RV Camping; Tips, tricks & repairs

[Thaco]

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Ordered the HQST 100w solar kit from Amazon for usage with my tent trailer:
https://www.amazon.ca/HQST-Polycryst...&keywords=hqst


We camp mostly where there are no hookups (it's a tent trailer anyway) and I was using one of those 40w coleman kits. However it just wasn't charging the battery enough for me to use my furnace 2 nights in a row (when we do late aug/sept camping). Hopefully the 100w works a lot better.

However... I currently have a regular car battery in it. It's pretty much just used to power a furnace, some lights, charge mobile phones. Thoughts about leaving it as is or swapping to a deep cycle (12v) ?

deep cycle will help you significantly. fully discharging an starting battery more than a few times will drastically reduce it's efficiency... deepcycles are made for that type of use.

A car's battery is designed to provide a very large amount of current for a short period of time. This surge of current is needed to turn the engine over during starting. Once the engine starts, the alternator provides all the power that the car needs, so a car battery may go through its entire life without ever being drained more than 20 percent of its total capacity. Used in this way, a car battery can last a number of years. To achieve a large amount of current, a car battery uses thin plates in order to increase its surface area.

A deep cycle battery is designed to provide a steady amount of current over a long period of time. A deep cycle battery can provide a surge when needed, but nothing like the surge a car battery can. A deep cycle battery is also designed to be deeply discharged over and over again (something that would ruin a car battery very quickly). To accomplish this, a deep cycle battery uses thicker plates.

A car battery typically has two ratings:

CCA (Cold Cranking Amps) - The number of amps that the battery can produce at 32 degrees F (0 degrees C) for 30 seconds
RC (Reserve Capacity) - The number of minutes that the battery can deliver 25 amps while keeping its voltage above 10.5 volts
Typically, a deep cycle battery will have two or three times the RC of a car battery, but will deliver one-half or three-quarters the CCAs. In addition, a deep cycle battery can withstand several hundred total discharge/recharge cycles, while a car battery is not designed to be totally discharged.

[ExtraSlow]

My mistake about the griddle, I though it was a complete kit all for one price. I'm not buying the griddle this year, too broke.

And yeah, real deep cycle batteries will help you more than any solar setup. or a good invertor generator. Normal car batteries are good for short bursts of power, but not long sustained draws.

I looked at adding solar to my current traiiler, and decided to spend the money on a generator instead. Run that for a couple of hours every day after the second one and I'm good to go.

[spike98]

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Ordered the HQST 100w solar kit from Amazon for usage with my tent trailer:
https://www.amazon.ca/HQST-Polycryst...&keywords=hqst


We camp mostly where there are no hookups (it's a tent trailer anyway) and I was using one of those 40w coleman kits. However it just wasn't charging the battery enough for me to use my furnace 2 nights in a row (when we do late aug/sept camping). Hopefully the 100w works a lot better.

However... I currently have a regular car battery in it. It's pretty much just used to power a furnace, some lights, charge mobile phones. Thoughts about leaving it as is or swapping to a deep cycle (12v) ?

Honestly, you are still going to have problems. You have a car battery in there that is likely on the way out if you have been discharging it flat.

Using the info you provided, you'd need 55Ahr per day of solard if you are dry camping. You would be JUST getting there assuming 4-5 hours of direct sunlight a day. Thats assuming you have a good battery as well. So if you have a crap battery and the weather sucks (which is when you will likely need the heat), you will have issues.

A twin 6v setup will give you around 200-235Ahr of capacity. Enough for well over 3 days of camping without solar. You would be better spending the extra $50 or so on a pair of kirkland 6v's. You are even getting close to the Champion 2000w generators at crappy tire that go on sale for $399 if you need any more load.

In short, solar, where we live, is not cost effective and unreliable.

[ExtraSlow]

Don't buy the champion generators. Crazy loud.

[Thaco]

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Don't buy the champion generators. Crazy loud.

only the regular ones, their inverter generators are nice,

[ExtraSlow]

I stand corrected. Didn't know champion made inverter ones.

[spike98]

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only the regular ones, their inverter generators are nice,

@ExtraSlow

Like Thaco said, I ran the 2000W Inverter Genset from crappy tire and was VERY happy with it. Quiet with lots of power for the dry camper. My buddy's 2000w honda was only marginally quieter at 4x the cost. I upgraded to a 3000w Yamaha as i needed the power and got a bonus from work. I spend 40-50 days in my camper per year though so I'd consider myself a power user and the one thing in question with the Champions is long term reliability.

For the occasional boondocker, a 2000W is more than enough. The 3000w Champion is also a great value if you want to occasionally run AC.

[Thaco]

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@ExtraSlow

Like Thaco said, I ran the 2000W Inverter Genset from crappy tire and was VERY happy with it. Quiet with lots of power for the dry camper. My buddy's 2000w honda was only marginally quieter at 4x the cost. I upgraded to a 3000w Yamaha as i needed the power and got a bonus from work. I spend 40-50 days in my camper per year though so I'd consider myself a power user and the one thing in question with the Champions is long term reliability.

For the occasional boondocker, a 2000W is more than enough. The 3000w Champion is also a great value if you want to occasionally run AC.

the champoins can be linked so you likely would have been better to just get a second

i have the ryobi 2300, its pretty similar to all the rest as well, got it for less than half price off kijiji, brand new, thats the only reason i went with it.

I dont know why everybody drools over the honda's, they are all very similar now in in terms of performance and noise.

[spike98]

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the champoins can be linked so you likely would have been better to just get a second

i have the ryobi 2300, its pretty similar to all the rest as well, got it for less than half price off kijiji, brand new, thats the only reason i went with it.

I dont know why everybody drools over the honda's, they are all very similar now in in terms of performance and noise.

I wouldn't say that they are similar. But i would say the champions are a better "value". The performance of the reds/blues are second to none when you look at them in operation. Additionally the noise is noticeable as well. The thing that stands out for me is the add-ons. Remote start. Dual Fuel (LPG). Cart kits ect.

Also there is no question the long term reliability of them trumps Champion. We had a hertz rental rig onsite with hondas and some where 10 years old....used in the patch. They ran like a top.

Again though, it comes to value. For most people, champions will be perfect. For some heavy high demand users, the better value is the honda/yamaha.

[Thaco]

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I wouldn't say that they are similar. But i would say the champions are a better "value". The performance of the reds/blues are second to none when you look at them in operation. Additionally the noise is noticeable as well. The thing that stands out for me is the add-ons. Remote start. Dual Fuel (LPG). Cart kits ect.

Also there is no question the long term reliability of them trumps Champion. We had a hertz rental rig onsite with hondas and some where 10 years old....used in the patch. They ran like a top.

Again though, it comes to value. For most people, champions will be perfect. For some heavy high demand users, the better value is the honda/yamaha.

I'be put my ryobi beside a honda, the noise difference, while there, is minimal..

you said yourself that the champions haven't been out long enough to even assess the long term reliability... i have had my ryobi for about 5 years, and while i dont use it a lot, its been rock solid for me, and i could buy 2 of them for the price of a Honda.

I think the majority of poeple here, using a gen for camping, would fall under the "low demand" demographic.

[syscal]

I bought a new 2017 model Yamaha EF2000IS for $1000 + PDI at Pro-Am Motorsports. Only used it once but I'm pretty happy with it. It's not as quiet as my buddy's 2000 series Honda, though I didn't run side-by-side.

I was going to get a Champion or Hyundai but opted for the deal they had at the dealership. No regrets outside of not really using it yet.

[ExtraSlow]

I run a Honeywell branded 2000w inverter that I bought used several years ago. It for sure is noisier than the same wattage Honda, and it doesn't start that well, but for the price I'm really happy. It's made by some Chinese company who licenses the Honeywell name, probably similar to champion.
I keep expecting it to start having issues, but aside from wearing out my arm starting it the first time each trip, it's been fantastic.

Would probably replace with 1000w Honda, if that would run my toaster. I have low electrical requirements and prefer something easier to carry.

[hampstor]

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Honestly, you are still going to have problems. You have a car battery in there that is likely on the way out if you have been discharging it flat.

Using the info you provided, you'd need 55Ahr per day of solard if you are dry camping. You would be JUST getting there assuming 4-5 hours of direct sunlight a day. Thats assuming you have a good battery as well. So if you have a crap battery and the weather sucks (which is when you will likely need the heat), you will have issues.

A twin 6v setup will give you around 200-235Ahr of capacity. Enough for well over 3 days of camping without solar. You would be better spending the extra $50 or so on a pair of kirkland 6v's. You are even getting close to the Champion 2000w generators at crappy tire that go on sale for $399 if you need any more load.

In short, solar, where we live, is not cost effective and unreliable.

You've got a good point about the battery. It is probably on its last legs (came with my tent trailer when I bought it a few years ago) and i'll grab a deep cycle this weekend. thanks for the feedback.

I should've clarified my objective is to reduce the need to bring my generator along (have a 1500w that is loud as fuck). Some of the sites i've been to have restrictions on generators that i'd rather just not have to deal with, plus it's one less bulky thing i have to pack.

Later in the summer (late aug- early sept) is generally when I use my furnace, however it's a shorter duration since i'm not generally camping for more than 2-3 nights with my kids. During the summer when i'm camping for a week at a time, we're not running a furnace so it'll just be lights + mobile devices being charged.

With a new deep cycle battery + 100w panel, i'm hoping that i can do both of those scenarios w/o bringing the generator along.

[Thaco]

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You've got a good point about the battery. It is probably on its last legs (came with my tent trailer when I bought it a few years ago) and i'll grab a deep cycle this weekend. thanks for the feedback.

I should've clarified my objective is to reduce the need to bring my generator along (have a 1500w that is loud as fuck). Some of the sites i've been to have restrictions on generators that i'd rather just not have to deal with, plus it's one less bulky thing i have to pack.

Later in the summer (late aug- early sept) is generally when I use my furnace, however it's a shorter duration since i'm not generally camping for more than 2-3 nights with my kids. During the summer when i'm camping for a week at a time, we're not running a furnace so it'll just be lights + mobile devices being charged.

With a new deep cycle battery + 100w panel, i'm hoping that i can do both of those scenarios w/o bringing the generator along.

a quality deep cycle should do the trick for you (personally i'd go with dual 6v, massive improvement over 12v, they hold a lot more juice and are a lot more reliable because the cells are larger, and should easily last you 5+ days with night time furnace use(maybe less with a tent trailer since the heat escapes easily).)

Also if you havent already, change all your bulbs to LED, they consume significantly less power, i use these ones
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/10x-White-Car...hZOPcB&vxp=mtr

[Tik-Tok]

Do you guys with a propane fridge drive with it on? I know they're designed to, but can't shake the nagging "keep it as safe as possible" part of my brain.

[Thaco]

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Do you guys with a propane fridge drive with it on? I know they're designed to, but can't shake the nagging "keep it as safe as possible" part of my brain.

yep, every trip, the regulator on a trailer is 2 stage, it drops the pressure down significantly, your tank can be as much as 250psi, the first stage drops it down to about 10-15PSI, the second stage down to 11 inches water column, basically 0.4PSI, so its and incredibly small amount if anything were to happen.

IMO having the tanks sitting on the tongue of your trailer is more dangerous than running the fridge.

[Kavy]

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Do you guys with a propane fridge drive with it on? I know they're designed to, but can't shake the nagging "keep it as safe as possible" part of my brain.

The Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations require that the appliance tank valves be closed when your RV is moving.

Safe or not it is illegal to transport your RV with the tanks turned on.

[ExtraSlow]

Agree that it's illegal, but I usually do it. I'm sure cdave has a different opinion.
For those that like to stay safe/legal, as long as it's fully cold and your freezer compartment is full, it should be fine for four or five hours even on the hottest days. It acts like a passive insulated cooler when it's turned off.

[AndyL]

Mostly an issue at fuel stations (pilot light + gasoline vapor) and in case of accident (fire + lines ripping)

[Thaco]

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Mostly an issue at fuel stations (pilot light + gasoline vapor) and in case of accident (fire + lines ripping)

if the gas vapors can float 10 feet to my fridge flame and still be concentrated enough to ignite, then i think we'd all be dead by now.