12 V Deep Cycle BAttery and Tent trailer question

[MacDaddy77]

So I've never gone "off grid" camping and am wondering for those of you who have how long my battery will last.


I am buying a 12v Deep cycle battery from CAnadian tire and will be using it on my tent trailer.

I have a 3 way fridge on the trailer so I'm thinking I can use one propane bottle for the fridge.

However, the question is... If the weather turns cold and rainy is the 12v battery going to be enough to last the weekend powering the furnace, a few lights and if needed the fridge?

If it's between a solar trickle charger and a generator I'd probable go with a generator.

Thanks for the advice.

[Madman]

Talk to Traditional_Ale - he runs a Battery World and can get more than likely get you a better battery for a better price.

http://forum.calgarypuck.com/member.php?u=7038

If you are going to be out and about dry camping for longer periods of time, it would probably be in your best interest to pick up 2 6V deep cycles as opposed to 1 12 - you'll get more run time out of them.

[Nufy]

2 x 6 volts in series will last longer than a single 12 v.

I use 2 x 12 VDC deep cycles for mine.

For a cold weekend it'll run the furnace fan plus a few lights...

Propane on the fridge.

[Coys1882]

Let me know what you decide and how it goes - we'll be doing some camping which could require longer battery life too.

[Sliver]

I have had two tent trailers (still own one), and it's touch and go running a furnace all weekend if it's cold out and you're not being mindful of it. I wish there was an option to turn the fan off on the furnaces and just let them radiate heat in case the battery dies. Nothing worse than waking up at 2 a.m. to the sound of your battery alarm going off on your trailer, followed by no heat.

Keep it pretty cool at night (~10-13 degrees) and that'll help extend the life a lot. I also installed a hand pump on my sink so I'm not using battery power to draw down the battery with the electric pump.

[Hevishot]

I got 2 new 6V from Trad_Ale I also have a brand new 12V that came with my new trailer if you want it I will part with it cheap!

[Titan]

Treat it more like a tent than a trailer and you should be fine. Sleeping bags, fleece pants and shirt. Toque even and you can keep the furnace really low.

[MacDaddy77]

Originally Posted by Hevishot

I got 2 new 6V from Trad_Ale I also have a brand new 12V that came with my new trailer if you want it I will part with it cheap!

Can you send me a pm with just how cheap?

[Hevishot]

Pm Sent!

[MacDaddy77]

^^responded. Thanks hevishot

[ken0042]

Agreed that talking to Trad_Ale is a good start. We also had a similar thread not too long ago; http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showthread.php?t=116310

I bring up that thread not to call a fata; but to save me some typing. A couple of key points:

- Get LED bulbs. I cannot stress that enough. Regular bulbs draw 1.5 amps; so using nothing else that only gets you 66 bulb hours. Most fixtures have 2 bulbs, and with a couple of fixtures burning that is only 15 hours of using lights. LED bulbs use 1/10 the power. See the other thread for an example of bulbs I bought.

- For a 3 way fridge; the only time you should use the 12 volt is when you are towing; and the trailer is getting power from your truck's alternator. A fridge will kill a 12 volt battery in a matter of hours. It will however "sip" on propane.

- Get a digital power meter from Canadian Tire. Keep an eye on your power use that way as it is far more accurate than the gauge in the trailer.

- A full 20 lb propane tank should easily last a 3 day weekend; electricity use is your biggest worry.

Last fall I did a 2 night dry camping trip. With overnight lows just below 0; and the daytime high on Saturday around 6 or 7, we had plenty of power and propane left. That was in a 16' hard wall trailer, so better insulation. However we did run the furnace at 15 degrees all weekend as my little nephew was staying in the trailer. That also includes at least 10 hours of the TV being on. (Also for said nephew.) We only used 4 or 5 pounds of propane; however most cooking was with an external stove with it's own propane source.

And Hevishot; if MacDaddy doesn't want your spare battery, let me know as well. I might want it if we do a week long camping trip.

[MacDaddy77]

So thanks to hevishot I have a 12 deep cell battery. Because he gave me a deal I'm going to get a Solar trickle charger set up. Any recommendations?

[ken0042]

^^ If you are going solar, don't bother with a "trickle" charger. Those are only good if you are planning on keeping the unit in storage, and don't want to bother disconnecting the battery. A 5 watt charger will give you about 2-3 amps of power per day; insignificant with a 100 amp-hour battery.

[MacDaddy77]

What about this one from Canadian tire?

http://http://m.canadiantire.ca/mt/www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/Green/EnergyConservation/RenewableEnergy/PRD~0111882P/Blue+Planet+Solar+Panel%2C+15+Watt.jsp?locale=en

[ken0042]

That is a bit better; but once again you are only getting about 6-10 amps per day back into the batteries. You would also need to buy a charge controller. I know the math side of it well, but I am not 100% sure on what the controller does. I do think it's main job is to make sure power is only going one way. So that when the sun goes down the battery does not start energizing the panel.

I've looked at solar a couple of times, and each time I figure I would be close to $500 minimum to get a decent setup. Then when camping I would be having to adjust the angle, etc. Of course this all assumes you don't have so many trees around you that you can get decent sun. I know from trying to use solar lights that it is hard to find a spot that gets good sun for most of the day.

My line of thinking is that for that $500 I'm sure I can get a nice pair of golf cart batteries; which should give me all the power I should need. And in the case of an emergency I can always plug the trailer back into the truck, run the truck and get a couple of amps that way too.

[MacDaddy77]

That's kind of what I was thinking as well. And for $500 I'd be better of buying the 5000 w generator when it's on sale at Canadian tire next time


Thanks for all the advice

[Madman]

Originally Posted by MacDaddy77

That's kind of what I was thinking as well. And for $500 I'd be better of buying the 5000 w generator when it's on sale at Canadian tire next time


Thanks for all the advice

Whatever you do, do not purchase said generator - sale or not.

5000W is insane overkill for your tent trailer - no AC, no microwave and I'm guessing no TV means you would barely even need a 2000W one.

That 5000W generator at CT is going to be massive and the loudest thing for miles - you will quickly become "that guy" at the campground and I'm guessing you would tire of the noise level quickly as well.

[MacDaddy77]

Ya. I decided that after reading reviews. I'm now looking at the 2000 watt Hyundai inverter from wallymart.

I'll try it out and return it if it's too loud

[Madman]

Check their return policy on generators - I know CT will not return a generator if it has had fuel in it.

[ken0042]

Personally, I would try out the trailer with your current setup to see if you need any extra power. Even go so far as to try it out now in your driveway. Put food (or at least some water bottles) in the fridge and turn it on, and set the furnace for 15 degrees. See how long all of that lasts you.