Battery toast after one day?

[Ron burgundy]

Wondering if other folks are having to same issue...I assume other models have the same large nor old refrigerator I have. When on, the fan inside runs almost nonstop....very few times when it does not. I believe that as a result the single battery that these huge trailers come with is passing low voltage within about 12 hours of not being on some sort of power. (It's that or I've gone another mysterious drain).

I've got a momentum and it's pretty concerning that I cannot sit very long without running the generator. This past weekend we would go to bed and only the heater (set to 62) and refridgerator were on and we would make it until about 9am before being hit with low voltage beeps...and by the way the fridge is set to 4 of 10 for temp.

[LCBoyer]

Refrigerator has 3 cooling fans, LP detector cause a drain. Furnace fan will draw a lot of current.

[arhayes]

The rigs as designed requires external power. If you want to boondock that'll be on you to retrofit the rig. We've been on the road for over 2 years and one 12v battery has been more than enough!


Alan

[Ron burgundy]

Seriously??? Everyone just deals with it? Even the 6k 15 yr old weekend warrior I had would sit for a week and be fine with a refrigerator, please detector, etc with no issues. This is a bit insane.

[Waterboy]

Buy (4) 6 volt Lifeline or golf cart batteries. I have a momentum and during the summer I can run the fridge in LP mode for 3 or 4 days when I park it in storage during my 3 to 5 day layover periods. In the winter the furnace will run for one night if I keep the t-stat set to 50 deg to prevent freezing but that's it. The furnace drains the battery to the point where the landing gear won't retract unless I plug it in to the truck to charge. I have been RV'ing a long time and I thought it was funny that the salesman kept pointing out how generous they were because they gave me the larger Interstate battery. With a RV this size it really doesn't help much. Welcome to the fun but expensive world of RV'ing. Look into solar systems some of the forum members have some really nice write-ups on their systems. I'm in the process of researching them myself.

[Ron burgundy]

I do appreciate the input....just surprised that many lower-end trailers have actual solutions for this, solar, etc. at some point I'll figure the return on buying new batteries vs having to run the generator extra time.

In the meantime I've got a spare 12v I'll throw in there.

I do love the trailer...just as usual getting used to quirks...all in all damn comfy to hang out on a recliner in the middle of the desert and watch a movie!!

[huntr70]

I have a hard time believing that a battery will go a week with running the refer, lights, LP detector, radio memory, thermostat, etc.

1-2 days is believable, but not a week without some source of charge.

[Ron burgundy]

That's the thing...they spent time putting in products meant to conserve battery life...not the other way around.

The radio memory stored only the last station it was on...unlike the huge unit I have today which has the large display that I cannot seem to turn entirely off.

The refrigerator did not have large fans that ran...it was LP with the exception of a light when the door opened

And the furnace/heat was simply to heat a smaller unit so this piece makes complete sense to me...

Not trying to start an argument here...but these units definitely need some work with regards to being able to sit in my opinion. I pulled it in front of my house and it sat for about a day to prep for our trip and dipped into low voltage territory with nothing but the refrigerator on.

[J&G garage]

You should install a battery monitor if you want to run off the grid. It's the only way to take good care of your batteries. With a monitor you can do an energy audit on your 12vdc system. This will let you know how much battery capacity you need to run the items you want to run off the grid. The battery that came with your trailer probably offers about 100 amp/hrs total capacity. You get to use half of those amp/hrs before recharging (that's just physics). You may find that your appliances draw enough current when "off" that you should be recharging after 3 days. Less than that if any appliances are on. If the battery has been abused at all, as in discharging it too far it will have less capacity than it is rated for. After doing an audit you can determine how much battery capacity you need for the way you use your trailer. Then you can install enough batteries to suit your lifestyle. Don't forget you'll need to make sure you have the charging capacity for a larger battery bank.

[WhittleBurner]

I'm no battery expert by any means but I'm going to agree, 12 hrs isn't very long regardless of which rig you're in. I'd look in 2 directions.... 1st .. What battery did your dealer install? if it's a small group 24 then you won't get much time on it any way you slice it. And also look for a parasite or 2. So many things run on12 v in the background on these rigs.
I agree that Solar and multiple batteries is a must have if you dry camp often.