Camping without Shore Power

jmcope · 09-12-2011, 03:31 PM

We have a 2012 Cougar 24RLS, and we're considering visiting some sites that do not have shore power. Being a safety guy, I always expect the worst. So what happens when the battery runs down....

Is the TT battery charged by the TV?

The sales tech said the slide can be retracted manually. How?

Can the electric awning be rolled up manually? If so, how?

Any other horror stories I should know about?

Thanks guys. Love this forum!

Flyguy · 09-12-2011, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmcope

We have a 2012 Cougar 24RLS, and we're considering visiting some sites that do not have shore power. Being a safety guy, I always expect the worst. So what happens when the battery runs down....

Is the TT battery charged by the TV?

The sales tech said the slide can be retracted manually. How?

Can the electric awning be rolled up manually? If so, how?

Any other horror stories I should know about?

Thanks guys. Love this forum!

The battery is charged by the TV when towing and will charge it when camped if you connect the TV power cord and run the engine in the TV.

There is a manual override for the slide using the same crank for the landing gear depending on if it's a through frame or in frame manual overide. This is discussed in the Lippert slide manual that you should have.

The electric awning can be rolled up manually in an emergency situation but if your battery is charged this shouldn't be neccessary, again plug in to the TV for power if needed.

We have camped many times with no facilities at all in the national parks with no problem or at least none that couldn't be fixed. Happy Camping!

**hankpage** · 09-12-2011, 03:53 PM

First thing .. no horror stories.
Yes the trailer can be charged with the TV.
How long do you plan on dry camping? If only one night at each place the battery should get charged while traveling between sites. Do not keep your TV connected while camping or you will run down it's battery also. Have TV connected with engine running when moving slide in or out.
I can't help you with the awning I have never had a power operated one.
Depending on the manufacturer of the slide ( most likely Lippert) You should see their web page for instructions on manual operation. (In most cases it involves crawling under the trailer .... OK one horror story) Hope this helps and just use power sparingly. People do it all the time so enjoy, Hank

SteveC7010 · 09-12-2011, 07:30 PM

Probably the worst that can happen is that your coach battery goes so low that the fridge stops working. If that is not reversed fairly quickly, your food is at risk of spoiling.

There are a lot of conservation techniques that can be applied to extend the life of your battery:
1. Limit your use of lighting as much as possible. My previous trailer had separate switches for each half of the double fixtures. The Cougar does not. I may pull some of the bulbs that are not essential.
2. Your furnace will drain the battery FAST.
3. The radio and propane detectors constantly draw power. I used to pull those fuses for our entire two week stays in the Adirondacks. But we have a generator now so I am less fussy.
4. The water pump pulls considerable juice over time. Limit its use when you can.
5. As already mentioned, only operate the slides, landing gear, and power awning when the TV is attached and running.
6. The TV is not a perfect charging system. It probably won't even do 50% of what your onboard charger will do. You'll probably need to run the TV for several hours to partially restore the coach charge. If possible, high idle helps a lot.

With some thought and ingenuity, you can extend the battery for quite a few days.

mikell · 09-13-2011, 06:07 AM

All the advice from above and add a battery even if you just borrow one from another vehicle and use jumper cables to tie them together.Using a car battery is not the best idea but the price is right and for short term wouldn't hurt it.

jmcope · 09-13-2011, 12:26 PM

Our adventure in "wilderness camping" is likely to begin as a long weekend at a NASCAR race. I'd rather not spend $100's for the campsite, and it looks like a three-nighter should be no sweat.

smiller · 09-13-2011, 03:02 PM

Also note that while the tow vehicle can charge the battery (I assume you mean via the 7-pin umbilical cable) it won't do a very good job on a low house battery, or at least won't do it very fast. If you are going to be doing a lot of dry camping a small generator and good high-capacity battery charger would be a good investment.

The Sod Father · 09-29-2011, 12:13 PM

We boondock (camp without hookups) about twice a season. All of the other suggestions listed above are correct and would only add an extra deep cycle battery will go a long way in extending your overall power availability. A G-27 deep cycle battery is usually about $75 from WalMart.

mikell · 09-30-2011, 08:58 AM

Storm took the power out about 3 AM and will be out for who knows how long. Going to hook another battery and take the generator out but don't really need it yet. May charge the batteries if it keeps going tonight but i don't think it will

The Sod Father · 09-30-2011, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikell

Storm took the power out about 3 AM and will be out for who knows how long. Going to hook another battery and take the generator out but don't really need it yet. May charge the batteries if it keeps going tonight but i don't think it will

The beauty of RV ownership - you have your very one "escape pod".

cumminsdad08 · 09-30-2011, 10:42 AM

and it will most likely be more comfortable for you then what FEMA can do

THedges · 09-30-2011, 12:59 PM

We only boondock and with out the use of a generator and not trying to conserve too much we can go 5 days in the summer and 2 in the winter running the heater a lot.

You might think about a small solar battery maintainer they work pretty well and are fairly inexpensive.

Festus2 · 09-30-2011, 03:45 PM

THedges:
Have you ever considered using a propane heater, one similar to Mr. Buddy, for heating rather than using your propane furnace? When dry camping, we often use this heater during the morning, day, and evening hours. It uses its own and separate source of propane, does not draw on your RV battery, and is safe for indoor use providing you take certain precautions. We always take it with us and use it extensively. If interested in this type of RV heating, you can Google it for more info or send me a PM.

THedges · 09-30-2011, 03:49 PM

I never have used one of those heaters. It would also be a good backup.

Thanks for the idea.

Festus2 · 09-30-2011, 04:03 PM

Actually, our previous portable propane heater was "Mr. Buddy". When we went into a larger RV, we purchased the bigger version which is called "Mr. Heater". It has twin burners and consequently produces more BTU's than its little brother and is better suited for our size RV.

We have also purchased a large number of LED interior lights which, as you know, draw far less current than the regular incandescent bulbs. Because of the price difference, we ordered them from Hong Kong aka China. There are differences in the quality of LED lights and it is noticeable with the lights we got from China. However, I was not prepared to fork out 3x to 4x as much $$$$ for purchasing lights elsewhere. If you have counted the number of interior lights in these RV's, the replacement cost can be considerable so we decided to go with the cheapest we could find. They are not tires or rims so we have no safety issues with Chinese bulbs.
We will see how the offshore LED lights stand up and go from there.

jq1031 · 09-30-2011, 04:31 PM

IMHO, a generator will solve all of your problems & the DW will even be able to use her hair dryer in the morning & maybe make your coffee!

THedges · 09-30-2011, 04:32 PM

Ha Ha! That's where we are at except the wife uses her coffee maker!

Festus2 · 09-30-2011, 04:47 PM

True, a generator will go a long way to satisfy power requirements and needs. However, when you are camped by a tranquil, magnificent lake and there are just a few campers around, none of whom have, need or want generators, I am not about to fire up mine and disturb the peace and quiet that they have become accustomed to.
Nobody in these campsites worries too much about not being able to use hair dryers and coffee can be made on the propane stove.
It is naturally quiet and serene and the only sounds you can hear are those of the loons on the lake. Why would I want to fire up a generator?
Different strokes for different folks.

You may also like: