Appliance use while dry camping (no shore power)

[Chuckmpa]

We have a 2019 Jayco Greyhawk 29MV Class C motorhome. We are going on our first boon docking camping trip next Monday, July 22nd. What appliances can I realistically operate on battery (I have two batteries) power over a two day period? Coffee maker, toaster, humidifier, electric mattress pad, etc.??

 

[Grumpy]

Only the TV unless you're running the generator. The TV is the only outlet connected to the inverter.

 

[GL243]

Only the TV unless you're running the generator. The TV is the only outlet connected to the inverter.

So, a regular TV that runs on household current works? Or does it have to be a 12 volt TV?

 

[sciencenerd]

We have a 2019 Jayco Greyhawk 29MV Class C motorhome. We are going on our first boon docking camping trip next Monday, July 22nd. What appliances can I realistically operate on battery (I have two batteries) power over a two day period? Coffee maker, toaster, humidifier, electric mattress pad, etc.??

The items you mention are all high power draw appliances. Also, they run on 120 V, so, unless you have an inverter, you won't be able to use any of them, even the TV.

When we are dry camping, we have the fridge and water heater on propane, and use 12 V battery power only for lights, water pump, tongue jack and slideout motors, fans, and charging phones. Even with such low usage, we need a solar panel to survive two days without killing the battery. Without shore power, you'll learn to adjust your expectations very quickly.

 

[Grumpy]

So, a regular TV that runs on household current works? Or does it have to be a 12 volt TV?

Your rig came with an Inverter that is connected to the front TV outlet so it would work when you turn the Inverter on. That switch should be in your control panel, but the TV is the only thing the Inverter will run. The other outlets require shore or generator power.

 

[NewBlackDak]

Rent a 3K generator from Home Depot(or your local equipment rental place), and be happy. If you foresee doing this in the future, use that money instead to buy a generator.

 

[Jagiven]

Depending on how your MH is setup. If you have a generator everything will work. If not, only the 12Vdc items will work. If you have an inverter you will have limited access to 120 Vac power. Just note, the inverter consumes a lot of 12 volt power, so turn it off when not needed.

 

[RobieMo]

My suggestion is try them all. Your rig has a generator so worst case scenario you turn it on and charge the batteries back up. As you get to learn your rig by trying different things you will learn what you can use and when.

For example, when you are boondocking in colder weather you might need to run the heater at night. The heater uses battery power so maybe on those nights you limit your "extra" battery use. On warmer nights maybe you wont need the heater so you can watch a little bit more tv prior to going to bed?

Nobody is going to be able to give you an exact answer to your question because there are just too many variables. Truth be told that's the fun part of boondocking. There is nothing like waking up in the middle of the night to that low grade beeping sound letting you know your battery died and freezing your rear end off the rest of the night. We have all done it and you will too. It's part of the adventure.

Oh and not to open a can of worms but remember, depending on the type of batteries you have you may need to pay close attention to their charge levels. Looking back on my experiences, running my batteries to "empty" while boondocking probably caused the most damage i could have done. So start off slow and try to make it through the day and night with the most power remaining in the morning as possible. Charge them back up and experiment from there.....

Best of luck......

Rob

 

[JimD]

We boondock for up to 5 days at a time with our 2017 Greyhawk. The first thing you need to get is a battery voltage monitor. If you have a cigarette lighter socket power outlet in the coach (not the driver area one), you can simply buy a plug in monitor.

Odds are there is no outlet unless you add one. I added one by my door but don't use it for monitoring. I installed a remote display that is tied directly to the battery. It displays both battery level and current being drawn.

You could go with an easier installation by just getting a display that shows voltage only and then tapping into a power wire near your fuse block. Many possibilities.

You then keep an eye on voltage level. When mine gets down to 12.2 or 12.1 volts, I know a charge is definitely required. I usually charge before it gets this low but this is often the reading first thing in the morning.

If you get that low it will take at least 2 hours or more of generator run time to get the battery back up to a safe area.

My Jayco has a 4k generator. I also added a couple of solar panels on the roof which helps quite a bit. To save run time on my big generator, which costs a bunch to have rebuilt, I purchased a little Ryobi portable generator. This uses very little gas and is great for charging my batteries as well as using most 110 volt items I have except for air conditioners.

If I use my inverter it sucks battery power pretty quickly. I watch TV and see the battery voltage drop as time passes. Indeed a big power draw.

If the furnace will be needed overnight, the battery will need to be up to a high level of charge before going to bed.

Hope I didn't scare you too much. I love boondocking and have been doing it for over 30 years. Started out in a van, then a camper without a generator, then a nice Lance camper with a generator. I was "styling" with that Lance for 25 years and loved it. That was until I purchased the Greyhawk and then found out what comfort was. Ah......

Prepping for a boondock 3 day trip for tomorrow. Life is good!