Yep, I ruined our deep cycle battery by not removing it and keeping it fully charged on a charger / maintainer. We camp for 3 days every couple of weeks, with the TT in storage when we're not. There's no elec where we park it so the battery just sits there. The new battery (ies) will get pulled and charged each time we return, now. My perception of how many amp hours I can get has been skewed by my mistakes. I can't wait to see what we can do with a properly maintained battery :o As short as our stays are I think we're going to be alright.
I'm trying to avoid the generator route. I just purchased a 25W solar maintainer to use at the campsite. I've replaced all the halogen bulbs in the fixtures with LED's, and even having done that we use battery lanterns most of the time when dry camping. The most important thing for us is having the water pump (we turn it on only on demand) and the refer.
dclark1946 wrote:
Do you plan on using a generator when you dry camp? We do fine with a single Gr 27 Trojan SCS 12V deep cycle (115 AH) but I do run a EU1000 every morning during breakfast. We camp for at least a week in the Smokies with a couple gallons of gas. We run a Fantastic vent fan all night and the usual fridge, water pump and lights but no inverter. We perk our coffee on the stove top and do fine without a microwave. I also give the battery a good check out before leaving by verifying it will hold 12.7V for 2 days unloaded and run a load test. Our Trojan SCS 200 is 3 years old and is maintained when we are not camping with a 55 W solar panel/controller. I learned early on about how a poorly maintained (sulfated) battery can leave you in a bad situation when dry camping.
Dick
