Yellowstone with no hookups?

[Pbois334]

Staying in Yellowstone for a few days witth our travel trailer and they do not have hookups. There is water at the campground and a dump station. We currently only have one battery and II was thinking of adding a second battery? I have a wagon to take care of the dumping. Should I get a generator to charge the batteries or should they last the three days? Also, not a fan of the loud furnace. Would I be able to run a ceramic heater off the batteries if needed? First time camping without full hookups and want to be somewhat prepared. Any advice would be appreciated

[Pbois334]

Just scored a Buddy heater for cheap so I will bring it just incase. Still trying to figure out extra battery setup and will prob borrow my buddies 1000 Honda generator to save money, I can only assume the 1000 watt will be enough to run an external battery charger to top batteries off

[RGar974417]

One more tip for camping in cold weather. When we are in the camper,we always put a big pot of water on the stove. Bring it to a boil then turn down to simmer. The water puts humidity into the air which makes it feel much warmer. Of course you can't do it when you leave the camper or when you go to bed. But it's nice when you're there.

[Braces]

If you are there during real cold weather there are commercial campgrounds in Gardiner 1 mile from the northwest gate which is close to the northern part of the park and in West Yellowstone which would be closer to the southern parts. Better than ruining a lot of your time trying to keep everything going.

[2oldman]

Pbois334 wrote:
If money allows then I will try and pick up a generator as well

Please don't buy a cheap loud contractor generator. Please??

[GoHorns]

It it's really cold I carry a "Mr Heater Buddy Portable" (they sell them at WalMart). It is safe for indoors and uses the propane canisters. It is a great backup plan in case I run out of propane, or run out of battery. We've even used it to supplement the furnace to help out in really cold conditions.

[RGar974417]

We stayed at Madison Campground in May 2016. Daytime temps in high 50's,low 60's. At night it dropped to high 30's.We had 2 batteries and used our Honda EU 2000 generator to charge the batteries every day.Many other trailers in the campground did the same.

[Pbois334]

We actually have reservations for Grant so I will keep those tips in mind. We also have three days booked in the Gand Tetons but we will have power there.

[4runnerguy]

If you're getting a generator, you might not need another battery. A second battery is nice if you're going w/o a generator or relying on solar, since you might end up under tree cover. You can also saving electricity in other ways such as watching how much you use your lights. In July, the days are long so that shouldn't be a problem.

We were there the second week of July last year and never needed heat. We have a decent blanket and comforter that keeps us plenty warm that time of year. I have found that since I am follically challenged (thinning hair) a stocking cap is sometimes handy in the middle of the night.

As for water, we used the showers at Grant Village. This saves needing to fill your water tank and worrying about your gray water tank. There are also showers at Canyon. IIFC, they are $7.00 +/- per person, and you can take as long as you need. 🙂 Two free showers per day are included with your reservation at Grant or Canyon. We also use the park toilets rather than our own. So all we are putting down the drain is dish water and some water when we wash up or brush our teeth, etc. We stayed a week at Grant last summer and didn't come close to half filling our gray water tank.

[campigloo]

Caution. Be prepared to get hooked on dry camping.
Hope you have a great trip!

[DrewE]

Pbois334 wrote:
Thanks for the tips. Think I'll add a second battery and buy two new ones. I will use the camper heater sparingly and sould be fine. If money allows then I will try and pick up a generator as well

If you have the room (height mainly), consider getting a pair of 6V GC2 golf cart batteries and wiring them in series to get 12V. With some shopping around one can often find them for about the same price as 12V marine/RV batteries. The golf cart batteries are a good bit more robust and better suited to realitively deep cycling, which is more or less hard on any lead-acid battery.

Costco and Sam's Club generally have decent prices on GC2 batteries. A local golf cart place also might, or might be pretty spendy; that can vary a lot.

[ppine]

I have used the Buddy Heater for years, mostly for short duration. I crack a window and turn it off before going to sleep. It is good in the morning to take off some of the chill. Not the right appliance to run all night.

[Pbois334]

Thanks for the tips. Think I'll add a second battery and buy two new ones. I will use the camper heater sparingly and sould be fine. If money allows then I will try and pick up a generator as well

[Bionic_Man]

Pbois334 wrote:
I was thinking about the buddy heater. How are the fumes with those?

I have never used it in a RV, but have never smelled fumes in a tent or a goose blind. My plan is to use it in my truck (with topper) when I don't want to take my RV out.

[HuckleberryHunt]

Agree with the above posts. Educate yourself on your battery and how to not "waste" power and you'll be fine. A couple days on one battery should be ok if it's in good shape and not abused. If your furnace is fan forced, then don't let it run overnight as the fan will deplete your batteries.

Two batteries is, of course, better. However, if your current battery is old and tired, don't go buy a second to run in parallel as pairing an old tired battery with a new battery will decrease the new battery's life severely.

A generator is a nice thing to have, but unless your onboard charger is good, then plan on running it for a few hours to replenish your batteries. We stayed in the park for a few nights and really enjoyed it.

Best of luck. Enjoy your trip.