dry camping

If you like to watch TV and DVDs while "off grid" I recommend getting a TV/DVD combo that runs on 12 volts DC. You don't have to buy a TV from a 12 volt specialty supplier. We bought a 19" Insignia HDTV/DVD combo unit from Best Buy that runs on 12 volts DC. (Disclaimer - I don't work for Best Buy and I'm sure there are other great 12 volt DC TV/DVD options out there. Shop around!)

But, the Insignia TV/DVD isn't sold as a unit that runs on 12 volts. Instead, it plugs into a 110v outlet, with a power cord that has a transformer supplying 12 volts to the TV. (That's that big black box on the power cord.) Look for TVs with a transformer powering them. You have to look at the spec sheets (or peer at the back of the display TVs, annoying the sales clerks) to find out what voltage the TVs actually utilize. A lot of 19" TVs run on 12 volts DC these days. The 19" Insignia TV/DVD I bought is rated at only 3 watts. That's not a lot of draw, so we could easily watch a movie or a broadcast without draining down our batteries too much.

I headed over to Radio Shack, where I picked up a fused cigarette lighter plug and a "K" plug adapter that fit the TV's power input. (I actually had to convince the clerk that I could power a TV from a 12 volt power supply. Sheesh--Who do they hire these days? But, I digress.) I soldered the K connector to the plug (observing +/- polarity) and the TV/DVD is good to go.

I started this whole project because our Winnebago has 12 volt power supplies at the bedroom TV shelf and on the outside "entertainment center." (A marine AM/FM Cassette player and two speakers--state of the art in 1999!) So, the TV plugs right in outside and in the bedroom. Granted, we can't watch the 32" main TV on nights when we dry camp, but we consider that any TV or DVD viewing while off the grid is a pretty good deal.

That's my 2 cents for enhancing/extending a dry camping excursion. As others have said, how long your batteries will last is something you just have to find out from experience. Good luck to you in your dry camping adventures!

Your turn, OP.

The larger pain in the butt result of drawing down the batteries excessively will be the low battery alarm on the co/gas monitor on your unit. This will immediately wake you up at 3 in the morning and you will endeavor to shut off load to get the voltage up. When not successful you will be starting the generator off the engine battery to get the alarm off. When your neighbors come over to question running the genset during quite hours, you will tell them that it is quieter without the alarm.

pops

Friends of ours were having the same problems as you and they ended up buying a very small and quiet running, gasoline powered Honda Generator!

No 120v compressor driven Air-Conditioning using batteries

Two batteries approx 200 amp hours total, 100 amp hours, too reach 50% discharge
You do not want to discharge until dead, this is very hard on the batteries

100 amp hours is about 10 hours of television
But using lights weather pump etc.. subtract from that
Dry camping is a matter of Power Management
Try it at home this week end,
Or some place close by,
It's a learning process, learning to balance generator run time for heavy appliances and battery recharge against power use

Rookie Rver :C here! The best suggestion I'd give you is to try it before you actually take of on your trip. Try it at least a couple of times with the intent to get a feel for what you can do and what will drain your power. Every rig is different, and everyone does not use the amount of power. What works for the other may not necessarily work for you. It took me a few times but I am comfortable when using own power and not plugged in anywhere. So many things to take into consideration that include furnace use, water pump, lights, tv, laptops,kind of batteries you have, etc. If at all possible dry camp in your backyard or driveway first, or close to home. Only you can get a feel for your rig.

STEVEP220 wrote:
I own a 2005 38' diesel pusher. I plan to dry camp using my generator during the day and battery power at night. I have two deep cycle house batteries. My question is how many hours should the batteries supply power before they are dead?

Our rig is a 38' DP also. We have four golf cart batteries with 440 AH of storage when fully charged.

Fully Charged is 12.6v
Half Gone is @12.2v
Dead is @ 11.8v or less

We camp where we cannot use the generator between 8pm and 10am so 14 hours. We have no solar.

We can watch TV in the evening and morning use some lights, use the furnace at 48 degrees outside, and make drip coffee in the morning using the inverter.

At 10am we are usually at 12.2v which I guess would be 220 AH used.

You should begin recharging the batteries at 12.2v to get the longest service from your batteries.

The first step you might want to accomplish is to learn how many Amp Hours your deep storage batteries are rated at and then plan to use half of those AH.

What type of TV? There is still not enough information to tell since we don't know what type of batteries however, lights and some TV / Water pump use should be fine each night.

The only time I have done real dry camping was in a TT once and that was here in Florida in the dead of august. We ran a generator right up till quiet time with the AC turned down all the way to get as cold as possible. Then we turned the genny off and plugged a small inverter in with a power strip and extension cords. We ran a pair of small fans and a TV from the inverter and the usual non-led lights and light water pump use. The fans and the amber light outside above the entry door ran all night. Usually around 1 or 2 am, I would wake up uncomfortable due to the humidity and open the roof vents which made it fine till morning. We only had a single 3 year old dual purpose (Non-Deep cycle) group 24 battery and it did fine every night.

Not enough information, You said "I have two deep cycle batteries"

True Deep cycle or Maine Deep cycle

Group 24 (75 amp hours each, 75 amp hours usable if TRUE deep cycle, less if Marine)

Group 8D (260 amp hours each, same math as above).

GC-2 (210-230 Amp Hours depending on brand total, 50% usable, these are True Deep cycle).

Then there is the chart above on how much power is sucked...

Fact: I took a peek at my Prosine monitor panel yesterday.. Where it used to say SIX amps (120 volt pass through) it now says FOUR.. I swapped a CRT TV for a flat screen, Saving close to 3KWH per day for the park and of course the batteires now go a long longer when boon/wally-docking.

2 to 4 hours. The more you conserve (lights off, no furnace,) just satellite receiver and LCD TV, 4 hours. Probably longer but you'll be pulling your batteries down farther than comfortable and shorten their life.