Few basic lights & acc. - Deep Cell Battery vs Jumper Pack? - Fiberglass RV
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Old 05-15-2019, 02:30 PM   #1
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Few basic lights & acc. - Deep Cell Battery vs Jumper Pack?

Time to purchase a battery for our new to us Scamp. The camper only has 3 interior/porch lights (2 Watt LED bulbs), a small 12v computer fan & range fan. Fridge also runs on 12V but we will mostly be using Propane for that. It got me thinking, since we only camp on average 1-2 nights at a time on sites without electric. It would be very convenient to just use a 20ah jumper pack style battery. I just bring into the house when we get home or bring it to a power source mid-camp for recharging. maybe even keep a small 2amp Solar Panel to keep it topped up during the day. Is this a bad idea?
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Old 05-15-2019, 04:04 PM   #2
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Your fridge is not meant to run on 12V unless you're connected to the tow vehicle, with its alternator supplying power. Otherwise the fridge will drain your battery fast. It's meant to be run on propane.

I'm no expert...but I'd say that jumper pack is meant to work like a car battery, which means a huge draw, then quick recharge (from the alternator). It's not meant to have a steady draw over a couple days.

In the end, people get away with all sorts of rigged setups and there's nothing really wrong with that. If it were me, I'd just put a deep cycle battery in the trailer.

So will you connect the trailer battery wires to the alligator clips?

Are you asking this because you already own the Stanley jumper? Because there are rechargeable battery packs that are meant for running electronics, rather than jump staring vehicles.

Anyway, so long as you never run the fridge on it, yes, I'd say you could use that thing without trouble, if you already own it, or were going to buy one for jump starting your vehicle anyway. If you're actually shopping for a camper battery alternative, there are better options made specifically for what you're asking about.

Except...I wonder. I don't see any way to connect this to your trailer wiring system except through the alligator clips, which are meant to produce a 500 amp burst of jump start power. Is there a way to get a steady flow of whatever power you need? I don't think you want 500 amps shot through your camper...

But I really don't know anything about these.
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Old 05-15-2019, 04:25 PM   #3
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I think ZachO is on track. I gave an 450w investor battery that will also can jump start (and has a few times). I see that the battery pictured has USB capability as well as a utility plug. If you do go that route, definitely use the utility plug. You can get a male plug that has wire terminal clamps that would make it easy to attached to the existing wires.

That said, I think a standard deal cycle battery at around $100 would be more cost effective.
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Old 05-15-2019, 06:08 PM   #4
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I think one of those Goal Zero Yeti 1000s would be a better move. On sale at Costco, through tonight.

Note, I do not own one but I am thinking about it. Right now, I don't have a battery on the Trilly. So I could use this as a battery/power source. Decisions, decisions.
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Old 05-15-2019, 07:41 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ZachO View Post
Your fridge is not meant to run on 12V unless you're connected to the tow vehicle, with its alternator supplying power. Otherwise the fridge will drain your battery fast. It's meant to be run on propane.

I'm no expert...but I'd say that jumper pack is meant to work like a car battery, which means a huge draw, then quick recharge (from the alternator). It's not meant to have a steady draw over a couple days.

In the end, people get away with all sorts of rigged setups and there's nothing really wrong with that. If it were me, I'd just put a deep cycle battery in the trailer.

So will you connect the trailer battery wires to the alligator clips?

Are you asking this because you already own the Stanley jumper? Because there are rechargeable battery packs that are meant for running electronics, rather than jump staring vehicles.

Anyway, so long as you never run the fridge on it, yes, I'd say you could use that thing without trouble, if you already own it, or were going to buy one for jump starting your vehicle anyway. If you're actually shopping for a camper battery alternative, there are better options made specifically for what you're asking about.

Except...I wonder. I don't see any way to connect this to your trailer wiring system except through the alligator clips, which are meant to produce a 500 amp burst of jump start power. Is there a way to get a steady flow of whatever power you need? I don't think you want 500 amps shot through your camper...

But I really don't know anything about these.
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Originally Posted by Dave Fish View Post
I think ZachO is on track. I gave an 450w investor battery that will also can jump start (and has a few times). I see that the battery pictured has USB capability as well as a utility plug. If you do go that route, definitely use the utility plug. You can get a male plug that has wire terminal clamps that would make it easy to attached to the existing wires.

That said, I think a standard deal cycle battery at around $100 would be more cost effective.
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I think one of those Goal Zero Yeti 1000s would be a better move. On sale at Costco, through tonight.

Note, I do not own one but I am thinking about it. Right now, I don't have a battery on the Trilly. So I could use this as a battery/power source. Decisions, decisions.

Thanks all. Yes, I would definitely use the accessory port vs the Gator clips. It's really not even the cost, more the convenience. Yes, I could put in a deep cell for the same price or even cheaper. But then I think about every time I get back home from camping, pulling out the extension cord, hooking up the charger, charging the battery, putting everything away, etc.. With one of these portable units I could just grab the handle, pull the 12v plug, bring her on in the house or bathroom at campground for a charge. When I store it in the winter for 5-6 months, just grab it and put it in the closet. Just doing the quick wattage math in my head. If I don't use the fridge (Obviously), this should last 3 nights with each night I can run-up to 2 lights per for 3 hours,the stove fan for 10 minutes, the small 12 volt fan for 6 hours, and up to 2 cell phone charges per day. I don't know, this probably doesn't fit everybody, but it sure seems tempting for my style of camping. I have also looked at that Costco unit, but the Harbor Freight or similar cheapy is hard to beat for around $40 bucks, could even have a couple of them.
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Old 05-15-2019, 08:19 PM   #6
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Chris, reading the specs in the Stanley product manual, the Stanley Jumpit 1000 contains a sealed lead acid battery rated at 19 amp hours. So realistically you can discharge this battery to 50% on a regular basis without shortening its life. Thus it will give you 9.5 amp hours of power before needing to be recharged. I'm not sure it will provide sufficient power for what you want to do. We use a 36 amp hour sealed lead acid battery, and just barely squeak by while camping for a few days (running the battery down to 50% charge).
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Old 05-15-2019, 08:54 PM   #7
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You can buy a handle for a deep cycle battery, cheap.
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Old 05-16-2019, 07:33 AM   #8
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So you plan to plug the camper 120V power cord into the Stanley? And run your 12v electronics through the converter? That also means some power loss, right?

I get it, and sure, for $40, why not give it a try? I'm sure you'll find...stuff from Harbor Freight is typically crap. I'll be interested to hear how long it lasts.

Anyway there's nothing wrong with trying alternatives to the camper battery. I understand the portability thing. You'll find out which is more of a hassle.
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Old 05-17-2019, 11:14 AM   #9
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I have one of these booster packs. They work well for their intended purpose, starting a vehicle with a low battery. Good to have in the back country when there may be no one else around to give you a boost.

These units come with an internal battery. Mine uses an AGM battery. The capacity and durability of these internal batteries varies greatly and determines the capacity and durability of the unit.
I have used the booster pack as a back up to the deep cycle RV battery but only for short periods and only to power my gas detectors and sometimes the igniter for my fridge on propane.
Most of these units lack the capacity to power a trailer for even a full day unless you are very conservative. They are more of an emergency rather than a main source of power.
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Old 05-17-2019, 01:47 PM   #10
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Does your Scamp have brakes?
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Old 05-18-2019, 12:23 AM   #11
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If you buy a jumper battery make sure it can be recharged from your cigarette lighter. I have owned 6. Have 3 now. I have what was Stanley's top unit 2 years ago. The only way to properly charge it is through house power. Unless you keep them charged on a regular basis they go dead and slowly loss the ability to charge. I actually us a small battery tender to keep the better unit charged since the built-in charge will over charge them if left hooked up.
I used one from harbor freight in my Compact Jr as a back up from time to time since I only had a lawn mower battery in it. Running my 2 lights and a small fan the lawn mowe battery would last about 4 days and charge when I towed. The jumper would make a day, but could charge off the cigarette lighter.
Even with solar panels I still carry a jumper battery.
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Old 05-22-2019, 11:16 AM   #12
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My experiences with Jump Packs has been similar to Terry's. I've had two over the last 4 or 5 years, with a couple of years on the second. It doesn't do well at staying charged without use. It will probably become useless over the camping season this year. That said, for less than $50, I've got (from Horrible Freight) something that I can use for a couple of lights and a few hours of charging my iPhone and iPad for a long weekend. If I can find an AC outlet to recharge it, so much the better.

The best price I can find on a deep cycle battery would be about $125-150 or more, and I'm not sure how they like sitting around and not being used for weeks at a time between camping trips(???) So far, the cheapest Jump Pack seems like my best option, but of course, YMMV!

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Old 05-22-2019, 11:26 AM   #13
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$125 to $150? Is that Canadian? Walmart sells them in the US for around $75 and up.
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Old 05-22-2019, 11:36 AM   #14
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$125 to $150? Is that Canadian? Walmart sells them in the US for around $75 and up.

My understanding is that Walmart sells a combo starting/RV battery and that it is not a true deep cycle RV battery.

My Trojan 27 deep cycle cost me about $300 CAD.
As for holding charge, that's what deep cycle is all about.
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Old 05-22-2019, 11:41 AM   #15
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Well, ended up actually getting both. I got lucky, and just happened to be at the RV dealer parts Dept. and a guy came in wanting to replace 3 batteries, 1 of which was only 1.5 years old. He wanted all the new ones to be the same so sold me that newer battery for a $10'er, Group 24 I believe and seems to work well. I also bought a Anti-Gravity brand lithium jump starter, one of those tiny size ones (couple decks of cards size). I tested it yesterday for around 7 hours, kept two lights on in the trailer, and the display only went from 4 bars to 3 bars discharge. Who knows how long that little thing will last, but just might make it through a weekend. Anyway, glad to have both. Now I just need to rig up a Battery Tender cable on that newer battery and figure a convenient way to keep it charged 30 feet away from the garage.
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Old 05-22-2019, 03:37 PM   #16
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$125 to $150? Is that Canadian? Walmart sells them in the US for around $75 and up.

Note the address. I priced them a couple of years ago at the Advance Auto and even regular car batteries were pushing a C-note and they’re up by 25%... and since the deep cycle batteries were well over $100 back then I’d be surprised if they had come down to $75. Is the Wally World near you that much less pricey?

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Old 05-22-2019, 06:53 PM   #17
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Yes I bought one a week ago for the Escape. Could have saved more by going Costco or Sams Club.
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Old 05-22-2019, 08:09 PM   #18
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Sounds like you solved your problem. $10 for a 1.5 year old deep cycle battery is a great deal. It should last at least another year or 2 and if not, you'll get your money back when you turn in the core on a new battery!
Also, those jump starter packs (like the Stanley shown) all use gel cell lead-acid batteries which are all considered deep cycle. Your idea is actually a good one as these things are relatively cheap and if all you are using them for is LED lighting, which draws essentially nothing, you should be good, but not the refrigerator. You could probably use a second for running your computer. However, I know less about the Li-Ion battery packs except they pack a lot of power in a small package.
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Old 05-22-2019, 08:30 PM   #19
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Sounds like you solved your problem. $10 for a 1.5 year old deep cycle battery is a great deal. It should last at least another year or 2 and if not, you'll get your money back when you turn in the core on a new battery!
Also, those jump starter packs (like the Stanley shown) all use gel cell lead-acid batteries which are all considered deep cycle. Your idea is actually a good one as these things are relatively cheap and if all you are using them for is LED lighting, which draws essentially nothing, you should be good, but not the refrigerator. You could probably use a second for running your computer. However, I know less about the Li-Ion battery packs except they pack a lot of power in a small package.

The little lithium jumper pack literally fits in my glove box. I got a good deal on it on ebay, something like $25 bucks, normally sells for over a $100. I guess Antigravity makes good stuff. Still haven't charged it, but I hooked it up to the lights for another 10-12 hours today, with both lights and also the little 12v fan going, and was still showing between 2-3 bars when I shut it off a few minutes ago. That little thing just might make it through a whole weekend of camping. Can't even imagine how long the deep cycle will last (Also I was Mistaken, it was a group "27"). Now I'm thinking about picking up one of those $20 5w Solar Battery Maintainers and permanently mounting on the battery box lid that Home Depot Sells (Link Below) to keep the battery topped up. With only running a couple of lights and a fan or two, just might keep up over a camping weekend. It's coming along either way. This is all pretty new to me, just have to keep telling myself "KISS" it, "Keep It Simple Stupid"....

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Sunforce...0022/202218718
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Old 05-22-2019, 08:43 PM   #20
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I would never have thought of using a lithium battery pack in this application, but I cannot think of a good reason why it would not work. Please keep us posted on how it works out in the long term.
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