Dry Camping duration

Message Share Topic Printable Version Google Delicious Digg StumbleUpon Windows Live Yahoo Bookmarks reddit Facebook MySpace Newsvine Furl Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic

Interesting Dry Camp with water? We use our P-Pod to camp on
open fields all the time for 2-3 day weekends. Last weekend we ran the battery
down and lost heat. That night it went down below freezing waking us both up. I
hooked up the Chrysler and ran it for a hour to bring to battery up. Should
have brought our LP generator along. Also I think I should have connected it up
at home the day before to fully charge the battery and get the fridge ready for
beer. Over the winter I’d like to add a second battery to help us through the
cold nights.

Author	Message Share Topic Printable Version Google Delicious Digg StumbleUpon Windows Live Yahoo Bookmarks reddit Facebook MySpace Newsvine Furl Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic
pcobelcz Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 02 Sep 2012 Location: Macungie PA Online Status: Offline Posts: 5	Topic: Dry Camping duration Posted: 25 Nov 2012 at 10:37am
	Interesting Dry Camp with water? We use our P-Pod to camp on open fields all the time for 2-3 day weekends. Last weekend we ran the battery down and lost heat. That night it went down below freezing waking us both up. I hooked up the Chrysler and ran it for a hour to bring to battery up. Should have brought our LP generator along. Also I think I should have connected it up at home the day before to fully charge the battery and get the fridge ready for beer. Over the winter I’d like to add a second battery to help us through the cold nights.
	Paul & Lois w/Whippets Chrysler 2010 4L R-Pod 177

g4royce Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 20 Nov 2010 Location: PortStLucie FL Online Status: Offline Posts: 335	Posted: 25 Nov 2012 at 10:47am
	For us it's always the battery that dies first bc we like to keep the fan on low to help with the condensation. Now we have a battery powered fan that we run if we're not using the showers and need that extra power from the bathroom fan. We get maybe 1 full night's use of the battery if we run the bathroom fan before the battery gets low enough to trip the annoying propane alarm. We also find that we are limited more by the capacity of the grey tanks more than that of the fresh water tank. Not doing dishes in the pod helps tremendously.
	ChaiPod 2009 RP152 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe 3.5L V6

this_is_nascar Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 24 Jan 2010 Location: NJ Online Status: Offline Posts: 466	Posted: 26 Nov 2012 at 7:58am
	If your discharging the battery enough that your tripping the alarms, etc, you won't get more that a couple seasons off that battery. Not sure if you knew that or not. This is not like a cell phone battery. Running it to empty a bunch of times will kill that battery, for good, in no time at all.
	"Ray & Connie" - 2017 R-Pod RP-180 - 2007 Toyota Tacoma TRD-Off Road

coopercdrkey Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 26 Aug 2012 Location: Cedar Key, FL Online Status: Offline Posts: 457	Posted: 26 Nov 2012 at 8:06am
	I've heard that about a standard lead-acid "car" battery, but is the same thing true for a deep cycle battery? Someone told me our deep cycle battery is not harmed by total discharge. Think I'll Google a battery site. I'll let you know what I find. (From a web site "Deep Cycle Batteries FAQ"): Deep cycle batteries are designed to be discharged down as much as 80% time after time, and have much thicker plates. The major difference between a true deep cycle battery and others is that the plates are SOLID Lead plates - not sponge. This gives less surface area, thus less "instant" power like starting batteries need. Although these an be cycled down to 20% charge, the best lifespan vs cost method is to keep the average cycle at about 50% discharge.
	Bob and Joyce Jennifer and Baxter, the Campin' Cocker Spaniels RP 177 "Key Pod" Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LT / Z71

techntrek Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group - pHp Joined: 29 Jul 2009 Location: MD Online Status: Offline Posts: 9059	Posted: 26 Nov 2012 at 11:36am
	I'm a regular member of a solar forum, where members live off-grid all the time. The consensus is to go to 50% depth-of-discharge (DOD) most of the time, with an occasional dip to 70%. Never go beyond 70%. See the voltage chart on this FAQ (about 2/3 of the way down with all the colors) : http://www.windsun.com/Batteries/Battery_FAQ.htm 70% DOD = 30% state-of-charge (SOC), as shown on that table. Below that you risk damaging the battery. Going all the way to "total discharge" will kill the battery after 2-3 times.
	Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual

this_is_nascar Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 24 Jan 2010 Location: NJ Online Status: Offline Posts: 466	Posted: 27 Nov 2012 at 6:46am
	Here's an excellent article about this topic. http://www.marxrv.com/12volt/12volt.htm
	"Ray & Connie" - 2017 R-Pod RP-180 - 2007 Toyota Tacoma TRD-Off Road

pcobelcz Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 02 Sep 2012 Location: Macungie PA Online Status: Offline Posts: 5	Posted: 27 Nov 2012 at 9:13pm
	Thanks for the tip I did hit bottom.
	Paul & Lois w/Whippets Chrysler 2010 4L R-Pod 177

Raven729 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 13 Feb 2019 Location: Mesa AZ Online Status: Offline Posts: 6	Posted: 27 Feb 2019 at 8:47am
	newbie : how do you "pre-load" the hot water heater?

Pod People Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 22 Sep 2011 Location: Chapel Hill,NC Online Status: Offline Posts: 1067	Posted: 27 Feb 2019 at 9:31am
	The R Pod water heater holds approximately 6 gallons. Pre-loading is talking about filling the water heater , the plumbing lines and the fresh water tank from your home location prior to traveling. Be aware that the fresh water tank on most pods is in front of the axle and if full will increase the tongue weight as well as the overall weight of the Pod. We camp most of the time without services directly at the camp site. We travel with just a few gallons of water in the tank and carry a hose and 5 gallon container with us in the tow vehicle. Once we get to the destination(or as close as possible) we will fill the fresh water holding tank. If we need to refill it, we use the 5 gallon container, fill it at a remote location and then dump it into the fresh water tank. We don't use the water heater as it takes a lot of wasted water to get the hot water to the kitchen sink location. When we wash dishes, we simply heat a quart of water on the propane cooktop. Showers are generally available at the campground. Vann
	Vann & Laura 2015 RPod 179

Blender Bob Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: 11 Mar 2018 Location: Colorado Online Status: Offline Posts: 48	Posted: 27 Feb 2019 at 9:54am
	I carry a blue water cube where I can get water without moving the R-pod. We do dishes in a pan in the sink to allow pitching wash water (with biopdegradeable soap) Running the frig on propane should be the first thing in saving battery. I worried about running out of propane until I experienced that hot water, a little heat in the AM and running the frig on propane have little impact and I estimate I would get 3-4 weeks on a full bottle. A trick to know how much propane you have left is to slowly pour about a quart of hot water on one side of the tank. Then feel downward and when the warm metal turns cold, that's the level of your propane. Allows for SWAN.
	Bob 2015 Chevy Colorado Z71 2018 178 R-pod Hood River Edition