# leap of faith ??



## P.Estes (Oct 26, 2004)

Wife and I are leaving Thursaday to camp at San Clemente State Beach. As my friends in California know, it's been cold here lately (42' along the coast). I havn't made the time with purchasing a generator for the new trailer (21rs). My wife came home tonight and asked me "Are we going to be okay" with the furnace (batteries going dead) ? I assured her we would be fine as long as we conserve energy. After saying that I started to worry. Since I have a diesel TV, I just cant plug in my harness and smoke out the campground. I have two 12v batteries and will be staying 2 days. Can anyone out there give me some advice and let me know if I can pull this off ?

Restless in Califonia


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## vdub (Jun 19, 2004)

Staying 2 days or 2 nights? If only 2 days and you conserve, I think you'll make it. You won't want to burn any unnecessary lights during the first day, so you have plenty of power to run the furnace at night. It might be a squeaker, but I think you'll make it.


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## P.Estes (Oct 26, 2004)

I will be staying two nights. I camped at Bolsa Chica State beach about a month ago. They have 30 amp hookups..No energy worry there..


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## hurricaneplumber (Apr 12, 2004)

I ran two nights in 45ish weather at night, sun ny during the day on one 12 volt, it was dwindling at the end but we made it. Make sure all windows are closed and sleep with more blankets, I think you will be fine. Make sure batteries are fully charged before leaving. Check battery fluid also.

Hopefully it won't be cold and windy, otherwise the furnace will run much more.

I ended up upgrading to dual Interstate 6 volts, haven't had a problem yet.

Good luck

Kevin


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## Twins Make 4 (Apr 25, 2004)

Hey Restless,

We've dry camped a couple times this year, even over the Labor Day Weekend up in Sequoia. We had a couple really cold nights there. One thing that helps us is not using the lights very much. We have a couple of the battery powered Coleman Steel lanterns from Costco, ($13.95 last week) and those will light you up pretty well. I was concerned as well especially with 6 of us in the Outback but we made it w/o too much inconvenience. After all, it is camping.

Have fun, we were in Pismo last week & it was cold but rarely have I seen it any clearer.

TM4


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## kjp1969 (Apr 25, 2004)

Restless,

Greetings from the OC- I know what you mean about the cold, for the first time ever I had a thick layer of frost on my car this morning (Fountain Valley).

You should be fine on power. I've camped for 2-3 days using the furnace every morning and lights every night without even coming close to running out of batteries. It's much easier to run out of fresh water, or grey water space (one wife, two kids, showers/baths for everyone). Worst case scenario is that you run out of battery juice on the last day, and then you can always plug into your TV with the engine idling for a little emergency voltage. When you're dry camping, your main battery draws are lights and the furnace blower, so plan accordingly: Pull out the second bulb in each of your lights, they're still plenty bright. Don't run the lights more than you need to.

Kevin P.


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## P.Estes (Oct 26, 2004)

Thanks you guys!!
Well, I feel a little better now. I will get back to you guys on Saturday and let you know if I am still married


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## Thor (Apr 7, 2004)

Hi

2 days shouldn't be a problem. In the summer we dry camped for 7 days with 2 batteries. No problems at all. We did notice the lights getting a bit dim and the furnace would not kick in the last day. All I did is plug the TV in for 30min and everything worked again. I did not even start the truck. I would be careful doing this because if you forget to unplug the TV the battery will discharge and you may not be able to start your TV.

We were careful using lights. Only turning them on when required and we did not use the radio at all.

I would ensure both batteries are full charged
Use lights only when required
Turn Furnace off when you are out
Plug your TT into your TV if your power is getting low
Remember your electric coffee maker will not work









Thor


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## P.Estes (Oct 26, 2004)

Hey Thor,
dang, thats not to shabby..7-days..a record maybe..Good idea with just plugging the harness in the TV without starting it. Since I have a Powerstroke diesel, I have two batteries. I can save a little bit of juice for when I start it up to go home if needed.


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## Y-Guy (Jan 30, 2004)

You should be fine for 2 days. You can always back up and hook up the truck and let it warm up, it will help to charge the batteries too.


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## Thor (Apr 7, 2004)

We are planning a trip in the summer to Killbear park (1-2weeks of dry camping). 1 week, I can manage, maybe 10 days if I quick charge from the TV every day or so.

I was thinking about a solar panel to help. Found a 15watt panel including a controller for $150 Cdn. I believe a 15watt should be able to keep the batteries charged without any issues.

They are cheaper than a generator and some parks do not appreciate the noise.
I think a 15watt panel will alllow me to use the radio and more lights for the entire 2 weeks. The biggest issue I found was grey water tank filling up.

I also purchase a stove top purk. coffee maker. Gotta have that cup of java in the morning.

This might work for you as well.

Thor


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## P.Estes (Oct 26, 2004)

Thor,
The stove top perk is a godsend. I could not think of a more







purchase next to my Outback. Two weeks







without hookups..Maybe the grey water can do a little perk too







I guess grab a roll and go for a walk. I have also looked into solar. Good idea but it seems like hooking up to the TV is not a bad idea too. I wish I could jump on that. Since I have a diesel, the smell along with the noise would just about bomb out the camp site..I guess a generator would be a better idea..In a couple weeks I will own one..


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## Castle Rock Outbackers (Jan 18, 2004)

We have done two nights dry as well. Each morning, and before going to bed at night, I ran the truck for about 10 minutes each time. Had plenty of power each night.

Don't let the battery power indicator fool you. It will stay at FULL for about an hour, and you will find your self already at 2/3 power. You may think, "I only have 4 hours 3 hours of power left!" You really have much more that 2/3 power, but you are below Full power, so it registers 2/3.

Randy


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## NDJollyMon (Aug 22, 2003)

If you dry camp, I'd suggest switching to 2-6 volt batteries as well. I have candle-lanterns, and don't mind using them for light when necessary. Save the juice for the heat!


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## Thor (Apr 7, 2004)

During my dry camping spell I monitored the meter.

You are right, after the 1st day it was read 2/3...I started to panic a bit because we had 6 days to go and at this rate I would last 3 days







.

The meter remained at the 2/3 mark for several days and then went to 1/3 if something was turned on. It stayed on the 1/3 mark for the remaining 2 days. Once I plugged the TV in (not running) for approx 30-45min the meter read 2/3 again. Lights were brighter again. The surge tank helped as well because the water pump did not always kick on when we needed water. Note while plugged in the panel read full.

Have Fun









Thor


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## P.Estes (Oct 26, 2004)

Itâ€™s 1:25pm Saturday and I just got back..Great trip !! As for the battery thing..???????? I SURVIVED and still married. I must say two nights were the maximum I could run dry camping. I did not conserve anything. I used 2-3 lights continually during night, ran the LCD DVD player for several hours while plugged into a 70 watt inverter, took four (4-5 minutes) showers, filled up the grey water tank, 1/3 black water, had the outside light on (orange) for one hour, and of course, ran the furnace. The second night I was down to 1/3 power on the batteries. I was going to plug in the TV to charge the batteries for a few minutes before going down, but didnâ€™t because I wanted to know how far I could take it. Big gamble. During the night (1:30am) the power fluctuated between E and 1/3. I had several hours before daybreak and I was running the furnace at 72' I turned it down to 68' to keep the cycles down on the furnace. Now I was starting to regret of not charging the batteries when I had the chance. My wife woke up around 4:00am and said it was cold inside the trailer. Reluctantly I turned up the furnace back to 72' initially it didnâ€™t fire up and I said to myself, â€œThis sucksâ€. But after a few minutes it came to life. Wosh, I thought to myself. My wife and our 17 month daughter will be warm now. Just a few hours to go. The sun was up at 7:00 am and the power was on E. The lights were still running but I was unable to watch the morning news on my TV. But honestly I can say two nights is doable for me without conserving much. Maybe a third night without the TV running.


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## hatcityhosehauler (Feb 13, 2004)

Glad to hear it worked out for you, and that you had a great weekend. I haven't got my wife ready to try dry hookups yet. Personally, that's what I bought a camper for, but we have to move the spouses slowly into this.

Are you planning on adding a second battery? Or, going to twin 6volt units? Or leaving things as they are?

Tim


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## NDJollyMon (Aug 22, 2003)

Glad you tested the waters...and it worked out for you.

Running batteries completely dead will shorten the life of them. Check out the 12 volt link on the OUTBACKERS FAQ page.


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## P.Estes (Oct 26, 2004)

I am actually running two 12v batteries. I am looking to purchase a generator instead of converting two 2-6v batteries. Didn't know running the batteries low could do harm. That will be the last time I'll do that. The 12v setup seems to work for my camping needs. Thanks again for all the input everyone!!!!!!


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## Thor (Apr 7, 2004)

I am glad you had a great time.

Thanks for the update on the dry camping. I think I have been going a bit to left when dry camping for a long weekend. Radio/CD and reading lights here I come.









Thanks


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## vdub (Jun 19, 2004)

I was snooping around today looking to see what new gens cost and I saw a Honda Eu2000i for $500. Wow! Oops, appears these $500 jobs are damaged or returned. But I found a brand new Eu2000i for $885 which included shipping and taxes (probably no tax). Yamaha E3000seb for $1999.


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## j1mfrog (Jun 6, 2004)

$885? Where at, if you don't mind my asking?

Jim


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## vdub (Jun 19, 2004)

http://www.wisesales.com
1-800-916-9473

They said Honda won't let you put a price on the web any more. I noticed that Mayberry's no longer has prices either.


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