Forest River Aurora 24 RBS Trailer Questions

[lifecolorado]

Hi anyone own this model of towable RVs, Aurora 24 RBS? We looked at one today, lots of space, but the refridgerator only runs on electrical power, has solar, but how do you manage especially overnight in a dry spot? Our current camper has electric and propane, really handy for the 2-3 day drives to final destinations.
Thanks for your feedback!
Bob

 

[rvlifer]

Dont know anything about that rv but i have a residential fridge in ours and we boondocked extensively.

With a good solar setup including decent inverter, enough batteries, and enough panels to replace the power that the rv uses it is a non issue.

If you can measure the power needed by everything in the rv you can figure out how many amp hours of batteries you need and then how many solar panels you need to keep the batteries at a certain state of charge you need based upon what you do with the rv.

everyone uses their rv differently and every rv is a little different in the power it uses so what you need will vary from what others need.

As a general rule of thumb i added an extra 100ah battery to handle the fridge and 2000 w of solar panels generate about 75amps to the batteries. Our fridge is 8 yrs old and uses about 15amps when it is running.

rv manufacturers used to install inverters and enough batteries only to run the fridge between daily campground hookups. That is changing but i wouldnt expect an oem solar setup to be overly efficient.

How many amp hours and what type of batteries come with the unit?

Solar is great but doesnt produce nearly as much electricity as people think. To get an understanding of what you can expect from them one of the portable setups with a solar charge controller is a cheap way to avoid wasting money on a roiftop setup.

 

[IBTripping]

Welcome to the Forum. Is your refrigerator a residential model that requires AC power or a DC (battery) powered unit?

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

Solar isn't a defacto replacement for propane so you have to decide how you're going to use this camper and outfit it appropriately. If you're OK with tossing $1500 or whatever for solar at the problem that's one option but it's not a sure thing when the clouds roll in, or you're camped at a shady spot. So then you're also schlepping a genset around and some number of hours a day of running that. Or, pony up for an absorption fridge and propane supply. Cost wise it's probably a wash- enough solar and batteries for a compressor or absorption install. One is decidedly simpler.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[rvlifer]

If you're OK with tossing $1500 or whatever for solar

Definitely the whatever lol

 

[Bearcatrp]

I have a keystone cougar that has solar and fridge is electric only. When I go camping without hookups, I bring my Honda 3200 generator. The solar is good to keep your fridge going while transporting to your camping spot. If you’re going to rely on solar 100%, as mentioned above, do the math on everything that uses electricity. Since the sun isn’t out every day, or your under trees, you won’t get a full charge that day. I have only regular batteries so I bought a generator to run when needed. But there are more experienced folks here that can guide you on what’s needed if you plan on solar only. If you do get a generator, make sure it has a 30 amp plug. You will need it to run your AC when it’s hot out there. Good luck.

 

[CharlesinGA]

Mark is right, The type of use will determine what appliances and accessories you will want and need. The RV manufacturers are putting electric only fridges (and on demand water heaters) in RV's because they assume that 90% of the people who buy will be camping in full hookup campgrounds and the manufacturers can make more money as the fridges are much cheaper and easier to install and the water heaters are the same price or less than a tank water heater, and easier to install (no 120v wire connection)

Even though I only bought my first RV in 2015, I have become "old school" and will not have an RV that doesn't have a tank type gas/elect water heater and a gas/elect absorption fridge. I don't care to spend a bunch on money on solar and battery banks when I get along just fine with the old school stuff.

Charles

 

[Kirk]

but the refridgerator only runs on electrical power,

The standard refrigerator is 10.5 cubic foot, 12V refrigerator but there is an optional one that is 120V/propane. My son has an RV that has the 12V only refrigerator and they wouldn't go back to 120V/propane on a bet. His RV isn't from Forest River but it is configured similarly to yours and they have run the refrigerator for as long as 3 days from the battery. His solar panel is only a 200 watt size but his battery showed no issues. You need to look at the size of battery and the size of the solar panel to really know much, but most RVers find the new 12V, compressor refrigerators to be far superior to the 120V/propane versions. If you only spend the night and then travel again before the next night you should have no problems at all. If you stop for several days without towing you may need more power but that would depend on the size of battery & solar panel.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Hi anyone own this model of towable RVs, Aurora 24 RBS? We looked at one today, lots of space, but the refridgerator only runs on electrical power, has solar, but how do you manage especially overnight in a dry spot? Our current camper has electric and propane, really handy for the 2-3 day drives to final destinations.
Thanks for your feedback!
Bob

Simply put, your 12v fridge relies on 12v battery power if there is no external electric power available. You have to have enough battery capacity (amp-hours) to operate the fridge, lights, etc between charging opportunities. Solar recharges while in sunny areas, and your onboard converter charger does it while plugged to shore power. And if suitably wired, your tow vehicle will provide some trailer battery charging while you drive, so long road trips should not be a problem.

I don't see anything in the Aurora specs that states the battery type or size, so I can't guess how long you could operate with the standard equipment, but I'll bet you will want to install more or larger batteries for extended stays off grid.