Sorry that I haven't responded--was away at a dog show all day.
Mex has pretty much convinced me that my first step will be to get an AGM battery. That's a little painful, since I just bought the battery I have (Group 27 deep cycle) in August. Maybe I can sell it on Craigslist ... Everyone's comments have been very helpful, and I now feel better about being able to keep a charge on my battery using the generator and chassis motor.
There will be 20-30 RV's parked at the hotel for this event, at the far end of the parking lot from the rooms/ballroom where our event is held, so I don't think that it will be feasible to tap into hotel power. Running the generator for several hours a day won't be a problem--I expect all us RV'ers will be doing the same thing. I'm not comfortable sleeping with the generator running, so that's not an option.
My last overnight trip this fall involved spending the night on top of a mountain in upstate NY in a farmer's field. It snowed overnight, and there were 30mph winds (gusts to 50). I was fine running the furnace all night. My coach is pretty small, no slides, and I have pieces of that quilted foil insulation cut to cover all the windows that I put up once the sun goes down. The furnace did NOT have to run all the time to keep the coach nice and warm. I'm mostly worried about the cumulative effect of using the battery heavily without full recharging for 7 nights in a row, but you guys have convinced me that I will be OK (especially if I get a better battery).
I know that I should avoid Optima AGM batteries, and pnichols recommended a Fullriver battery as a good one. Any other suggestions on what to get or avoid?
Thanks again for all the great info!!
Jill
