newbie to boondocking - one night first attempt

[Camper_bob]

I agree with the others. Try it out when the stakes are low just to see if you can do it. Be aggressive with your 12V usage in your test. Then you'll know exactly what you can/cannot do.

It sucks figuring the math in theory, coming to the conclusion that you'll be fine, then waking up to a beeping CO alarm indicating low battery at 3 in the morning. Ask me how I know...

[Skyline]

If you run your tow vehicle for 30 minutes every 4 to six hours with jumper cables to the trailer battery you should be fine. That is if you use the battery sparingly. A voltage meter on your house battery will tell you when to give it a boost. At about 11 volts charge it.

[SJ Communicator]

If you're only doing one night you should be fine! Especially if you leave your tow vehicle connected. You technically have 2 batteries then and always can run the tow vehicles engine for a little to recharge. I wouldn't want to boondock Long term like that. But as mentioned 1 night you should be fine. We stayed 3 single nights at Harvest Host locations on our trip to Texas (& back) only had one battery and we were fine.

[Jaykol]

Following up - Spent the night at the wall in the Badlands. Cool spot and things went well. Was nervous for a while as the voltage dropped rapidly at first but then leveled off at 12.2 and was still 12.1 in the morning. Ran the truck for a while right before bedtime too. Was warm enough to not need heat. Only "hardship" was no coffee in the morning!

[Jagiven]

Glad it worked out for you

[RogerR]

Originally Posted by Jaykol

Following up - Spent the night at the wall in the Badlands. Cool spot and things went well. Was nervous for a while as the voltage dropped rapidly at first but then leveled off at 12.2 and was still 12.1 in the morning. Ran the truck for a while right before bedtime too. Was warm enough to not need heat. Only "hardship" was no coffee in the morning!

I would suspect your battery is failing if there was very little load on it other than a couple lights or pump use. Even a basic fully charged Group 24 should run you night or two. The furnace is a power hog so if you used it at night I would expect this much or more drop.
You never posted your make model and year of RV. If it is old enough the lights inside use as much as 1 amp each bulb per hour. Switching to LED bulbs saves a lot of 12 volt plus cooler in how weather.

[Racinforthefinish]

Get yourself a pour over coffee drip, many makes for about 14.00. Heat your water on the stove and pour it over the coffee. I never bring the electric pot anymore even when I know I will have electricity.

[Jaykol]

Actually I did state the make and model earlier, but I do agree that the battery is compromised as I accidentally ran it dead once last year. It was stable and held charge in the garage over the winter though.

[Camper_bob]

Originally Posted by Racinforthefinish

Get yourself a pour over coffee drip, many makes for about 14.00. Heat your water on the stove and pour it over the coffee. I never bring the electric pot anymore even when I know I will have electricity.

100%

I love the pour-over so much that I use it at home on the weekends, or if I'm up early enough to take the extra time to make it during the week.

I originally got my pour-over set up to use while tent camping because it's WAY easier than percolator or french press, especially when it comes to cleanup, but it makes such good coffee, I find myself using it whenever I can.

Only downside in the camper is I use the stove to boil the water, which heats up the camper. No big deal when it's cold, but a bit of a pain when it's hot. I have an electric kettle that I use at home, but it takes 11 amps, so I have to shut down at least one AC unit to use it in the camper anyway... But the Keurig uses a lot of amps too...

[JKyle]

Originally Posted by Jaykol

Following up - Spent the night at the wall in the Badlands. Cool spot and things went well.

Was nervous for a while as the voltage dropped rapidly at first but then leveled off at 12.2 and was still 12.1 in the morning. Ran the truck for a while right before bedtime too. Was warm enough to not need heat. Only "hardship" was no coffee in the morning!

Thanks for the update.
No coffee is most certainly a hardship.
Not sure how much boondocking or actual camping you'll be doing, but swapping out that lead acid for a solid 100wh lithium could put you more at ease. Then, get yourself a portable electric generator powerful enough to run your coffee maker and any other small electrical appliances you might like to use. I have several models of EcoFlow generators, all varying wattages.

[craigav]

I like my coffee so much I have a sterno stove and percolator in case all else fails. I have used the percolator on a campfire as well and I have even made gel fuel to refill the sterno cans but seeing that I use it only rarely, just keeping a half dozen of new sterno cans is not really an issue. Not having my morning coffee makes me an unhappy camper. After reading other comments though, I plan to get one of those pour over coffee funnels and filters next time I order from Amazon. ~CA

[JKyle]

Originally Posted by craigav

I like my coffee so much I have a sterno stove and percolator in case all else fails. I have used the percolator on a campfire as well and I have even made gel fuel to refill the sterno cans but seeing that I use it only rarely, just keeping a half dozen of new sterno cans is not really an issue. Not having my morning coffee makes me an unhappy camper. After reading other comments though, I plan to get one of those pour over coffee funnels and filters next time I order from Amazon. ~CA

One of my favorite camping rituals is early morning and coffee...quiet, sitting outside, ahhhhhh.

[Camper_bob]

Originally Posted by JKyle

One of my favorite camping rituals is early morning and coffee...quiet, sitting outside, ahhhhhh.

Not just when camping for me. I'm an early bird (not by choice really) and am up often many hours before the rest of the family. During my busy season it's about the only time I can get any work done, but when I'm not as busy, I VERY much enjoy sitting on the porch watching the sunrise over a hot cup of coffee.

I simply MUST have my morning coffee any more "Not a happy camper" is putting it lightly in my case; I'm simply intolerable. It's so far beyond addiction now...

Talking about "backup coffee": I have at least 3 different methods available in my camper, and that's before I start getting creative. When I'm tent camping, I have at least 2 different methods, and a few of those little sleeves of freeze-dried instant for emergencies.

For hot water when tent camping, I usually have my primary cooking stove, along with a backpacking butane stove, and a Whisper-lite (that will run on virtually any fuel), and I have at least 3 different ways to make fire.

Pretty much the only way I'm not having my coffee in the morning is if I don't have the actual coffee. It's happened, and let's just say it's not pretty...