Running on battery

[mommadukes]

Just came back from Labor Day outing in the Adirondacks of NY. Night temps. Fri and Sat. near 40 degrees. First "SPUT" - forgot to plug in the camper before we left on Friday. Staying at state site - no electric. DH backed in the car and attached the camper to the car. Voila, lights, etc. and heat. OK for Fri. night - did not have the heater on at night. Sat. - DH decided to run the heater on low at night - in the AM - car had a dead battery and needed a jump. We noticed that the camper across the road, hooked up his jumper cables to his camper and charged his battery that way - but then told us the next morning that it had not held throughout the night. So, my question is, other than getting a small generator, what is the recommended way to restore basic power - attached to the car or jumping the battery?

The Noels
Sharon & Dan

2007: 3 days in May, 4 days in June, 4 days in July, waiting for Labor Day!

http://community.webshots.com/user/mommadukes124
2000 Coleman Utah

 

[CampingFamily1]

Once I left the refrig on battery a long time and the battery wore down. I used my car to recharge my dead camper battery but then the car overheated and I had to drive it fast to cool down the radiator which was beginning to boil.

Soooo... we had our dealer install a 2nd deep cycle battery on the tongue of our camper. Costed $65 for the battery and $40 for the custom brackets and installation. Works wonderful. We don't have to worry any more about losing battery. Often we have to use the 2nd battery for after 3 days/nights. So nice to know there's more battery available when the gas detector starts beeping and indicating the battery is too low for the gas leak detector to function any more.

 

[jhower]

Either method is going to have essentially the same result. Plugging the PUP to the TV might not be quite as good, depending on the size of the wire running from the battery to the AUX pin on the connector.

It's going to take a long time to charge the PUP's battery from the TV, no matter which method. Running power from the TV to the PUP will keep the battery topped off but charging a dead battery is something different.

John & Cindy in Pennsylvania
<img src=../Images/icons/icon_smile_pu.gif border=0 align=middle> <img src=../Images/icons/icon_smile_suv.gif border=0 align=middle> 2007 Flagstaff 620ST, '95 Dodge Dakota
His <img src=../Images/icons/icon_smile_kayak.gif border=0 align=middle> & Hers <img src=../Images/icons/icon_smile_kayak.gif border=0 align=middle> Pelican kayaks

http://community.webshots.com/user/jhower55

 

[wa2bfw]

My advice.. Get or construct a simple battery monitoring system so that you will know when the battery is going low. I use one called Batt-Minder (I think) which is more than I need (I'm a techno weenie). Even some simple LEDs would help.
As for charging. You could get a small generator (The Honda's are the BEST) to do the charging and run the PUC off of it as well.

 

[Xolthrax]

A starter battery is not a deep cycle. You simply can't expect your car battery to run your accessories for any length of time. Just think how quickly your headlights can kill it.

As others have said, you're not going to get much of a charge from your car, most especially when the motor's not running (that's asking for trouble). The only practical recharging methods are a generator, or solar. But be warned, you would need a <b>large</b> amount of solar power (at least 200 Watts) to make a significant dent in a battery.


Joe

<img src=../Images/icons/icon_smile_pu.gif border=0 align=middle>'96 Rockwood Signature Series 1280
<img src=../Images/icons/icon_smile_suv.gif border=0 align=middle>'07 Ford Explorer

 

[DCampbell1969]

We use a second battery. The spare just sits on the ground or on top of the regular battery. The regular is a group 24, the spare is a group 27. I installed Anderson SB50 battery connectors on the camper and both batteries, so it's as simple as unpluging one and plugging in the other. I tranport the spare in the back of the truck, it could also be transported in the camper.

<img src="http://byfiles.storage.live.com/y1pqDpcMCAAkNHsEFykvfLz1R5B-dv82ukCh6qzqk2ILJShlxQrH9fFkUoaXqMkuMUQWUpdIQdpoCM" border=0>

<center><b>D Campbell</b></center><center><b>'07 Fleetwood Niagara - '05 Nissan Titan</b></center> <center><b><font color=red>(camping pics)</font id=red></b></center><hr><center><b>(<font color=red>P.U.P.S.</font id=red>)</b><b> = <font color=red>Pop-Ups</font id=red> of the <font color=red>Peach State</font id=red></b></center>

Edited by - DCampbell1969 on September 06 2007 09:02:28

 

[Mr_Custom]

Last weekend we arrived on site and forgot to switch the refrigerator over to propane from the 12v setting. It was getting dark and we were rushing around trying to setup. The Refrigerator drained the battery in about 30 minutes...

Charged it for a while off the TV but even an hour of that didn't bring the voltage to an acceptable level.

Next day we took the battery to Canadian tire. They tested the battery which apparently required a full charge. Battery checked out well, full charge = good to go.

We are buying a spare for our future trips!

Mr_Custom
Antigonish, NS
2005 Chev Trail Blazer
97 F-150
03 Coleman Sun Valley

 

[mbopp]

If a generator or 2nd battery don't appeal to you, I have this theory:
Get a 300 watt Inverter, run it off the TV (running) and use that to power up a 3-stage battery charger. If your converter has a built-in 3-stage charger (WFCO) you could plug the camper in the Inverter directly.
Never tried it, and I don't know how well the modified sine wave inverters would run a battery charger or converter though.

'04 Envoy
'05 Travel Star 21SSO
17' Wenonah Kevlar & 16' Dagger Royalex canoes
And DD's Necky kayak

 

[mbopp]

Hey mommadukes, where did you go for Labor Day? We were in Rollins Pond.

'04 Envoy
'05 Travel Star 21SSO
17' Wenonah Kevlar & 16' Dagger Royalex canoes
And DD's Necky kayak

 

[tnchuck100]

mbopp, 2nd battery is more practical by far. The arrangement you describe will technically work but it is extremely inefficient. So inefficient it is very impractical.

<font color=blue>Chuck & Mary - Sparta, Tennessee
'00 Dodge Dakota <img src=../Images/icons/icon_smile_suv.gif border=0 align=middle> '05 Palomino Pony 280 <img src=../Images/icons/icon_smile_pu.gif border=0 align=middle>
'03 Harley Davidson Ultra Classic <img src=../Images/icons/icon_smile_bike.gif border=0 align=middle> '04 Timeout <img src=../Images/icons/icon_smile_pu.gif border=0 align=middle>
Nights camped 2007: 25</font id=blue>