1st Dry camping trip.

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StephenM

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So my my wife and I are off on our first dry camping trip this weekend.

Replaced the majority of the inner lights with Leds and have two healthy 226 mah deep cycle 6 volt batteries, also just installed a Tri metric battery monitor.

I am going to fill up about 25-30 gallons of fresh water and have plenty of gas and LP and dump back at the storage.

I don't see much of a power drain to be honest but will keep an eye on the battery monitor. I will run the generator when extending the Jacks and putting out the slide and for when cooking or showering.

Any tips or tricks?




 
Why run the generator.  Just leave plugged into tow vehicle assuming its wired to charge during towing to  extending slides.    I wouldent worry about battery life  if your just using some lights and water pump.
 
Agree with Robert. No need to run the genset when showering. If your water heater has both gas and electric heating, use gas - same for the fridge. It doesn't take an LP water heater long to heat up the water, and an LP fridge only sips propane. You're going to learn to love your Trimetric - it takes all the guesswork out of knowing your battery-bank's condition. For what it's worth, I don't allow my house-batteries to go below 70% SOC. Deep cycle batteries can be discharged lower and remain healthy, but it takes a lot longer to fully recharge them.

Kev
 
All great info, much appreciated. That sounds good with the rater heater and only running the battery to 70%.  I would like to add another 2 batteries but don't have enough roomnon my tray.

Will definitely not forget the beer and wine :)

I will be in a MH so won't be able to take power off a car.

 
Your motor home doesn't charge the house batteries when running?  That odd..... Also. Deep cycle batteries don't like short cycling,  Optimum cycling is 50% discharge before recharging
 
It does charge when running. Good advice on the charging cycle.
 
robertusa123 said:
Deep cycle batteries don't like short cycling,  Optimum cycling is 50% discharge before recharging
Actually, according to Trojan, "50% or less discharges are recommended" and "Shallow discharges will result in longer battery life." That's something I learned the hard way after replacing a lot of house-batteries over the years. Additionally, 80% of flooded battery failures are related to sulfation, a process that occurs when a battery's specific gravity falls below 1.225, at about 12.4 volts, which is about 75% SOC.

Kev 
 
25 or 30 gallons of water seems on the shy side. Especially if DW likes a shower most everyday. I picked up a 100 gallon portables fresh water tank that fits nicely in the rear of the JK. When needed just pull close to the rig and use my portable 115 volt water pump with hoses and pressure fill my on board tank. Its a hassel when your water starts getting low...jmho...cheers!
 
We normally use about 20 gallons a day, I will stick 40 gallons in it :)

We do carry out driving water separately.
 
I always keep my water tanks topped up and I am a solo RVer. My tank is small, only 35 gallons. I could live a month on it in an emergency.

I do have 2 collapsible water bags that hold 2.5 gallons each. If you have room to travel with one of those big water coolers, the kind like they use on work trucks, then you can fill it with another 5 or so gallons of purified water  or ice and it doubles as an outside stool or cocktail table once you arrive.

Take all the water you can dry camping, no use having half full tanks.

I can live comfortably on less than 2 gallons a day, but I drink or cook with that first gallon. I travel with a Berkey water purifier so I don't waste money on senseless bottled water. Also means I don't have empty water bottles piling up either. I use water carafes and drinking cups.

If you can cook in foil and use paper goods, then you won't need much in wash up water.
 
I wanted to see how the coach drives with that much water on board. :)
 
I have a correction about my post..my extra fresh water tank is only 35 gallons. I had to look it up. Looks bigger but I am sure a 100 gal tank would not fit in the rear of the Jeep...
 
I've been driving my rig 6 years with full or nearly full water tanks.

35 gallons at 8.35 pounds is 292.25 pounds. That is the equivalent of 1 or 2 passengers.

Your rig should handle well unless you are doing 90 degree turns at 70 miles per hour.

That water comes in HANDY. When my tire blew out, I had water on board for the four hours it took a tire changer to get there in 96F degree weather with equal humidity.

Recently I had to be towed out of the gas station and over to the next town for an emergency repair. It was late in the day, so they had me camp overnight in their parking lot.

It was nice to have that tank of water to wash the grease off me, cook, make dinner, wash dishes, flush the toilet, take a shower, make a pot of coffee and so on.

Another TERRIFIC reason to have full water tanks is...

Many campground have to turn off the water for an entire section in order to make repairs. Like the time somebody backed over their spigot and a geyser shot off into space. First they had to turn off the water to the entire camp, then round up the handyman who had to dig a hole then round up parts, then do the work.

You could tell almost by looking at people, which ones had water in their tanks and which ones WISHED they had water in their tanks.

What's the use of having the convenience of an RV if you aren't going to enjoy some of the simple pleasures?

Also over the years I've become accustomed to almost always using my personal broom closet. I know who cleaned it and how well it was cleaned and it's never out of toilet paper. My cabinet has room for 12 double rolls, and I pretty much try to keep it between 8-12 so that times like now when a hurricane is bearing down on us, I don't have to remember if I bought TP or not, I have enough on hand.
 
Stephen, you will not notice any difference in handling or mileage by completely filling your water tank. Physics tells us that there is a difference when moving items of different weights, but the difference in your coach's total weight with a full FW tank vs. a partially filled tank, is so minimal, that you won't notice it. FWIW, our FW system holds 115 gallons and I can't tell any difference between full, partially full or empty tanks.

Kev
 
On last night of the trip, everything is working out well.
Went to fit the battery monitor today and found the battery cable was not the right gauge, all is in place and just need a thicker cable.  My electric toothbrush did go nuts when charging off generator and it died.

It's due to get down  to 36f to tonight so have my furnace set to 64f. Batteries and generator make things very habitable.

My buddy who has his TT  with hin is having furnace issues so loaned him my electric heater and he will run his Honda inverter generator to power it.

P.s. Kev, you are right no difference in the handling.

 
That's it, maybe it was jealous :)


It worked fine before on shore power and charged when I came home. It must not like the generator.
 

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