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Old 09-13-2011, 08:58 AM   #1
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7 nights in Colorado - propane/battery ?

We are going to Rocky Mountain Ntl Park on Friday and will be there for a week. We do not have power hook up. We have two toddlers so will need to run the furnance all night to keep them warm. Few questions:

Any ideas of what i can expect for battery life? We won't be using much other electrical except the fridge running on gas, and the propane sensors obviously.

How long does the 7 pin cord take to recharge the battery from the vehicle?

Any tips on keeping my battery charged? thanks

Andy
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Old 09-13-2011, 09:27 AM   #2
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Might want to repost this question in the "Boondocking" forum- lots of seasoned vets when it comes to camping on the bare essentials.

They do manufacture solar 'trickle chargers' to help keep/maintain a charge during the daylight hours, but they are not meant to completely charge a dead battery.
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Old 09-13-2011, 11:02 AM   #3
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Not knowing the amp hour of your battery I will generalize here..
The best you can expect is 3 days MAX on the battery. Charging I would guess about 2 hours... if you have jumper cables probably faster... Harbor freight has a 3 or 4 Solar panel setup that puts out 60 watts... these will not recharge your batteries during the day but will extend how long you can stay out... for a modest price.
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Old 09-13-2011, 03:06 PM   #4
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we spent 7 nights in CO earlier this summer boondocking as well. it was quite cold at night at 10,000 ft, so our furnace was on quite a bit. We got 2 nights on the initial charge - but barely. The furnace stopped coming on at about 6am the second night/morning.

After that we didn't take chances - we hooked jumper cables up from the truck to the trailer battery & let the truck run & charge the battery for around 45 min each night around supper. wasn't a big hassle & gave me peace of mind.

My brother had a large solar panel on his trailer, but he ended up using jumper cables as well. we were nestled into the pines without enough direct sunlight.
enjoy!
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Old 09-19-2011, 01:43 PM   #5
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When we had our pup we stayed 14000 ft above sea level in colo. up from lagarita colo.We used solar panel and worked fine,we didnt use lights much.we used lanterns and batt,lights,We had plenty of power for furnace,We didnt have no water or electric or no acess to it.No cell phone signals or tv reception.loved it.
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Old 09-19-2011, 08:22 PM   #6
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See the thread titled "Dry camping: will battery power be enough?" Lots of great info from experienced dry campers there.
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Old 09-20-2011, 04:40 PM   #7
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Dont forget the propane

In a week at those temps keeping the ******s toasty you may kill a full bottle. I know my wife and I did in ~ 5 days and 8500 in snow.. Ran out of gas. Agree 2 days possibly 3 if you have a nearly new battery is all you can expect.

If your going to do much of that swap the lights for LED bulbs. And consider the soalr pannel / generator or even a spare battery that you cna charge while driving arround.

Great park! We will be south of you down at Pagosa Sprinngs wiht a full hook up on the river next week ... Did our popup time now its time to enjoy a hard sided trailer ( thrid trip in it)..
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Old 09-28-2011, 12:54 PM   #8
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WannaBeMountainMan-- 2 things to be sure of, 1. is your Battery fully charged when to depart.2. Is the wire ,for the battery charging circuit, connected in the tv fuse box. Some manufactures do not connect that wire at the factory so it must be connected by you or a mechanic. Larry
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Old 09-30-2011, 02:53 PM   #9
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Made It

Things worked well. We only ran the furnance at low settings. Didn't use a full bottle of propane and the battery lasted us till 5 days. we pulled the fuse during the day so we didn't have any draw. Plus we hung space blankets at the end of each bunk so we only heated the main area where the little ones slept. Great trip and stayed comfortable. got to 24 one night and everyone did well. Off to plan another trip!
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Old 10-01-2011, 10:06 AM   #10
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That is awesome. That was some really good battery conservation.



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Old 10-24-2011, 06:50 PM   #11
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We have a 17' hybrid. I changed all lighting to led, purchased a 80 watt solar panel with controller from Solar Power Canada. Good price, excellent quality. We dry camped in Northern Ont for 25 days. We never had a power problem. The battery was fully charged every day. Even on overcast days the panel was charging the battery. On sunny days by noon hour, the controller was spilling off excess power. I attached telescoping legs so I could move the panel around (to be in the sun) as opposed to fixing it to the trailer.
So much better than when you are in a quiet, beautiful campground and some tv freak cranks up a generator to watch I love Lucy. I'll add a pic of the panel
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