Battery-generator-charging upgrades?
This year will be our longest boondocking trip to date 7-10 days and want to upgrade our camper for this trip. I'd appreciate some suggestions and feedback to make sure we spend our limited budget wis...
Forum Discussion
Good tips from above members.
You and the Missus would be classified as "light users" of power. You could get by with the battery you have and some way of charging it. Parking the truck close and using jumper cables, idling the truck for an hour, would get you almost charged back up, enough to make another night.
Fortunately, you made the decision to buy a generator. I'd shop around for a Champion like that, you may get a lower price through outlets like Cabelas or Awise, etc. If you want to upgrade your battery to two 6V's, a little birdie told me that the bigger EGC2 6V's are now on sale at Sam's club. They sell a variety of brands but most are made by Johnson Controls. I have a a pair of the smaller ones and they are on year five, good batteries.
For converter choice, I wouldn't buy anything but a Progressive Dynamics converter. I have a working one that is silent and is 45 years old. The PD 4645 replaces your current converter or you can get one in a deck mount box if installing in the front. Your Elixer can run alongside the new converter or you can turn it off by installing a household switch in the 120V feed. The PD converters charge at 14.8V in the absorption stage. THat is important for 6V batteries, they like higher current and voltage. Use them hard and charge them hard.
I'd suggest to concentrate on what is going to make your RV experience better and plan out the cabin design separately. Since the cabin is more of an outbuilding on your property, you may wish to investigate whether pulling a smaller service wire underground from the house becomes a better solution since that eliminates a bunch of complexity and eliminates generator use. If you plan to park your trailer close to this cabin and using it there, a pedestal along with the cabin 120V becomes a greater incentive to bury wire. I'd suggest to get estimates for pulling that wire. You would be amazed how a guy can bury wire through trees and such with a small machine.
Good luck on the trip and your boondocking upgrades. You have a real good handle on the basic upgrades. Seems like you just need some ideas about the different pieces.
You and the Missus would be classified as "light users" of power. You could get by with the battery you have and some way of charging it. Parking the truck close and using jumper cables, idling the truck for an hour, would get you almost charged back up, enough to make another night.
Fortunately, you made the decision to buy a generator. I'd shop around for a Champion like that, you may get a lower price through outlets like Cabelas or Awise, etc. If you want to upgrade your battery to two 6V's, a little birdie told me that the bigger EGC2 6V's are now on sale at Sam's club. They sell a variety of brands but most are made by Johnson Controls. I have a a pair of the smaller ones and they are on year five, good batteries.
For converter choice, I wouldn't buy anything but a Progressive Dynamics converter. I have a working one that is silent and is 45 years old. The PD 4645 replaces your current converter or you can get one in a deck mount box if installing in the front. Your Elixer can run alongside the new converter or you can turn it off by installing a household switch in the 120V feed. The PD converters charge at 14.8V in the absorption stage. THat is important for 6V batteries, they like higher current and voltage. Use them hard and charge them hard.
I'd suggest to concentrate on what is going to make your RV experience better and plan out the cabin design separately. Since the cabin is more of an outbuilding on your property, you may wish to investigate whether pulling a smaller service wire underground from the house becomes a better solution since that eliminates a bunch of complexity and eliminates generator use. If you plan to park your trailer close to this cabin and using it there, a pedestal along with the cabin 120V becomes a greater incentive to bury wire. I'd suggest to get estimates for pulling that wire. You would be amazed how a guy can bury wire through trees and such with a small machine.
Good luck on the trip and your boondocking upgrades. You have a real good handle on the basic upgrades. Seems like you just need some ideas about the different pieces.
