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Old 07-24-2017, 12:10 PM   #1
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Solar or batteries

What can I use for a back up power supply for my 26X Alante? I want to go where there are not hook ups. What can I use to keep the fridge command center functioning without draining the battery? I have never owned a motor home. I need help...please.
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Old 07-24-2017, 12:19 PM   #2
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Your generator?

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Old 07-24-2017, 12:52 PM   #3
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Welcome to the forum.

As was already said, your generator can do that.
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Old 07-24-2017, 01:15 PM   #4
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As others have said your generator will do this for you. But as you indicated on your title you can also add batteries and solar to charge those batteries to dry camp effectively.
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Old 07-24-2017, 02:06 PM   #5
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I should have mentioned

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Your generator?

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I don't want to run the generator night and day if I don't have too. Can I go for a walk or go fishing and sleep all night without having to run the generator?
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Old 07-24-2017, 02:09 PM   #6
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I don't want to run the generator night and day if I don't have too. Can I go for a walk or go fishing and sleep all night without having to run the generator?
Are you worried about your fridge? That has a gas backup.

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Old 07-24-2017, 02:10 PM   #7
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Thank you very much for trying to help. As you can tell I have never owned a RV. I am learning. What backup power would work? Can I plug backup power into my RV somewhere or directly to the coach battery?
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Old 07-24-2017, 02:18 PM   #8
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YES! Exactly the fridge. If I turn the RV off the fridge goes off. It will automatically go to gas but the power to the RV has to be on. The little command center on the front will go off and so does the fridge. Thank you so much for responding.
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Old 07-24-2017, 02:25 PM   #9
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I'm sorry, you're exactly right. I Really don't have more as I'm ignorant when it comes to solar. Hope you get better answers. Good luck.

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Old 07-24-2017, 03:22 PM   #10
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Since you mentioned you want to dry-camp, your first investment should be a set of good batteries to get you, your fridge and heater through your dry- camping. You will need to run your generator in the morning and evening to get a charge back into the battery(s) for overnight. The more Ah's your batteries are rated at the longer you can dry-camp. True Deep Cycle batteries should be your first choice. You can tell a true deep cycle battery as they do not have a CCA or MCA rating (automobile batteries have that rating). Your battery location and area will determine the size of the batteries you can get.

SOLAR is an excellent choice for keeping the batteries charged, but remember if you park in the shade of a tree the shade will really limit the amount of charging power produced by your SOLAR panels. I do not recommend anything less than 200Watts for a basic system when dry-camping is part of your camping.

I am not sure as to what type of battery monitoring system your RV has, but a Digital Battery Monitoring interface will let you know when you have reached the 12.0VDC level of your batteries. This is the cut off point where using the batteries any longer (discharging them lower than 12VDC will cause them harm (long life).

We have an RVing with SOLAR social group (link below) that has a lot of BATTERY and SOLAR information. Just go through the posts and read the ones that will help you.

When you are ready, we can go into greater detail in battery selection and SOLAR kit selection.

I am sure other members will post their thoughts also.

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Old 07-24-2017, 04:10 PM   #11
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Ok sounds great but...

I wish I had found you'all sooner. I am going on my first trip by myself Monday. Not too far from the house about 50 miles. About half way to Tahoe. Anyway I have a new 2016 Alante. If you are familiar with the Alante. It has the 2 batteries it came with. It has sat in my driveway for a year because my mom was sick. I started it everyweek and ran the generator once every two weeks or more. I am trying to make sure I will make my first trip. I will check out your site as soon as I can. I am planning on leaving Sunday and coming back Thursday. No hook-ups at union valley reservoir. Cross your fingers that I make there and back and that I eat everyday.
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Old 07-24-2017, 04:24 PM   #12
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I wish I had found you'all sooner. I am going on my first trip by myself Monday. Not too far from the house about 50 miles. About half way to Tahoe. Anyway I have a new 2016 Alante. If you are familiar with the Alante. It has the 2 batteries it came with. It has sat in my driveway for a year because my mom was sick. I started it everyweek and ran the generator once every two weeks or more. I am trying to make sure I will make my first trip. I will check out your site as soon as I can. I am planning on leaving Sunday and coming back Thursday. No hook-ups at union valley reservoir. Cross your fingers that I make there and back and that I eat everyday.
You'll do just fine! Have a great trip [emoji1]

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Old 07-24-2017, 04:43 PM   #13
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If you are familiar with the Alante. It has the 2 batteries it came with.
I am not sure, but one of the batteries may be for the coach and one is the house battery? Can anyone verify this?

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Old 07-24-2017, 04:58 PM   #14
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You could try to driveway camp for a night or two.

Act like you are marooned in some desolate place, run off batteries from the time you would think you would park until you wake the next day.

We can recharge our current battery setup within about 2 hours on generator and it will sustain us through the next evening. With that we run a heater a few times a night and standard lighting.

You may already know this, but your Air Conditioning, your AC outlets and some Refridgerators will NOT run from your batteries.

From your batteries you should have, Water (perhaps Hot if you are running on propane), Lights, Radio, (some TVs but you may want to save that power).

As many have mentioned, you will do fine. Have fun with it!
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Old 07-24-2017, 07:57 PM   #15
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The Alante comes stardard with one 12v deep cycle house battery on a slide out tray behind a storage bin door. The chassis battery is in the front under the hood. You can add another 12v deep cycle battery on the tray, unless someone already put a second one there. If you have two there, you should be good for a day or two without hookups then you'll need to run your generator for a couple hours to recharge. If you're going to the Tahoe/Reno area, you probably will not need the a/c. However, if you are going to the foothills in Sutter Creek or similar, temps will reach upper 90s+ and you will have to run the generator to cool the coach. Hope this helps.

The fridge wyell run off of propane, not batteries, other than a minimal electrical draw. The oitlet that the TVs are plugged into run off the Xantrex Inverter and batteries. You need to have the Main Power switch on then push the green button on the inverter panel to turn on the Xantrex. It will display the current voltage of your house battery.
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Old 07-24-2017, 08:40 PM   #16
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Really..

That would be great if I could go all night without running the generator. I did a test run in my driveway. I charged up the batteries by running the engine and the generator. I unplugged the microwave, turning off the engine and the generator. I left only the main switch to the house on. The fridge did great on auto. You can see the led command center in front. But in two hours I checked and I had one dot on the display next to the toilet. Where the tanks and battery check box is? The switches for the water heater and water pump are there also. There are only 4 dots. One dot can't be good so I started the engine and the generator. Let me see if I can upload a picture. I haven't been able to find anyone with knowledge I could talk too in person. The service man at the place I bought it new from told me the refrigerator did not have to be level to run properly on propane. So you probably know as I found out in the manual that it does. Just crazy trying to find some help when you are new to this. I will try again this weekend before I leave.
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Old 07-24-2017, 08:59 PM   #17
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2 batteries will fit...

In that tray I measured. Two batteries will fit in there. Can I hook up two batteries without blowing something? Just get short battery wires and hook them together? The date on the deep cycle is 5/15. Maybe it is no good. The coach sat on the lot until I bought it last August 2016. Then sat in my driveway until now. I did drive it a few times to practice and I started it every week.
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Old 07-24-2017, 09:07 PM   #18
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I believe the "dots" you refer to are the level indicators. You should have gauges for fresh water, gray water, black water and battery. The water levels vary with how full they are but the battery one is best with more dots lit.
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Old 07-24-2017, 09:09 PM   #19
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In that tray I measured. Two batteries will fit in there. Can I hook up two batteries without blowing something? Just get short battery wires and hook them together? The date on the deep cycle is 5/15. Maybe it is no good. The coach sat on the lot until I bought it last August 2016. Then sat in my driveway until now. I did drive it a few times to practice and I started it every week.
You should not install a new battery with a tweet year old Barry in unknown condition. I'd buy two new batteries. You need to make sure to hook then up in parallel.
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Old 07-24-2017, 09:32 PM   #20
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ok two batteries. 12v deep cycle auto parts store? Just want to be sure.
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