[2012] General camping thread - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

Wormius · 06-26-2012, 12:28 AM

Looked a bit a couldn't find anything. Thought I would start a thread for camping Q&A and miscellaneous. Mainly because I had some questions.

So, we are heading to Montana for a bit to do some tent camping as a family. We usually bring a cooler with us, but wondering now about an electric one that plugs into the car. I guess what my question is, if you aren't driving lots once you get there, how long will those things keep cool? Is it even worth getting one then for our type of camping? It would sure beat the old cooler and bags of ice technique for food refrigeration.

As far as I know the tent sites don't have electricity, and it probably isn't safe to keep the cooler out in bear country anyway, so the majority of the time it will be in the car, unpowered.

ken0042 · 06-26-2012, 07:21 AM

I have one, and almost never use it. The cooling mechanism takes up so much space that it only holds about 1/2 what a cooler that size should; and even then the cooling capacity is nothing like a fridge. And I am talking about just keeping things cold, not trying to cool something down. I thought about wiring in a 12 volt outlet to run only when the ignition is on, and use it to always have cold water in the car.

You can get beefier ones designed for tent trailers, however the danger there is that they take so much power. If you accidentally leave it plugged in you could kill your car battery in no time.

Nothing beats a couple of 2 litre bottles filled with ice IMHO. Just fill them 90% full of water before you freeze them, or at least give them a gentle squeeze when you put the cap on.

LChoy · 06-26-2012, 07:38 AM

Do your 2L bottles of ice work better than those plastic blue ice packs?

psyang · 06-26-2012, 08:02 AM

We bought a new cooler a couple years ago that claimed to keep ice frozen for 7 days. It does work significantly better than our old one, I guess cooler technology has improved over the last decade or so.

In our use, we've found it will keep ice frozen for about 4-5 days in hot Kelowna weather (30C or so) which is impressive. We use a system where our new cooler is now our "freezer", and each morning before it gets hot, we move the day's food from the freezer into our older cooler, which will act as a daily fridge. That keeps the number of times we open/close the new cooler to a minimum. We use frozen bottled water as ice at the start of the trip. After the first week when we need to replenish supplies, we'll buy bags of ice. We use blue packs as well, but we only have a few small ones, so generally use them for day excursions.

I agree with ken0042 - the plug-in cooler we have is really small, and doesn't actually keep things really cold - just cool. It's good for drinks on a road trip, but if I needed to keep something in there for along time that might spoil, I'd probably want to put ice in as well, which defeats the purpose.

Red · 06-26-2012, 08:04 AM

Trailer tips for the clueless?

Is it safe to tow while the propane is on for the fridge? Or is it better to use electric? Any other tricks?

Since the truck alternator runs the trailer while travelling, would it be possible to re-charge the RV battery onsite by running the truck?

Does the water pump have to be left on all the time? Does it auto-shut off?

Madman · 06-26-2012, 08:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red

Trailer tips for the clueless?

Is it safe to tow while the propane is on for the fridge? Or is it better to use electric? Any other tricks?

Since the truck alternator runs the trailer while travelling, would it be possible to re-charge the RV battery onsite by running the truck?

Does the water pump have to be left on all the time? Does it auto-shut off?

I always travel with my propane on for the fridge, never had a problem. You cannot run the fridge off the battery, only while plugged into shore.

The one trick I always use is to turn the stove on and wait for it to light to let the air clear from the propane lines before I switch the fridge on - not doing this will almost guaranteed result in the fridge failing to start.

Your truck will trickle charge your RV's battery and keep it topped up, but the wiring is not designed to "charge" the battery and you'd need to leave your truck running for hours to see any benefit.

I leave my water pump on when we are in the trailer, unless there is a leak or a stubborn air pocket the pump will not run unless it needs to. I do turn it off when we head off the site just in case.

Otsy · 06-26-2012, 08:55 AM

Is there a cheaper place to buy firewood in the city rather than pay at the campground?

Madman · 06-26-2012, 09:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Otsy

Is there a cheaper place to buy firewood in the city rather than pay at the campground?

Always.

Check Kijijijiji.

ken0042 · 06-26-2012, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lchoy

Do your 2L bottles of ice work better than those plastic blue ice packs?

I think so. Simply because of the size of them it takes quite a while for the ice to melt. They also have the added of having drinking water in them. A couple of times towards the end of a camping trip when we were running out of water; I have used the water inside for drinking.

fleuryisgod · 06-26-2012, 10:21 AM

Anyone else on here do some crown land style of camping? I'm always looking for new spots. Personally I prefer areas with less quad's and better fishing. I've been hitting up the Dutch Creek for the last couple of summers but having a few extra sites to go to would be nice. Also I've converted an older Yukon into my camper so harder to access areas are not an issue at all.

GreenLantern · 06-26-2012, 10:44 AM

Picked up a new coleman cooler this summer that claims to keep ice frozen for up to 6 days, I agree that technology has advanced.

I use the little blue packs and they are generally good for 3-5 days. It helps if you buy your groceries well in advance and can pre freeze everything in your own freezer as opposed to putting it thawed out of the grocery store into the cooler.

MacDaddy77 · 06-26-2012, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Madman

I always travel with my propane on for the fridge, never had a problem. You cannot run the fridge off the battery, only while plugged into shore.

I have a 3 way fridge, are you saying it doesn't run off the battery while driving when I have it on the battery setting?

Madman · 06-26-2012, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacDaddy77

I have a 3 way fridge, are you saying it doesn't run off the battery while driving when I have it on the battery setting?

Ah, the ol' 3-way.

My mistake, if there is a battery setting then yes, it'll run off the battery. Although I would still run it off propane while traveling and save your battery.

Tailgator · 06-26-2012, 03:09 PM

My understanding and from what I've seen is that a propane fridge still vents a flame out. I'd be real careful if you're driving with that on.

I usually load the trailer fridge a day or 2 early. If you have frozen stuff, it takes a long time to thaw in that fridge. Unless you're driving for hours and hours. We drove north of Edmonton from here last year and nothing showed a slightest sign of thawing.

Tailgator · 06-26-2012, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Madman

I always travel with my propane on for the fridge, never had a problem. You cannot run the fridge off the battery, only while plugged into shore.

The one trick I always use is to turn the stove on and wait for it to light to let the air clear from the propane lines before I switch the fridge on - not doing this will almost guaranteed result in the fridge failing to start.

Your truck will trickle charge your RV's battery and keep it topped up, but the wiring is not designed to "charge" the battery and you'd need to leave your truck running for hours to see any benefit.

I leave my water pump on when we are in the trailer, unless there is a leak or a stubborn air pocket the pump will not run unless it needs to. I do turn it off when we head off the site just in case.

If your battery needs a charge while you're out camping, just hook up your booster cables and use that. You'll still need to let it run awhile though but it should be a little quicker than the trickle charge. Like Madman says, a trickle charge takes a loooong time.

Locke · 06-26-2012, 03:45 PM

I've always had a bad experience with those electric coolers. They suck a ton of juice and really dont keep things cold. If you leave it running in your vehicle while the vehicle is off it wont take long to drain your battery.

What the hell its doing with all that power I will never know, because it uses a ton and does nothing.

return to the red · 06-26-2012, 04:12 PM

How hard is it to wire a couple 6 volt batteries instead of the single 12 and where is the best place (least expensive) place to get em?

ken0042 · 06-26-2012, 04:31 PM

It's pretty easy from a wiring standpoint. Pretty much you have your current positive on one battery's positive post, your current negative on the other battery's negative, and then a new wire between the two.

I would PM Traditional Ale, as this is his line of work.

Larry MacDonald · 06-26-2012, 04:44 PM

Glad this thread finally came up so I can finally ask this question...

Serrated knife

or Straight edge knife?

Nufy · 06-26-2012, 05:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by return to the red

How hard is it to wire a couple 6 volt batteries instead of the single 12 and where is the best place (least expensive) place to get em?

Go to Princess auto and get 4 battery terminals and some wiring.

At least 4 gauge AWG imo...

On your batteries connect the "+" on one to the "-" on the other.

You have effectively wired two 6 volt batteries in series to make a 12 Volt cell.

The spare "+" and "-" terminals are your new battery.