Real world boondocking battery life

[NewToThis]

I'm planning on boondocking for 4 days next weekend and I am concerned about battery life in my 22MLE. I have two 80Ah AGM cells, and therefore have 80Ah usable capacity. I figured this would be enough for the 4 day trip until I read in the owner's manual that the Dometic 2882 fridge draws 3.0 amps at 12V. I can't believe this is the actual usage, since its also supposed to have a 3A fuse.... but at 3.0 amps/hour, I would only be able to boondock for 26 hours, ignoring every other power draw.

I don't have a generator and the campsite will be deeply wooded so solar isn't an option. In an otherwise stock Imagine XLS unit, running off propane, what are folks' real life experiences for being about to boondock? Would going 4 days on 2 batteries be realistic without running the truck?

TIA

[Ynot4me2]

I'm planning on boondocking for 4 days next weekend and I am concerned about battery life in my 22MLE. I have two 80Ah AGM cells, and therefore have 80Ah usable capacity. I figured this would be enough for the 4 day trip until I read in the owner's manual that the Dometic 2882 fridge draws 3.0 amps at 12V. I can't believe this is the actual usage, since its also supposed to have a 3A fuse.... but at 3.0 amps/hour, I would only be able to boondock for 26 hours, ignoring every other power draw.

I don't have a generator and the campsite will be deeply wooded so solar isn't an option. In an otherwise stock Imagine XLS unit, running off propane, what are folks' real life experiences for being about to boondock? Would going 4 days on 2 batteries be realistic without running the truck?

TIA

IMO, I don't think you'll make it without at least a small geny. You will also have the water pump running, some lights... I could be wrong.

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[WhittleBurner]

I'm not an electrician but I believe that 3 amp draw on your fridge would be the max fridge running to cool things down. The ridge would not be running all the time. Good reason for not taking a long time finding things in the fridge. Get out what you want right away and close it. Maybe an electrician will chime in and give you some real numbers that you could expect from it. The compressor would not be running 24 7.

[KamFlyer]

The only way to know for sure is with real world measurements. If you plan on boondocking more than just occasionally, you should invest in a decent battery monitor such as Victron or Bogart. 4 days without supplemental charging though is a stretch. A small genny like a Honda 2200 to top up your batteries daily would be suggested.

[AZMike]

I'm planning on boondocking for 4 days next weekend and I am concerned about battery life in my 22MLE. I have two 80Ah AGM cells, and therefore have 80Ah usable capacity. I figured this would be enough for the 4 day trip until I read in the owner's manual that the Dometic 2882 fridge draws 3.0 amps at 12V. I can't believe this is the actual usage, since its also supposed to have a 3A fuse.... but at 3.0 amps/hour, I would only be able to boondock for 26 hours, ignoring every other power draw.

I don't have a generator and the campsite will be deeply wooded so solar isn't an option. In an otherwise stock Imagine XLS unit, running off propane, what are folks' real life experiences for being about to boondock? Would going 4 days on 2 batteries be realistic without running the truck?

TIA

I only get one night (if I'm lucky) with a 27F battery. LiFeP04 will be my next upgrade after this trip.

[jleonard]

The duty cycle on the fridge will only be around 50% or a little less depending on ambient temperature so that will pretty much double your time.

[NewToThis]

Post-trip note. Charged with the truck for an hour each day using my Renogy 20A DC-DC charger through the 7 pin connector. Ended the trip with a 50% charge left on the batteries, so I was averaging 45 Ah per day of electrical usage, and this was being very miserly in my power consumption. Didn't use any of the interior lights (used battery lanterns instead), so this level of consumption was entirely from the fridge, water pump, Compass Connect, and the other small electronics (CO detector, smoke alarm, etc). On the last day, with temperatures in the 80s, the fridge ran non-stop.

With 160 Ah in AGM batteries, I could have gone two and a half days without the charger. I think a small 200W solar installation would have helped tremendously rather than using the truck each day and that will be my next project. I don't see any way to reduce consumption further than what I did.

[Bradnailer]

I have 200 watts of portable solar charging. When the panels are in full sun most of the day, they will keep the batteries charged. Less than that, I have to run our small generator. We only dry camp a couple of weeks out of the year.

[jmbopp]

If you put am ammeter in the 12V side I think you'll find the actual current draw is well under an amp.
When our 2650 was new I did an "amp hunt." I found the hood vent light was still incandescent so the bulb got replaced with a LED panel.
We dry camp on occasion. I have 2-6V batteries, an upgraded converter and generator, and 200W of portable solar.

[esperanto7]

Thank you for your post. I just bought a 2022 21BHE withe the 25 amp solar charge controller and a 165W solar panel on the roof. I plan to get one 100ah lithium battery and up grade the solar but until I do, I am interested to see how fast the poor lead acid battery the dealer gave me will be depleated. I live in Phoenix so a lot of sun but also a lot of heat to make the fridge run more….