Recommended Dry-Camping Mods to a Small TT

[granlobo]

Thanks everyone for their thoughtful and informative posts on the site...I've enjoyed and benefited from them immensely!

I'd greatly appreciate your thoughts regarding the following:

We're looking to graduate up from tent camping to a small TT. Personal preferences and allegiances aside, the best overall choice for us (factoring in cost, features, tow vehicle appropriateness, sleeping capacity, etc) is an r-pod.

>75% of our anticipated use will be in a "dry camping" capacity in designated DCNR sites...we're definitely not "campground" folk. Most of our trips initially will be of the 2-3 day variety, with a desire to complete several 3-week-long "loops" across the country down the road.

I'd much rather roll certain "upgrades" into the initial loan/purchase of the r-pod instead of being confronted with deficiencies during our first full summer/fall of use next year.

A few things I thought of:

A) The 20 lb LP tank on front...recommended to upgrade to a 2-tank bracket configuration? Overkill for only 3 days when running only the water heater, fridge, and cooking stove for meals?

B) The unit comes "stock" with only one 12V deep-cycle battery. Seems like a good candidate for an upgrade. Will they sit 2 of them side-by-side in parallel? Have a 2nd one alone to "swap out" while the other is charged? Etc.

C) Any special wiring (significant enough that you'd want it installed at the dealership) to "trickle charge" 1-2 batteries with a solar panel?

D) Success/recommendations on which type of panel? I like the "mats" that drape over the contours of the r-pod itself...but a toughie if you're under a shade canopy. Stand-alone that can be moved and connected via a cord to a nearby, sunnier location?

E) I'm not overly excited about buying a generator...cost-wise OR the fact that state/national parks may not permit them around here. A good idea to purchase one of those 26-30 amp-hour "recharging stations" for any portable devices we have with us? And to dump into the deep-cycle battery in a pinch?

Anything else that I'm forgetting? I'd really like to get any bread & butter (expected) upgrades rolled into the initial loan/purchase so that we can focus on enjoying the unit and be confident in our ability to go off-grid for 2-3 days.

Thanks!

[granlobo]

Thanks, Francesca! I should have been a little bit more specific in terms of our anticipated usage.

(There will be 4 of us...2 adults and our 2 children. My wife and I will effectively conserve batteries, water, etc...but with 2 kids under 10, it's predictable that the water pump will get left "on" at some point...that someone will stay up reading a little later at night...that someone will permit the hot water tank to "cycle" until I notice and turn it off...etc. Small draws on the battery.)

If one 20 lb LP is sufficient for you for a full week even in the winter, then I think that one tank is sufficient for our purposes.

I don't have the same level of confidence in our ability to conserve the 12V battery. Having "been there" before...what would you recommend as an upgrade to the DC power supply? Support & re-charge a single battery via solar? Double up the battery? Double it up into one larger DC bank...or keep it separated into two? Etc.

Thanks again! 🙂

[Francesca_Knowl]

Everything depends on what you want/expect from your trailer.

Having exhausted all iterations between a simple bedroll through various types and sizes of RV's, we've at this point decided that the fewer the complications the more we enjoy the trip, so have settled into a mode we call "hardsidedtent camping". That means we have a very small, simple trailer that provides shelter, heat, refrigeration/cooking facilities, onboard water, a porta-potty, and lights. All immediately and constantly available without having to "set up". We ask nothing more from it.

By keeping our needs to those minimum standards, we drycamp/boondock for up to a week in winter, longer in summer, on a single deep-cycle battery and a twenty pound cylinder of propane. The only electric demand is lights- even the heater has its own self-powered fan. Thus no necessity for genset or solar panels.


Since we're scheming about a bigtime/longterm trip around North America, our style will likely change in future...but it works really well for our Outdoor Recreation camping right now!