Dry Camping- help!

[anectarine1]

Our first week living in a trailer on our neighbor’s land while we build a house. He set up power for us on his barn and then left for California! Tonight we blew the breaker and the barn is locked, so we are forced dry camping! Anything we need to know? How does the fridge work on these Keystone Cougars when the power is out?

[Refinerytrash310]

they run off propane. your lights (the 12 volt) ones will run off the batteries.

[ctbruce]

But you have to be able to charge your batteries somehow. They are not an endless supply of energy.

[Freeheel4life]

Depending on how long your neighbor will be gone you may consider trying to rent a generator or borrow one from someone you know that has one sitting around.
It doesn't need to run constantly, just when you doing high wattage activities (microwave is a big one). If your converter is working correctly is will charge your 12v batteries while the gennie is running.
Honestly if you plan on using the camper for leisure much after the home is built a generator is good thing to own anyways.

[sourdough]

I think you want a generator. I don't know how warm it is where you are but without AC of some kind you can't run an air conditioner or use the microwave, TV etc. Depending on how long the neighbor is gone you might make it a couple/few days on the existing batteries but after that it's "lights out".

[Canonman]

First, are you sure it's the breaker in the barn that's blown?? Have you checked if there is 120v at the plug where your Cougar is plugged in?? It may be a breaker in the Cougar.
Second, a generator is an absolute must have. If you want to run A/C then a 3000+ watt unit is the right size.
Make sure the fridge is on "Auto" or Gas. As long as you have propane it will run as normal. Lights are 12v and will run from the battery. Water pump is 12v but you may be hooked up to the neighbor's supply. In that case no worries.
I'd recommend checking the incoming power first. If there is no voltage there then get a generator set up while you still have battery power and daylight.
Just remember, these RV's are made for dry camping. All will be well:)
Keep us posted with how you're doing.

[travelin texans]

First, are you sure it's the breaker in the barn that's blown?? Have you checked if there is 120v at the plug where your Cougar is plugged in?? It may be a breaker in the Cougar.
Second, a generator is an absolute must have. If you want to run A/C then a 3000+ watt unit is the right size.
Make sure the fridge is on "Auto" or Gas. As long as you have propane it will run as normal. Lights are 12v and will run from the battery. Water pump is 12v but you may be hooked up to the neighbor's supply. In that case no worries.
I'd recommend checking the incoming power first. If there is no voltage there then get a generator set up while you still have battery power and daylight.
Just remember, these RV's are made for dry camping. All will be well:)
Keep us posted with how you're doing.

"All will be well!" til the batteries go dead. The fridge, water heater will run on LP but must have 12 volts to power the control boards.
If by some odd chance there's an outdoor plug on the barn separate from where you're plugged in & you have or borrow a battery charger you could get by with the basics, but no air or microwave or other 120 volt powered items.

[anectarine1]

We found another outdoor plug. It isn’t 30V, but we’ll leave the AC and microwave off until we figure out what to do about that. We do have a gas powered generator, so if we get desperate, we’ll hook up to that. It is super loud though! Thanks so much everyone for your advice! What a great community!

[Canonman]

Trust me Anectarine1, "All Will be Well"once you get the power issue squared away. Your Cougar is made to keep the batteries charged either with shore power or generator power through your on-board converter. Maintaining the "utilities" water sewer and power are things the forum can always help with if you have questions.

[sourdough]

We found another outdoor plug. It isn’t 30V, but we’ll leave the AC and microwave off until we figure out what to do about that. We do have a gas powered generator, so if we get desperate, we’ll hook up to that. It is super loud though! Thanks so much everyone for your advice! What a great community!

It's good you found the plug. At least it will keep the batteries going which will keep the lights, water pump and fridge on (if you are limited on LP). I would suggest trying the AC but you have no idea what else is on that circuit and you definitely do not want to trip this breaker - just be thankful you found the plug and let it keep you in business.

I would also suggest getting another generator if that's in the cards. If you plan on doing any dry camping or boondocking it is going to be a requirement. I don't know what kind of genny you have currently but they make some now that are remarkably quiet....not something I want running next to me all night, but pretty quiet. I was like you and had an 8k watt genny - old technology. It sounded pretty much like the huge diesel generators we had outside our offices - not appropriate for any place where there were other people - so it's gone. I have not purchased a replacement but probably will. Good luck.