camping in public campground no hookups

jarata1 wrote:

The generator was from a friend was 110, the cost of 2 golf cart batteries was 345 makes sense to me

Sam's Club or Costco have 6V batteries, generally for around $85 or so apiece. Sam's Club (but not Costco) has a one-day membership available with a 10% surcharge on purchases. That's one way to get a pair of 6V batteries for about $200, or less if you or someone you know has a membership.

The $345 batteries may well be a little bit higher capacity or a better brand than the Sam's Club/Costco ones, but the differences are rather minuscule when compared with the difference between a single 12V RV/Marine battery and the pair of golf cart batteries.

As others have said, a single 12V battery would likely be sufficient for a weekend in warm weather when you don't need to use the furnace, assuming it's in good shape and fully charged to start and you exercise a little care in conserving power.

I have 2 each Grp 29DC 12-volt batteries wired up in parallel. From Walmart. Just looked - $100 each.

I chose to go with 2 ea 12-volts instead of 6-volts because if one of the 12-volts fails, I still have one I can use. But if one of the 6-volts fails you have no juice at all.

SoundGuy wrote:

jarata1 wrote:
We are camping in a state campground with no electric all we have is the 12 volt battery on front.I was thinking of buying a generator but alot of people are against that.
Then i thought of the 2 6 volt batteris in tandem but that is way to expensive.

The cost of two 6 volt GC-2 batteries is "way too expensive" but a generator isn't? :h That makes no sense at all. :R When you're talking about a mere 2 days of camping at a time dual 6 volts will easily suffice if you use a little common sense and don't unnecessarily waste battery power. Unless you have a specific need for a generator (such as running A/C or powering a microwave oven) invest in a pair of 6 volt GC-2 batteries that properly cared for will last for several years of camping. Mount those on the trailer, carry your existing 12 volt battery along in your tow vehicle as a spare, and together they'll offer more than enough reserve power for several days of dry camping.

The generator was from a friend was 110, the cost of 2 golf cart batteries was 345 makes sense to me

We "dry camp" (no electric or water hookup) all the time using one 12v battery for 2-4 days. As everyone says, just restrict what you use in the camper - no lights unless needed, leave water pump off until needed, etc. A vent fan will use much more electricity than you think - try not to use it unless needed, and only for as long as needed. Leaving it on overnight will drain a battery. When you dry camp I would suggest looking for shady campsites where you won't need a vent fan.

Have fun! It is very much doable and fun for everyone. You will probably run out of water long before your battery drains!

jarata1 wrote:
We are camping in a state campground with no electric all we have is the 12 volt battery on front.I was thinking of buying a generator but alot of people are against that.
Then i thought of the 2 6 volt batteris in tandem but that is way to expensive.

The cost of two 6 volt GC-2 batteries is "way too expensive" but a generator isn't? :h That makes no sense at all. :R When you're talking about a mere 2 days of camping at a time dual 6 volts will easily suffice if you use a little common sense and don't unnecessarily waste battery power. Unless you have a specific need for a generator (such as running A/C or powering a microwave oven) invest in a pair of 6 volt GC-2 batteries that properly cared for will last for several years of camping. Mount those on the trailer, carry your existing 12 volt battery along in your tow vehicle as a spare, and together they'll offer more than enough reserve power for several days of dry camping.

rhagfo wrote:
Well for the cost of a second battery, you could buy a little 900W generator from HFT.
I have used to run a 1500W heater on low and worked just fine. When we bought it we were on short notice, and dropping $1,000 on a Honda, was not in the books at that time. we ended up paying full price $139, and still fell we got a bargain.

That HFT 900w noisemaker would be banned by all the campgrounds i know of, especially state/national park campgrounds.

but it's fine if you not in a campground and boondocking or at motor races.

Well for the cost of a second battery, you could buy a little 900W generator from HFT.
I have used to run a 1500W heater on low and worked just fine. When we bought it we were on short notice, and dropping $1,000 on a Honda, was not in the books at that time. we ended up paying full price $139, and still fell we got a bargain.

bukhrn wrote:
I agree with 2gypsies, except that I don't think you'll have to worry about propane conservation, with only the fridge, water heater, and stove running on propane, a 20 lb tank should last at least 5 days.

I went a good 18 days on my 40lb tank - and that was with the water heater on the entire time. Propane is also an easy fix - there is almost always someplace nearby that you can get your tank filled, and with a trailer setup (unlike the MH which has a permanently installed tank), you can grab the tank, jump in the tow vehicle and go fill it while the family is enjoying the outdoors.

If worse comes to worse just pull your tow vehicle up close to your trailer where the battery is located an hook up jumper cables between your tow vehicle's battery and your trailer battery :)

I agree with 2gypsies, except that I don't think you'll have to worry about propane conservation, with only the fridge, water heater, and stove running on propane, a 20 lb tank should last at least 5 days.