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MelissaJoy View Drop Down
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Joined: 12 Oct 2020
Location: Michigan
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Posts: 16 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: newbie question about battery life
    Posted: 08 Apr 2021 at 7:37am
We have the RPod 178, and are getting ready for our first long trip with it in a week. We have 30+ hours of traveling ahead of us, and were thinking of spending the night in one of the free parking lots listed. So, if we are camping without electric (boondocking), what can we safely use in our camper for an overnight? 

Could we put the slide out? Run the microwave? TV? 

We are really new, so we don't have a way to measure the battery life as of yet. Not even sure how to do that. 

I can tell you all really love your RPods and I appreciate all of the help you have given so far! 

Melissa
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offgrid View Drop Down
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Apr 2021 at 7:49am
You can run the slide, lights, water pump, water heater (on propane) and the furnace overnight. You can't run the micro or air conditioner. You would need to have an inverter to run any small 120Vac loads. Some of the TVs in the newer rpods are 12V so if you have one of those you could run that. Be sure your refrigerator is on propane, it uses too much power on 12v.
1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
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Colonel Podder View Drop Down
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Joined: 25 Sep 2020
Location: Lexington, SC
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Posts: 68 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Apr 2021 at 8:12am
We did our first parking lot stay a couple weeks ago at a Cracker Barrel. We ran the slide, TV, lights, water pump, water heater and had no issues. I think we could go much longer than one night on the battery if needed. Since I was new to this and no idea what to expect, I did disconnect the trailer from the tow vehicle. In case we did use too much 12v power, I didn't want to drain the vehicle battery to the point it wouldn't start. 
2021 R-pod 196
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jato View Drop Down
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Posts: 3258 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Apr 2021 at 8:21am
+1 to Offgrid     Also note that while you travel your tow vehicle will charge your battery due to the online converter on your 178.  We normally boondock and expect 6 days out of our two 12v batteries (that are 10 years old) when night temps are in the 40's and the main culprit to depleting the batteries during this time is running the furnace.  Nevertheless you can see that by properly maintaining your battery(s) you can go more than 1 day without having to worry about running out of juice.

It would be highly recommended to purchase a multitester (voltmeter) to keep an eye on your battery voltage.  They can be purchased at Harbor Freight for $5 or less if you have a coupon.  By not draining your battery below 60% S.O.C. or 12.2v before recharging, it will last for quite some time.

Seeing you are from Michigan, you are not too far from attending the Traverse City R-Pod Rally that will happen on June 17-20.  You are invited.  For details go to the Events and Campout tab.
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'11 model 177
'17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost
Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake
"...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free."
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MelissaJoy View Drop Down
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Posts: 16 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Apr 2021 at 9:13am
We just have one, car sized battery. With the multi-tester, do you just hook it up to the battery terminals? Do you keep it on all of the time or just when spot checking the battery?
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Colt View Drop Down
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Posts: 383 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Apr 2021 at 10:21am
Touch one lead to each of the battery terminals for a spot check.  You can get a rough idea of the State Of Charge (SOC) of the battery from the interior panel that also shows you the water levels. 
John
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jato View Drop Down
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Posts: 3258 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Apr 2021 at 10:38am
Originally posted by MelissaJoy

We just have one, car sized battery. With the multi-tester, do you just hook it up to the battery terminals? Do you keep it on all of the time or just when spot checking the battery?

Just turn the multi-tester on when checking the battery, otherwise leave it off. 

I am not an electrician and when getting the multi-tester was a bit intimidated when I saw how many options (20 total!) I could set the dial to.  The one to set the dial to for a 12v battery is DVC 20 and will read volts.  Hopefully you will always read above 12 volts.
God's pod
'11 model 177
'17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost
Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake
"...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free."
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MelissaJoy View Drop Down
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Posts: 16 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Apr 2021 at 10:58am
So that brings up another point. The interior panel that shows the tank levels, etc does not light up at all. I was thinking that maybe a wire is loose, but maybe it's a fuse?
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jato View Drop Down
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Posts: 3258 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Apr 2021 at 11:29am
Do you have power elsewhere?  Do your overhead lights work?  I would first check connection at battery and double check to make sure they are tight using a wrench to tighten both terminals. 

Are you hooked up to 120v shore power?  Really need more information to narrow this down.
God's pod
'11 model 177
'17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost
Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake
"...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free."
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MelissaJoy View Drop Down
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Posts: 16 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 08 Apr 2021 at 11:32am
Yes, everything else in the trailer has power and we are hooked up to shore power, with an extension cord from our garage. 
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