cm11599ps
Long Island
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Joined: 07/18/2011
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My parents took the camper to a state park that has zero hookups. The only thing there are water spigots but they are scattered around the park. This is a first time for us with a campground like this. It's also about 45-50 at night so the heat is on.
The generator runs from 5-9 at night and then after that we only run the radio and a light or two. Of course, you also have the heat and water pump. They went to bed about 11 and turned the lights and radio off. Battery was fully charged after the genny shut off.
The first night they put the heat at a normal level. When they woke the next morning about 8 it was cold in the camper and the battery was dead. Fired up the genny and all was good. Next night they turned the heat a little lower before going to bed. When they woke up the camper was still warm but the battery was low. They only have one battery.
I'm assuming the heat drained the battery. Couple that with the water pump and it really took a toll I assume.
Does this sound like a common occurrence. I would also assume having a second battery would help too, right?
Next question. We have a 35 gallon Thetford tote that we finally used yesterday. No problem there, it worked well. They seem to be filling their 30 gallon gray tank every day and using the tote to empty it. Should they be putting any kind of chemical in the water tote to keep it fresh like you would the camper tanks? I would think that since they are using the thing daily that it's not needed. I said maybe toss something in the tote when you empty the tote for the last time before going home.
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PatrickA51
Lost
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Joined: 04/05/2012
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Is the unit a Truck Camper or RV ? How old are te battery'sand how many do they have, 1 or 2 ?
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cm11599ps
Long Island
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It's a 2012 Jayco hybrid with one battery.
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pianotuna
Regina, SK, Canada
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Joined: 12/18/2004
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Hi,
Yes, more battery capacity will help. So would conversion to led lighting (unless you have florescent).
Charging via a generator take a long long time. How were you measuring the state of charge of the battery?
Regards, Don
Kustom Koach Class C 28'5" 256 watts Unisolar, 875 amp hours in two battery banks 12 volt batteries, 2500 MSW watt inverter.
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W4MBG
Williamsburg, VA
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the water pump only runs when water is being used (or leaked). the heater fan will run a battery down over night. needs a second battery. and a few LED lights wouldnt hurt.
1999 Winnebago Minnie, 29', Triton V10, mostly stock. So far...
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Old-Biscuit
Across the USA
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Joined: 06/20/2009
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One battery......furnace fan draws a lot, so low battery come morning not surprised.
I am surprised they are filling 30 gallon grey each day.....??
2007 RAM 3500 QC LB SRW 5.9L CTD 48re 4:10 4K in bed 'quiet genny'
2007 HitchHiker II 32.5 UKTG 2000W Xantex Inverter
Hit the Road Free & Clear April '07
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cm11599ps
Long Island
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Well, I just remembered something. The first night was a few hours after initial setup and they were using the power tongue jack. They ended up switching sites shortly after they setup. That meant the jack was used a lot.
The genny runs from 5-9 and they were measuring using the gauge inside the camper.
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pianotuna
Regina, SK, Canada
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Hi,
By gauge do you mean the "idiot lights"? If so they are very "approximate".
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cm11599ps
Long Island
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Old-Biscuit wrote:One battery......furnace fan draws a lot, so low battery come morning not surprised.
I am surprised they are filling 30 gallon grey each day.....??
We bought the camper (our very first) brand new in the fall. They took it out for 4 days a week later and the gray tank never got a reading. On the last day they went to pack up and the shower was full of water. It turns out the wiring was cut so that's why they never got a reading and the gray backed up out of the lowest hole, hence the shower. They now dump the gray a bit after it reaches the 2/3 level.
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cm11599ps
Long Island
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pianotuna wrote:Hi,
By gauge do you mean the "idiot lights"? If so they are very "approximate".
I assume so. lol It gives the reading for battery, fresh, gray and black.
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