Boondocking - - will battery last 3 days

[DebiT]

I have just purchased a new to me 2015 Spirit Deluxe 17. I love to camp at a local beach campground, arriving Friday noon and leaving Sunday noon.

Is it likely the battery will last for that length of time? Our old Class A did, but it had 2 12 v house batteries. I think the seller told me it was battery; I can easily check.

I have a connector for solar, but I don't want to deal with it if it's not necessary. Any longer trips would always have hookups

Thanks in advance. 

[Steve L.]

It depends. But I don't know how we'd know.

How old is the battery?
How many amp hours is it supposed to have?
Incadescent (sp?)lamps or LEDs?
How long will you burn them?
How often and how long are the water pump, the furnace, the fan going to run?
What's the weather going to be like?
Any health related devices like CPAP, etc.?

A lot of times this is why people suggest you practice camp in the back yard before the first trip, especially for a boondock trip. No cheating while in the back yard or you don't learn anything, or enough.

Some people will suggest just hooking back up to the tow vehicle to recharge but that doesn't work for everyone so I'd be careful of depending on it until you know for sure.

You don't need electricity, except to run the fridge and frankly a cooler with ice would last that long. There are candles, rechargable lamps, Coleman lamps, all sorts of aids.

There is no one size fits all answer. Well, there is "42" but as answers go it's pretty weak

Might be a good time to update you sig file with the new trailer info.

[DebiT]

I know, lots of variables. No LEDs, yes refrig on propane, new battery (I think), probably little or no fan use because at the beach. I guess first trip I would just observe battery and learn from there

[MK Evenson]

Debit, welcome to the forum. From my experience the length of time your battery lasts without charging depends on several factors. What type of battery is it? How many amp hours? How much draw do you ask of your battery, ie. what appliances are you using and for how long? When you say " last " do you mean dropping the battery voltage 50% or 75% or until it is dead?
My 2017 SD with AGM stock from Casita will last , ( to 50% charge), for 3 days and nights with minimal use of appliances in moderate weather. I can run the heater occasionally, watch the 12V TV for a bit and use LED lights as needed.

Best thing to do is go camping and run your own experiment, only then will you know. I am wondering why you do not want to use your solar system?

Mark

[DebiT]

It's not that I don't want to use it. It's that, while I have the hookup for one, 8 don't yet have portable solar panels and am a little overwhelmed by all the choices. I would love to hear recommendations for portable panels suitable for keeping a fully charged battery topped off. Please no rooftop recommendations at this time, just portable

[Steve L.]

Don't worry. It's just science. Not even rocket science. If you weren't paying attention in science class there are lots of people out there on the left coast who specialize in Solar and for a modest fee will help design something for you. They might do it for free just to make a sale.

[DebiT]

I guess I'm just wondering which portable, maybe suitcase style, panels would make sense, and also if I have an Andersen style hookup, how to hookup solar to trailer?

[Steve L.]

On another site we have a woman who wanted a recommendation for what generator she should get that would allow her to run her A/C while boondocking. It was the usual cluster F of recommendations from all over the rainbow. In the end she chose a generator that everyone reports does the job.

It's not running the A/C for more than 3 or 4 minutes.

Now what is she going to do? None of the responders are driving over to help her troubleshoot. Many are trying via the website, but in the end, you're taking suggestions from strangers with probably key differences in set up that did not, or have not occurred prior to this.

If you don't educate yourself, or find someone local who takes ownership, you're setting yourself up for a similar experience. But, that's just my opinion with this other situation fresh on my mind.

[DebiT]

Good point.

[DebiT]

Ok, so in thinking about it more, still I’m needing to understand two things. Around what capacity do I look for in a portable solar unit, assuming topping off a fully charged new battery, and secondly, assuming I have an Andersen style connector for solar already attached to battery, must I look for solar with that type of connector, or are there adaptor type connectors to go between the two?

[DebiT]

Oh, and according to my seller, I have a controller for solar so don’t need solar with controller. (Which I’m still trying to understand)

[glens2422]

Originally Posted by DebiT

I guess I'm just wondering which portable, maybe suitcase style, panels would make sense, and also if I have an Andersen style hookup, how to hookup solar to trailer?

We have a Renology 100watt suitcase with controller. I used it for 4 days in Wyoming last summer. Easy to hookup to your battery and movable if you are in the shade. It charged my battery 100% the time I was there. No ac, but fridg, water pump and the heater sparingly. If you are pre wired I think the all you need is a plug in adapter for what ever casita uses.

[thrifty bill]

Incandescent lights use almost 10 TIMES the amperage.

So reducing consumption can go a long ways towards improving boon docking time.

I replaced all of the lights, including the fixtures themselves, to LED units, on my 1977 Trillium. On a newer unit like yours, I'd probably just swap bulbs to LEDs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5903T9OFl0

[fofobraselio]

Originally Posted by DebiT

I guess I'm just wondering which portable, maybe suitcase style, panels would make sense, and also if I have an Andersen style hookup, how to hookup solar to trailer?

Debi,

If you want a starting point for an adequate solar set up, might I suggest you work out how many hours a day you use whatever appliances / lights you have and punch it into this general solar calculator?

http://samlexsolar.com/calculator/index.aspx

[DebiT]

Thanks! I'll look into Led bulbs, and definitely work out the calculations. Very helpful

[DebiT]

Originally Posted by glens2422

We have a Renology 100watt suitcase with controller. I used it for 4 days in Wyoming last summer. Easy to hookup to your battery and movable if you are in the shade. It charged my battery 100% the time I was there. No ac, but fridg, water pump and the heater sparingly. If you are pre wired I think the all you need is a plug in adapter for what ever casita uses.

So very newbie question. If I have a solar controller, and the suitcase solar also did, would that be a problem?

[Jon Vermilye]

Originally Posted by DebiT

So very newbie question. If I have a solar controller, and the suitcase solar also did, would that be a problem?

You don't want to connect one controller to another. If there is already one in the trailer (unlikely without a rooftop panel) you would need to bypass the one on the portable panel & make sure the wiring from the external connector goes to the input of the on board controller.

A pair of controllers in parallel (each connected between a panel & the battery) is OK, but it is usually more efficient to use only one.

[DebiT]

Thank you. Seller confirmed that he installed a solar controller in the battery compartment, to use a solar setup his daughter had given him as part of an earthquake survival kit, I think.

[Morgan A]

Do you have a meter to plug into your 12v to check your battery charge? If not, get one, and a chart which shows what percentage of power you have left.

I'd go prepared to use the solar. Run the fridge on propane. Get solar lamps, like the Luci, to use instead of the incandescents, which is what we use most, despite having the LEDs on our 2018 Independence Deluxe. Your fan won't use much power.

[DebiT]

Now what I'm trying to figure out is, assuming I would probably want a 100 watt suitcase or otherwise portable solar, without a controller, what would I look for on Amazon? Are there several brands to look for that are recommended, just one, or...?