Unfortunately, I have seen far too many people set up the campsite, and sit in the trailer in nice warm weather, and watch TV.
For those cold days/nights, I think having a TV is okay for some, but I have to wonder why we aren't playing board games or reading a book? Especially if you are boon-docking and trying to conserve energy (which was the premise of this post in the first place?)
At home, a family could snuggle and watch a movie too. We do that all the time. Mind you, we only have one TV in the house that we share.
But like you say, to each his own. Makes me wonder what on earth people did before TV was invented.
cacutlers wrote: Canadian Karebear wrote: Why do folks think that camping is all about sitting in the RV and watching TV? I could do that at home for less!
I don't think enjoying movies while snuggling in the rv in the cold weather is wasted time. The family is still together unlike at home. I find it very interesting how some people are willing to suggest that a tv in the rv means thats all you do or that your wasting money by enjoying a movie together while camping. To each his own is what I say.
Mommy , Skyler , Sammy...the wonder dog
TV: 2000 Ford Explorer Sport 2dr 4WD
HTT: 2004 Jayco JayFeather 18ft Hybrid; Prodigy brake control (with Eaz-lift WD hitch)
01) Put out the slide while the power wire is still connected to the TV. Not sure how much this really helps, but our 2500HD does recharge the batteries quite nicely as we drive down the road. It does have a super heavy duty alternator!
02) Use minimal interior lighting. I pulled one bulb from every dual bulb socket. I also installed a some LED light bars that run on 4 'AA' batteries each. One set of batteries last us all season. We also have a couple fluorescent lanterns for interior lighting that run on 4 'D' cells each.
03) Got rid of the crappy coil (analog) thermostat, and installed a Hunter digital. With the digital, the furnace runs a lot less, and uses less power and propane.
04) Learn to shut off lights that your not using
05) No inverter for running a 36" TV or similar devices. Our girls bring a portable DVD player (with headphones) and a bunch of rechargeable batteries for it.
06) if you have access to city water, use it so you don't have to run your water pump. (but put a filter and a pressure limiter on your water input)
07) listen to your MP3 player instead of the stereo.
08) Keep a lot of LED flashlights/booklights on hand. They are cheap to buy now days. I just bought a 1 Watt LED flashlight for $10 on sale!
If we are going to be out for more than three nights, I'll throw our El-Cheapo ($179) 1500/1200 watt, Chinese generator into the Suburban and use that to top off the batteries. And before someone screams about how evil the cheap generators are because they run 'dirty' and are noisy. . . the Champions, are actually not that 'dirty', but I just use the 14.8V DC output and hook directly to the batteries to re-charge. We also camp on our own property, so there is no one around other than us to hear our generator. . which isn't really that loud anyway.
Bill Vojak
SW Washington State
2001 K2500HD Suburban LT w/Autoride - 6.0L/4.10 - Eaz-Lift w/WD
2006 Kodiak 214 Hybrid TT
, Skyler 
, Sammy...the wonder dog 
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