Wireless/battery tool systems for the camper?

[Groomporter]

My Milwaukee "M12" drill was "stolen" from our patio (actually I just misplaced it on a high shelf in the garage...) so when I bought a replacement it came with another charger and a couple more batteries. So I'm looking into what they have for lights and other things so I could maybe just leave one of the chargers in the camper, but they don't seem to have that much that might be camping useful except for some lights.

It got me thinking what brand of portable tool systems with interchangeable batteries might have the most accessories that would be useful when camping?

 

[Anthony Hitchings]

I keep a 12V charger for the 18V Ryobi system in my camper. Have not needed it in two years, because I bring spare Ryobi 18V batteries. The Ryobi tool that matters is the hand held tire pump with digital pressure gage. I have not used any other Ryobi tools on the road.

 

[Snow]

Milwaukee makes a dozen or so different lights, battery vacuums and some fans..

I would suggest staying with one line of cordless anything for around the house or campground..

One reason why Ryobi has been so popular over the years, is they never changed the 18v battery platform.. they did have short lived 12v and 4v lines... but the 18v line has only grown ..

Interesting that TTI is the parent company of Ryobi, Milwaukee, Ridgid (orange tools) and now Hart tools..

I have 3 different battery platforms.. Ryobi 18v (most are 20 year old blues) , Milwaukee m12 drill and driver at work and Milwaukee m18 drill and driver, I used for contract maintenance for 4 years but now at home as well..

 

[Groomporter]

I keep a 12V charger for the 18V Ryobi system in my camper. Have not needed it in two years, because I bring spare Ryobi 18V batteries. The Ryobi tool that matters is the hand held tire pump with digital pressure gage. I have not used any other Ryobi tools on the road.

Oh, an air pump would come in handy for our air mattresses as well as for tires just in case. I've got a pump for the air mattresses, but it uses "D" cell batteries, so if I don't check it before heading out...

 

[Groomporter]

I would suggest staying with one line of cordless anything for around the house or campground..

That's why I brought it up I realized I should check what's out there before investing in more M12 Milwaukee items...

 

[davido]

Oh, an air pump would come in handy for our air mattresses as well as for tires just in case. I've got a pump for the air mattresses, but it uses "D" cell batteries, so if I don't check it before heading out...

Using a tire air pump for a mattress or raft takes hours, and the pump can overheat. Raft/Mattress pumps are high volume, low pressure. Tire pumps are low volume, high pressure. You'll run a power tool battery all the way down inflating a mattress. ...at least that's my experience.

In my camping vehicle I keep a 12v inflator for tires, and when I camp I bring a Milwaukie cordless drill with a socket on it to raise and lower the stabilizers quickly. It comes in handy for drilling and screw-driving, too, though I don't do a ton of maintenance in the middle of a camping trip.

 

[WrkrBee]

Using a tire air pump for a mattress or raft takes hours, and the pump can overheat. Raft/Mattress pumps are high volume, low pressure. Tire pumps are low volume, high pressure. You'll run a power tool battery all the way down inflating a mattress. ...at least that's my experience.

In my camping vehicle I keep a 12v inflator for tires, and when I camp I bring a Milwaukie cordless drill with a socket on it to raise and lower the stabilizers quickly. It comes in handy for drilling and screw-driving, too, though I don't do a ton of maintenance in the middle of a camping trip.

The DeWalt 20v portable air compressor does both. Tires on one side and toys on the other.

 

[Snow]

Oh, an air pump would come in handy for our air mattresses as well as for tires just in case. I've got a pump for the air mattresses, but it uses "D" cell batteries, so if I don't check it before heading out...

Ryobi makes an inflator with hp for doing tires and high volume for doing air mattress etc..

 

[Sjm9911]

I always though on how cool it would be to have a converter to just plug in to a 18 v tool battery to use as power for 13 v stuff. So eaither a cig lighter conection or similar. Never looked into it. Not sure its needed for anything but my mind wanders sometimes.

 

[Groomporter]

I've got a 500 watt hour Bluetti power station, and a solar panel for it, so I could plug the charger in to that if we don't have Shore Power and the tool batteries are low.

 

[Drufus]

I use these things every time I camp.
Inverter
Area lights
Inflater (belows)

1. 
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[JAM21]

I've got a 500 watt hour Bluetti power station, and a solar panel for it, so I could plug the charger in to that if we don't have Shore Power and the tool batteries are low.

Ditto/ 500W Inverter not requiring generator.

 

[DanMKE]

Milwaukee M12 Inflator
https://www.milwaukeetool.com/Products/Power-Tools/Specialty-Tools/2475-20

 

[DanMKE]

M12 lantern (trouble light) - we have a couple of these:
https://www.milwaukeetool.com/Products/Lighting/Handheld-Lights/2362-20

 

[DanMKE]

I don't have one of these, but seems like it could come in handy in the camper, bunk or under the camper...
https://www.milwaukeetool.com/Products/Lighting/Specialty-Lights/2125-20

 

[DanMKE]

Full disclaimer...I worked for Milwaukee Tool for a couple of years and bought a lot of tools, lights, and batteries. If I didn't, I would be more likely to go with Ryobi platform for home use...as another person said, they're under the TTI umbrella...but definitely separate design and engineering than Milwaukee. But, if you don't mind the price...go with Milwaukee.

 

[chiques]

I always though on how cool it would be to have a converter to just plug in to a 18 v tool battery to use as power for 13 v stuff. So eaither a cig lighter conection or similar. Never looked into it. Not sure its needed for anything but my mind wanders sometimes.

I play with my 3D printer a lot. There are plans for taps for the batteries. One could also just duct tape wires to the terminals in a pinch.
I'm also a ham radio operator and always looking at things as emergency power supplies for 12v radio operation. They make voltage converters, both up and down that can be used for this purpose, similar to the cig plugs that convert from 12v to 5v to charge a phone.

It's pretty much a DIY project, but not that difficult. I'm working on just that system now. I already have one to go from 24vto12v for my home 24v solar installation. No need to convert and invert to 120vac back to 12vdc. I'd rather only have one energy loss circuit.

 

[Brian Clancy]

I began with the Ryobi 12v drill just for dropping and raising the stabilizer jacks. I've also used it for drilling and nut/screw-driving around the campsite. Because I very rarely camp where 110v is available, I charge two battery packs and carry them. You probably wouldn't want to run lights or other accessories off of a battery pack that can't be recharged while camping. And like chiques above, I see no value in converting and inverting--it's a real waste of battery.

With new BAL stabilizers, I do bring the heftier 18v Ryobi drill now to unlock and lock the stabilizers.

I use a 58Ah Optima Bluetop 34M as an auxiliary battery under a seat in the camper that runs fans, desk lights, and a CPAP machine. It can be pulled out an recharged with my 100W solar suitcase.

I also have a 12v (cigarette plug) large outdoor landscape light I can place on or near the tow vehicle/trailer that has a magnetized bracket and is controlled by a 433Mgz remote relay switch I constructed. I like to call it "The Bear Illuminator" and can turn it on/off from a key fob in the trailer. It gets some use lighting the camp area after dark for grilling, setup, etc. It hasn't caught a bear yet.

 

[pastorkeith]

I am also all in on Ryobi. I carry a 12v charger so I can charge batteries on the road. A wall charger so I can charge when I camp with electricity. A reciprocating saw and 12 inch wood blade to cut fire wood. 2 battery lanterns (these are so low draw that they run forever on the smallest batteries). Inflator that has dual ports, 1 for tires and 1 for air mattresses. A fan (our pup doesn't have AC) which will run all night on low with the 4ah battery. 110v power Inverter for charging stuff if we camp without electricity. It is also enough that I can plug in the camper plug and turn on the lights (I replaced with LED for low draw). Sometimes I take the impact wrench in case I have to change a tire.

 

[Kyle R Thorson]

Using a tire air pump for a mattress or raft takes hours, and the pump can overheat. Raft/Mattress pumps are high volume, low pressure. Tire pumps are low volume, high pressure. You'll run a power tool battery all the way down inflating a mattress. ...at least that's my experience.

I have a Ryobi pump that does both. I keep it in the car on any long trip. Ryobi has fans, lights, vacuums that can come in handy on a camper, as most platforms do. I have owned many different platforms over the years being a former tradesmen and I finally found myself settling on Ryobi and overall I’ve been happy with their performance.