Ac question when boondocking

[Ksinclair]

I have a 2017 32bhds and was wondering if we can use the a.c. with just the battery power. Our demo guy forgot to mention any of that....and another thing do I need a generator to run the furnace and/or the a.c. when boondocking...
Ps...we are new to the rv life with this brand new travel trailer and loving it..

Thxs

[NewBlackDak]

The furnace will run without shore/pedestal/AC power. The batteries provide the power for fan an control circuit. The heat is provided by your propane. The Air conditioner will not. You will need quite a bit of generator(e.g. a 3000 or pair of 2000s) to run air conditioner.


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[oldmanAZ]

Welcome to the RV life.

Sadly, no, you cannot run the a.c. on your battery. You can run the a.c. on a generator, provided the generator is large enough to supply sufficient power (generator wattage).

You can run the furnace without a generator. The furnace uses propane and also battery power for the fan and the furnace control (thermostat, etc.). Depending upon how long the fan runs and thermostat setting, you may be able to use the furnace over night for a night or two before the battery power is too low.

[Dustdevil]

No. THere is no way a battery bank could produce the sustained amp-hours to operate an appliance which draws as much power as an A/C unit. The 12 vdc power from batteries can be inverted and transformed to 120 vac to operate appliances that operate on that sort of power, but they would be much lower consumption than the A/C. Some RVs with built in gensets have an inverter that will power one or two outlets for a tv, DVD player, and maybe a coffee maker for times when the genset is off. And you can add an inverter to any RV, again for small appliances. But that's about it.

Ultimately, if you want sustained high-wattage 120v power without plugging in somewhere you'll need a generator, which ought to be something upward of 3500 watt or so for a single roof A/C. 5500 or so for dual A/C, and ought to be oversized if you plan to operate it above 40C ambient outdoor temps (about 105-108F). I learned the hard way that a heavily-loaded generator can burn up its stator or control electronics in very hot weather.

Your manual ought to have specs on how much power is necessary to operate your A/C without overloading the electricals. And if you are interested in minimizing the genset capacity, there are ways to reduce the starting current on the motors in the A/C unit so your genset doesn't have to handle 3-6X the normal full load current of the motor. Your dealer may have more information and a fee for installing one of these. It's essentially a capacitor starting unit for reduced current applications. A hard start kit is the way it's commonly referred to here.

[troutslayer]

Just an additional FYI when boondocking; you should not let your battery(s) run down below 50% charge or run the risk of damage to the battery(s).

[SmackIt]

Everyone keeps saying no, and for the MOST part they're right. But.... you can run the AC off of batteries if you're willing to spend a fortune on batteries. I have 200Ah of LiFePO4 batteries with a 3000 W inverter and have no problem running the AC for an hour to cool things off in the mid afternoon. The LiFePO4 batteries are only 29 lbs each, so it's becoming common for the 1% wealthy class to install 6-8 of these in a big rig with 800 watts of solar. That setup will give you a heck of a lot of AC. I'm not a 1% 'er, but I looked at the long term cost of ownership and determined the investment in LiFePO4 has a better TCO than lead acid/gel batteries.

[BuddyRay]

Or to put SmackIt's reply another way:
"All things are possible with enough time and money!"

[Dustdevil]

Originally Posted by SmackIt

Everyone keeps saying no, and for the MOST part they're right. But.... you can run the AC off of batteries if you're willing to spend a fortune on batteries. I have 200Ah of LiFePO4 batteries with a 3000 W inverter and have no problem running the AC for an hour to cool things off in the mid afternoon. The LiFePO4 batteries are only 29 lbs each, so it's becoming common for the 1% wealthy class to install 6-8 of these in a big rig with 800 watts of solar. That setup will give you a heck of a lot of AC. I'm not a 1% 'er, but I looked at the long term cost of ownership and determined the investment in LiFePO4 has a better TCO than lead acid/gel batteries.

This is true. But it is mongo expensive. A buddy of mine did just what you mentioned. He spent $2700 on batteries to keep his residential fridge operating overnight on the inverter while boondocking. Works for about 6 hours, then the fridge, the inverter, and the power command center all start beeping that the juice is running out. The fridge shuts down and the rest goes on standby to preserve what's left of the batteries. He would have been better off getting a residential fridge which also runs on propane. But they are big cash as well, and they might have to remove one of the slide-outs to get the old one out and the new one in. It won't fit now that the motorhome is built. It was installed before all the walls were up. So, he's a bit stuck. His is a motorhome that was clearly built to be plugged in at all times.

[clubhouse]

Your question has been answered, but since you mention your new let me add a small bit of additional information.

Your trailer has two power systems essentially, 12v DC and 120v AC.

When camping without shore power your batteries provide 12v power to those systems for a limited time, that is till the batteries run out.

12v = lights, furnace, radio, water heater, water pump slideout motor and inside fridge (assuming it's not a residential fridge.

120v = AC power outlets and Air Conditioner. Therefore nothing plugged into an AC outlet will operate either --- outside kitchen fridge, microwave & television are the big ones.

When boondocking It's important that you learn manage battery life. You will need to find a way to charge batteries on extended stays ( basically longer than 24 hrs). A small 1000-2000w generator or solar system will provide sufficient power to charge batteries. If you must run Air Conditioning then a larger generator is required, 3000w or dual 2000w paralleled together.

If you by a generator, an "inverter" type is critical for two reasons.
1) it provides clean power (pure sine wave vs modified sine wave)
2) they are considerably quieter.

Enjoy your camper and the learning experience that comes with it.

You will be an expert in no time.

[Dustdevil]

Originally Posted by clubhouse

Your question has been answered, but since you mention your new let me add a small bit of additional information.

Your trailer has two power systems essentially, 12v DC and 120v AC.

When camping without shore power your batteries provide 12v power to those systems for a limited time, that is till the batteries run out.

12v = lights, furnace, radio, water heater, water pump slideout motor and inside fridge (assuming it's not a residential fridge.

120v = AC power outlets and Air Conditioner. Therefore nothing plugged into an AC outlet will operate either --- outside kitchen fridge, microwave & television are the big ones.

When boondocking It's important that you learn manage battery life. You will need to find a way to charge batteries on extended stays ( basically longer than 24 hrs). A small 1000-2000w generator or solar system will provide sufficient power to charge batteries. If you must run Air Conditioning then a larger generator is required, 3000w or dual 2000w paralleled together.

If you by a generator, an "inverter" type is critical for two reasons.
1) it provides clean power (pure sine wave vs modified sine wave)
2) they are considerably quieter.

Enjoy your camper and the learning experience that comes with it.

You will be an expert in no time.

Good advice. And yes! An expert by necessity.

[khumsing.terrel2]

At least a 4000 with a 30 amp plug on your generator

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[Studiovette]

Buy yourself 1-2 solar panels to keep your battery topped off while using the heat, lights radio etc.. they are extremely inexpensive. You will need to drop $$$$ on a quality generator to run the AC. If you plan on boondocking often than it might be worth the investment.

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[Dustdevil]

Originally Posted by Studiovette

Buy yourself 1-2 solar panels to keep your battery topped off while using the heat, lights radio etc.. they are extremely inexpensive. You will need to drop $$$$ on a quality generator to run the AC. If you plan on boondocking often than it might be worth the investment.

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X2. I'm likely going this route as well, once I get some other things done on the Seneca. While they may not be anything close to what is needed to operate AC while boondocking, solar panels are an excellent way to keep the batteries topped off with everything else we need daily from the RV in terms of power.

[Mustang65]

Originally Posted by Dustdevil

This is true. But it is mongo expensive. A buddy of mine did just what you mentioned. He spent $2700 on batteries to keep his residential fridge operating overnight on the inverter while boondocking. Works for about 6 hours, then the fridge, the inverter, and the power command center all start beeping that the juice is running out. The fridge shuts down and the rest goes on standby to preserve what's left of the batteries. He would have been better off getting a residential fridge which also runs on propane. But they are big cash as well, and they might have to remove one of the slide-outs to get the old one out and the new one in. It won't fit now that the motorhome is built. It was installed before all the walls were up. So, he's a bit stuck. His is a motorhome that was clearly built to be plugged in at all times.

He overpaid by about $2675. The problem with the residential fridge (Frigidaire version which more than likely holds true for a other residential fridge mfr) is that the fridges defroster heater kicks in. Doesn't sound like a big issue, but the power needed to run that defrost heater is 50Amps. So, any normal battery system will die in no time, even while hooked up to the TV while in transit. But there is a $25 dollar fix, and it should run just fine on a set of deep cycle batteries. Check it out.

Fridge Defrost cutout circuit

Don

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RVing with SOLAR