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Old 05-11-2019, 08:16 PM   #1
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Question on battery usage and Solar/Generator

Hi all. I am a long-time tent and tent trailer camper where we almost always were dry camping. Just got a new Jayco hybrid, so curious about power consumption and generator/solar/battery power.

We will use power for lights, cell phone charging, and refrigerator. Will almost never use power for TV, microwave, or AC. Occasional use of power for heating in colder months. Generally go for 2 to 7 days, with 1-6 people, to Forest Service campgrounds and permitted pull-out areas.

Will my 2 6V batteries be enough for shorter 2-3 day trips, or will I need to supplement with solar or generator, and which would be smarter to start with?

Thanks for any help.


Lee
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Old 05-11-2019, 08:36 PM   #2
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Hi to you and welcome to the forum.

IMO (and my two, 12v battery experience) your two, 6v batteries will be fine for 2-3 day trips for lights, cell phone charging, and your refrigerator.

BUT, the 12v furnace fan will be a BIG draw and how well your batteries do without solar or a generator will depend on how often you run the furnace and how many days you boondock. Hopefully you'll hear from folks with 6v batteries and they may be able to provide more detailed information.
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Old 05-11-2019, 09:05 PM   #3
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Welcome aboard! In general you should have no issues for 2-3 days. You do not mention which year you have. If you have had a PU, you should know how to conserve power. I like to boondock, on our 2012 I swapped out our incandescent bulbs to led boards, which really helps extend the battery life.

The furnace is your main power drain. When boondocking we commonly turn it on in the evening for a while. Turn it off when we go to bed. If we make a bathroom run, in the middle of the night. We might turn it on for a few minutes. Again in the morning we'll turn it on for a little while. Doing this we can still go 2-3 days on a single battery.

We have gone probably as long as 5 days on a single battery, single charge, being conserve. One of the big things we do is turn on the ceiling light wall switch, and turn off all the lights. Then only turn on the one light we need. We also unplug the 12v USB chargers when not in use, as the have a parasite power drain just sitting there.

Key thing to remember, motors use a lot of power.
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Old 05-11-2019, 09:45 PM   #4
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Cant you also run your tow vehicle for a while to charge up your batteries if they run a bit low?
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Old 05-11-2019, 09:54 PM   #5
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Cant you also run your tow vehicle for a while to charge up your batteries if they run a bit low?
In most cases, no, IMO.

12v is supplied to the trailer battery, but the small wires create serious voltage drop and insufficient current flow. Running the tow vehicle will help in some situations, but IMO (and experience) it won't be enough recharge the trailer battery(s).
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Old 05-13-2019, 05:33 AM   #6
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Thanks for all the answers. As a follow up, any brand recommendations on a good charger, maintainer for the batteries?

By the way, what a nice site, with helpful posters.
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Old 05-13-2019, 05:43 AM   #7
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Thanks for all the answers. As a follow up, any brand recommendations on a good charger, maintainer for the batteries?

By the way, what a nice site, with helpful posters.
Can't you just leave the TT plugged in? It will do a good job at keeping the batteries topped off.

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Old 05-13-2019, 06:05 AM   #8
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Don’t have power at my storage location and HOA doesn’t allow street parking for trailers for more than a few days.
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Old 05-13-2019, 06:22 AM   #9
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Don’t have power at my storage location and HOA doesn’t allow street parking for trailers for more than a few days.
Save your back and add a SOLAR panel to the roof if your TT is stored in the sun.
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Old 05-13-2019, 10:07 AM   #10
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Mustang 65 - Yes, I think that is becoming my answer. Thanks for the suggestion.
Regarding solar, my 2019 x17z has the “solar on the side” plugin on the hitch. I think I would prefer roof mounted. I’ll wait a bit and see what my power usage needs are, but I am looking at the Renology 100W starter kit. I’m fairly handy, so is this easy to roof mount and where do people locate the controller?
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Old 05-13-2019, 01:11 PM   #11
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Mustang 65 - Yes, I think that is becoming my answer. Thanks for the suggestion.
Regarding solar, my 2019 x17z has the “solar on the side” plugin on the hitch. I think I would prefer roof mounted. I’ll wait a bit and see what my power usage needs are, but I am looking at the Renology 100W starter kit. I’m fairly handy, so is this easy to roof mount and where do people locate the controller?
Renogy is a GREAT choice and expandable. Check out the RVing with SOLAR community. There is a lot of good SOLAR info there
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Old 05-13-2019, 02:40 PM   #12
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Will do. Thanks.
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Old 05-13-2019, 07:05 PM   #13
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Mustang 65 - Yes, I think that is becoming my answer. Thanks for the suggestion.
Regarding solar, my 2019 x17z has the “solar on the side” plugin on the hitch. I think I would prefer roof mounted. I’ll wait a bit and see what my power usage needs are, but I am looking at the Renology 100W starter kit. I’m fairly handy, so is this easy to roof mount and where do people locate the controller?
I have a 2013 x17z and bought a 200 watt Renogy kit with 30A change controller with Bluetooth. I did not have the prewire so I ran the wires from the panel down the refrigerator vent, under the dinette seats (through the area for heating ducts/plumbing lines) and flush mounted the controller next to the forward dinette bench under the forward bunk.

I used 5/8" well nuts to attach the panels to the roof as the rafter spacing was not ideal for screwing into the rafters. Before you start, read all you can and gather all your supplies ahead of time. Unfortunately I could only source 8 well nuts locally and had to order more, so I temporarily used the screws that came with the mounts. Once I got them every weekend it rained. Finally finished Saturday and can't wait for Memorial Day weekend in a Vermont state park!
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Old 05-13-2019, 07:35 PM   #14
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Wow. Nice looking job - was already wondering where to locate the controller. The RV sales store suggested on the Bathroom wall, but that seems odd to me. I like yours better, but not sure if the pre-wiring limits me somehow. Will definitely read more before going forward.

Let us know how the trip goes.
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Old 06-01-2019, 03:08 PM   #15
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We dry camp almost exclusively with our X213. We use a zamp 80 watt suitcase panel during the day. We run our fridge on propane. We have 2 Walmart 12v marine batteries and 2 propane tanks. We have a champion 3400 watt that we run twice a day (morning coffee and evening microwave). We occasionally use the generator for AC.

Here is my 2 cents. I like the portable solar panel so we can put the Rv in the shade and the panrl in the sun. We like the quiet so we use the generator as little as possible but it's very nice to have. We also use it to run power tools and lawn equipment.
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Old 06-01-2019, 07:00 PM   #16
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I have 2 6V batteries, and we can easily do 4-5 nights without re-charging, even with some heater use overnight.
With a solar panel you should be good to go.
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Old 06-01-2019, 10:15 PM   #17
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As for battery usage. Aren't you suppose to use that bottled water to keep the battery charged? I seem to remember that it needs water to keep up the charge. We plan to use rest stops for our over nites heading west. So we will be without power and reliant on battery and lanterns until we get to our destination. Cooking on a gas stove is going to be fun. Otherwise a full hook up is the life for me. Happy trails.
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Old 06-02-2019, 08:57 PM   #18
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In our 2015 X23B I found the entertainment center box used a lot of power even without the stereo or tv on. So it was a simple task to pull it out and add a toggle switch to power it completely off. Also got rid of the always on blue lights
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Old 06-03-2019, 11:40 AM   #19
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As for battery usage. Aren't you suppose to use that bottled water to keep the battery charged? I seem to remember that it needs water to keep up the charge. We plan to use rest stops for our over nites heading west. So we will be without power and reliant on battery and lanterns until we get to our destination. Cooking on a gas stove is going to be fun. Otherwise a full hook up is the life for me. Happy trails.
You use bottled (distilled) water to top off the battery if the liquid level drops in the cells, but this should not happen in regular use. If you are regularly topping off then you are greatly abusing your battery and boiling it. I check mine regularly - especially if I have had a low voltage event, but have yet to actually have to add distilled water to any of my batteries.

If you are travelling every day then you should be fine. A full day of driving will be enough to top the battery power off from the prior night's usage.

We camp regularly without services, and do fine with a 40W portable panel. I have converted all lighting over to LED. The panel sits up on the roof in the storage yard.

I now have 2 batteries (a group 24 and a new group 27). Unfortunately I abused the G24 last camp as my solar controller's power transistor burned up (didn't see the melted casing before it was too late). I'm fairly certain that I both exposed the battery to unregulated panel voltage, and drained it flat in the overnights as the panel drew the power back out. Even after that, the cells are still fully flooded, and it seems to holding a charge well after putting it on the trickle charge.
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Old 06-03-2019, 01:09 PM   #20
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I have to top off my two 6V batteries 2-3 times a year with distilled water. They are 8 years old and still going strong.
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