Battery charging - newbie questions

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The cost of putting in a power hook up for your pod depends on how much you can do your self. 

150 feet of underground 10/2 romex is about $150 here. Breaker, sub box, outlet and cover is another $50 or so. Unless your ground is really rocky or something, have a bunch of friends over for a BBQ.. everybody digs 10 feet of trench a foot to 18 inches deep.. prize for the first couple finishers.. done.

Trust me, more than one full hookup at home camper spot has been done this way.

Also.. if disconnecting the battery at home between trips is going to be a regular thing.. just put in a battery cutoff switch. No need to open the battery box, and no need to see/make any sparks. 

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furpod Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group - pHp Joined: 25 Jul 2011 Location: Central KY Online Status: Offline Posts: 6128	Topic: Battery charging - newbie questions Posted: 05 Oct 2015 at 2:51pm
	The cost of putting in a power hook up for your pod depends on how much you can do your self. 150 feet of underground 10/2 romex is about $150 here. Breaker, sub box, outlet and cover is another $50 or so. Unless your ground is really rocky or something, have a bunch of friends over for a BBQ.. everybody digs 10 feet of trench a foot to 18 inches deep.. prize for the first couple finishers.. done. Trust me, more than one full hookup at home camper spot has been done this way. Also.. if disconnecting the battery at home between trips is going to be a regular thing.. just put in a battery cutoff switch. No need to open the battery box, and no need to see/make any sparks.

dogsintow Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 30 Sep 2015 Location: Pacific NW Online Status: Offline Posts: 31	Posted: 05 Oct 2015 at 1:22pm
	Thank you all for your responses!! I really appreciate it!! I disconnected the negative line this morning and nothing blew up! I have decent charge on the battery before I disconnected it, so at least now I don't have to worry about running it down while I do what I need to do before the maiden voyage in a few weeks. I ordered a trickle charger to take the battery to the garage when I need it-- and I also am going to get a longer power cord for the pod because the one that was included is only 20 feet or so. If I use a 50 foot power cable and attach it to an outdoor heavy-duty extension cord with the 30amp to 15 amp converter, I should be able to charge it from my home. I'm making progress on how all this works! I think burying a line to the Pod will be very very expensive, so if I can charge it with either an extension cord or removing the battery, I'm going to try that for now. thank you again for your advice!
	2011 R-Pod 177 aka The Pawd Pad 2002 Chevy Tahoe 2 happy dogs

TigerPawd Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: 04 Feb 2015 Location: Corpus Christi Online Status: Offline Posts: 68	Posted: 05 Oct 2015 at 12:01pm
	Dogsintow, in the days before our Pod, we had a 31' Surveyor that was too big to store at our house, so we left the battery in during the summer. When fall came, we just pulled the battery at the storage lot, put it in our TV and took it home, pretty much your option 2. We have both a "real" charger and a little trickle charger, depending on how much I had neglected the battery during the summer. We just stuck them in a corner of the garage and left them there till we needed the Surveyor again. Not really a lot of trouble unless you have back problems. Leaving it all summer without charging the battery wasn't the smartest thing I have ever done, as it probably shortened the battery life some. Problem was that we were never sure when the bug to camp would bite. A fully charged battery will probably give a small spark when reconnecting, but there should not be an appreciable amount of propane in the air unless you have just opened up the valve and let it blow - on a calm day at that. Not very likely, but still a reasonable question. Safeness beats sorriness every time. Best wishes for some great adventures up in the Northwest. Wish we had some of your scenery down in south Texas.
	Joan, Jerry and the two Pugs 2015 R-Pod 179

CharlieM Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 23 Nov 2012 Location: N. Colorado Online Status: Offline Posts: 1797	Posted: 05 Oct 2015 at 10:46am
	Moving the pod periodically will get old very fast. If charging the battery is all you want to do you can do it with a long extension cord from a 15A outlet. Unless the outlet circuit is already heavily loaded you don't have to turn off anything in the house. If you disconnect the battery from the Pod between charging periods you can go 1-2 months without charging. Reconnect the battery when you want to charge it. Disconnecting and reconnecting the battery is no hazard from propane. Just close the propane tank valve and leave it closed until you are preparing for a trip. If you disconnect the battery only one lead is necessary. Either positive or negative. Solar is probably not a good option in your case. Another option is to run a buried power line to the Pod. 10-2 UF-B W/G wire can be directly buried and is available at Home Depot etc. If connected to a 15-20 Amp circuit in your house it can be buried 12". If you have the ability to bury the run you can hook up the Pod and forget it. If not a long extension cord may be easiest.
	Charlie Northern Colorado OLD: 2013 RP-172, 2010 Honda Pilot 3.5L 4WD PRESENT: 2014 Camplite 21RBS, 2013 Supercharged Tacoma 4L V6 4WD

furpod Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group - pHp Joined: 25 Jul 2011 Location: Central KY Online Status: Offline Posts: 6128	Posted: 05 Oct 2015 at 9:08am
	You can have an electrician run a 30A 120V supply to the Pods parking area. IF and I do mean IF, you are only worried about keeping the battery charged, a good quality extension cord could be used to get from the garage to the pod. Moving the Pod to charge every 7-10 days would get old fairly fast I think. Disconnecting and connecting the battery is a non issue. There is no danger of exploding propane tank. I mean, if a person TRIED VERY hard, they could possibly get it to happen, but trust me it isn't going to happen accidentally. In your scenario, this is the best option, pull the battery put it on a maintainer in the garage. Solar can be iffy, especially if you have long periods without sun..

dogsintow Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 30 Sep 2015 Location: Pacific NW Online Status: Offline Posts: 31	Posted: 05 Oct 2015 at 12:22am
	As a newbie to camping trailers and my new-to-me 2011 Rpod 177, I'm learning how all the systems work, and I'm trying to figure out the best way to charge the battery between trips and then over the winter. Right now my Rpod is about 150 feet from my house in a good area for storage and moving around/attaching to the tow vehicle. My driveway is narrow and surrounded by very large trees, so keeping it closer to my home is difficult to maneuver. So I'm thinking I have these options and I'm looking for recommendations: Option 1: Tow the trailer closer to my house, detach from the TV and plug into my home with a 30amp to 15 amp converter-- and then put it back in its spot. With this option, do I only use the RPod electrical cord and converter? Or can I use an extension cord too? Do I need to have an electrician look at any of my outlets? And do I need to turn off any circuit breakers in my home before plugging in? Option 2: Disconnect and remove the battery and charge with a trickle charger and then put the battery back. As a newbie, this option has me a little nervous because I assume when I attach the battery back, there will be a small spark because of the LP alarm and the electric tongue jack that it immediately connects to. Even though the propane tank is turned off, the tank is right there-- and I definitely don't want any sort of explosion or injury. Taking off the propane tank is possible, but not something i really want to do more than I have to, especially if I have to charge the battery every few weeks. Option 3: I've heard of some people having a solar-powered trickle charger on their travel trailers. Do any of you have this? And is something I should consider doing? I also live in the Pacific Northwest, where winter sun is minimal and cloud cover is common, but would love the convenience of the small charge so I don't have to do option 1 or 2. Thank you so much for your help and advice! I'm a solo adventurer and being a newbie isn't easy. :) Stephanie
	2011 R-Pod 177 aka The Pawd Pad 2002 Chevy Tahoe 2 happy dogs