Can the fan blower run off the battery, or does it need electricity? We will be boondocking and need to make sure the heater works!

Conventional RV furnaces run on 12V. Make sure you have enough capacity for your use. A generator would afford 24/7 furnace use but you'll have to run it a couple of times/day to keep a single battery charged.

Typical RV Furnace is ALL 12V DCThey are a battery hog and can run a battery down.....just need a means of charging battery

I've run mine off the batteries many times. Just charge the batteries back up in the morning.

remember the batteries must have sufficient capacity to keep the furnace motor spinning at the correct RPM otherwise the sail switch will not engage and the flame will not come on. This has happened to me on very cold days when the furnace has run frequently at night. Luckily I have a gen set that starts from inside.

Thanks everyone for your responses. You verified what I "thought", but wanted to make sure. Our trailer has a single battery, so I think I would be limited to the length of time the heater could fully operate. Would I trigger the breaker or blow a fuse if the battery wasn't making sufficient power to operate the blower fan? Or would my fan begin to spin slower and become less efficient?

Can propane heater run off the battery? | Good Sam Community

CavemanCharlie
Explorer III
Dec 25, 2013
I know some people here like Lance. I've never had any of them so I really don't know. Maybe start a new thread in the Travel Trailer section.
dieselenthusias
Explorer
Dec 25, 2013
mlts22 wrote:
An Arctic Fox or other similar Northwood model comes to mind. Some even have built in propane generators, and those can be put on a controller that automatically fires up the genset if the batteries get low.

In all seriousness, what other recommendations are there for a good quality 4 season trailer? We really would like to stick to a smaller trailer (18' - 21' footer preferably). I'll start making a list of the different manufacturers/models and make appointments to look at the different trailers.
dieselenthusias
Explorer
Dec 25, 2013
darsben wrote:
John Wayne wrote:
But a generator will be a lot cheaper then a new RV. And 4 seasons or not you still need the 12 volt power to run the furnace.

They OP has his wife's permission to shop for a new rig. Don't spoil it for him.;)

Exactly, this is not the time to think about practicality.:B When the wife woke up yesterday morning with frost on the inside of the camper wall, she agreed that we might want to upgrade to a better insulated camper. Plus, we can't use the bathroom/sink/shower in our current RV during the winter months due to pipes freezing!.
down_home
Explorer II
Dec 24, 2013
It's pretty easy to add another battery. Holiday Rambler provided us a second box and wires for nothing back then. Depending on the area available you might fit four batteries.
We ran our Fifth wheel furnace several nights on battery put connected back to truck and ran engine to charge them back up. They didn't even talk solar then. Not sure how large a panel and controller would be needed but that and two batteries might solve the problem.
mlts22
Explorer
Dec 24, 2013
dieselenthusiast wrote:
Roads Less Traveled, thanks for the link. After consulting with my wife, we have decided to start looking into trading up for a 4 season camper that has a quality thermal package. Since we travel with two Chihuahuas, having the extra insulation and thermal protection would be a better option all the way around. We live in a cooler climate, we do a lot of traveling and camping in cold climates, so it would only make sense that we have some type of winter package. Also, when we do camp in the hot times of year, the extra insulation will keep the trailer cooler, therefore not having to work the A/C so much. It's just hard to find a good thermal package in a small trailer. Our current trailer is a 18' foot box and 22' feet overall length. It doesn't take long to heat this trailer up, but it wont hold heat.

An Arctic Fox or other similar Northwood model comes to mind. Some even have built in propane generators, and those can be put on a controller that automatically fires up the genset if the batteries get low.
darsben
Explorer II
Dec 24, 2013
John Wayne wrote:
But a generator will be a lot cheaper then a new RV. And 4 seasons or not you still need the 12 volt power to run the furnace.

They OP has his wife's permission to shop for a new rig. Don't spoil it for him.;)
John_Wayne
Explorer II
Dec 23, 2013
But a generator will be a lot cheaper then a new RV. And 4 seasons or not you still need the 12 volt power to run the furnace.
dieselenthusias
Explorer
Dec 23, 2013
Roads Less Traveled, thanks for the link. After consulting with my wife, we have decided to start looking into trading up for a 4 season camper that has a quality thermal package. Since we travel with two Chihuahuas, having the extra insulation and thermal protection would be a better option all the way around. We live in a cooler climate, we do a lot of traveling and camping in cold climates, so it would only make sense that we have some type of winter package. Also, when we do camp in the hot times of year, the extra insulation will keep the trailer cooler, therefore not having to work the A/C so much. It's just hard to find a good thermal package in a small trailer. Our current trailer is a 18' foot box and 22' feet overall length. It doesn't take long to heat this trailer up, but it wont hold heat.
Roads_Less_Trav
Explorer II
Dec 23, 2013
Another option is to install a vent-free propane heater. This uses propane only, no 12v needed.

We installed ours off the gas line that goes to the fridge. Step-by-step installation instructions here:

Installing a vent-free propane heater in an RV
CavemanCharlie
Explorer III
Dec 22, 2013
I too have a Mr Buddy heater. When using it I crack a window just a bit, get it really warm in the camper, then shut it off before I go to bed. But, I'm know for being extra careful.