Battery charge

One battery running lights, furnace, etc will not make it very long.

Paul

Also, what size battery. Marine does not tell much. Is it a group 24, 27, 31, larger? Understanding 12V is important especially if you plan on dry camping.

If I understand your post the battery was new in 2004 that means the battery is 9 years old. I would believe that the battery is sulfated (bad) by now. I would charge it to 100% disconnect the neg cable check it with a volt meter after 24 hrs rest it should be 12.7 v or so. Then check it the same time in the following days for a week it should still read full or near full. To see what your parasitic drain is set you multi meter on 10 amps scale and measure between the neg post of the battery and the neg cable. Mine is about .4 amps just to give you a reference.

You don't say what size battery they gave you on this unit but if it is a group 24 like most do, You might consider upgrading to something with more staying power. Since you say you plan on boondocking 90% of the time, My advice is to read some of the threads you find by searching that forum section along with searching solar.

Building a decent size battery bank with a couple 6v golf cart batteries or large group 31 or 34 12v deep cycle batteries would significantly increase your power storage. Adding a couple hundred watts of solar power to keep them recharged would be a very good solution for making sure your a "happy camper".

Congrats on the new unit!

I would charge the battery to 100% and then remove it and take it to have it load tested. Cost is only for your time and you will have accurate information as to whether the battery needs to be replaced or not.

The fridge electronics can consume 5amps over a 24 hour period. Inverters can generate a load even when nothing is powered on downstream. Instant on stereos and TV's will draw power all the time.

When I added solar the new digital meter would show a 80% charge level while the factory LED gauge still showed 100% charge level. A Trimetric meter is a good way to monitor what is going into the batteries and exactly what is being drawn out.

Our fridge has a heat strip to keep moisture off the door that we turn off when dry camping. I don't know if your fridge is like that or not.

I really appreciate your help...good info

Don't trust the bars. Get a voltmeter.

The 12volt Side of Life

I forgot to include this is 2004 25' keystone bought with new battery. Just out of curiosity I timed how long my battery charge would last after disconnecting shore power. I will need to verify charge with hydrometer but notice massive loss after 20 hrs unplugged with no power turned on (no radio).

You probably need a hydrometer to get a real check , those bar meters are not a reliable check . I believe that it may drop 20% at instant of disconnect .