Maintenance & Restoration

Denece · 01-19-2012, 06:53 PM

Our very new to us, Compact II has never had a battery as far as we can tell.
There is no sign of wiring or battery box. All the wires for 12 volt go to the trailer hitch plug-in.
We've ordered replacement lights in LED so battery use should be pretty minimal. We are thinking a gel cell in the rear passenger side corner. Maybe a solar panel to boondock the camper from time to time.

Any advice appreciated at this point.

Denece

mary and bob · 01-19-2012, 07:34 PM

Northern Tool has a 10 amp solar panel on sale for about $40, I just ordered one. I've always just used a car battery, or sometimes an 1150 series truck battery. I've heard some people use a lawn mower battery if they have only a few lights. Bob

Thomas G. · 01-19-2012, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mary and bob

Northern Tool has a 10 amp solar panel on sale .......... Bob

I think you mean 10 watt. Not bad - prices are falling.

BCDave · 01-19-2012, 07:47 PM

A 10 amp panel for $40.00? That would be way over 120 watts, right? (maybe about 150 Watts or so?)

I just went onto their site and didn't see it - which model is it?

I saw a 10 Watt unit (a Coleman brand) - about 0.75 amps, I'm guessing at that price

mary and bob · 01-19-2012, 07:55 PM

10 watt is correct, my mistake. It is the Coleman one, $39.99 I think. It had two good reviews, probably not the best one out there but cheap enough so I figured I'd try it. I found it in an email they sent. I'm sure now more info will show up here on what is better but I didn't have time to do more research and probably won't use it much anyway, an impulse buy for sure.

Larry,C · 01-19-2012, 08:13 PM

Greetings,
I can help you understand how to best use the sun to provide power for your needs. Before you buy any solar product you need to understand how much power you need. Decide what you expect to power from the sun and I will help you know what to buy.

Larry Clift
Bluegrass Solar Solutions
larryclift@gmail.com

itlives · 01-19-2012, 09:56 PM

In solar power a 10 watt panel is no more than a trickle charger.
If you want to replace lost power on a daily basis (when boondocking), you will need a much more higher watt panel.
Like Larry said, you need to figure out how much you will realistically use.
Me- 12 volt fridge - 12 volt tv - 11 led lights - it can add up quick. I have a 64 watt panel (and two good batteries) that does a fair job. Going even larger with the panel when I get the sound system in. Think about the future "toys" also!

Denece · 01-19-2012, 10:52 PM

Thanks for all the replies.

We just came off a cruising sailboat where we used solar and 12 volts to live by.

I am really more concerned with putting in battery and rewiring since this thing had no pre-existing power source other than the tugs battery or plug in to campsite power. We need to figure out how to seperate the systems so outside trailer lights run on plug to car and interior lights, etc run off new house battery we will be installing

Once we get all that going we want to add a solar panel. We had three Siemens 75's on the boat but don't plan to use refrigeration in the tiny trailer so we think we' ll be good with one good deep cycle and a properly sized panel.

The electrical components on the Compact II we got are pretty minimal 2 120V lights and a couple of outlets and 3 12 V lights and a tiny water pump. No heater AC or fridge. We don't plan to add TV or stereo. Maybe a boom box. Laptop and cellphone recharging may be our big draws.

We are really looking forward to getting out on our first camp outs and see how it goes. We just love that the trailer is so light. That and the large bed were the real selling points for us

Hope to meet you " out there" soon!

Denece

mary and bob · 01-20-2012, 06:17 AM

I had set up my daughter's popup camper with a car battery to power two interior lights. She would be at a campground for three weeks and not kill the battery. Not sure how much she used the lights though. Phone & laptop can be charged off the car. A battery should be good for a week of minimal use like just a couple lights, and then recharged at home with an automotive type charger. That's what I do with our Uhaul, or if the campground has power I'll take a charger with me as our power converter isn't working.

Thomas G. · 01-20-2012, 07:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Denece

..........
I am really more concerned with putting in battery and rewiring since this thing had no pre-existing power source other than the tugs battery or plug in to campsite power. We need to figure out how to separate the systems so outside trailer lights run on plug to car and interior lights, etc run off new house battery we will be installing ..............Denece

This rewiring is really a simple task. If you need help with wiring schematics, just ask here.

bbuehler · 01-20-2012, 08:28 AM

Denece,
Your EGG was born with a battery box.
There is a small OUTSIDE appliance door on the lower left side, almost towards the back of the trailer (could be the right side...since I'm not looking at it...it's in winter storage at a friends. This makes the battery easily accessible from the outside of your trailer (you don't have to tear up the bed cushions to get under the beds to work on or replace your battery)! The wiring comes into the trailer from that outside battery appliance box. You should have a small key which opens this locked box, although it's a wimpy lock that can be opened with almost anything. I had a small cheap key made by a keyshop...they were familiar with that easy key...didn't have to create anything new. Tell us if they glassed over your battery box for some strange reason!
Odd that the other glass egg makers never added this unique, well-worth it feature to their trailers!

itlives · 01-20-2012, 10:10 AM

If your wiring is anything like mine (Trillium) in your harness will be the running/turning.brake lights. They are colored. The 12V wires will be black (power) and white (ground). Just peel back the plastic a bit and tie into them with some wire you can clip or plug into the battery.
Throw all this out the window bbhueler is correct

Denece · 01-20-2012, 12:27 PM

We can't see any sign of the little door you all mention. Or a battery box. All 12v wires go to the socket for car attachment.
We will be starting from scratch on the 12V side of things.
Thanks for the advice. Keep it coming!

Denece

itlives · 01-20-2012, 12:31 PM

My advice still stands. then.

BTW- I like the title to the thread.

Denece · 01-20-2012, 07:58 PM

Good figuring, I did notice there were only a few B/W wires running around. We'll figure out which ones those are and which are 120 V (hopefully another color/s)

I'm glad you like the title. I hoped if it was clever more people would read it.

And it worked 8-)

itlives · 01-20-2012, 08:16 PM

If you have black and white in your plug harness, those are the beginning of the 12V system. You could follow the harness to where it goes into the camper and tie into it there. Then you could put the battery inside.

Greg H · 01-21-2012, 03:10 PM

I am late on this thread, but 10 watts is not enough. I have a 15 watt on mine sitting in the yard and a couple of cloudy days and the voltage guage in the trailer will start drawing down the battery.

Denece · 01-21-2012, 03:22 PM

Ah ha! That's what I was afraid of.

I was thinking we might need 20watts of panel for the lights and occasional (or near daily when used much) cellphone ipad charging. And probably need to keep an eye on voltage even then.

Thanks.