Help RV Questions! Hunting with your RV!

[SixShooter]

Hey everyone, I recently purchased an RV for hunting. While out this last weekend on my maiden voyage I discovered a few things that I need some advice on.

Battery / Power

Well I guess you could say I was more then super disappointed with my battery power, it only last 4 hours after arrival on a full charge. If there is one thing I don't want to be worrying about, power & heat is it...

I was only running a few lights and the furnace. Is this typical of a Deep Cycle battery? I thought it would at least make the entire weekend?


Options and Alternatives

I would typically like to camp on lease roads where power hook-up is not an option. At this point, running the microwave, Air conditioner and stereo is not required although a nice feature its not necessary. Here are a couple of options I have been considering to help with my power situation. I don't know anything about this stuff so if you do, I really REALLY need to you about them.

Generators - If you use one, how does it perform? Was it worth the price? How many watts do you recommend to run everything in an RV? Do you have one you would recommend purchasing? Anyone using one of the ones they sell at the RV places? Any good? I heard you can get them with remote start and its the cats meow.


Solar Panels - Anyone using these? Do they typically charge your batteries back to full daily? What is the low down on them?

Dual Battery Setup, is it possible? If you have this running on your unit, how did you set it up?Do you just connect negative to negative, positive to positive then to the RV lines?

Batteries

Any recommendations on what is available and what your using for your needs with or without a recommendation would be great. I've looked at the ones at Canadian Tire & Walmart anyone else? Is anyone using one they purchased at an RV dealership?


This last question isn't as significant but I thought I would ask now that I have you here. Can you get a satellite for your RV for TV & Internet? Does anyone have this setup, if so how does it work for you? How is the price and who did you go through?


Thanks to everyone for taking the time to read this and taking the time to point me int he right direction.

Six.

[Jester]

....

[honda450]

I use 2 12 volt batteries hooked together as you metioned and then use a 13 watt solar panel for charging. Works great. Maybe your battery has seen its better days, I never run out of battery power. Sometimes a light or 2 is left on all nite.

I have a 4400 watt generator but do not have AC or microwave. Its just too big and heavy so I am going to replace it with a Honda 2000.

If your going to run AC and the microwave together I really do not know what size you will need, I know my 4400 would do it.

I have 2 trailers one is set up only for hunting. Good luck to ya.

[Off in the Bushes]

Originally Posted by SixShooter

Hey everyone, I recently purchased an RV for hunting. While out this last weekend on my maiden voyage I discovered a few things that I need some advice on.

Battery / Power

Well I guess you could say I was more then super disappointed with my battery power, it only last 4 hours after arrival on a full charge. If there is one thing I don't want to be worrying about, power & heat is it...

I was only running a few lights and the furnace. Is this typical of a Deep Cycle battery? I thought it would at least make the entire weekend?

Options and Alternatives

I would typically like to camp on lease roads where power hook-up is not an option. At this point, running the microwave, Air conditioner and stereo is not required although a nice feature its not necessary. Here are a couple of options I have been considering to help with my power situation. I don't know anything about this stuff so if you do, I really REALLY need to you about them.

Generators - If you use one, how does it perform? Was it worth the price? How many watts do you recommend to run everything in an RV? Do you have one you would recommend purchasing? Anyone using one of the ones they sell at the RV places? Any good? I heard you can get them with remote start and its the cats meow.

Solar Panels - Anyone using these? Do they typically charge your batteries back to full daily? What is the low down on them?

Dual Battery Setup, is it possible? If you have this running on your unit, how did you set it up?Do you just connect negative to negative, positive to positive then to the RV lines?


Batteries

Any recommendations on what is available and what your using for your needs with or without a recommendation would be great. I've looked at the ones at Canadian Tire & Walmart anyone else? Is anyone using one they purchased at an RV dealership?

This last question isn't as significant but I thought I would ask now that I have you here. Can you get a satellite for your RV for TV & Internet? Does anyone have this setup, if so how does it work for you? How is the price and who did you go through?


Thanks to everyone for taking the time to read this and taking the time to point me int he right direction.

Six.

1. I think that your Battery has had it, if you have a deep cycle battery charger give it a good charge to see it that was your battery. If not replace it.
2. I heard that as long as you are not moving all the time that they will keep the battery topped up but you are only going to get 1-2 hrs of peak performance from it a day unless you can move them with the sun.
3. I have a super small/ old generator that puts out 650W and 5 amps it will run everthing in my trailer but I don't have AC, mircowave or TV
4. I don't have this, but I heard that 2 6V bolts in parrallel (like on a golf cart) work really well for storing lots of power (you get a longer amp draw).
5. I have purchased Deep Cycles for rv dealer and battery companies and got the same service life for them both 3 years. (I am battery smart now and am taking better care of the batteries then in the past, hoping for better life from them know. ie don't completely exhaust them and don't charge then via the trailer, and take then out in the winter and charge in Jan)

[SixShooter]

Some great Pointers guys, thanks very much.

Anyone else have some light to shed?

Six

[pdfish]

As far as generators go, if you want to run most everything in your trailer you're going to need at least 3000 Watts. A 13,500BTU A/C unit requires about 2000 W to start and 1500 W continuous while its running. Therefore you have a couple options. One, you could pick up a portable genset or if you plan on using the trailer a lot throughout the year, you may want to invest in a built-in model such as an Onan Microquiet (3600 W propane/4000 W gasoline). One suggestion is don't cheap out on your generator, I know too many people who've had their genset kick the bucket on them because they went and bought a cheapy versus shelling out the cash and buying one that will last. If you have any more questions, shoot me a PM.

[Stinky Buffalo]

4. I don't have this, but I heard that 2 6V bolts in parrallel (like on a golf cart) work really well for storing lots of power (you get a longer amp draw).

X2 on that... Except I think OffInTheBushes means in series (In parallel you would only get 6V out of it, whereas two 6V batteries in series you get the requisite 12V...)

My neighbor does this with his trailers, and he has noticed a marked increase in the amount of time the batteries last. (And he has teenagers who like to sit in the bunks all day with the lights on...)

[honda450]

Yeah I heard that too with 6 volts but will it out last 2 12's hooked together?

[JohninAB]

I have hunted out of my RV for the past 7 years and my buddy has solar so here is my take.

1. Ditch the 12 volts, they will never perform up to 2 - 6 volts hooked in series. Go to Battery World on 149th Street in Edmonton and talk to Howard, he will set you up fine. My 2 - 6 volt deep cycles will last the weekend no problem. 6 volt deep cycle will set you back around $150+ but are well worth it. I watched 4.5 hours of football last weekend and barely made a dent in the charge on my batteries.

2. Solar panels are great. Buddy runs around 200 watts with charge controller. His batteries stay charged right up. Trick is when mounting them make sure you can pivot them up on an angle, makes a world of difference in power you get. He has a 1750 inverter and runs his microwave, toaster etc off of the 2 - 6 volt batteries. You get the best charge when it is sunny and cool out. Come October though, the solar panels will not keep up with heavy furnace use though.

If you are going the generator route, buy a good battery charger and hook it up to your batteries and then charge with it, not the charger in the trailer. That way you do not need to run your generator so much.

As for sattelite my buddy has the King Dome system. Not that fantastic as the dish is small and reception can be poor in some areas. Easy to use though, as the signal aquisition is automatic. I use a dish you see on houses. Easy to use and not all that hard to get the signal on Bell. If you check at RV palces there are lots of systems available. Depends how much you want to spend.

Hope this helps.

[prospector]

I use a Honda 2000i and it works great, it's small and light enough to fit in a compartment on the trailer so its always there. I also have dual batteries that hold a charge for a weekend, but on colder nights during hunting season I charge it up each day... running out of furnace power in the middle of the night isn't fun. I doubt it will run the ac, but works for the microwave and everything else.

One thing to keep in mind, the electric brakes require battery power in emergency (ie if the trailer becomes disconnected from tow vehicle). The small cable from the emergency switch is designed to activate your electric brakes at the time it separates from your truck, using 12v power from the trailer only... hopefully that doesn't happen, but I like to have decent batteries/charged during transport.

[Red]

As far a generators go I would recommend the Yamaha 2400iS. It runs everything on my trailer including the A/C, and it's quiet. Don't buy it at an RV dealer either. I believe I saw one at Woody's for $2000, Blackfoot is $1500, and Cabelas is $1100.

[pdfish]

Originally Posted by Red

As far a generators go I would recommend the Yamaha 2400iS. It runs everything on my trailer including the A/C, and it's quiet. Don't buy it at an RV dealer either. I believe I saw one at Woody's for $2000, Blackfoot is $1500, and Cabelas is $1100.

If you buy it from Cabelas, your warranty isn't valid in Canada. You probably won't have to worry because they're pretty bulletproof little gensets, but you never know.

[SixShooter]

Wow great information guys, if you have contacts at the places you are buying your stuff, please let me know. I would be happy to give more business to the people you guys have worked with.

Six.

[highwayman]

pdfish--------Does that non-warranty on Yamaha generators apply to Cabela's in Winnipeg too? (the old S.I.R. company)

[pdfish]

Originally Posted by highwayman

pdfish--------Does that non-warranty on Yamaha generators apply to Cabela's in Winnipeg too? (the old S.I.R. company)

Thats a heck of a question. It depends on where they buy the gensets from. Yamaha Canada and Yamaha United States are two distinctly separate entities. If they were buying from Yamaha Canada, then the warranty would obviously be valid. If they were importing them from the US, then you would have no Canadian warranty and they probably wouldn't be CSA approved. I guess, theoretically speaking, if Cabelas/SIR was importing sets from the States, they may honor the warranty but they would have to send the generator back to the States to do the repair adding undue shipping costs and time.

[JohninAB]

Costco sells a 240 watt solar panel setup for $1800. Includes the charge controller and 3 panels. That is a good price.

[Swamp_Donkey]

Chrismar Battery
17912 107 Ave Nw
Edmonton AB, T5S 1J1
Phone: 780-484-1478
Fax: 780-484-1633
cell: 780-818-3515

Mark knows batteries, and solar systems very well. He's also a die hard hunter/fisher.

[geezer55]

I use 2x6 volt batteries. Depending on what I am using I charge my batteries every other night when the weather is cold, fire up the generator and put it in a dry place and let it run till it's out of gas. Don't know what kind of 12 volt lights you have but mine are like an taillight bulb and when you turn on a couple of these and check your charge meter you'll see that they draw a lot of power. We don't have microwave or a/c so all I use for a generator is a Honda 1000.

[MODEL70]

Lots of great advise buttt.you can put as many batterys as you want! If you run the furnace lots or at a high temp it will kill the batterys very fast the furnace is the one thing that can drain your batterys very fast.i do all my camping in the bush and can go 4 to 5 days one 2 6v batterys so for sure do that.other then that get a good generator.the yamahas are great i heard the 3000w yamaha is quieter then the 2400.and that thing will run everything you will need.but try keeping your furnace set to just taking the chill out of the trailer.instead of the 65or 70 that most of us would like.i set mine to 50,55.a buddy of mine had solar panels. And has since bought the generator. For what you will spend on a good solar setup you can bye a very very good generator.

[Unregistered user]

Get a trickle charger for use at home, the batts should be topped up at least once a month, twice is better. Deep cycle batts are often not fully charged after a 2 hr drive back from camping so topping them up after driving home will extend the useful life of them.

[SixShooter]

Ok Ive decided to start with the 2 6Volt batteries and see how things go. Then onto a gen or solar if I still need more.

Thanks to everyone for your input, I will update this thread with results of how thigns go.

Six.

[mojo]

I run two 12 Volt Group 27 batteries with an 18W solar panel from Costco. I have the basics in my camper, Lights, Water Pump, Forced Air furnace, Fans, (no Micro, tv, ac)and was able to go for 8 days in both the spring and summer. My batteries remained at full charge the whole time. I just put this system into my camper and chose the 12 Volts over the 6 Volts based on price, (the 6volts are way more expensive) My Brother In law went with 6 Volts and no solar and was down to 2/3 power after the third day. The solar panel I bought is made by coleman and claims it will work in an inch of snow, something about the new technology. I aslo bought the 1200 watt generator at walmart for $149 but haven't had to use it, I took my 12 Volt charger just in case. If you want some good info on batteries read the "12 Volt Side of Life" found at www.rv.net You may have to register but the website is a great resource for people that own RV's. Good Luck.

[Jamie]

Anyone use a forced air furnace and lights during the Winter? How does your batts do? The last 2 seasons have seen some -45 to -50 Weather.

We dont trust the Batts and use the Honda Gen Set (inverter) It is a 3000 but that was bought for the air during the summer.

Jamie

[Jason Balesdent]

Just my $.02,, what about changing your lights to LED's? If your lights are auto style bulbs these should be an easy and quick way to reduce your amp draw. Might not work in some trailers but.........

[mojo]

Here is a link to the 12 volt side of life.

http://www.ccis.com/home/mnemeth/12volt/12volt.htm

[Tuc]

Hey six, buy a honda generator (super quiet and reliable) and your worries are over. I wouldn't suggest anything less than a 2000 watts if your running MW and AC.

[SixShooter]

Hey everyone, again, thanks for the direction. Couple of questions about generators as I have never used one;

1. Do they constantly run all the time?
2. Do you have to manually start them each time its needed?
3. Do you just plug it into your RV and whenever something electrical needs it, does it just kick on?
5. Do they all have wireless starters?

I went to a couple local RV dealers here in Nisku, Cars RV had a Yamaha 2800i for $1799 & Western RV had the Yamaha 2400si for $1699.

Six

[Duk Dog]

Your furnace turning on and off all the time will kill your battery in short order. I've invested in a Honda 2000i generator and it has been great. (will run the microwave, won't run AC but we don't have it anyway) We just finished a nearly 10 day trip and the trailer and generator combo worked slick. My dad had an extra jerry can that tube feeds into the generator - therefor giving you longer run time without the need to refill the generator. You can run it on an idle mode and it will only kick into a higher gear when the demand is there. I picked mine up at the Honda dealer in Great Falls, MT for $899 a couple years back. Very happy with the purchase.

[Jamie]

Originally Posted by Duk Dog

Your furnace turning on and off all the time will kill your battery in short order. I've invested in a Honda 2000i generator and it has been great. (will run the microwave, won't run AC but we don't have it anyway) We just finished a nearly 10 day trip and the trailer and generator combo worked slick. My dad had an extra jerry can that tube feeds into the generator - therefor giving you longer run time without the need to refill the generator. You can run it on an idle mode and it will only kick into a higher gear when the demand is there. I picked mine up at the Honda dealer in Great Falls, MT for $899 a couple years back. Very happy with the purchase.

Thats kinda what I thought.

Six.. If you go with the batts for a hunt in Nov, make sure you stay close to a hotel with a 24 hour front desk... You might be needing it!!

Before Dad got the HONDA gen set we had a break down with a crappy tire thing.. MAN WAS THAT #$%^%$^ Cold!! -30 outside and all we had was blankets inside the trailer. The Honda showed up next year.. No issues since.

Jamie

[Waxy]

If you decide to go with a generator (that would be my advice, it eliminates all the hassle and worries associated with batteries and lets you use everything in your trailer as much as you want) -

I bought a Yamaha 3000i last fall, and I can't imagine owning anything else (except maybe the comparable 3000W Honda model). I wouldn't head out camping again without. The convenience of it really spoils you.

It's whisper quiet (really, in the average campground you can run it all night and the neighbors won't even notice), has direct 12V supply/charging built into it, electric start, it sips gas, it's bullet proof reliable, and has all the power you'll ever need. The only downside is that it weighs around 140# (I think?), so lifting it into the truck is a two man job (for me anyway).

I bought mine for a great deal at Seitzco Motorsports in Okotoks, best price and service I found by a long shot.

Waxy