Boondocking, expected battery life

Redtruckvc · 10-04-2020, 11:27 AM

Hi all, question regarding 2014 Laredo 240 MK
Recently tried camping without hookups for first season.
First trip, battery life only about 4 hours with radio on, and a few lights on. Charged up fine with generator.

Came home, replaced all interior bulbs with LEDs. Longer battery life on next trip, until the temp dropped and ran furnace. Battery gave out about 2:00 am, even with topping it off before bed using generator.
Replaced battery with new Interstate deep cycle, 550 amps I think. After about a week parked, battery dead.
I know the stereo and the propane detector are hard wired to DC, as the stereo panel light is always on. The dealer who sold me the new battery advised us not to keep my camper plugged into shore power as I had always done before when camper was parked.
Could the stereo and the propane detector draw sufficient juice to deplete the battery in a week, and does the furnace fan draw enough to run the battery down in less than 8 hours?
Is it harmful to the convertor/electrical system to stay hooked to 110 shore power all season?

ChuckS · 10-04-2020, 11:34 AM

One 12 volt battery is not gonna last long.. either two Grp 29 twelve volt batteries parallel or two GC2 six volt batteries in series will give you more reserve...

Also your dealer fed you a line of cheddar cheese about leaving plugged into 120 outlet to provide power to converter.

Every RV I’ve owned for the last 45 years I’ve always kept plugged in at home when not using to maintain charge on batteries... just check electrolyte level once a month in the batteries...

And yes... about 1 week with no power to converter even with battery disconnect turned off and your batteries will be near dead...

The RV furnace blower motor draws around 8 to 10 amps by itself when running not to mention fridge control board, water heater control board, thermostat, etc and in 8 hours with one 12 volt battery it will be dead

**flybouy** · 10-04-2020, 11:46 AM

As Chuck pointed out, you need more storage capacity. That 550 amps is a CCA (cold cranking amps) and true deep cycle batteries are rated in Ah (Amp hours) only. If you let a standard flooded cell battery run down to 12 volts or less than you have permanently damaged the battery. It will never "fully charge" again. A standard battery should be drained beyond 50% of it's rated capacity.

**sourdough** · 10-04-2020, 12:21 PM

You made a good move going to LED lights but one battery and boondocking just don't work. You said you had just tried out boondocking; if you don't plan on doing it anymore 2 12v batteries would work for you. If you intend to do more either get 2 larger (group size) 12v batteries if they will fit or try the 2 6v as was mentioned. If boondocking is going to be a rare thing you can get by with 2 group 24 (which I figure is what you have) if you watch what you are using.

The guy that told you not to keep the trailer plugged in wasn't right. Like Chuck, I typically leave mine plugged in all the time and check the fluid level. Also, those times you run the battery dead are literally killing the battery. I'm attaching a link that shows how depleting a battery affects the remaining battery life - note the chart at the bottom left of page 4.

https://www.intechtrailers.com/image...nce-Manual.pdf

travelin texans · 10-04-2020, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flybouy

As Chuck pointed out, you need more storage capacity. That 550 amps is a CCA (cold cranking amps) and true deep cycle batteries are rated in Ah (Amp hours) only. If you let a standard flooded cell battery run down to 12 volts or less than you have permanently damaged the battery. It will never "fully charge" again. A standard battery should be drained beyond 50% of it's rated capacity.

Marshall beat me to the punch!
If there's CCA listed on your battery/ies you have the wrong type for rv use, CCA is cold cranking amps used for starting engines not for extended use for rv appliances. You want the biggest number of aH listed on a true deep cycle 12 battery or as stated a pair, maybe even 4, of 6 volt golf cart batteries if boondocking regularly.
And I agree that battery guy probably has never owned nor used a rv or he wouldn't have sold the wrong type battery or given such bad information about leaving it plugged in. Sounds like a truck or RV salesman when their lips are moving.
If storing for any length of time remove the negative cable from the battery that the cable goes directly to ground or add a true disconnect to that cable or your batteries WILL be dead in just a few days.

Redtruckvc · 10-05-2020, 05:21 AM

Thanks for your info. She'll be plugged in today, once again.
I am dismayed that we may have ruined our brand new battery.

GHen · 10-05-2020, 09:31 AM

Just to Echo a lot of the other comments. If it’s labeled Deep Cycle/RV-Marine, it’s made for a boat not RV Boondocking. if it shows CCA number, it’s not for RV Boondocking.
A true deep cycle will show amp hours, the number for a standard looking sized battery will be around 100, not 550.

2 deep cycle batteries are a minimum as long as you don’t use much heat, I think 4 is a good start. They are not cheap, $1-200 each. Take care of them and they should last 5-8 years. Drain them to less than 50% and cut the life in half.

Redtruckvc · 10-05-2020, 02:30 PM

Ok, I looked again at my Interstate battery, it says "dual purpose", and indeed does say 550 CCA on it. So, not a true deep cycle . It also has 660 Mah on it.
So long story short, I can keep my camper plugged in as I have before, I can probably use this paltry little battery in summer for lights, and my water pump, as long as the lil Honda is along, but don't count on it to keep me warm in the fall.
And nothing wrong with my system.
You folks are great!

Campermike · 10-08-2020, 06:20 AM

660 mah doesn't make any sense. A cell phone battery has more than that. Is it maybe 66AH? Group 24 true deep cycle has maybe 75AH so a bit lower for a dual use battery would make sense.

Campermike · 10-08-2020, 06:24 AM

Oh and as for usage... With our old popup we could last a couple days with light heat use with our class 24 battery but with our TT there seems to be a lot more parasitic drain. A couple days with no heat use and it's pretty drained. With our solar charger though we can last a lot longer. We also don't need the great nearly as much be when we had a popup so that helps.

NH_Bulldog · 10-08-2020, 09:53 AM

We have 2 group 27 Interstate batteries. With no hookups, occasional furnace use, all LED lights, and running the fridge and water heater on gas, plus my CPAP at night, we get 3 days before we reach the point where we need a recharge. No generator but we can connect the truck for a top-off if needed.

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