Add another battery?

[ottor]

New Jayco 18' TT - 2 families were to camp from Friday - Sunday... I took the trailer up on Wed to hold the area before the rest came up on Friday.. Got there about 2:00 in afternoon and it was pretty chilly. Switched the Fridge over to Gas, used the interior lights very sparingly, supplemented with an LED battery lantern. Turned on the Furnace. Used water pump 3-4 short times - Thursday warmed up a little about 10 AM so turned off the furnace. Turned it on again about 9:00PM for bed ..... apparently the battery died in the middle of Thursday night, as when I woke up, my onions were frozen. (No... I mean that literally) It was so cold that the vegetables inside the trailer froze solid. Now, I'm extremely hesitant to dry camp based on that.. The rest of the family arrived Friday afternoon, and I had a dead battery for the rest of the weekend for them. The battery was fully charged when we left home, and with the minimal use - except the furnace blower - the best I got from that battery was about 2 days. First time trailer owner, so I didn't know what to expect as far as duration goes, but I thought I did everything I could to maximize my electrical usage..... I guess I'll have to upgrade to the LED lighting, and get another battery. I hate to spend the money for the 6V golf cart ones, but - I may have to... How do you use a generator?? - Do you use it only when you run something electrical, or do you use it to actually charge/recharge a trailer battery??

[time2roll]

2x 140w 12v panel & parallel connectors $288

Morningstar 20 amp controller $77

100' (50' effective) #10 wire with MC4 connectors $71

That is ~$450 for a nice set up. Put the panels together with a hinge on one side and some handles on the other to make portable. You can call and order the wire as long as you think you need. Although the solar wire is a bit stiff so you may prefer some duplex #10 for a portable system.

#10 duplex $1.05 per foot shipped

Whether you go solar or generator you still need a second battery.
With a generator you may still need to spend an additional $100 to $200 to upgrade the charging system unless you happen to already have a 25 to 40 amp portable charger.

Also generator or solar you may want an inverter to run/charge the 120vac stuff.

I have not carried a generator since adding solar. Although my system is a bit bigger it is very possible and I think you will do great with the above system.

Forum Members with Solar Installed w/ pics

[PAThwacker]

Upgrading two optimas or more quickly adds up. Dropped 1k onYamaha. Done deal!

[Lowsuv]

the cheapest way to add power is :
1. jumper cables
2. an extra RV battery
3. an extra tow vehicle battery ( if you only have one )
gm diesels have 2 batteries .
2 batteries are optional on gassers .
you can add the additional tray and a battery to a single battery gm.
4. when replacing your tow vehicle battery go to the AGM battery such as the exide edge or johnson controls optima .
5. Although 2 identical batteries are BEST for your RV , if you only have a small deep cycle , you can still add a group 27 or group 31 deep cycle and gain a little extra over an additional group 24 .
6. the cheapest time to add amp hours is at replacement time . Get the biggest batteries that fit .
7. even if you decide to add only a group 24 , go ahead and get a battery box for a group 27 . That way in 4 years you only have to buy an additional group 27 box.
8. Charge your batteries to 100 % on 120V before you leave home .

[PAThwacker]

We bought a 2000 watt generator to charge the battery.
The single 27 hour batTerry i goes dead in one dayfurnaceg the furna

. t

[JiminDenver]

The problem with a solar rig is you need the extra battery to hold the energy AND you need a generator for those times the sun just wont co-operate.

[ottor]

WOW - you guys are great - this many replies in such a short time ... I can be pretty conservative with my lighting, and I almost always take an ice chest with me for ice and meats - but I'm a freelance photographer and take the trailer out in the boonies for photoshoots.. I have a mobile hotspot for Internet, and shoot photos in the day and using my computer, process them in the afternoon/evening and upload to Dropbox almost nightly. I don't 'surf' the net, but sometimes those uploads take a couple of hours .. so it appears my main concern is the heater fan and computer useage. "IF" I were to go the Solar route, what would be a good size? I'd like it to be portable, so I can park in the shade and run the panels out to the sun. Would I also need to upgrade to an additional battery, or should the solar unit keep the one I have charged for usage each day? Thanks again for the input - it appears a solar rig would cost less than a battery upgrade and/generator!

[facory]

TIP: When recharging your batteries use a good 120 volt battery charger and plug it into the generator. Turn off the battery to the trailer, if you have a switch. If charging dual batteries connect one cable to the + of one battery and the - to the other battery. This way you charge them as if it were one big battery. You could also attach the negative cable to a metal part of the trailer instead of the battery's negative post. I find that the first way works better.

[69_Avion]

Several folks have given great advice. Make sure you have all LED lights. Put in a second battery. Your converter (charger) is important to determine how long it will take to charge you battery with a generator.
The furnace fan is a main draw of power. That is why it is so important to go to all LED lights. Also, you may consider a solar system.
Let us know what you decide to do.

[facory]

CavemanCharlie wrote:
I have 2 volt golf cart batteries and I'm sure glad. Switch off the condensation switch like facory said and switch to LED lights. But, your furnace if running a lot will draw a lot of power. I have a Mr Heater buddy heater I run sometimes at night when necessary. I keep a window cracked open when I use it. Some will say this is too dangerous to do this. You will have to decide for yourself if you want to take the risk.

I used a Mr. Heater Buddy once and it set off the 02 sensor. To vent the trailer is good but also lets in cold air. I use the furnace if I really have to. If I have electric I use a small portable ceramic heater.

[facory]

If you go with dual batteries they have to be the same type (deep cycle), same amp/hr rating and same age. If one is older and weak it will just pull the new one down.

If 12 volt connect in parallel (- to - , + to +)
If 6 volt connect in series. (- to+, + to -)

[PartyMarty]

There is no substitute for cubic inches ( as regards batteries ) .
The jumper cable method doubles my battery capacity for a small expense .
For those that only have 1 battery in their tow vehicle I replaced my standard battery with an Exide Edge AGM type . Optima is the leading brand in AGM .
The exide EDGE can be had for less .
2 batteries in the RV because we have plenty of dry camping spots in Oregon .

[WayneAt63044]

As ADK Camper noted about the frig heating element around the door frame, I too have disconnected mine. didn't use a switch, just disconnected it permanently from inside the frig bulb assembly.

[JiminDenver]

Otto

Since your trailer is newer you should be fine adding a battery like the one in your trailer. That should extend time between charges.

A generator will keep you charged up day to day, inverter generator cost more but are quieter and use less gas. At least 2000w unless you want AC, that takes 3000w.

You can get LEDs for $2 or so off of ebay. They really do use less power. A few in the fixtures you use the most will do.

We have the above and it all worked nice but nothing gave us the freedom from worrying about the battery like the simple 230w solar system I cobbled together. Unless it's cloudy for days we can't use the power it puts out. We light the rig up from end to end, set the stat at 74 all day and night and can watch TV/DVD, listen to radio and run the fans all we want. The battery is always fully charged at night and losses little overnight. We never run the generator for charging, but we do take it as a back up. It would cost around $400 to make a system like it.

[ADK_Camper]

facory wrote:
I have realized that the fridge can really chew up the batteries, even on gas. There is a switch that operates a 12 volt circuit for keeping condensation from forming around the door jam when it's real humid. I was getting shortchanged on battery life (dual batteries) until I turned the switch off. My battery life more than doubled. I have never really needed to run the condensation control so it made no difference in the performance of the fridge. My switch is located on the upper part of the door jam. If you find yours turn it off and see if that improves your battery life.

I had the same problem. In summer, without using the furnace, I was getting about 3 days use from my battery even though I was not using lights or the water pump. The culprit turned out to be the fridge, in particular that heater to prevent condensation. Unfortunately my fridge did not have a factory switch to power down the heater. I solved the problem by adding my own switch. Now I can get about 7 days out of my battery if I don't use lights or water pump. Using the lights and pump very sparingly, I can get about 6 days out of the battery.

[Lowsuv]

add another battery if you prefer camping without hookups , as we do .
A simple cure is Heavy Duty Jumper Cables 12 feet long.
since 1995 we have done a 9 day campout with our camping circle of friends off the grid .
we park the trailer , turn the pickup around and run from 4 batteries.
2 rv batteries and two batteries in our gmc diesel .
the pickup gets driven every 2nd or 3rd day .
when we return we hook up all 4 batteries with the jumpers .
we do not run the engine to try to bring the RV batteries up .
the 4 batteries equalize via the HD jumpers .
we do charge up our batteries on 120V at home before and after each trip , while packing / unpacking .
we do not own solar or a genny .
nor do our friends .
quiet in the campground is very nice .