cold

We'll plan to recharge any electronics in the TV while driving.

We only have a single standard battery.

For water we have an 80 gal fresh water tank.

So - what I'm looking for is help making sure I'm thinking of all usage and then thinking through our options, as well as some idea of cost of these options.

More batteries?
Solar?
Recharge batteries in TV while driving? (In Yellowstone obviously we'll be in TV driving for at least a couple of hours each day.)

Thank you so much - I'm feeling rather overwhelmed!
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Old 07-01-2015, 01:07 PM   #2
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Cold temps? We tented with a 1 year old as cold as 30. She snuggled in her sleeping bag and was just fine.

My point is, don't worry too much about the kids comfort. Just do it and enjoy it.

We did Yellowstone in early Sept. About 28 at night in West Yellowstone MT in a hybrid trailer. We had full hookups, so weren't worried about battery life. The furnace ran almost constantly. With a hard sided trailer running on battery, I'd run the furnace at 45. Blankets and sleeping bags will keep you nice and toasty warm.
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Old 07-01-2015, 01:19 PM   #3
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Keep the heat off during the day. Set the thermostat for 50-55*F. And close the windows tight.


We camped in the Adirondacks over Memorial day this year. (Below freezing temps expected) The heat cycled 3 times overnight. (Guess who's a light sleeper?)


------


Your still gonna notice the water pump running slow by day 4.


------------


You can plug the TT into the TV and idle the engine for 1/2 an hour to top up the battery. Do that once or twice over your stay.
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Old 07-01-2015, 01:35 PM   #4
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I would suggest a second battery and a 160 watt solar panel. We go out for a week at a time in the mountains of BC in September and are fine with a setup like this.
Happy Camping.
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Old 07-01-2015, 03:53 PM   #5
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My experience -- running the furnace at night only, 12V for Water heater and Fridge = 24hrs per battery before charging is required.

You might be able to extend a bit if you are very diligent out turing out lights, turing off fridge and WH periodically and only running furnace sparingly at night -- but even that I doubt you are going to get 48 hrs per battery.

Adding a second battery and portable solar charging system would be essential to go 3-4 cool to cold nights free of an electrical hook up.
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Old 07-01-2015, 04:04 PM   #6
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I've never been to Yellowstone, been to several other Nat'l Parks including several Yosemite and Sequoia trips, and hadn't run into CG that simply said no generators. Many had limited run hours, but it was always enough to charge batteries.

So I went a looked at the Yellowstone CG information page. I was surprised that 6 of the 13 CG, didn't allow generators at all -- but more surprised that of the 6 that don't allow generators only Pebble Creek & Indian Creek have length restrictions that are laxed enough to accomdate what I think is your TT, a 26BH - right?

If you notice the ** note, those CGs are basing lenght at total lenght of TT and TV, I presume there are some tight roads to get there or tight loops once you get in.

I know that is an issue at Sequoia. there are essentially 2 routes in, but the Hwy 198 isn't passable for vehicles who's combined lenght is >25' (I think that is the limit)
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Old 07-01-2015, 04:27 PM   #7
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Yes, Pebble Creek is the one I have my eye on. I'll be honest, I was surprised at the generator restrictions as well. Especially given that you must drive everywhere in the park - so there are no doubt going to be cars coming and going, and associated noise on a semi-regular basis. We're planning on purchasing a quiet generator, which seems like it wouldn't be any more of an imposition than driving by another's campground. Oh well, I don't have to understand the rules in order to follow them.

I'm feeling like our best bet may be to shoot for 2 nights somewhere that allows generators, then 1-2 nights at Pebble Creek depending on conditions. If it's on the warmer side I think we should be fine, but there are just no guarantees. I'm feeling like 4 nights boondocking is perhaps something to be saved for after we have basic RVing down.
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Old 07-01-2015, 05:59 PM   #8
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Fishing Bridge campground (park campground) just inside the east entrance has full hookups. We stayed there to tour the loop road on the east side and stayed at Grizzly RV park (private) in west Yellowstone (about 1 mile outside the west entrance) again with full hookups to tour the west side of the loop road..
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Old 07-01-2015, 07:12 PM   #9
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I'm feeling like our best bet may be to shoot for 2 nights somewhere that allows generators, then 1-2 nights at Pebble Creek depending on conditions. If it's on the warmer side I think we should be fine, but there are just no guarantees. I'm feeling like 4 nights boondocking is perhaps something to be saved for after we have basic RVing down.
That sounds more reasonable. The problem with solar out there is that many of the campgrounds have so many trees that solar is not able to do its job.
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Old 07-05-2015, 09:30 PM   #10
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Some years ago I took my pop-up to Yellowstone in late April for an 8 day stay. I ran 2 12v deep cycle and solor panels to keep the batteries charged up with no issues. The wife does not like to be cold so I ran the furnace anytime we were in the trailer. And as everyone knows there is no insulating qualities in a pop-up. Usually there is potable water available so you can gravity fill fresh from a 6gallon can if need be. The only real issue then is your gray and black tank capacity.
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Old 07-06-2015, 04:57 PM   #11
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I do a few things. I have a spare batter, I will those in the bed of the truck, when I know power will be an issue. I just swap batteries as needed. I also made a plug that connects to my 7 pin, and connects to the weak batter, that is in the bed of the truck. As I am driving it will recharge. In Yellowstone there is a lot of driving, so to recharge it is easy. We are also conservative on our power usage when out for extended stays. We will turn off all the overhead ceiling lights at each location. Then reach up and turn on the one and only the one we need. Saves a lot of battery life. Without the need for heat, we have gone for 5 nights on a single battery. If heat is needed, the longest we can go is about 2 nights.
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Old 07-07-2015, 04:51 AM   #12
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The first 3 months of this year was spent on a trip of the western part of the USA. It came as a surprise to me at the heavy restriction or ban of generators. I bought a suitcase solar panel as a result. Have played with it some but haven't had an opportunity to put it to use yet. The second battery is a must if you are going to do any dry camping in my OP. We truly enjoy dry camping AFTER we made some mods to prepare for it.
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Old 07-07-2015, 07:24 AM   #13
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We just returned from YNP and Teton. Spent two weeks just outside the parks in the forest dry camping. I installed new LED bulbs just before the trip as well as two 280 watt solar panels and a 2000 watt pure sine wave inverter and two GC2 6 volt batteries. We watched movies at night, popped pop corn in the microwave, ran the heater several nights (31 degrees one night) and never once cranked the generator. I estimate that the money saved not paying CG fees just about paid for the entire solar setup that we will continue to enjoy.
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Old 07-07-2015, 08:09 AM   #14
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Another vote for solar as I am now a convert as well. We have 300W on the roof and two 6v batteries. Don't need to plug in anymore unless I want to run the microwave or the air conditioning.
I also disabled my converter so it doesn't charge the battery even if we are plugged in.

Cheers
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Old 07-08-2015, 05:36 AM   #15
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Forget the furnace.. it wastes too much propane and electric. I went with a big buddy heater... works great in cooler temps and can be plumbed right to your propane lines
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Old 07-08-2015, 05:40 AM   #16
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Forget the furnace.. it wastes too much propane and electric. I went with a big buddy heater... works great in cooler temps and can be plumbed right to your propane lines
I have a Big Buddy I bought to use on the patio. Do you have to leave a window cracked while using it inside?
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Old 07-08-2015, 10:28 AM   #17
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I have a Big Buddy I bought to use on the patio. Do you have to leave a window cracked while using it inside?
Safety says YES.. roof vent cracked a little bit is good.. PLEASE NOTE I don't sleep with mine on.. Jumping up in the morning turning it on and leaping back into bed first thing in the AM is not that big a deal to me.. I find that even alone, with the bedroom door closed it stays 10 degrees warmer than the rest of the RV.
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Old 07-08-2015, 02:04 PM   #18
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Thanks Seann.
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Old 07-09-2015, 08:54 AM   #19
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I have a Big Buddy I bought to use on the patio. Do you have to leave a window cracked while using it inside?
We spent 3 months on a western trip last winter. We used the big buddy exclusively. Cracked a window in both ends of the camper and cracked the roof vent. We do sleep with ours on!! The DW prefers it to the furnace even when hooked up to power. It is more comfortable on a lot less propane . No fans coming on & off thru the night. The only drawback is that I end up getting up during the night to turn it up a notch as the temperatures outside drop.
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Old 07-28-2015, 09:58 PM   #20
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We also use the Big Buddy - got one on recommendation from Seann. It works great. We sleep with it on low when it's really cold. It takes up a lot of space, but we usually just set it up at night. It gets way too hot in the trailer if we leave it on high very long...

We pretty much always have the bath vent open (has a cover) and one of the rear bunk windows and a front window cracked. That's probably way more than enough, but works great.

We also run the 2 6-volt batts and only use a 1000 watt Honda - just enough to charge the batteries. Running less that 2 hours a day, we can pretty much go indefinitely. LED lights are a must - I just got the cheapies on ebay and they get the job done.
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