2013 Camping Thread

[Titan]

Originally Posted by ken0042

These are the bulbs I am currently using:
http://dx.com/p/t10-2-9w-6500k-185-l...r-dc-12v-51371
I did order a couple sets of these ones for a buddy's trailer; just to try them out:
http://dx.com/p/t10-1-9w-6500k-171-l...r-dc-12v-51358
and
http://dx.com/p/t10-2-5w-270lm-13-sm...2v-pair-191356

The first of the new ones seems a little long; but we will see. The second set appears to say it is 50% brighter; once again I'll see when they come in.

And for replacement 1157 bulbs. (Bathroom and outside light)
http://dx.com/p/1157-3-5w-68-smd-led...r-dc-12v-51270

So my bulbs are 921. That is a T10 base? Thanks.

[ken0042]

That is correct. The "921" has something to do with voltage or watts or something, so yes you are looking for the T10 base.

The one thing with the LED bulbs is they are polarized, so if you don't plug them in correctly they won't light up. You'd just need to flip the bulb around and plug it in the other way. Incandescent bulbs don't care which way the electricity flows through them.

[rubecube]

Sooke Potholes this Saturday. Woooo!

[old-fart]

Originally Posted by ken0042

If you must have a generator; get the Honda as it only creates about half the noise. (53-59 DB vs. 61-73 DB) However I do have to question getting a generator in this part of North America. The only reason I could see needing a generator is for A/C; and I can honestly say I have only ever used mine once. (And that was a "because I could"- not that it was needed.)

Get LED lights, a 12 volt LED TV, and if you need a bit more juice then buy a solar panel. All said and done you are looking at 1/4 the price to setup that way, and you don't have to be "that guy" at the campground.

If you are in a position where your wife "needs" her Tassimo coffee or perfect toaster- stay at campgrounds that have power. I go camping for some peace and quiet, not to hear somebody's generator run all day.

Thanks for the info and the link to the bulbs below... I'll be ordering some tonight. I did stop in at an RV dealer to inquire about the LED bulbs but the price was crazy, like $20 per bulb asopsed to $4 for 2.

We will be doing some dry camping this year and I did have them put 2 6v batteries on instead of the single 12v one. I suspect this will get us through a long weekend with careful use of the lights (especially with the LEDs) but what about our 1 10day long trip we have planned.... Best bet a solar panel to help charge the batteries instead of the gen?

As for the TV we do have an LED w/dvd player in the thing and I was planning on using the 12v converter I have to run it (not on the 10 day trip) and I do think its use will be exceedingly limited.

Thanks for the tips.

[ken0042]

Have a look at post #91
http://forum.calgarypuck.com/showpos...3&postcount=91

So you will need to figure out how much power you plan on using, and how much power you have available. You say you have two 6 volt batteries; so does that give you 200 amp hours? (Which would mean 100 amp hours of useable power.)

If so, you are looking at being able to use 10 amp hours per day on a 10 day trip without having to replenish the power. Using my formula of <solar panel watt rating> divided by 20; multiplied by 3 hours per day- that gives you a nice conservative esstimate of how much extra power you need. If you want to use 20 amp hours(ah) per day, you need to make up an extra 10 ah. A 100 watt panel would give you 15 ah, or a 60 watt panel would give you 9 ah.

Keep in mind that on a 10 day trip unless you have access to water dumping and filling; you will only use a certain amount of the water pump. So if you have a 50 gallon fresh tank, the power to run 50 gallons through is the same over 10 days or 3 days. Take the furnace out of the equation (assuming this will be in the summer) and you are now only looking at the extra lights and TV as being your biggest draws over that time.

Below are some of the calculations I have done with respect to how much power different things draw. I got my power meter in the winter so I couldn't test everything. Looks like I have more things to test out though. The numbers for the "stereo" below are the factory DVD player; not the new Blu Ray player.
Standby Mode:
Secondary 12 volt outlet- 0.6 watts
Stereo and CO detector- 2 watts (Both are on same circuit)

Usage Mode:
1157 LED bulbs- 3.3 watts (each)
921 LED bulbs- 1.1 watts (each)
Stereo playing USB video; volume between 2 to 4- 14 watts
Stereo playing USB video; volume at 12- 18 watts
Furnace motor- 33 watts
RCA 19” TV- 20 watts
Antenna power booster- TBD
Water pump- TBD
Digital power display- TBD
Tank sensors- TBD
Fridge ignition- TBD

The other thing to consider; worst case scenario you can put power into your trailer from running the truck. You only have a 2 amp line, so it's only 2 ah, but I figure the cost of running the truck is far less than the cost of buying a generator.

And sorry if I came across snarky last night; having a generator for extended camping trips is one thing that is justifiable. I was thinking just of the people who go to unserviced sites for the weekend and have to have full power.

[ken0042]

So I had a chance today to take some more measurements as to how much different things draw. I came up with a couple of startling results. I was testing the fridge and the water heater to see how much power the ignition systems on each took up. What I was surprised to learn is that both the fridge and the water heater use a significant amount of power while running. The water heater only used power while heating, however the fridge didn't seem to stop using power. Where this might be a concern is during an extended trip.

The fridge used 3.5 watts of power; so that would be 7 ah per day of use. While that could eat up a battery, it is also worth noting that amount of power is the same as what a standard 921 incandecent bulb would use in 5 hours. (Or two bulbs in 2.5 hours, etc.)

The water heater used 8 watts of power. While that is more; you could easily get by with only using the water heater for a couple of hours per day when you needed it.

One thing that was a lot lower than I expected was the power booster for the TV antenna. That came in at 1.5 watts; I was expecting 5-10 watts.

The other thing I measured was the water pump. It used 36 watts, and would occasionally surge at 48 watts. While that one is high I would say that you would only use the pump for no more than an hour before you would run through your fresh water. So only 3-4 ah.

[V]

Wait, people actually watch TV when they're camping? And I have to listen to their generator all day so that they can watch TV?

#### me. What is wrong with people??

[metallicat]

Had quite the experience tent camping last night in Elk Island. A lone bison was hanging around us all day, and then decided to munch grass and walk around really close to our tent. Unnerving! Very cool animals...from a distance.

[Violator]

Originally Posted by rubecube

Sooke Potholes this Saturday. Woooo!

To date that is the coolest place Ive ever gone swimming

[Tailgator]

Originally Posted by ken0042

So I had a chance today to take some more measurements as to how much different things draw. I came up with a couple of startling results. I was testing the fridge and the water heater to see how much power the ignition systems on each took up. What I was surprised to learn is that both the fridge and the water heater use a significant amount of power while running. The water heater only used power while heating, however the fridge didn't seem to stop using power. Where this might be a concern is during an extended trip.

The fridge used 3.5 watts of power; so that would be 7 ah per day of use. While that could eat up a battery, it is also worth noting that amount of power is the same as what a standard 921 incandecent bulb would use in 5 hours. (Or two bulbs in 2.5 hours, etc.)

The water heater used 8 watts of power. While that is more; you could easily get by with only using the water heater for a couple of hours per day when you needed it.

One thing that was a lot lower than I expected was the power booster for the TV antenna. That came in at 1.5 watts; I was expecting 5-10 watts.

The other thing I measured was the water pump. It used 36 watts, and would occasionally surge at 48 watts. While that one is high I would say that you would only use the pump for no more than an hour before you would run through your fresh water. So only 3-4 ah.

That's pretty shocking (sorry,couldnt resist!). Seriously though, I alway thought running a fridge on propane would have drawn almost nothing, but to seeing almost constantly draw is weird. My fridge had a temperature readout as well so I wonder I'd that would draw a lot more as well? Or maybe all fridges have that?

The LED lights are a great idea and I never thought of that. I'm definitely going to switch all my lights over for that. I've found that unless it's pretty chilly at night and I need to use the furnace, my batteries still seem to stay pretty strong overnight. The solar panels charge them back up to full by 10,even on a cloudy day. If I didn't have the panels, I'd need to be way better at conserving power.

I bought a generator a few years ago and after getting the solar panels, Ive found we don't actually use the gennie all that often. Still handy if/when you need it.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by Tailgator

The solar panels charge them back up to full by 10,even on a cloudy day.

An important question- how are you determining the batteries are back to "full?" Are you using the sensor that also has the tank levels? With the solar panel attached I would think it would show as "full" around 10:00- as that would be around the time there is enough amperage coming off the panels to start charging the battery.

The best way to test the battery is with a multi-meter; and at least 30 minutes since the last time you either put power in or drew a significant amount of power out. The easy way for you to see that for yourself is to pull up to your campsite and unhook. Then check the battery level (should be full.) Run the water for about 30 seconds. As soon as you shut off the tap check the level again. If it isn't showing 1/3 it will definitely be showing 2/3. Then wait 15 minutes and check the level again; it will be higher.

The problem is those level gauges show voltage coming from the battery; not amps remaining. While amps remaining does affect voltage, the voltage is also affected by recent draw and charges.

As for your fridge; with it having a digital readout it might use a little more. I would guess not by much as I'm sure the electronics in mine are also measuring temperature to a certain extent.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by Violator

To date that is the coolest place Ive ever gone swimming

The water was super cold but still got some nice cliff-jumps in.

[Ace]

Okay, so i'm working on my first long distance trip with my trailer. I'd like to go from calgary to Seattle. Can anyone chime in on driving through spokane? Is this route reasonable pulling a trailer (grades, mountain roads, etc?)

[GGG]

Originally Posted by Ace

Okay, so i'm working on my first long distance trip with my trailer. I'd like to go from calgary to Seattle. Can anyone chime in on driving through spokane? Is this route reasonable pulling a trailer (grades, mountain roads, etc?)

I have driven to seattle numorous times not pulling a trailer. The worst pard is over the snoqualme pass between spokane and seattle. It is 3 lane interstae in the worst places so you can go slower without backing up traffic. Other than that crowsnet pass on the way to fernie is the only other real steep area. I wouls say overall rogers pass is worse than anything between Clgary and seattle.

Not sure if you want to avoid the interstate or not though.

[sparky69]

Originally Posted by GGG

. Other than that crowsnet pass on the way to fernie is the only other real steep area. I wouls say overall rogers pass is worse than anything between Clgary and seattle.

Not sure if you want to avoid the interstate or not though.

I drive the crownest pass with a trailer alot.... and the drive is very easy to do through there, not much hills really.

[sevenarms]

Has anyone camped at the Tolman campground in Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park?

I'm heading tent camping there in a couple of weeks and was hoping to gain a little insight from someone who'd been there before.

[ken0042]

Have you looked on Alberta Wow? They have some good info; and some photos.
http://www.albertawow.com/campground...Campground.htm

[MG153]

has anyone on CP purchased an RV out of the states? me and a buddy are both considering going shopping for new units in montana or idaho. just curious on anyone elses experiences and hoops to jump through in order to get them back across the border

[Slava]

Anyone know where I can buy large 'sheets' of foam? Essentially what I want to do is redo the mattresses in my tent trailer. Ideally I could do this in the next week or two...

[FlamesKickAss]

Originally Posted by MG153

has anyone on CP purchased an RV out of the states? me and a buddy are both considering going shopping for new units in montana or idaho. just curious on anyone elses experiences and hoops to jump through in order to get them back across the border

Depending on the unit I found its not that much cheaper and really worth the hassle anymore. I know our trailer was either more expensive in the states or the same price we got it for...