Charging battery inside the TV

[Mariner14]

Hey guys, a noob here. We are doing a 3+ week trip this summer including a week in yellowstone dry camping. I have a 30' TT with 7 people total including kids and in-laws. I am borrowing the trailer actually so I don't want to invest too much money and I have been thinking through how I am going to keep the battery charged for a whole week. I don't want to buy a generator and it seems like the cheaper solar options might not push enough amps. Plus I'm not sure of sun availability/shade in the campsite.

The cheapest option I may have found was to install a battery isolator in my TV and run a wire to the rear of SUV and put the TT battery in there and connect it to charge off the chassis battery/alternator while we drive around the park each day or every other day. I figure we'll be in the car for at least 1.5 hrs a day since yellowstone is so big (and crowded in July). It may not charge it all the way, but at least it will get us through the night. Obviously the TT would stay in the campsite during the day, so it wouldn't be hooked to the TV for charging while we drove.
Here is one product I found on amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/WirthCo-20092-Battery-Doctor-Isolator/dp/B0058SGDFK

Thoughts? Thanks.

[Mariner14]

TomG2 wrote:
One option that might be unpopular would be to leave six of the seven at home. Otherwise, spend the five or six dollars a night per person for a campsite with hookups and enjoy Yellowstone. It is too interesting and exciting a place to waste your time playing with a voltmeter all day and all night.

Strong advice there Tom. Why didn't I think of leaving 6 at home!
Yeah, I'm just going to pony up for Fishing Bridge and relax. And use as much water and electricity as I possibly can that week!

[MEXICOWANDERER]

Since the author had stated he has already made up his mind maybe the following can add to the thread...

• Many western attractions are at altitude so night time temperatures are a factor in power usage
• National Parks can be huge. I remember Yellowstone, at a tender age. Low speed limit made traveling from Norris Geyser Basin to West Yellowstone seem like a hunger Death March
• It has been pointed out so many times on this forum - Do A Test Run In Your Driveway! Reality Rules!
• When I was horse packing I spent a hundred hours planning "just enough of the right foods" sometimes for six of us
• I don't know what West Yellowstone is like today but "back then" lunch meat and milk was about as sophisticated as tiny markets had
• About 99.9% of people brand new to Boondocking get a rude battery capability surprise

[TomG2]

Delete double post

[TomG2]

One option that might be unpopular would be to leave six of the seven at home. Otherwise, spend the five or six dollars a night per person for a campsite with hookups and enjoy Yellowstone. It is too interesting and exciting a place to waste your time playing with a voltmeter all day and all night.

[dougrainer]

The ONLY way to find out what works best for you is to do a 2 or 3 day local trip with the 7 people. You are a Novice. You will be extremely disappointed if you attempt to do anything without a trial run. Also, most trailers have space for at least 2 or more batteries. I would install as many as the mount will allow. I think you will be surprised(disappointed really) after a dry run. You will need to rethink the parameters of going 7 days with 7 people. Doug

[Bill_Satellite]

Please re-visit staying at Fishing Bridge if you are hoping for a vacation and not a impossible to win situation!

[SoundGuy]

Mariner14 wrote:
I think I’m leaning toward just staying at fishing bridge.

I wouldn't "lean" too long, reserve now if you expect to go in 2018. 😉

[Mariner14]

The TT is my dad’s. He buys toys and doesn’t use them much then harangues us kids to use them. I’m happy to oblige before he gets bored and probably sells it next year like he did our lake house ??. I think I’m leaning toward just staying at fishing bridge. I don’t want to be constantly telling the kids or the in-laws to turn the light off. We’ll just have to do campfire s’mores somewhere else on our journey. Thanks everyone for your expertise/thoughts.

[CharlesinGA]

Best bang for the buck is a Lowes lantern. No longer available thru Lowes.com hopefully still found in stores.

Utilitech Lantern

uses 3 D cells, lasts for ever, very bright and quite cheap. Buy several of them and a large pack of good batteries. I think they were about $14 when I bought them.



Charles

[MEXICOWANDERER]

This isn't a joke...

Been There Done That And Got The Tee Shirt And Secret Whistle Dept...

Campfire. The BIG DEAL in minimizing hotel load.

Campfire until 10PM. Wienies, marshmallows, stories, games.

Eat and do chores during the daylight. Flashlights for bathroom runs. Daylight showers.

When the sun sets, only one light BULB permitted on at a time.

You need BLANKETS, thermal underwear for the kids, sweaters, coats and gloves. I spent half my childhood 73 miles northwest of Yellowstone, and even in high summer it can get damned cold after sunset in the summer.

Kids love to play with the lights in a RV. After campfire, the adults are the ones the control the bedroom or sofa lights. Give them flashlights and rechargeable batteries. Use a cigarette lighter charger to breathe new life into the batteries.

I first saw Yellowstone at age nine. I saw my first Grizzly bear at age nine. At night. I was about twenty feet from the motel door. My dad exploded "There aren't any grizz... gangway...hello front office, there is a grizzly bear across the road" The rangers responded fast the bear hauled bootie.

Ask your neighbors about the bears. No doubt it is different now than it was 63 years ago.

Anyway, used super frugally, a battery can go a long time if misered.

Tell the kids you're playing "Pioneer Family" up and down with the chickens.

If you use the heater even for a few hours it draws so much battery your plans will be thwarted.

[time2roll]

Good charging could be had if you can fit a second battery tray under the hood and connect in parallel with some fat wire while you drive 6+ hours around the two loops. Still need a battery to keep the fridge going etc. so you would need to swap them each day.

[theoldwizard1]

Rent a generator, but you are still going to need a decent battery bank (at least two 6V golf cart batteries) and a GOOD multi-step charger (typically the charger built into converter does not to a good job). Convince the owner of the TT they should upgrade these items and maybe offer to split the cost.

Sadly, there is NO SIMPLE, INEXPENSIVE, GOOD way to recharge an RV battery bank from a car charging system. If you really want to "charge as you drive", you will need a 1000-2000W sine wave inverter, connected, with sufficiently large enough cables, as close as possible to the vehicle battery (with a fuse, of course) and an extension cord back to the TT charger.

[drsteve]

Mariner14 wrote:
Hey guys, a noob here. We are doing a 3+ week trip this summer including a week in yellowstone dry camping. I have a 30' TT with 7 people total including kids and in-laws. I am borrowing the trailer actually so I don't want to invest too much money and I have been thinking through how I am going to keep the battery charged for a whole week. I don't want to buy a generator and it seems like the cheaper solar options might not push enough amps. Plus I'm not sure of sun availability/shade in the campsite.

The cheapest option I may have found was to install a battery isolator in my TV and run a wire to the rear of SUV and put the TT battery in there and connect it to charge off the chassis battery/alternator while we drive around the park each day or every other day. I figure we'll be in the car for at least 1.5 hrs a day since yellowstone is so big (and crowded in July). It may not charge it all the way, but at least it will get us through the night. Obviously the TT would stay in the campsite during the day, so it wouldn't be hooked to the TV for charging while we drove.
Here is one product I found on amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/WirthCo-20092-Battery-Doctor-Isolator/dp/B0058SGDFK

Thoughts? Thanks.

Seven people in a borrowed 30'TT for 3+ weeks? You are a brave man...

[Lwiddis]

“I don't want to buy a generator and it seems like the cheaper solar options...”

Both options won’t “disappear” when your trip is over. No use for a inverter generator after camping for instance? That many people will draw that one battery way down and ruin it.