One battery

With proper conservation of power and barring cold weather you should get several nights on a single charge. Poor conservation or cold weather requiring furnace you probably won't make one night

Nick,

What size is your single battery?

For a one-battery small motorhome, at the very least make that battery as large as possible that will fit into your battery space. Since your single battery is a 12V battery, put the largest "standard automotive size" battery that will fit into the spot where the battery goes ... that would be a Group 31 size battery.

Ideally the Group 31 size 12V battery you choose should be a "pure deep cycle" type of battery. This might be a bit difficult to find, as a standard pure deep cycle Group 31 battery can be rare ... but is easy to find if you hunt for an "AGM" Group 31 12V battery. An AGM battery does not have liquid acid in it. It is a "dry" battery, but is also quite expensive ... about twice as expensive as a standard liquid acid Group 31 12V battery.

At least use a Group 31 "marine/deep cycle" 12V liquid acid battery as can be found in most automotive stores. A single one of these should allow you to boondock camp for up to two days if you don't have a standard RV propane furnace turned ON during the daytime and if you have it turned ON only at a relatively low temperature nights. Also, to get 48 hours of RV use out of a
Group 31 12V battery you must start with it completely charged at the beginning.

The suggestion above from BFL13 is excellent, as then it makes it possible to carry several batteries along for longer boondocking sessions without having to increase the size of your RV's battery storage box.

Good luck ... boondocking is not too hard ... and it's fun!

You are not restricted to the number or size of batteries that will fit in your battery compartment. You can take along one or more batteries not connected up to anything, and when you get there, haul them out and set them on the ground next to your battery compartment.

Connect them up with sets of jumper cables to your one installed battery and now you have a bunch of batteries. They will all recharge at once from your converter/generator too. De-camping, just put everything away and haul it all out again next stop.

I did that for one summer with the fiver and it worked just fine. Had two 12s on the ground in parallel with each other and two sixes up in the battery compartment. Used a standard set of jumper cables to parallel the pair of sixes (one big 12) in the trailer with the pair of 12s (one big 12) on the ground. Next year, I put the two 12s up into the front cargo bay for a more permanent solution, but I didn't have to.

Also need to know the physical space you have available for batteries. That will tell us what battery configurations you have room for.

So, you need to add up all your electrical needs, find a battery(s) that meet hose needs (generally provide overnight power)without discharging below 50%.

If the batteries are inside the RV, look closely at AGM batteries such as Lifeline, as they don't outgas except under extreme overcharging.

More facts, better answers.

Matt_Colie wrote:
There is a whole lot more information required before anybody can give you an answer

Yep. We really need to know your power usage.

:h

You've got a small class C, right?

Assuming the fridge/furnace/stove/water heater are propane-fired, it seems to me that just about ANY (single) decent deep-cycle battery should get you two nights of boondocking. At least! The furnace fan and water pump are your main power consumers- be cagy about pump use especially.

All bets are off if you've got an all-electric rig, of course. Or a big screen TV, microwave, etc.....

ntar827 wrote:
Only have one battery in my small motorhome.

What would be a good battery that might get me two nights of boondocking?

thanks

Nick

A Trojan 12v T 1275, or a pair of Trojan 6v T105's wired in series. 150Ah on the first one 225 Ah on the second ones.

If I could not part with a motorhome, and it could hold but one battery and I needed to not go back to candles and wood cooking, I would seriously consider a lithium battery. But my love for the coach would have to run d-e-e-p

Nick,

You have asked a question to which no meaningful answer can be given.
There is a whole lot more information required before anybody can give you an answer any better than you got from Mexico.....

I did boat electrics before the depression and if you really think you can put an handle on the electric power you need, maybe we can get close.

Matt