Looking for advice

Kyle518 · 03-01-2023, 04:46 PM

We just purchased a 174bh. I had them install a solar system I believe it is 190watt. I also have a 4000 watt generator but when we go to our normal yearly camp with the kids (no hook ups, our first camper) you can only run the generator from 9-11am and 5-11pm. What kind of battery setup would we need to be self sufficient for a week or more with no hookups besides what I have? Mostly concerned with running the 12 volt fridge, lights, and small TV. I figured could only run the a/c when generator is running but I want to make sure I have enough stored power for the rest.

TaftCoach · 03-01-2023, 05:13 PM

Welcome and congratulations. Your solar and/or your generator will recharge your batteries. We're hoping your 4,000 watt generator isn't an open frame that will be heard a mile away.

The long answer involves checking the actual current draw for every item you want to run and the recharge rate of whichever system you will be using. After calculating your current needs in amp hours you will need to verify you can recharge that size battery. Also any battery other than lithium should only be drawn down about half. So if you calculate you need 60 amps of stored energy you will need 120 amps of batteries.

Short answer, buy at least a 100 amp battery and if it isn't enough, buy another.

Deznut · 03-01-2023, 05:57 PM

sailors/yachtman have been doing the Solar thing for awhile...here's a link to a company that sells to the marine types...scroll down and you can see an example/guide as to what devices use how much power...it may make sizing your system easier...hth

https://www.sunpoweredyachts.com/shop

on the battery side of things I have to agree with TaftCoach...only suggestion I could make ( if you have room and the $) is to purchase 6vdc deep cycle batteries like they use on golf carts...you would hook them up in series to give you 12vdc...I have two Interstate 6vdc agm (210Ahr ea) about $300 ea...I have read that Trojan golf cart batteries are the best...again hth

Kyle518 · 03-01-2023, 06:26 PM

Yes my generator is a quiet one. The open caged generators are mind numbing after a while 🤣. I'm trying to figure out if I should buy another battery or I will be fine running one battery with the recharge options i have. Basically from what I gather I need to know how much power the 12 volt fridge and the tv pulls.

Kim Gass · 03-01-2023, 09:26 PM

We are in Fl and its been hot and sunny
The 190 watt solar panel seems to be keeping the fridge going
We run a Honda 2000 genny to power the fan from 8-10 amand 4-7 pm
Not enough to power AC but the fan is a help
Our two 12 v batteries are ok not going under 12.1 volts
We have been off grid for six days
Give your setup a try
It might be fine.

Jagiven · 03-01-2023, 11:03 PM

A single battery should be good for the lights and a little bit of TV each night.

The root issue is the 12v frig. There is a lot of differing information on the 12v frig. Some people can go all day on a charge, others cannot make it through the night. I would buy an multumeter with an amp meter, and take some readings and determine how much power the frig uses.

Just taking a guess, the frig needs a single battery by itself.

Imazman · 03-02-2023, 12:22 PM

In our 2018 Melbourne 24K don't have a 12V fridge per say, it runs on either propane or 120V, but of coarse it must have a good 12V coach battery for the circuit board. That being said, we have major issues with our fridge where it randomly stops working. Also, the times it does work and we are boon docking, at night in cooler temps with the furnace running (blower motor) and the fridge, by early morning hours (7am) our battery is usually empty.

The Gritz Carlton · 03-02-2023, 12:53 PM

May be a dumb question but, do you have the LP option on the fridge also? It can run for weeks on that.

Imazman · 03-02-2023, 04:01 PM

Yes, ours runs on 120v and LP...but even the LP will require 12V. I believe a dead battery means a dead fridge as there is nothing to power the circuit board.

Kyle518 · 03-03-2023, 10:54 AM

No 12 volt only

Kim Gass · 03-03-2023, 01:32 PM

to add if you are under full shade one battery won't power the fridge under restricted genny hours
We had such a wek the first outing Full shade and mostly rainy days and we needed the genny for 12 hours At that tine we only had one battery and it never got fully charged

Phoenix PAL · 03-08-2023, 04:00 PM

With no hookups, it's the holding tanks that are the limiting factor, not reserve power. My wife and I can get 4 nights, with short daily showers before we need to dump and refill water (40 gal tanks).

If the sun's out we get by fine on our 100w panel, even watching a movie every night. Two Costco sealed lead/acid batteries.
Have fun. The girls in your party will love the upgrade!

TomC_AZ · 03-08-2023, 05:11 PM

Please confirm if this is a new 2022/2023 174bh?

Assuming it is, you should have a power center that has "auto detect" for the type of battery. This will help you as it will more quickly charge the suggestion below.

Agreeing with what others have said. The weak link here is going to be the 12v fridge and what it will come down to is how often it is being opened and closed by the kids (and adults) throughout the day and what the outside temperature/humidity is.

The more it is opened and the hotter/humid it is the more power its going to use.

If its a newer trailer, I would recommend swapping out the standard lead acid battery and putting in a Lithium (LifepO4) battery. It does not need to be any crazy expensive one just make sure it has the low temp cut off sensor and Bluetooth monitoring capabilities. There are some good decent ones from Renogy, or on Amazon that do this. The low cutoff makes it safe in cold weather and wont damage the battery. The Bluetooth allows you to see real state of charge as a lithium battery will always show 12v till the last few minutes, and to know where you are on charge you will need to see it somehow.

This single battery will be equal to two LA batteries and will be the test... IF it goes without any issue after getting it you should be fine. However if it needs to be recharged too often you would need a second battery (or equivalent of 4 LA batteries).

Also your tanks will be a limiting factor... :-)

Bill Johnson · 03-08-2023, 05:15 PM

What I'm reading a 12 volt fridge will run about 5 hours and your 1 battery will need to be recharged. You will need more batteries or lithium batteries

garywilson · 03-08-2023, 10:20 PM

So, get a couple of Golf Cart batteries and set up camp in your driveway.

Instead of running your generator for several hours plug into the house.

Shouldn't take more than two days do find out if you have enough juice.

My wife and I stayed in a park with no hookups for two weeks. On day 13 we made a trip to the dump... which we would have done anyway since we were leaving early the next day. Grey water we disposed of as needed.

We ran fans all night, TV usage in the evenings (12 volt TV). Converting to 120 volt uses too much battery power. We were allowed to run a generator 8 hours a day but only ran it an hour or so in the mornings while prep breakfast and a couple of hours in the evening if we got back early enough (no gen after 8PM). We did not run out of battery.

Navy showers every couple of days. Had to add water near the end of our stay (pumped from 5-gallon jugs).

Limited resources require conservation.

CBCOCRBO · 03-09-2023, 07:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deznut

sailors/yachtman have been doing the Solar thing for awhile...here's a link to a company that sells to the marine types...scroll down and you can see an example/guide as to what devices use how much power...it may make sizing your system easier...hth

https://www.sunpoweredyachts.com/shop

on the battery side of things I have to agree with TaftCoach...only suggestion I could make ( if you have room and the $) is to purchase 6vdc deep cycle batteries like they use on golf carts...you would hook them up in series to give you 12vdc...I have two Interstate 6vdc agm (210Ahr ea) about $300 ea...I have read that Trojan golf cart batteries are the best...again hth

Thanks Deznut. That is great info. I have a close friend with a cabin on a large Ontario lake who is solar crazy. He always seems top have some issues. This may help him with his many solar power issues.

What happened to the good old days when boondocking was easy and fun. We had propane fridges, propane furnaces (no ducting), propane lights, swamp coolers mounted on the ceiling, an outdoor biffy, a potable water tank with a hand pump and our bath tub was a lake or stream. We made it through and it was luxury compared to the old canvas tent that leaked in a rain storm if you touched the canvas and you probably were sleeping on a thin pad in a cheap sleeping bag on a rock or two. Honestly, I gotta say those days have the greatest memories of camping.
BTW-- Great quote at the end of your post
Cheers to all,
Rick

RogerR · 03-09-2023, 08:10 AM

With propane furnace and fridge as our main uses of power our 200 watts of solar and 100 amp lithium held up well for camping 4 days with full battery every night. Snowed at night in Great Sand Dunes park so furnace ran a lot but battery came to full each afternoon.

JaycoLovers · 03-09-2023, 09:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TomC_AZ

Please confirm if this is a new 2022/2023 174bh?

Assuming it is, you should have a power center that has "auto detect" for the type of battery. This will help you as it will more quickly charge the suggestion below.

Agreeing with what others have said. The weak link here is going to be the 12v fridge and what it will come down to is how often it is being opened and closed by the kids (and adults) throughout the day and what the outside temperature/humidity is.

The more it is opened and the hotter/humid it is the more power its going to use.

If its a newer trailer, I would recommend swapping out the standard lead acid battery and putting in a Lithium (LifepO4) battery. It does not need to be any crazy expensive one just make sure it has the low temp cut off sensor and Bluetooth monitoring capabilities. There are some good decent ones from Renogy, or on Amazon that do this. The low cutoff makes it safe in cold weather and wont damage the battery. The Bluetooth allows you to see real state of charge as a lithium battery will always show 12v till the last few minutes, and to know where you are on charge you will need to see it somehow.

This single battery will be equal to two LA batteries and will be the test... IF it goes without any issue after getting it you should be fine. However if it needs to be recharged too often you would need a second battery (or equivalent of 4 LA batteries).

Also your tanks will be a limiting factor... :-)

I second this from TomC_AZ...I just did some real power analysis on our 12v 8 cubic foot Furion fridge in our unit (2022 Jay Feather 25RB). I measured it consuming about 30-40 amp hours of power overnight in warm weather. With a standard lead acid (SLA) battery, that's about all it can supply (you should never take a SLA below 50% or risk permanent damage to the battery).
If you're going to boon-dock, invest in a good 100 amp-hour lithium battery as TomC suggests. You should be good with the combined solar and generator you plan to use to recharge it each day...just make sure your onboard charging is set for the lithium charge profile to take advantage of lithiums ability to charge fast.

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