Furnace and battery
We have a 5 year old 30' Rockwood trailer that we often use dry camping at a local county park that can get cold at night. We have two 6 volt batteries and a solar charger. Before we leave home I ha...
Forum Discussion
John Hammond wrote:
Here are a few of the recommendations I've received regarding running out of power when dry camping and running the furnace on battery power: Please comment on what you think of these ideas:
1) Keep the overnight temperature set lower.
2) Charge the batteries during the day by running the truck engine while the truck is connected to the trailer.
3) Leave the truck connected to the trailer at night so the truck battery can supply extra power to run the furnace.
4) Get a larger solar panel.
5) Buy two more batteries and swap them during our trips.
6) Use sleeping bags to stay warm.
7) Clean the battery terminals (done).
8) Buy a generator to change the batteries during the day.
Anyone have any thoughts about these ideas?
John
1) We run it at the lowest temp the t-stat will go, which is about 55°. Good sleeping weather in our opinion, and if it is above that outside, we wouldn't run the heater at all.
2) Works a bit, but a very inefficient way to charge trailer batteries. A generator does a much faster job of it.
3) First, that won't work unless you have a GM truck. Both Ram and Ford disconnect the trailer plug when the engine isn't running. And on the GM, you may not get your truck started the next morning (been there). I've seen people running their truck all night for this very reason, when they found themselves cold and unprepared. Fortunately, most gas trucks idle very quietly. And the diesel owners are apparently a little more savy about camping.
All the other points have merit.
