Dry Camping Question

[Kim Gass]

We've dry camped for five days. In Jasper. We never needed the generator. We did not have ac of course and ran the refrigerator on gas. It was pretty light out so only used the lights for three hours a day. No Television.
We're beginning to wonder why we brought the genny along. We have one battery. We do travel 3-400 miles between campsites
We don't run the refrigerator on the road. During transit it's a big cooler
We've been on he road since July 4. Just switched to a new 20 lb tank

[troutslayer]

O.K. so here's what I would do if I were you (of course, I'm not you so you may do something totally different ). I would not want to put a lot of money into something that I may want to change a year of so down the road. However, I would want to be relatively assured that I could do some "light" off-grid camping without worrying about scrimping so much that I don't have a good time. And...since the battery that you currently have is a small one and probably not a true deep cycle battery, I would start there. I would get the largest true 12V deep cycle battery that my TT could carry. For me that would be an AGM deep cycle because they last longer and have a slower discharge rate (I know, I know, some will disput the discharge rate but that's been my experience). Since your TT is a rather small one, I would assume that placing 6-6V batteries and a dozen solar panels are not in your future for your current rig. Therefore, I would go with the AGM battery and see about eventually placing a 100W, or eventially maybe 2-100W solar panels on the roof (never been a fan of the portable solar panels). Your AGM battery then would be a nice fit with the solar. I've had the generator in boondocking situations but now leave it home due to the much preferred solar system that I currently have. I have a VMAXTANKS AGM deep cycle battery and really like it but others are just as good but the key is true deep cycle. Good luck and let us know what you end up with.
By the way, it get into the low 40s at night where you are going...you may want some heat .

[01tundra]

I was actually thinking about upgrading the house battery and using the one the dealer threw in as the back-up.

I've been trying to find a true deep cycle that's a (non-cranking) battery but all the info I find is from 2012 or older....

40's is perfect sleeping weather!

[RufusBC]

Got our hummy a month before you. We have done many 3 days trips on battery only. All was fine. Probably could have stretched to 4 days. Heading out now for a long boondock but we purchased a GoPower 120 kit and extension cable so we can find a patch of sun in the trees!

[wanderlust]

Originally Posted by 01tundra

Think we'll be able to stretch the single battery for two nights if we're really conservative on power usage?

Absolutely.

[01tundra]

Originally Posted by RufusBC

Got our hummy a month before you. We have done many 3 days trips on battery only. All was fine. Probably could have stretched to 4 days. Heading out now for a long boondock but we purchased a GoPower 120 kit and extension cable so we can find a patch of sun in the trees!

How does the 120w do for you? I talked to GoPower and they seemed to think that I could get by with the 80w if I was just charging the battery. I like the physical size of the 80w, but don't want to cut ourselves short.

[Cranetech]

Originally Posted by 01tundra

I know this has been asked a million times on here in just about every way possible....and I also realize that there's no definitive answer due to all the variables.....but

We are doing our first dry camping trip at Elkmont CG (GSNM) in October and I wanted a sanity check.

Our little Hummingbird has one Interstate Group 24, 12V deep cycle battery that's basically new.

The plan is to only use the water pump when absolutely necessary, we only use the toilet for liquid use, so we'll be using the bathhouse for everything else.

We have LED's inside, all but one are controlled from a master switch, but can also be turned on/off individually. Our plan is to only use the one LED puck light over the dinette for interior lighting purposes. No TV or radio usage.

No heat usage of any type and maybe minimal ventilation fan usage (Vortex 2 - 0.8 to 1.4 amp draw and 2.2 amp motor) for that time of year. We'll run the refrigerator on gas and all of our cooking is always on gas outdoors, so only control voltage for the fridge (I'll turn the ARP cooling fans off).

Might roll the awning out/in. Will run the slide out/in while still hooked to our TV.

I'm sure there's some small parasitic draws that I'm not accounting for.

Camping for two nights. Most of that will be spent outdoors, mostly just sleeping in the TT.

Think we'll be able to stretch the single battery for two nights if we're really conservative on power usage?

I'm trying to avoid hauling our Honda 3000w generator along if possible, so another idea I had would be to either purchase a spare 12v or two Trojan 6v batteries and throw them in the bed of the truck for a swap out if needed. We can't afford to change permanently to two 6V batteries due to GVWR limitations on our TT.

Thanks.

We camped in a tent trailer for years and we're always mindful of the limited quantity of power. Kept lights to a minimum used the heater to warm the trailer up before the kids went to bed and were always able to squeak out 4 or 5 days without an issue. We recently bought a 25rks and it originally had 1 12v deep cycle battery I have replaced all the lights with led . We went camping with a buddy who had a solar panel and a generator so I abused the battery on our first trip to see what I could get out of it. I left the furnace in all night left the pump on and used lots of lights and we made it 2 nights. Battery was also new. Charged it up with his generator and we're fine for the rest of our trip. I have since installed another battery and we have not yet had any issues camping 5 nights with conservation. Personally I think you will be just fine if you conserve.

[Mustang65]

Originally Posted by 01tundra

How does the 120w do for you? I talked to GoPower and they seemed to think that I could get by with the 80w if I was just charging the battery. I like the physical size of the 80w, but don't want to cut ourselves short.

Let's look at the numbers. This formula is usually used to show the difference between a PWM and a MPPT SOLAR charge controller, but it will give you an idea as to how much of the SOLAR panels wattage is being ignored even though you have an 80 watt panel.

The 80 Watt panel output.. with a standard PWM SOLAR Charge Controller
4.35 watts @ 18.4 Volts (panel voltage under load) [18.4*4.35=80.04 watts

18.4Volts (panel) - 12.2VDC (Battery voltage at charge) = 6.2volts
* 4.35Amps (Panel output rating) = 26.97 watts lost

80 watts - 26.97 watts = 50.03 Solar Panel Watts useable

You can do the math for a 100 watt panel, go with the 100 watt panel.

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

Any SOLAR numbers for output is based on 100% SUNSHINE, no clouds, haze, shade from a tree or anything else and will only produce this for a few hours a day (around 12 noon).

So if you have an 85Ah battery and you use 40Ah of it at night, and you have a BRIGHT SUNNY DAY, you will get about 5 hours of useable sunshine. Just for the numbers if you could get 5 hours at the max output (a SOLAR owners dream), 5 hours * 4Amp output = only 20 Ah going back into your battery(s). This is a 20 Ah deficit each night, you will be loosing more and more of your battery power. The realized Ah's will be less than the 20Ah.

Go with the 100 watt panel and you will have some extra power to deal with clouds and other shading issues .

Don

[01tundra]

Originally Posted by Mustang65

Let's look at the numbers. This formula is usually used to show the difference between a PWM and a MPPT SOLAR charge controller, but it will give you an idea as to how much of the SOLAR panels wattage is being ignored even though you have an 80 watt panel.

The 80 Watt panel output.. with a standard PWM SOLAR Charge Controller
4.35 watts @ 18.4 Volts (panel voltage under load) [18.4*4.35=80.04 watts

18.4Volts (panel) - 12.2VDC (Battery voltage at charge) = 6.2volts
* 4.35Amps (Panel output rating) = 26.97 watts lost

80 watts - 26.97 watts = 50.03 Solar Panel Watts useable

You can do the math for a 100 watt panel, go with the 100 watt panel.

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

Any SOLAR numbers for output is based on 100% SUNSHINE, no clouds, haze, shade from a tree or anything else and will only produce this for a few hours a day (around 12 noon).

So if you have an 85Ah battery and you use 40Ah of it at night, and you have a BRIGHT SUNNY DAY, you will get about 5 hours of useable sunshine. Just for the numbers if you could get 5 hours at the max output (a SOLAR owners dream), 5 hours * 4Amp output = only 20 Ah going back into your battery(s). This is a 20 Ah deficit each night, you will be loosing more and more of your battery power. The realized Ah's will be less than the 20Ah.

Go with the 100 watt panel and you will have some extra power to deal with clouds and other shading issues .

Don

Perfect, thanks for the explanation.

I admittedly have not researched solar enough yet to fully understand the efficiency, losses, ratings, etc.

Since we camp mostly in state parks and prefer heavily wooded areas it sounds like a 120w would be a much better option for us.

[Mustang65]

Originally Posted by 01tundra

Perfect, thanks for the explanation.

I admittedly have not researched solar enough yet to fully understand the efficiency, losses, ratings, etc.

Since we camp mostly in state parks and prefer heavily wooded areas it sounds like a 120w would be a much better option for us.

You can never have enough SOLAR, 250 watts keeps us going, 500 watts would be GREAT for us, as it starts getting close in Spring, Winter, Fall with less sunlight available.

Log on to our RVing With SOLAR social group. A lot of good information available there on batteries and SOLAR... Join the group!

Keep us informed with how it goes.

Don

My Registry

RVing with SOLAR

[RufusBC]

Originally Posted by 01tundra

How does the 120w do for you? I talked to GoPower and they seemed to think that I could get by with the 80w if I was just charging the battery. I like the physical size of the 80w, but don't want to cut ourselves short.

We got the 120 because we camp in heavy BC forests. Any branch that casts shade on the panels makes a significant decrease in aph. I'm sure the 80 is fine and smaller but folded and in the case the 120 is a great size for us. I will post some updates and photos, time permitting on our trip.


Sent from my commuter [emoji577]

[01tundra]

Off topic - but the more I look around I think I'd rather have 100-120W solar panel mounted on the roof, but with a fiberglass shell and not a lot of free roof space I'm not sure if that's really even possible on a Hummingbird.

I definitely do not want to screw into the roof, but I also don't like the idea of hauling around a solar panel in the back of the truck and we also have to factor in a 3 yr old running around the campsite......

[Mustang65]

With the fiberglass roof you can look into using the SUPER Stick double sided tape, I forgot the name, but some of the other members have used it without any issues. You may want to search the forum for the posts.

I am sure that one of the members will jump in with the name of the tape... 3M rings a bell.

Don

My Registry

RVing with SOLAR

[01tundra]

Yep found it -

EternaBond RSW-4-50 RoofSeal Sealant Tape

[Dustdevil]

You're over-analyzing, and compensating to the point of absurdity. Just buy the second battery and stop planning on how much torture you can force your family to endure. There is a reason you bought an RV, and it wasn't so you could go into the woods and turn everything off to the point that it's nothing more than a comfortable outhouse.

[Dustdevil]

Sorry, I forgot something:

;-)

[01tundra]

For now I'm going to purchase a Lifeline GPL-27T (100ah) battery to install on the tongue and use the Interstate battery that came with our TT as a back-up.

[The Logans]

We always just left the tow vehicle connected to the trailer when dry camping, and ran the truck engine when we needed to bring the trailer battery back up...

[Bobx2]

Originally Posted by Dustdevil

You're over-analyzing, and compensating to the point of absurdity. Just buy the second battery and stop planning on how much torture you can force your family to endure. There is a reason you bought an RV, and it wasn't so you could go into the woods and turn everything off to the point that it's nothing more than a comfortable outhouse.

LOL Couldn't agree more. Just buy yourself a group 27 12V deep cycle (Interstate batteries are good) and some battery cables. Set the new battery on the ground near the mounted battery, wire them together in parallel, and forget about how much battery you are using for the weekend. You get out to avoid worrying, so don't worry about it with this type of setup.

[01tundra]

While I'm off topic -

My owners manual says to only use a Group 27 deep cycle battery.

Lifeline is a true deep cycle AGM and I've read a few comments about having to adjust how it's charged.

Will I have to do anything other than drop the new battery in the box on the tongue and hook it up? I want to make sure that the on-board charging system is set up for this style of battery.