The art of Boondocking

[avalen]

catchy title huh?
recently when we had a power outage, I was surprised I only had lights that would
run off the batteries. Some of you talk about the tv running, how is that? I realize
the laptop would automatically run off its own battery and you could recharge it, as
well as the cell phone, but other than that, do you mean during boondocking all I
have is lights?
My fridge would run off of propane if I had any in the bottle and of course there
was no microwave or a/c when the power was out. So really, for boondocking I
need a generator, right?

[rvgrammy1953]

Ava.....for a TV to work without reg. power (boondocking) I believe you have to have a TV that is also a 12 volts plug.....but for all the other stuff, microwave, a/c, etc....yes, you would need a generator.....yeap, just camper lights....

Lori

[avalen]

thanks Lori, guess someday I'll have a generator but not for awhile yet, then of
course thinking about a 12 volt tv, I'd have to find one of the new compatible
kind.

[dpf]

I'm pretty sure that the water pump in our TT will work off the batteries

[snowball]

remember though that you need to charge those battery's either by a generator or other means.
Once your battery's are down you don't even have the pump running as long as you have propane your refreg is ok but don't ask for heat with out the battery's being charged. As the fan runs off the battery
Sheila

[MsBHaven]

Avalen,

I recently bought one of the new HDTV's - - it is not 12 volt. But, I also bought an inverter. Here's how that works. I plug the TV into the inverter box. Then the inverter box plugs into a 12volt plug. The 12volt runs off the house battery. That's how I watch HDTV while sitting in a Wal-Mart parking lot. I can also do the same thing with my laptop.

I also have a generator so I can start up the generator, plug the TV into a regular electric outlet and have TV that way also.

I prefer using the TV on 12volt because then I don't have to run the generator.

If I need to run the microwave or air conditioner, I have to use the generator for that.

I believe my HDTV was about $300 or $400 - - the inverter was $100 I think.

My Class B had a 12volt TV in it when I bought it so a 12volt plug was already in the right spot for my new HDTV.

Hope this helps.

[SeeyaGal]

I can run the TV out in the middle of nowhere because I switch on my inverter switch. My solar panels charge my batterys and the inverter changes the power to 110. I do have to watch how much power I have left. If I get down to 60% ....time to go to bed!

[Cedar518]

I don't have a built in gen or inverter for the Chalet. But I did invest in a Honda 2000 gen last year. It's been great. I paid $975 at a local dealer. Worth every penny! and it's also pretty quiet. For me it made sense to get one as I not only use it for camping but also here at home during the times when we have power outages. During winters we can have blizzards and ice storms and be without power for several days. The gen saves my food in frige, and gives me tv and internet access. I just have to switch off what i'm plugging in at the same time. i have an alternative source of heat for those times so I didn't need a gen to run the whole house, furnace incluced.

I have just bought a portable inverter,...400w. I have it charged now and will test it. It was $89 at Walmart. Or maybe Sams, I've forgotten. I thought it would be good for the tv when camping with no electricity and not within generator hours. Generators are not permitted at just any time,...most campground have rules about gens.

[avalen]

I know my pump runs off my batteries so I would have water and I know how long
I can go before I fill my holding tanks. A solar panel would be a great idea to supply
power to keep the batteries charged up. I hadn't thought about that furnace running.
That fan would probably use alot of juice. I will have to buy an additional inverter. I
only have one 12v plug in the wall near the tv. It would be interesting really, to
unplug my electric and see how long my batteries would last. I'd guess about a day.
But of course I wouldn't put that to the test anytime soon as right now its still too
hot and I need the a/c. I could probably do a test run in about a month, the weather
will be a little cooler and I'll have propane by then.

[Getupngo]

.... Some of you talk about the tv running, how is that?

The bedroom TV that came with this rig was an ac/dc model and would run on battery power. It went to TV heaven when I got to the island, and the replacement (from the thrift store -- $15) is standard issue. No power, no TV.

In my rig, battery power will run my water pump, lights, radio, furnace (thank heavens) & the fridge runs on propane/battery power. So even when I boondocked one night with temps in the 20s, I was still in good shape.

The generator is a very good thing. I run it when the weather is hot so the roof air can cool the MH and the people/pets in it while I"m driving. This morning I ran it for a time at Camping World to make toast & coffee before heading out. LOL!

[avalen]

thank you everybody, this thread has alot of good info in it and has given me
lots to think about. Maybe my furnace runs on battery too like Janice but I won't
know until I try it. I do have a 12v coffee drip pot and I saw a 12v toaster oven
at Flying J once. They actually have lots of 12v stuff.

[Bethers]

Ava,
How many batteries do you have? If you want to use lots of 12v stuff, you'll need a lot of batteries - as they won't just keep providing juice. I only have one battery - and because I like to boondock and dislike using the generator when it's not necessary, I try not to run too much. I have no need for tv if I can't have either my rig plugged in or the generator - but if you do want that, and use an inverter for it, still, you need to remember how much you can do. Some rigs have 4 or even more batteries to be able to run more and more things without running out of battery power.

As to letting the batteries run down - it's not good to let them run all the way down. That will shorten their life.

[avalen]

Beth, I only have two, but what your telling me is the stuff I need to know.
But sometime this winter I will turn the power off just to see how long my
juice will last, I have to have at least some general idea of what to expect.
I already have my water and tanks part figured out. I can go two weeks before
my black tank needs dumping but my grey tank is smaller so it would fill up in
no time. This is all good information.