A Couple Of Questions- Nebie & First Post

Hi,

I have just purchased a small ultra-light RV and am in the midst of getting my tow vehicle ready and making lists of things that I will need.  I am brand new to RV's but have been a camper all of my life. 

One of the new things that I am looking forward t is the small refrigerator on board.  It works off of AC, DC, or propane.  This unit will be running on AC when parked at a campground with power available.  Do you run it on gas or the battery when you are traveling?

I will be going by myself at least half of the time, have two grown boys who will want to come occationally.  So, hooking up the rig without a partner will be differant.  I have seen the small magnetically mounted balls or flags on a pole things and they seem like a good idea.  Do these work as one would think?

The new unit comes with one battery.  I will likely upgrade to two down the road.  I assume that the best type of battery would be a marine deep cycle, is this correct?

I am also thinking of plastic dishes and things, is this right?

I assume there are very good on-line places that cater to RVs.  I kayak and bicycle and after a while I found solid firms which offer good service and price.  What are a couple of good RV onl-line places?

thanks,

Mark

I run my fridge on gas while traveling.........though I have some plates and glasses etc, I find myself leaning towards paper goods more than I use my dishes.......dont use a lot of water to wash and much easier cleanup by just throwing away.

My frige works only on LP or AC so it is working on LP on the road.

Camping World carries just about anything you'd want for an RV, they are available on line.

Here is a link - Camping World

Also, WalMart carries a number of RV supplies.

Have fun!

Hi Mark, and welcome to the Rv Forum!

First the battery. You want a true deep-cycle battery such as a Trojan T-105 or a group-24 or 27deep cycle (flooded cell or AGM) , depending on what will fit. A marine/deep cycle is not the best choice for any number of reasons (covered in articles in our library; link button above).

You also don't want to use the fridge on DC (battery) when traveling unless it is being charged by your tow vehicle. Otherwise  it will drain your battery in no time and you'll have nothing left for lights and other things when you arrive at your destination if it doesn't have an AC hookup to run the converter.

MarkInNC said:

Hi,

I have just purchased a small ultra-light RV and am in the midst of getting my tow vehicle ready and making lists of things that I will need.  I am brand new to RV's but have been a camper all of my life. 

One of the new things that I am looking forward t is the small refrigerator on board.  It works off of AC, DC, or propane.  This unit will be running on AC when parked at a campground with power available.  Do you run it on gas or the battery when you are traveling?

I will be going by myself at least half of the time, have two grown boys who will want to come occationally.  So, hooking up the rig without a partner will be differant.  I have seen the small magnetically mounted balls or flags on a pole things and they seem like a good idea.  Do these work as one would think?

The new unit comes with one battery.  I will likely upgrade to two down the road.  I assume that the best type of battery would be a marine deep cycle, is this correct?

I am also thinking of plastic dishes and things, is this right?

I assume there are very good on-line places that cater to RVs.  I kayak and bicycle and after a while I found solid firms which offer good service and price.  What are a couple of good RV onl-line places?

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Fridge:  run it on the gas.  It can kill a battery fast if you leave it on while parked.  On gas, just remember to turn off the fridge during gas station refueling. 

Solo hitching up:  the flags-on-poles system works just fine.  The main problem is finding replacements when they wear out.

Marine deep cycle battery:  wrong.  The only type you should get are true, single purpose deep cycle batteries.  The marine units are dual purpose for starting marine engines as well as house uses, and, therefore, compromise the deep cycle aspect.  I use Lifeline AGM batteries and am very satisfied.  Google them.

Dishes:  Plastic is just fine.  However, we use the ceramic  Corning Corelle and have so for a dozen years in our trailer with no breakage or chipping or even much scratching.

Online shopping:  Camping World has already been mentioned.  I have used RV Upgrades at  http://www.RVupgrades.com.  They are more into parts than Camping World.

Do I run the fridge on LP or Battery when going down the road?  Good question.  I can't answer it.

A RV fridge draws on the order of 350 watts.  A pair of U-220 Batteries (common on large RV's) contain about 1,000 usab le watts (I'm rounding both numbers somewhat) for a total of 3 hours till the battery is dead

The same fridge, when running on Propane, draws perhaps 35 watts or less to control stuff,  that's 30 hours

Of course your tow vehicle may be adding power to the battteries as you drive but I'd want a larger alternator if I were going to do that.

Next: Most RV fridges, if you get 'em cold, stay that way for 6-8 hours just fine with no power


As to online places.. Yes, some are good some are bad, Camping World usually has everything you need and is often the authorized parts center for what's inside the RV, however they have one thing you don't need... HIGH PRICES in many cases (not all.. I've occasionally been surprised)  We have a few library articles here dedicated to "other" places, links and such

You can often get supplies at local "Big" stores.  here in Michigan area, Meijer's.  Wally World, Costco, Sams Sears/K-mart and such all carry camping supplies, though not as big a selection as Camping World

One more consideration on the fridge... If it does not have Electronic Spark Ignition I would not run it on propane while driving

With ESI, I would, and in fact, do

John,

I've just purchased my first Class A so I cannot comment about your fridge (I found that I needed this info as well), however, I've spent over 20 years sailing my boat around the Caribbean and know a little about batteries, probably just enough to get me in trouble.

I found that 6 volt deep cycle golf cart batteries to be the best for house usage (a sailboat has similar loads compared to an RV, fridge, lights, fans, ham radio, things like that, and are often recharged by solar and wind generators when the engine is not running).  I used four, two in series, and then the two pairs in parallel, the equivalent of 2-12 volt batteries with lots of amp hours.  These batteries are NOT designed for engine starting, they are designed to be charged and drained many, many times (hence their great use as house batteries).  I once paid over $600 for 2 fancy 12 volt marine deep cycle batteries (Rolls), they only lasted two years (the ad claimed 10 years of life was normal) before a crack developed in one of the batteries (not due to installation or movement, they were quite secure).  For around $200 I purchased 4 golf cart batteries at Sam's Club and they lasted me 8 years and were still on the boat when I sold her.  When I pick up my new Class A on Thursday, one of the first things I'll do is head to Sam's Club and buy 4 more golf cart batteries to install as the house batteries. 

Just food for thought...

Steve

The only problem with golf cart 6V batteries is that ultralights often have space only for one batteries, and that then has to be 12V.  Even if you have a rack that can handle 2 group 24 boxes, like my unit, finding a golf cart box that fits can be a problem.

In short, one gets what works in one's case. 

And you will probably be shocked at battery prices - they have gone sky high because the price of lead is out of sight!

Have a look at http://ezhitch.biz/

I've used one to solo-hook my boat trailer for years and would not want to do without it.  Not expensive and they last forever.

RV Roamer said:

And you will probably be shocked at battery prices - they have gone sky high because the price of lead is out of sight!

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You think lead is pricey.

LA gas $3.92 87 octane.  LA diesel $4.30.  Today.  $51.58 to fill a bloody Toyota Camry.

The price of living in the People's Republik of Kalifornia, I guess.

We haven't paid $4 for diesel yet ($3.959 yesterday), but probably will by next week.  One petro industry financial anaylst predicts that diesel prices will increase by $0.06/gal per week for the next 10-15 weeks.

I use Corelle too when I feel the need or necessity to upgrade from paper.  Do avoid soup in paper or Styrofoam!  Plastic plates work OK, but they get scratched and can harbor bacteria in the scratches. 

My fridge runs fine on LP when I am not plugged in, although I have read articles that do not recommend it.

A good battery is, for me, worth every penny.

Thor

Thor said:

 

My fridge runs fine on LP when I am not plugged in, although I have read articles that do not recommend it.

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Hmmm.  Now why would some one recommend against that?!  Running while not hooked up to the grid is exactly what the gas cycle on an RV fridge is designed for.  ???