Dry camping: will battery power be enough?

Rapidly · 07-16-2011, 01:35 PM

We're heading out on July 23rd for 4 days in a national forest campground in our new 1007. Dry camping, no hookups. In your experience, will battery power alone be sufficient to run the water pump and (mimimal) lights for 4 days? (no furnace use anticipated.) We do not have a charge line from the car to the battery, so no recharge during trip. If I get a small solar recharger do those provide enough recharge to keep that kind of use going for dry camping?

Rustic Eagle · 07-16-2011, 03:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rapidly

snip......In your experience, will battery power alone be sufficient to run the water pump and (mimimal) lights for 4 days? (no furnace use anticipated.).....snip

Under very conservative usage as you described, I would say yes. Make sure the battery is under a "full" charge before the trip, and take a pair of jumper cables in case you have to give the PUP battery a 30 minute charge.

The smaller solar chargers (around 15W) wouldn't keep up with your battery usage, they are better for battery "tending".

Bob

Terry · 07-16-2011, 04:59 PM

First of all Rapildy - Welcome to the Jacyo Forum! Glad you found us. If you get a chance come on over to the new member forum and introduce yourself.

I agree with RE - I would say the solar recharger is a no-go unless you got a pretty big system. The small battery maintainers just dont cut it and to get something that really charges your battery is pretty expensive.

If you keep your light use to a minimum you will probably be able to make it. As RE said - use some jumper cables to top off your battery on day 2 or 3. Run your car for 20 or 30 minutes and give it a little charge. You want to avoid draining your battery down to empty as it will lessen the long term life.

Also - those little jumpstart packs are nice as emergency power if your battery runs out.

Report back how your trip goes! There are quite a few folks here that would be interested in hearing about your experience.

kcconawa · 07-16-2011, 08:26 PM

If you are going to be doing a lot of dry camping, think about buying some reading lights and a battery powered lattern to use for interior lighting which lessens the load on your RV battery.

jbwjbw · 07-17-2011, 05:38 AM

With internal LED lights instead of the normal light bulbs, I'd expect you'd make it 4 days without issue. In my camper the default bulbs were each 18W and there was 8 of them so a total of about 144W. That will do a number on a battery. With the LED lights I might be using 4-6watts total, if that. Pretty amazing.

- Justin

**FPM III** · 07-17-2011, 07:52 AM

I once dry camped over a four day Fourth of July weekend. My electrical requirements were the same as yours but I was also running the refrigerator on propane so electricity was also required to run the refrigerator's electronics. All my light fixtures are incandescent. As I recall (it's was 11 years ago when I did this), I lasted about three days before I needed to recharge.

I charged my battery simply by re-attaching the umbilical cord between the trailer and TV. Of course, I ran the engine periodically to prevent the TV's battery from discharging to the point where I couldn't start the TV.

If electricity is nearby (like at a bath house), take a battery charger along with you and charge the battery at the bath house if necessary. I've never done this but I've seen other campers do this. Even charging for just an hour can make a difference.

Rapidly · 07-17-2011, 08:30 AM

Great suggestions, thanks much! We will be using the refrig on gas, forgot about the electronics for that. I have a small jump battery and will bring it, also a battery charger; I like the idea of removing the batt for a charge while camping (if I can find an outlet). Unfortunately, the lights are incandescent, I was surprised that LEDs aren't std. equip by now. I'll report back how it goes.

Seann45 · 07-18-2011, 05:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rapidly

Great suggestions, thanks much! We will be using the refrig on gas, forgot about the electronics for that. I have a small jump battery and will bring it, also a battery charger; I like the idea of removing the batt for a charge while camping (if I can find an outlet). Unfortunately, the lights are incandescent, I was surprised that LEDs aren't std. equip by now. I'll report back how it goes.

Does the umbilical plug not charge your battery? just plug it in and run the vehicle for 30 min to charge your battery

**FPM III** · 07-18-2011, 08:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rapidly

...Unfortunately, the lights are incandescent, I was surprised that LEDs aren't std. equip by now. I'll report back how it goes.

And, unfortunately, LED lights won't become standard equipment until the price for them becomes competitive with the incandescent bulb that's currently used. You're starting to see them on the high-end RVs, but on entry level RVs, don't expect to see them anytime soon. As far as LEDs being cost-effective- here's a story:

My 1996 Ford F-250 had roof marker lights that were simple, incandescent bulbs. Some lasted about 3-5 years and there were some that I never changed in the 13 years I owned the truck. Replacement bulbs were available almost anywhere for a buck or two.

The 2009 GMC I now have is equipped with LED roof marker lights. The truck is only going to be two years old at the end of this month and I've already had two stop working. Fortunately, they were replaced under warranty, but if I had to buy them, they're around $90.00 each and the genuine GM ones are only available at a GM dealer.

"...progress is lovely, isn't it?" (from "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley

Rapidly · 07-18-2011, 08:29 AM

Thanks Seann45, the dealer installed only a 4-wire line with our hitch; my understanding is that to get recharge from tow vehicle to battery requires a 7-wire/pin connection, so I'm assuming recharge that way is not viable for my setup.

Rustic Eagle · 07-18-2011, 08:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seann45

Does the umbilical plug not charge your battery?....snip

It does, but at a much slower rate than using jumper cables off the TV's battery (taking advantage of the alternator output).

Bob

Rapidly · 07-18-2011, 08:45 PM

Rustic Eagle, just to make sure I understand: if I run jumper cables from my car (TV) battery to the RV battery and run the engine, I can get a much faster recharge? How long should it take to recharge a low 12v battery that way?

Canucker · 07-18-2011, 09:09 PM

Hey Rapidly, I just signed on... I am a new member as well.. hi everybody.... I am not sure if its rude to just jump in here but i will give it a shot... I was reading all the comments but i didn't see anywhere where it said what batteries you were running? A single 12 volt? Dual 12's, dual sixes? I dry camp all the time, like about 95% and depending on what your running would greatly depend on how long you would last. I run two sixes and they last longer than 2 12v's, and i can get about 4 days but thats being conservative but not going hard core. I would not recomend hard boosting your RV battery with the car unless you want to replace it next year. i would recommend doing a soft boost. Hook it up to your car but don't run the car... its like 2 water tanked equilizing, the more charged battery will charge the less charged battery.. if you run the car you will blast the battery with too many amps and soon it will not fully charge at all. You can also back the car up to your trailer plug and do it that way... its just a trickle charge though....need to have it hooked up for a very long time to make a difference... this method and the soft boost method would require to keep an eye on your battery level of the car... only proform a hard boost if your absolutely need to as it will decrease the efficiency of the battery over time.

Terry · 07-18-2011, 09:22 PM

Hey Canucker - first of all welcome to the forum! If you get a chance, come on over to the new member forum and introduce yourself.

We have quite a few dry campers over here so I know they will appreciate your knowledge and experience.

Rapidly · 07-19-2011, 08:16 AM

Thanks Canucker, I appreciate the input. Wow, there's a lot more to this business of battery management for dry camping than I would have thought. I'm relatively ignorant about electricity so appreciate all the advice. BTW my camper is equipped with one 12v deep cycle battery.

Canucker · 07-19-2011, 10:49 PM

Honestly if you only have one battery i would say that you should get 2 days out of it... if you get more with out charging it i would consider that good. I would give it a little charge everyday with your car, keep it topped up.. then you may be able to push it 4 days.. if you have a solar panel then hook it up and it will supply a trickle charge to the batteries all day... even if it only adds 2 amp hours all day then thats two more than you had before... Dry camping is kinda like being stranded on a desert island... watch your water usage, battery usage ect, once you run out... the trip is over...lol.

Canucker · 07-19-2011, 10:52 PM

Anytime anybody has a new unit there is a feel out period to know how much you use it vs how much power the unit takes so it really is the old live and learn rule... some people think they conserve but don't other people won't use lights at all and say it lasts 5 days.... you need to know what your limits are and what your comfortable with.... if you conserve and still run out, pick up another 12 and run them parralelle to get double the storage. if one 12 lasts you 4 days.. you may not have any issues.

Rustic Eagle · 07-20-2011, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rapidly

snip........if I run jumper cables from my car (TV) battery to the RV battery and run the engine, I can get a much faster recharge? How long should it take to recharge a low 12V battery that way?

Rapidly,

Yes, but the length of time to recharge is based on the DoD (Depth of Discharge) of your PUP battery, and of course the charging source. Standard 12V Marine/RV batteries are designed for a DoD of 50% providing a modest amount of discharge/charge cycles, and "jump" charging off your TV battery under these conditions (DoD of 50% or lower) is fine......, BUT...., it should be noted that with any battery (TV, RV, Marine, Motorcycle, Deep Cycle, etc.,) the shallower the DoD average, the longer the battery life.

As 'Canucker' mentioned, we all have different dry camping and "AMP" consumption habits. If you find that your dry camping frequency is increasing, you may want to invest in a means of monitoring your battery DoD..., and as suggested consider upgrading your AMP storage capacity, possibly even looking into the advantages of a true Deep Cycle battery product.

Check out some of the Dual Battery systems installed by forum members over in the "Jayco Mods" section for some different ideas.

Prior to upgrading to my two 6V Deep Cycle batteries, I could 'solo' dry camp for four days with my standard 12V Marine/RV battery which included operating my power jack and slide....... but that's me. My original 12V Marine/RV battery was still in great shape after 6 years of service, but I did maintain it properly both in and out of use.

Bob

Seann45 · 07-20-2011, 09:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rustic Eagle

It does, but at a much slower rate than using jumper cables off the TV's battery (taking advantage of the alternator output).

Bob

Ummmmm if you plug your umbilical cord into the tow vehicle it is the same as using jumper cables.. and less chance for a miss match problem...

Terry · 07-20-2011, 09:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seann45

Ummmmm if you plug your umbilical cord into the tow vehicle it is the same as using jumper cables.. and less chance for a miss match problem...

I generally only see about 6-8 amps going to the battery when I am on umbilical - but I do agree it is a much safer and easier charging method.

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