What runs on battery?

[zorr59]

Ok I've read several of the post throughout this forum. I thought I read somewhere those who boondock have TV. I don't. The only thing that runs when I boondock are the lights, radio, bed lifts and exhaust fans. I have (1) 12v battery. Does this sound right?

2012 Dutchman rubicon M2600 TH

[RoyB]

ZORR59 - The first biggest thing you can do is replace all of the AUTOMOTIVE type lamp bulbs with very low wattage LED units. The automotive light bulb will draw around 1AMP of DC CURRENT and each ceiling unit most often have two bulbs in one fixture. You can get up to 12AMPS BATTERY drain pretty quick just running your ceiling lights. Since all of your ceiling lights runs off the batteries this could add up to a really big current drain...

Roy Ken

[RJsfishin]

A much easier answered question, "What doesn't run on battery?"
Answer, "the microwave and air conditioner", unless you are a solar powered "big Strap" then there is nothing that does not run on battery thru a 3000 watt inverter.

If its the television you are concerned about, just get a little cheap 150 watt "inverter" connect it to the batteries, and plug in the ty/dvd/sat receiver.

And if it mite be "sat tv" you want, just take your sat receiver from home, and connect it to a portable tripod dish,......or install an automatic sat finder dish on the RV,.....or buy a portable automatic sat finder dish.
This is all very simple and expensive ??;)

[bikendan]

Dennis M M wrote:
Lots of good info on your RV electrical here The 12 Volt Side of Life

x2! should be required reading by RV newbies.

[Almot]

zorr59 wrote:
Ok I've read several of the post throughout this forum. I thought I read somewhere those who boondock have TV. I don't. The only thing that runs when I boondock are the lights, radio, bed lifts and exhaust fans. I have (1) 12v battery. Does this sound right

You forgot one big item - a fridge. It draws a lot of energy from battery, about 10-15 AH a day, when running in propane mode. Only some old models with mechanical thermostat don't need 12V.

If you want to boondock for longer than a day, you need a 2nd battery or a source of power like solar or generator. (Or - both 2nd battery and source of power). Most boondockers these days carry some solar even if they have a generator. Quieter and better for batteries.

An energy-efficient LED TV, with all other things that you mentioned, will run on 2*12V or 2*6V battery about a weekend without charging. TV is not usually on 12V, it needs a small inverter.

[Dennis_M_M]

Lots of good info on your RV electrical here The 12 Volt Side of Life

[RoyB]

Typical 30A trailer wiring configuration...

[coolmom42]

zorr59 wrote:
Ok I've read several of the post throughout this forum. I thought I read somewhere those who boondock have TV. I don't. The only thing that runs when I boondock are the lights, radio, bed lifts and exhaust fans. I have (1) 12v battery. Does this sound right?

2012 Dutchman rubicon M2600 TH

Your fridge also needs 12 V power to the electronic control board. the propane detector and possibly your CO detector are hardwired to the 12 V system as well.

There are 12 V TVs available, even TV/DVD combos. But you need a 12V outlet available. Depending on your battery capacity, one of these might be too much of a power suck to be practical.

Some RVs have a built-in inverter to run a TV and possibly some of the 120V outlets.

[time2roll]

Propane fridge controls, furnace fan and controls, thermostat, propane detector, water pump, ignition for propane water heater, slide motors; to add a few more possible items to your list.

[Bobbo]

Pretty much. The RV is designed so most stuff that are not power hogs are 12v. The stuff that are NOT 12v are things like the microwave, air conditioner and outlets.

Those who boondock and have TV have an inverter that "inverts" 12v power from the battery back to 120v for the TV. It probably only operates 1 or 2 outlets in the entire RV, the outlet(s) where TV's are located.

My RV has a 300 watt inverter that powers the outlets in the front cabover entertainment center, and the rear bedroom TV location.