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  1. #11
    Site Sponsor sande005's Avatar
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    About 6v batteries..seems like you are well into educating yourself. Just as a reference:

    I have 2 6v Costco batteries. One 600w sine wave inverter.
    For the two of us, we can get about 2 to 2 1/2 days out of the batteries before they get down below 25%.
    This includes:
    Interior LED lights as needed, but off when not.
    Running the bathroom fan, as needed.
    Watching TV about 2 hrs per night (TV runs off inverter, DVD/Entertainment is 12v).
    Water pump as needed, but we do watch pretty closely how much water we use when dry camping.
    Run a CPAP for ~7 hrs, with optional heat turned off. (Machine is 24v, so we run it off the inverter).
    Fridge on propane, of course, but note that it does draw some 12v power also.
    May bump the furnace on for 5-10 min. to warm things up on cool mornings.
    Use the stove/oven to heat anything - including making coffee. Avoid use of the range hood, if at all possible.
    Make sure to turn off inverter when not in use - it draws power all the time.

    Running your microwave? That will very quickly drain your batteries!
    2017 Imagine 2670MK
    2012 F-150 SCrew, Eco, 4x4 6.5 box
    Max. Tow, HD Payload, Airbags, ProPride hitch
    (Previous: Jayco 26.5RLS Fifth, Revolution Pinbox)

  2. #12
    Long Hauler DaveMatthewsBand's Avatar
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    New-Bee Boondocking electrical questions

    Just to give you an idea of the massive amount of power required to run the microwave off an inverter... I have $3700 worth of lithium batteries and a 3000 watt inverter and using the microwave for 10 minutes uses 5% of our 400ah bank!


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Last edited by DaveMatthewsBand; 10-12-2019 at 09:39 PM.
    Resistance is Not Futile, It's Voltage Divided by Current.


  3. #13
    Setting Up Camp
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    Quote Originally Posted by BeerBrewer View Post
    We bought our first Travel Trailer (Transcend 26RLS) in May of this year so we are still new to RVing. We've visited 11 campsites so far this year, most were full hook up sites and only one had electric only. We think that we'd like to do some boondocking in the future but we aren't sure what we'd need. Right now out trailer only has one 12V battery and I regret not asking for two 6 Volt golf cart batteries instead, but that is water under the bridge. So I don't think that I'd boondock more than I night with my current set up.


    1. My first question regards Inverter Generators. I had been told that a 15k BTU RV AC unit required a bit more power at start up, so it wont run 2000 watt inverter generator without doing a modification to the AC unit. Well my TT only has one 15K BTU AC unit and I'm able to run it when it's plugged into a 15 amp GFI line fed from an outside wall outlet on my house. The AC unit runs without any issues at all and it's never popped the fuse on the GFI outlet or in the electrical panel. So does this mean that will I be able to run my AC unit on a 2000 Watt Inverter generator without doing any modifications?
    2. My next question has to do with DC to AC inverters. I saw 1000W inverter on the web for $60. I should be able to run a 40" LCD TV, a Blu-ray player and few USB chargers on it...correct?
    3. I was thinking of replacing my 12v with two 6v golf cart batteries. How long would these last without a recharge when boondocking? Assuming that we'd were running the water pump and DC lights as needed and we'd be watching the TV for about 4 hours a day.
    4. What size solar panel would be needed to recharge the batteries? Would the portable type work?


    If we did do some boondocking I don't want to be forced to rely on using a generator, because I know that they can't always be used and who wants the noise. Lastly we are NOT looking to be boondocking for weeks at a time, but 3 to 4 days would be nice.

    Thanks!

    Bob
    Most places that have no electric allow generators. Some not at night. You need a 4400 peak start up to 3500 off peak. If you try using something less your AC may start but it is hard on the AC unit. We were just in a state park with no electric and we only have single battery and we powered the generator up for a few hours during the day to charge our battery and watched some TV and had no problems. The generator we bought is supper quit and can run 24 hours on 2 1/2 gallons of gas. You can also spend a little more and get a dull fuel gas or LP so you could run it off you LP tanks.

  4. #14
    Left The Driveway
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    Batteries

    Quote Originally Posted by BeerBrewer View Post
    We bought our first Travel Trailer (Transcend 26RLS) in May of this year so we are still new to RVing. We've visited 11 campsites so far this year, most were full hook up sites and only one had electric only. We think that we'd like to do some boondocking in the future but we aren't sure what we'd need. Right now out trailer only has one 12V battery and I regret not asking for two 6 Volt golf cart batteries instead, but that is water under the bridge. So I don't think that I'd boondock more than I night with my current set up.


    1. My first question regards Inverter Generators. I had been told that a 15k BTU RV AC unit required a bit more power at start up, so it wont run 2000 watt inverter generator without doing a modification to the AC unit. Well my TT only has one 15K BTU AC unit and I'm able to run it when it's plugged into a 15 amp GFI line fed from an outside wall outlet on my house. The AC unit runs without any issues at all and it's never popped the fuse on the GFI outlet or in the electrical panel. So does this mean that will I be able to run my AC unit on a 2000 Watt Inverter generator without doing any modifications?
    2. My next question has to do with DC to AC inverters. I saw 1000W inverter on the web for $60. I should be able to run a 40" LCD TV, a Blu-ray player and few USB chargers on it...correct?
    3. I was thinking of replacing my 12v with two 6v golf cart batteries. How long would these last without a recharge when boondocking? Assuming that we'd were running the water pump and DC lights as needed and we'd be watching the TV for about 4 hours a day.
    4. What size solar panel would be needed to recharge the batteries? Would the portable type work?


    If we did do some boondocking I don't want to be forced to rely on using a generator, because I know that they can't always be used and who wants the noise. Lastly we are NOT looking to be boondocking for weeks at a time, but 3 to 4 days would be nice.

    Thanks!

    Bob
    I suggest that another 12 V battery to match the existing would be the most cost effective route to go and give you as much ampacity as 2 - 6 volt, dont give up on you existing battery. With a little power management, a 2.2 KW gen set will totally meet you short term needs. A 1 kw is pretty small and can not do much more than keep you unit charged but you will have to run it 12 hours per day just to keep it at 100%. Depending on you available daily sunlight, a single panel will only maintain your battery but it means that everything you power via 12 volt will draw deep into the battery ampacity.

  5. #15
    Seasoned Camper
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    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	B70FC876-4DFD-4AE5-9F92-71F8B113E637.png 
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ID:	23117. I found this to be good info from another post.
    Bob and Cheryl, Puka the doodle
    2018 Ram 2500 Crew,Diesel,4x4
    2016 Reflection 27RL
    2012 Palomino 6.5 camper

  6. #16
    Seasoned Camper
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    Check and see if the serial number is compatible with the newer Honda 2200 and run them parallel. If it's not Honda 2000's are around at a deep discount.

  7. #17
    Long Hauler DaveMatthewsBand's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by NASCAR9 View Post
    Check and see if the serial number is compatible with the newer Honda 2200 and run them parallel. If it's not Honda 2000's are around at a deep discount.
    Agreed. Standard 2000 watt gens won’t run your roof air but the Honda will.
    I have run my 15k btu roof air in Texas summertime all day no problem and without a soft start. We didn’t want other brands and wanted a small light weight gen that could be easily moved by my wife if I was unable.
    Plus you can run two in parallel (4kw) and run the Ac and everything else at the same time.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Resistance is Not Futile, It's Voltage Divided by Current.


  8. #18
    New Member
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    Wife & I often boondocked comfortably for 3+ days in a 2017 Grand Design Imagine 2150RB. Electrical lessons we learned (as newbies):

    1. Never drain a 12v lead acid battery more than 50% (We toasted our stock battery)
    2. 13,500 A/C won't start/run off a 2000 watt genny (unless it's a $$$ Honda) or you use a "soft" starter $$$ (that's why I bought 2 Champions)
    3. You need to charge batteries EVERY DAY (either by solar or genny) & keep them topped off
    4. Solar panels / lithium battery setups are still VERY expensive


    Fortunately, we rarely used our a/c. BUT just using the water pump & lights taxes a single lead acid battery. What you have to look at is a "Good, Better & Best" scenario for your usage. Golf cart batteries are a step up, MANY golf cart batteries is BETTER, and a high capacity lithium bank is BEST. For sticker shock, go online and check prices! I wound up getting a larger capacity Marine lead acid battery from Walmart ... AND kept it charged!

    I bought 2 2000 watt Champion inverter generators. If we were going glamping in the heat (rare), I would take both & the parallel kit. Spring & Fall I usually only needed one of them (I rotated them).

    I'm getting older and hitching was getting to be a drag, so this year we blew the budget & traded for a 24' class C with a 3500 Onan gas genny. I install a 100 watt solar panel on the roof, and it keeps all batteries easily topped off.

    So... I have 2 like-new Champion Inverter generators (less than 5 hours on each) with parallel kit for sale: $700 firm. I'm in central Ohio - anyone interested PM me!

  9. #19
    Left The Driveway
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    Batteries and gen sets

    Quote Originally Posted by BeerBrewer View Post
    I was pretty sure that I'd need a bigger generator, but I had hope, since a saw a video of some guy doing it with a Honda 2000. I just don't want to drag along and have to lift a 100 lb generator, so we'll just not use the AC.
    I have a 2KW Yamaha BLUE gen set, weight 45 pounds, very quite and it does meet all our needs (however having said that) we dont use our AC that often so we basically use the gen set to keep all systems charged and ready to go. Our AC will not run on the batteries alone.

  10. #20
    Left The Driveway
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    Already some great information posted. Here is what we have done, tested and already spent many nights boondocking in our imagine 2500RL

    1. Purchased a Briggs and Stratton 3000 watt inverter generates specifically advertised to run an RV AC. It bogged down too much and popped the breaker 3/5 starts. Purchased a hard start kit and made a dramatic difference.

    2. No experience yet with inverters since we normally don’t watch TV on boondocking trips.

    3. I purchased 2 golf cart batteries at Sam’s club for roughly $90 a piece. We can run lights, fridge, fans, charge phones, the furnace and everything else that runs on 12v. If you are conservative and turn things off when you don’t need them you can run a long time. We took a trip to Yellowstone and Grand Teton where generators can only be run at certain times. Went 5 days without recharging. Obviously you need your CPAP but these golf cart batteries were the best upgrade I’ve done.

    4. We talked to several people using solar on he road. Learned lots and determined a portable folding panel may not be for me. Doesn’t charge fast enough. It’s in my plans for the future, but at this point I think I’ll save my money. If I do invest in solar it will be permanent mounts to the roof and hard wired.

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