boondocking,,,what about your furnace ??

tdst51 wrote:


That's a really good price. May have to look into those.

Still showing @ $84.52 in local Club (exchange + tax).

huachuca wrote:
We switched to two GC2 six volt batteries ( $85:/EA @ Sam's Club) wired in series last year and have really been happy. Also changed all lights to LEDs at the same time. I made it for eight days without recharging earlier this month and we ran our Maxx Fan each night for eight plus hours. It doesn't draw nearly as much as the furnace but the voltage reading on the last day was still over 12.4.

Fully charge your battery(ies) with the camper in your yard, crank up the thermostat to a few degrees above the ambient temp and check your remaining voltage after a few hours of cycling off and on.

That's a really good price. May have to look into those.

We camped in Yellowstone in mid May. Daytime temps were in high 50's low 60's.Night temps between high 30's and low 40's. The heater fan will take you batteries down so you will need to recharge them every day fro a few hours. A propane heater like Mr Buddy would be a good investment if you plan to do alot of cold weather camping. If not using the heater,I can go 4 to 5 days on 2 group 24 batteries.

If you are planning to do a lot of boondocking, adding solar (and LED lighting) can solve lots of power problems. I spent 93 days without hookups this winter in Quartzsite, AZ & Imperial Dam, CA. While the days were warm, the nights were cold enough that I was going through a tank of propane ever 10 days or so.

With 195 watts of solar on the roof & a portable 160 watt panel (the roof top panels are enough during the summer, but not with the low angle winter sun) and a pair of 232 amp hour 6V batteries, I was able to run all my electrical stuff (except the AC) including making a pot of coffee with an inverter each morning. I averaged 35 - 40 amp hours per day.

I boondock a lot in my Class B in cold weather. I never had a problem running the furnace with my 105 AH battery overnight. I may recharge a bit the next day with either running the engine, my portable solar panel if I brought it & it's sunny, or my portable generator if I brought it.

Your furnace will run a LOT in cold weather, which will draw down your batteries quickly. Even a well-insulated trailer won't maintain even temperatures when the thermometer drops!

As you can see Luberhill, many answers and it can be very confusing. What I said in my previous post to you stands. One of 3 ways...plugged in, generator or batteries. Now then..batteries still need to be charged, especially after a night of heavy usage. You don't say what kind of RV you are using, so it's hard to comment. However, let us assume you have no generator and want to Boondock..no campground. As was mentioned by some, a propane heater is an option. It is always a bit of a conundrum. Some people dress in warmie warmies, some huddle around candles, some run different types of heaters...and so on. The biggest thing about cold weather camping is freezing your fresh water lines. If the temp is at freezing or just a bit lower, chances are you will be fine anyway. It's when the temp gets down into the mid 20's and lower that one has to be creative. You can insulate lines but forst you want to know where your lines are. Are they exposed. Some RV's..like the Triple Es are insulated well...some less so. So, you need to know what your exposure is. hahaha..pun, eh.

Lots of folks camp in cold weather. It's a great experience and the places to go are many and quiet.

ok..and having good ventilation. It reads counter-intuitive, but you need two vents (windows) open. The amount of moisture in the air from many different sources will amaze you and that moisture will wick to any soft place..upholstery, bedding, clothing...and man...you will be soooo cold and it won't matter how much heat you throw at the RV..it will be cold.


Gary Haupt

If you do this kind of camping a lot you might want to invest in a propane heater. The ones made for RVs are safe and they give off a constant warm heat, unlike a furnace. We used ours for 16 years.

We didn't use it at night though as we like sleeping in the cold.

old guy wrote:
if you have double 6v batteries you will get more fan operation than 2-12v batteries

That does of course depend on the batteries in question. You're certainly correct for the most common cases, GC2 6V golf cart batteries compared with normal marine/RV/trolling motor 12V batteries.

One other possibility that may make sense in a few cases is 2xGC12 12V golf cart batteries. These are somewhat longer than GC2 batteries, but have a similar width and height. Two GC12's have about half again the capacity of two GC2's (but are generally nowhere near as cost effective). Depending on the size and shape of one's battery spot, they may make for the largest capacity practical setup.

We switched to two GC2 six volt batteries ( $85:/EA @ Sam's Club) wired in series last year and have really been happy. Also changed all lights to LEDs at the same time. I made it for eight days without recharging earlier this month and we ran our Maxx Fan each night for eight plus hours. It doesn't draw nearly as much as the furnace but the voltage reading on the last day was still over 12.4.

Fully charge your battery(ies) with the camper in your yard, crank up the thermostat to a few degrees above the ambient temp and check your remaining voltage after a few hours of cycling off and on.