We Did It !

Pulled our 177 Pod home today from Colorado to Wyoming.

Right now feeling a bit overwhelmed with all the information. Had a top notch walk-through/overview and then hooked up and headed north. Ran into some ofmthe highest winds this year. Thought we were going to end up alongside the road in a ditch a few times    ...in fact, we passed a camper that had apparently blown off of 287. Camper was a mess but there were law enforcement and towmvehiclesmon the scene so it did not appear that anyone was injured.

Backed our new Pod into the driveway and off to the side. Got it levelled and stabilized. Extended the slide-out. Plugged in the shore power and fired up a little ceramic heater. Set up the table (need some practice with that) and called it quits for the day.

We were told that leaving shore power plugged in was NOT a good way to maintain a charge on the battery. Was surprised because that's what we've always done in the past with our other teardrop - - time will tell.

So much to learn and do     ...such little time. Can't get over all the lights inside the Pod. Really looking forward to doong some mods amd making it "ours".

Mark and Leslie
Laramie, WY

Leave it plug in.  I've been doing that with both my campers for years and never had an issue with the batteries because of it.  I treat our campers like a 2nd home, meaning they're fired-up and ready to go when needed.  They stay plugged in, the frig stays on, water in the tank, etc.  Even when I winterized, I still keep it plugged in.  A charged battery will not freeze.

Heck    ...we just got our home yesterday and I 'm already piddlin ( but not innthe toilet since the dealer had already gone ahead and winterized it for us. Then again, if we did get a decent break innthe weather I could picture us flushing out the system andngoing camping. One of my first projects will be to add a 12 volt outlet. Next will most likely be to replace the incandescents with LED's (didmthat on our previous camper). Put felt pads onnthe table feet today and thinking I might move the entire leg/base mechanism back a bit on the table surface. Right now with the table in the upright position, one foot of rear leg hits the propane alarm if you shove the table to that side - - not a good setup.

I've got all kinds of ideas    ...just not enough time :-) Already have a cover (Northern Tool model) and wheel covers.

Mark J

Doug, does the Propane dectector pull that kind of current ?, if it runs the battery down in 2 weeks or so, that means it must be pulling 300 or 400 milliamps. is there a 12 volt breaker you can flip to cut the power off to an unoccupied pod (winter storage) you must put a placard (pilot talk) on the detector to re-energize the unit before use (eg remove before flight) or dummy me will wake up dead from gas explosion.

Originally posted by techntrek Modern campers have good three-stage chargers and your battery will stay properly charged if you leave it plugged in. However, you don't have to. Lead-acid batteries must be charged at least once a month in the warm months, and every few months over the winter. So you can leave the battery completely disconnected and plug it into the camper - and the camper into the house - once a month. Make sure you disconnect it from the camper if the camper is not plugged into the house! The propane detector will drain it within 2 weeks if you don't; this will destroy it very quickly. You can add a fuse holder or a disconnect switch.

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techntrek     ...when we were getting our big walk-through yesterday I mentioned to the dealer tech that I wanted to add a 12 Volt receptacle and I asked him where the best place would be to tap intomthat side of the electrical system. He immediately pointed to the PROPANE DETECTOR. When I asked why there    ...he said that the propane detector is hard-wired. So, what you are saying makes a lot of sense.

What I was wondering     ....why not just cut a switch into the hot (red) lead, rather than a fuse and place it right next to the propane detector. Of course, you'd have to make it part of your pack-up procedures to flip that switch and test the detector. But at least that would interrupt the parasitic drain on the battery when your are home and the propane valve is turned off at the cylinderturned ?

MJ