Forum Discussion

Kayteg1's avatar
Kayteg1
Explorer II
Mar 12, 2020

My Sprinter stealth ClasB

Hi, I am having 19 yold Lance truck camper and when I could not sell it for reasonable price (50% of NADA) I decided to use good interior for new conversion and dispose faded body.
Pictures will be coming as I already have rear dinette and shower stall installed, but would love to hear opinions about few technical dilemmas.
So I don't want propane on board, meaning all appliances will run on electricity. With bus version I have 250 amp alternator and dual AC, so I don't anticipate any power issues while on the road, when on hot days I can run the engine for some time, I have following dilemmas:
1- did anybody tried to keep refrigerator running overnight on 2 battery power?
2-how long 150W electric element takes to heat water in standard w/h? I've been using electricity for water heating in my previous RVs, but having campground hookup, I never actually timed it.
3-I plan to use camper transfer switch where inverter would be default and once I plug shore power, the relay will switch
4- no toilet on the conversion, so I am putting porta-potty inside the shower. So far a try shows that I need to lose some weight to make it working. How guys having porta-potty in van manage its use while having other people?
5-with gray water tank only I don't want to make 3" water dump. What are the smaller options?


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  • Lwiddis wrote:
    "1- did anybody tried to keep refrigerator running overnight on 2 battery power?"
    How many battery amp hours? What does the fridge manufacturer say about power use?

    "2-how long 150W electric element takes to heat water in standard w/h?" How many gallons? If six, it will take a bunch of power. I've heard RVers talk about heating water with excess solar power, but not from batteries. Why are you anti-propane? Every other RV in the campground will have propane onboard.

    Propane would not only be additional hassle, but also would require obvious side covers.
    The fridge takes 180W on 12V element, or 240W on 120V element.
    It is not the power use I can't figure out, but what % of time fridge has to run in let's say 80F night?
    The standard W/H is 5 gallons and that is always way more than we need for evening showers. The idea is to have the water heated during driving, when power supply is huge and than use it at night. I added insulation to the unit, so it should hold temperature for several hr.
    Why your reply was invisible for 1/2 day?
  • In today’s neighborhoods with Ring or Ring type cameras everywhere, it’ll take one night for a neighbor to figure out you’re camping in front of a child’s home...with video evidence. Not an RV storage yard and not a campground.
  • Where I camp, most of the time I need AC 20 hr a day. Solar doesn't do anything for me.
    As I indicated in the title, I plan to make it stealth RV. It is design for fast trips with dogs, to destination (our sons spread in 2500 miles circle) and parking in front of the house without triggering too much attention.
    The only outside indication of RV use will be vent on the roof and gray water tank hidden under floor. It is registered as limo and I plan to have 10 seat belts in it to use it for daily trips with friends as well.
  • All electric I would put about 400 watts of solar on roof with at least 200 amp hours of batteries.
  • "1- did anybody tried to keep refrigerator running overnight on 2 battery power?"
    How many battery amp hours? What does the fridge manufacturer say about power use?

    "2-how long 150W electric element takes to heat water in standard w/h?" How many gallons? If six, it will take a bunch of power. I've heard RVers talk about heating water with excess solar power, but not from batteries. Why are you anti-propane? Every other RV in the campground will have propane onboard.