# First Trip Out With "lou" And Next One Soon



## glennsteers (Apr 25, 2005)

Took delivery of our new 2006 26RS a couple of weeks ago and just returned from a 3-day excursion to Jellystone Park in Hagerstown, Maryland as our first trial camp trip. We did great! Our tongue jack was stripped so we had to get the wife and oldest son to stand on the back of the TV to get the ball under the hitch! Our dealer swapped the jack out promptly upon our return and now we're getting ready for our next trip next week!

However, there will be NO HOOKUPS! We will be joining our church group at Creation East and we will be boondocking. My wife is a bit worried as we will have our 15 year old son, 7-year old triplets (2 boys, 1 girl) and my 7-month old daughter. We looked into generators but the $1500-$2500 is out of the question right now. We plan on using battery powered fans that we purchased and will be doing all our cooking outside (ain't that outside stove great?) so most of my concerns involve keeping the frig cold on LP. I've tried and tried to find some stats on what kind of duration I can expect from my LP for the 5 days we will be gone. If we use the stove sparingly, what kind of frig performance on LP only can we expect?

We're also gonna conserve our 12 volt power for lights at night and occasional nighttime water pump use (we will be using the porta-potties) for the middle of the night kiddie potty breaks. What is the feasibility of charging the coach battery from the wiring harness to the TV battery?

Any and all advice for surviving w/o hookups would be appreciated! Thanx!!


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## Katrina (Dec 16, 2004)

The propane will be no problem at all.
You can run for months on a bottle using only the fridge and the stove.
Even using the water heater on propane will still prolly get you 10 days off a single bottle.
The furnace now is a different story.
Unless you've made upgrades to the battery on the camper, that will be your weak spot.
Expect probably two days and nights from the piece of junk battery the dealer gives you.
A second battery or better yet, two good batteries should get you through just fine.
You can indeed plug in and run the TV if some recharging is needed.
While the TV won't completly recharge the batteries, it will help.


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

As mentioned Propane will not be an issue. Batteries are the answer if you can not get a generator right now. There are a lot of choices in batteries and the way you configure them so if you are interested let us know.

I currently use two group 27 deep cycle batteries and with some conservation last a 4 day weekend trip with no problem. You can also give a little boost to your batteries by plugging in your truck and running it for a while (as long as it is not a diesel).


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## glennsteers (Apr 25, 2005)

CamperAndy said:


> As mentioned Propane will not be an issue. Batteries are the answer if you can not get a generator right now. There are a lot of choices in batteries and the way you configure them so if you are interested let us know.


Yes! I'm interested in adding a battery. I have the open slot so should I just add one or get 2 new ones? Should my dealer install it or does just adding it create a "rollover system?" Any help would be appreciated...


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

Since the trailer is new just get another battery of the same type and size as the one you have. Wire them in parallel and you should be fine.

The dealer can do this for you if you feel it may be too much for you to wire up. There is already space for 2 batteries.

You will also get recommendations to use a switch, to use one up then switch to the other but I feel that is too much work. An isolation switch is a good idea though for when you will not be using your trailer for a few weeks..


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## glennsteers (Apr 25, 2005)

Thanks, CamperAndy!

So an isolation switch is not necessary? Will it switch over like the propane or will it pull from both batteries?


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## vdub (Jun 19, 2004)

It will see the dual batteries as one. If you are not familiar with how to hook them in parallel, then have your dealer do it. Yeah, it will cost a tad more, but it will be done right.

If you think you might be boondocking a lot and you don't want to spend a lot of money now, then you might want to consider what I have done. I bought a 2k Honda gen. It will power everything except the a/c. The microwave also causes problems if I'm not careful with power management. If I later think I want to power everything, then I can buy a 2nd gen and hook them in parallel. The cost of each Eu2000i is about $865 the last time I checked (shipping and everything). The cost of two gens plus the parallel attachment is about $1800, which is the same cost as the quiet 3k gens and you then have a 4k unit for the same price. On top of that, your 4k unit only weighs 46 pounds each and the 3k unit weighs 150 pounds. I'd rather lift 46 pounds twice than 150 once.


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## hatcityhosehauler (Feb 13, 2004)

Check out The 12 volt side of life. It is some good information, even if you don't do alot of boondocking.

Tim


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## Morrowmd (Feb 22, 2005)

Glenn,

How does your van do pulling the 26RS? What engine do you have- 5.4L?

We were close to buying a van but got the Tahoe instead.

-Matt


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## glennsteers (Apr 25, 2005)

vdub said:


> If you think you might be boondocking a lot and you don't want to spend a lot of money now, then you might want to consider what I have done. I bought a 2k Honda gen. It will power everything except the a/c. The microwave also causes problems if I'm not careful with power management. If I later think I want to power everything, then I can buy a 2nd gen and hook them in parallel. The cost of each Eu2000i is about $865 the last time I checked (shipping and everything). The cost of two gens plus the parallel attachment is about $1800, which is the same cost as the quiet 3k gens and you then have a 4k unit for the same price. On top of that, your 4k unit only weighs 46 pounds each and the 3k unit weighs 150 pounds. I'd rather lift 46 pounds twice than 150 once.
> [snapback]41590[/snapback]​


I bought a Honda EU2000i today and am really impressed! I ran the unit's fan (minus AC) with all lights on and a TV on. Not that I would stress the system like that. But it handled everything just fine! Will probably turn off the fan to use the microwave.

Glenn


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## glennsteers (Apr 25, 2005)

Morrowmd said:


> Glenn,
> 
> How does your van do pulling the 26RS? What engine do you have- 5.4L?
> 
> ...


Actually the van does very well! It has a 5.4 L and came with the power booster/cooler for the tranny. Sometimes I forget I'm towing and that is scary! It's rated at 6900 lbs so it easily handles the load. I also have a Reese weight distributing, dual cam hitch which helps.


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

Well getting the Honda means that you really don't need that second battery now. After you get your Honda broke in you may want to play with it some and see if you can run your AC. Many people will say it wont run it but I know several that have been successful, you never know until you try.


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