Single Battery Enough?
Last night it was my first time using my 2015 Lance 865 dry camping. Single factory battery setup. I keep the camper plugged in at home and the truck charges the camper battery. Pulled into our site b...
Forum Discussion
Jfresh wrote:Your refer never works on battery alone.. or at least most don't. If it does, that's a major draw.
switched fridge from battery to propane and lowered my atwood jacks.
It was probably 30 degrees overnight. I would say the furnace kicked on once every hour.
Woke up and turned the furnace to 60 until the camper warmed up and kept at 60 for an hour or so then turned it off after breakfast
Can a single battery drain enough overnight to where the jacks won't
raise? Should I start thinking about adding a second battery?
30 degrees is pretty chilly for one battery. What temperature did you ask it to keep the coach at? Kicking on once an hour isn't enough information.. we'd need to know how long it ran.
Raising temp to 60 for one hour is about 7 ah. Not a huge load, but on a cold battery it could be.
Apparently your battery couldn't handle it, but you'd only know for sure by taking a voltage reading minutes after that one hour furnace run. (not during!)
Cold weather is especially detrimental to a battery. And, a "factory battery" is not likely to be a good deep-cycle. It's usually the cheapest thing they can find.. maybe even a starting battery. Assuming your battery is healthy, by all means add another.. or better yet, toss the OEM and get a couple 6v trojans.
