Off grid for first time, need some guidance !

[OBX-GL]

Wow. Haven't posted in a while. I have missed tapping into all the available wisdom here.
With Covid and boarders closed, site availably has sucked around me.

We managed two sites consecutively at a great campground. Problem is one of them has no hook up. DW says she only needs the propane fridge/ its DC power circuit. i'm converting to LED bulbs throughout, likely only a bulb two for a few hours each day. i guess there will be the DC holding tank pump draw for a few seconds now and then. Am i missing any other loads ?

Question - i have currently only one new deep cell group 24 marine battery, (1000 crank amps 130 reserve capacity) no other useful info on the label. How far will this thing last with my minimal loads ?

I am willing to buy solar, and/or more bigger batteries. However, will likely never use them again.
Milwaukee tool offers an expensive power station that i could justify for use at work. However, it only provides 750whr before it also needs charging.

If me. what would y'all do for a weeks time till hook up is available ?

Thx in advance !

Greg

[mr_andyj]

CavemanCharlie wrote:

Grit dog wrote:
but I have a similar size/same brand trailer with 2 new 6V GCs (cheap ones from Costco, but that trailer with minimal power use: 1 time on the electric jack, water pump, fridge controls on L...
...

36 HOURS is all you could get ???? WITH 2 6v GCs batteries ???

You have a problem somwhere. Something is pulling down your batteries.
.

Yep, problems

[BarabooBob]

Keep it simple. You have a Honda 2000i. Use it for an hour every morning and you should be ok. Do not run your truck to charge your TT batteries, it will use a lot more gas than your Honda 2000. I have used my Champion 2000 for this and have had wonderful success.

I was talking to a gentleman in Glacier who was trying to charge his TT battery by hooking it to his Honda by using the 12 volt output on the generator. I told him that the salesman told him that it was the proper way to charge a battery. I told him that the generator 12 volt outlet was only 8 amps and that his TT converter was probably 40 amps or more and he told me that the salesman knew more than I did.

[CavemanCharlie]

Grit dog wrote:
but I have a similar size/same brand trailer with 2 new 6V GCs (cheap ones from Costco, but that trailer with minimal power use: 1 time on the electric jack, water pump, fridge controls on LP and a couple hours with a couple lights.......... the batteries were good for somewhere around 36hours.
And that included firing the genny sporadically to run the microwave and a short AC blast to cool down.

...

36 HOURS is all you could get ???? WITH 2 6v GCs batteries ???

You have a problem somwhere. Something is pulling down your batteries.

To the OP. Have you considered taking along a couple of extra charged batteries ? I'm not suggesting buying new ones. Pull the one out of your car and anyplace else you can fined one. Then as your main battery starts to run done use jumper cables to give it a boost from the extra battery.

Yes, yes, I know this is not the ideal situation. But, he only has to do it, ONE Time !! Anything to give him a extra day would be helpful.

[philh]

marine batteries are **** for storage and use

for one time use, get a small harbor freight inverter generator. Would be unusual that you couldn't run it in the daytime.

next step, get two GC2 6v batteries

then get solar panels

for the win get lithium batteries.

[Thermoguy]

Some crazy suggestions here. I don't think you said how long you are going to be there? Why spend more money for solar that might not even get enough charge to make a difference?

Your only use is a propane fridge, water pump, and occasional lights at night?

I bring a couple flashlights, use them if I think necessary, I can go days without discharging the batteries enough to hurt them. I do have 2, which could help depending on how many days you are out there.

One check might be to turn on the fridge and check your battery level every day to see how long it can run without discharging the battery enough to matter. Maybe bring your generator and use it, asking forgiveness if someone complains.

I did upgrade to 2 6v batteries last year. This year used it for the first time off grid - 2 days of not trying to be frugal and didn't even reduce the batteries enough to charge them. Did end up running the generator because the outside temp got to 90 and wanted to run the AC. Could have gone longer without the generator but had it so why not cool off - actually the dogs got hot.

If you want to spend money and have more piece of mind, add a 2nd battery or even better go get 6V Golf Cart batteries - that would be money well spent.

[toedtoes]

Grit dog wrote:
I guess if the OP got rid of ALL parasitic loads like he said, he might make it more than a day on one battery, but I have a similar size/same brand trailer with 2 new 6V GCs (cheap ones from Costco, but that trailer with minimal power use: 1 time on the electric jack, water pump, fridge controls on LP and a couple hours with a couple lights.......... the batteries were good for somewhere around 36hours.
And that included firing the genny sporadically to run the microwave and a short AC blast to cool down.

Stories bout how someone's 40 year old van with an old school fridge and a stock of duracells for puck lights and 1 person occupancy aren't really relevant.

If OP truly can't use his nice red generator judiciously to recharge and parks in the shade then find somewhere else or buy one of them Ferds with the built in generator...

The person with the 45 year old class C was simply pointing out that it's better to do a test run and see how much power you are actually using before spending a bunch of money on mods and such that you may not need. What is necessary for one person may be overkill for another - understand what you need and go from there.

If the campground doesn't allow generator use, then talking about using a generator isn't really relevant.

[mr_andyj]

No, driving around is a poor choice to charge a battery.

For you really the only way is some solar. If you need that little power then a 100 watt panel might be all you need. They do work in the shade, and even cloudy rainy days, just not as good as full sun, but for what you describe 100w in the shade might be all u need to top off. $100 and you have something you can store away and use at home in the future if the power grid goes down as the power companies indicate might be a real thing, or CA residents will tell you is a real thing. IF you want to go 200 or 400w then all the better.

Get the glass panel, not the flexible ones. Just put it on the ground pointing at the sun, even through the trees. Run big wires and keep it all as close to the batteries as you can.

This is so simple. Solar will charge the batteries. No sound, no issues.

Generators are not set up to charge batteries. They do output DC but it is minimal, you would need to plug a battery charger into the 120v outlet and charge the batts off that, or your camper should have the charger built in so you plug camper in, but as you say, a generator running is not an option at this CG.

[valhalla360]

Grit dog wrote:

valhalla360 wrote:

OBX-GL wrote:

- site rules say no noise, radios, generators. How strict will i find that ?
- I have a Honda 2000 😞
- could go for drive with gen charging in my truck bed.how long ?
- gen eco mode idle... plugged into trailer for charging is the best method ?
- is there a trick to know when the charge is done ? couple hours ?
- do i go for a drive with the generator charging in the bed of the truck, how long would that take ?

thx again for all your thoughts !

Take the honda along at least the first few times (it costs nothing to take along), so you have a good option if your use is higher in reality. Just plug the trailer into the generator and let the onboard charger take care of it.

Reading comprehension isn't strong here. His connundrun is that he can't use the genny supposedly and this is a 1 time deal....a least from what I read.

The OP indicated he wasn't sure if they were strict about the generator usage...so you might work on the reading comprehension...sheesh

The honda plugged into the shore power cable will be faster and cheaper than driving the RV around using the trailer plug (running the honda while going down the road isn't a great idea). Worst case pull out, find a nearby place to park and let the honda run for an hour or so. You don't be at 100% but should be enough to buy 2-3 more days if the consumption estimate is correct.

OP: If you have an opportunity to do a dry run at home, put a meter in the circuit and see how much you really will use. This way if you missed something, it shows up in the consumption.

[Lwiddis]

"Milwaukee tool offers an expensive power station..."

Which is a VERY expensive BATTERY!

[Grit_dog]

valhalla360 wrote:

OBX-GL wrote:

- site rules say no noise, radios, generators. How strict will i find that ?
- I have a Honda 2000 😞
- could go for drive with gen charging in my truck bed.how long ?
- gen eco mode idle... plugged into trailer for charging is the best method ?
- is there a trick to know when the charge is done ? couple hours ?
- do i go for a drive with the generator charging in the bed of the truck, how long would that take ?

thx again for all your thoughts !

Take the honda along at least the first few times (it costs nothing to take along), so you have a good option if your use is higher in reality. Just plug the trailer into the generator and let the onboard charger take care of it.

Reading comprehension isn't strong here. His connundrun is that he can't use the genny supposedly and this is a 1 time deal....a least from what I read.

PS:
OP, breaking camp to drive around for hours to recharge your battery every day is a ridiculous solution.

[Grit_dog]

I guess if the OP got rid of ALL parasitic loads like he said, he might make it more than a day on one battery, but I have a similar size/same brand trailer with 2 new 6V GCs (cheap ones from Costco, but that trailer with minimal power use: 1 time on the electric jack, water pump, fridge controls on LP and a couple hours with a couple lights.......... the batteries were good for somewhere around 36hours.
And that included firing the genny sporadically to run the microwave and a short AC blast to cool down.

Stories bout how someone's 40 year old van with an old school fridge and a stock of duracells for puck lights and 1 person occupancy aren't really relevant.

If OP truly can't use his nice red generator judiciously to recharge and parks in the shade then find somewhere else or buy one of them Ferds with the built in generator...

[valhalla360]

OBX-GL wrote:
Thx everyone, lots of useful info.

- awning and jacks at two set ups/tear downs i will now consider
- no fans, tv's,etc will be used. Only propane fridge electronics, minimal water pump, few led lights.
- i have disconnected all unnecessary parasitic power loads
- realized house has robust battery backup system, sump pump. Dry year, gamble and steal it for two weeks ?
- seriously considering buying bigger battery, also 400w panel kit. Site has thick tree canopy 😞
- will give jumper idea from truck more thought, interesting.
- site rules say no noise, radios, generators. How strict will i find that ?
- I have a Honda 2000 😞
- could go for drive with gen charging in my truck bed.how long ?
- gen eco mode idle... plugged into trailer for charging is the best method ?
- is there a trick to know when the charge is done ? couple hours ?
- do i go for a drive with the generator charging in the bed of the truck, how long would that take ?

thx again for all your thoughts !

If your usage is correct, you have very modest power usage and should be fine.
- Let's say you have 50amp-hr usable. That translates to 600w-hr available.
- 30 sec for the jacks & awning assuming 200w for each is around 3.5w-hr.
- 5w LED lights for 2-3hr...again, next to nothing (10-15w-hr).
- 2w for the fridge may be your big load...48w-hr
- Water pump, is only going to be running for a few minutes per day. Assuming 100w for 10min, that's 10W-hr
So you have 600w-hr and you are using less than 80w-hr...even if I overestimated your battery capacity by factor of 5, you are still OK.

Take the honda along at least the first few times (it costs nothing to take along), so you have a good option if your use is higher in reality. Just plug the trailer into the generator and let the onboard charger take care of it.

[Grit_dog]

dodge guy wrote:
You can get a 200W solar kit off Amazon for around $250. Then I would get 2 matching batteries. 2 6V AGM golf cart batteries will last you awhile and offer more Ah.

And after you buy $500+ of stuff he said he’d never use again, he could buy a cheap or used genny and have something g useful that would also sell easily to recoup most of all of his cost.

OP don’t waste your time buying sunk costs that you won’t use.
And the easy button is get a generator.
I wouldn’t officially suggest buying one from Costco or somewhere and returning it after the week. But that’s an option too, lol!

[profdant139]

For what it is worth, we camp for days at a time with a 120 watt portable solar panel and a group 31 deep cycle battery. We are also very frugal with electricity.

[OBX-GL]

Thx everyone, lots of useful info.

- awning and jacks at two set ups/tear downs i will now consider
- no fans, tv's,etc will be used. Only propane fridge electronics, minimal water pump, few led lights.
- i have disconnected all unnecessary parasitic power loads
- realized house has robust battery backup system, sump pump. Dry year, gamble and steal it for two weeks ?
- seriously considering buying bigger battery, also 400w panel kit. Site has thick tree canopy 😞
- will give jumper idea from truck more thought, interesting.
- site rules say no noise, radios, generators. How strict will i find that ?
- I have a Honda 2000 😞
- could go for drive with gen charging in my truck bed.how long ?
- gen eco mode idle... plugged into trailer for charging is the best method ?
- is there a trick to know when the charge is done ? couple hours ?
- do i go for a drive with the generator charging in the bed of the truck, how long would that take ?

thx again for all your thoughts !