Boondocking/Dry camping advice for R-Pod noob
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Topic: Boondocking/Dry camping advice for R-Pod noob
Posted By: Wilde
Subject: Boondocking/Dry camping advice for R-Pod noob
Date Posted: 30 Jan 2015 at 8:54pm
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Hi Guys, we're looking to get our R-Pod in the next few weeks. We're going to get a 176t. This will be our first trailer. Most of the camping we'll be doing will be without hookups (water/electricity).
I'm not sure what I can expect regarding electricity and the use of any appliances without hookups. Can anyone give me advice on what I'll need to prepare the R-Pod for that type of camping? Some specific questions: would a solar panel allow me to use the A/C? How many batteries do I need? |
Replies:
Posted By: Podster
Date Posted: 30 Jan 2015 at 10:06pm
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Congratulations on your new 176t! No A/C on battery power. Generally you can do lights, 12v water pump, and radio for sure. Maybe 12v HDTV with DVD if you're careful to watch power consumption. I think standby battery power may even provide the electric spark needed to start the propane mode and use for the Water heater, Dometic Fridge, and Suburban 20,000 BTU Heater, and of course you will be able to use the gas burners next to the sink to cook with. So really, just about everything you need, except for A/C, Electric Hot Water Mode, and No Microwave Oven. Can somebody tell me if the Fantastic fan is on the 12v circuit? I sure hope so. For safety reasons you should never tow with a completely dead battery because it is the battery that provides emergency braking of the POD electric brakes should the trailer de-couple from the tow vehicle. A lot of folks that dry camp add a second battery, and another propane tank. You may not have to do this to get started if you're only camping for 2 or 3 days. Here is a handy calculator that you can use to figure battery and solar panel size based on your estimated power requirements and available sunlight. Use the "off grid" section. http://www.renogy-store.com/Solar-Sizing-s/1907.htm - Solar Sizing If you want A/C off the grid you will have to invest in a good generator system. http://powerequipment.honda.com/generators/models/eu3000is - Honda EU3000iS Model Info | Super Quiet 3000 Watt Inverter Generator | Honda Generators ------------- Cliff & Raelynn Ranger 4.0/178 (1/2 ton 5,800lb tow capacity) |
Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 31 Jan 2015 at 12:05am
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Fantastic fan is 12v. There is no practical way to use the 120v stuff off grid. Someday, when our understanding of physics advances far enough.. maybe. But for now, "off grid" means just that, no grid power. You give up the a/c, and the microwave, and depending on pod model, the entertainment system. You can use a generator to "get them back".. but that is it's own can of worms, so to speak. ------------- |
Posted By: Tars Tarkas
Date Posted: 31 Jan 2015 at 2:42am
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In addition to what's been said, it depends on usage, but one 12v battery will only get you by for 2 or 3 days without some kind of recharging unless you are almost fanatical about not using battery power. Even two heavy duty 6v batteries in series won't last a week unless you are very conservative with your lights, water pump, etc. Speaking of lights, if you haven't replaced your interior lights with LEDs, doing so will help considerably for boondocking. I can't talk about the technicalities like Techntrek, who will likely chime in, but you don't want to let your battery get too low or it can permanently damage it, aside from leaving you in the dark with no running water. I dry camp a lot and my solution to keeping the battery charged is a generator. Depending on the situation, I'll leave my generator running all day just to charge the battery. I have one of the Yamaha 2400w gennies. It will run the air con and everything else, but not necessarily at the same time. As said, generators are their own can of worms. Just a few of the issues are the expense and which one to get, which involves deciding how much you want to pay for a relatively low noise level and for reliability. Then how are you going to haul it around? Will you need to lift and move it from its transport location to its campground location? (They aren't light.) How are you going to keep it secure in the campground and in or on the tow vehicle? You have to haul extra fuel for the genny. There are generator hours and location restrictions in most campgrounds. Even the quietest generators make noise that even you as the user may not find pleasant. The 120v system and the 12v systems don't overlap, although the fridge and water heater work on either. I guess the only other overlap is the built-in battery charger/minder that charges the battery whenever you have shore or generator power. Yes, the vent fan does work on 12v. No amount of solar power is going to let you run the air con or anything that only runs on 120v. No practical amount. If you camp a lot on the beach or in the desert and don't want or can't find shade, a decent amount of solar can keep your battery charged. For the majority of my camping, I'm under the trees and wouldn't get enough sun anyway so solar hasn't been an option. It also has transportation and security issues. You can get a little inverter to convert 12v to 120v to run the TV or a CPAP device. Those things suck the juice out of your battery though and I wouldn't recommend them for boondocking without a plan on how to recharge the battery on a daily basis. TT ------------- 2010 176 FJ Cruiser |
Posted By: shroomer
Date Posted: 31 Jan 2015 at 6:55am
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We dry camp for 3-4 days at a time. We have two batteries for a total of 185aH (group 30 and group 24). LED lights were a HUGE savings. They were our single largest use of electricity. 12v cpap machine runs every night. Fantastic fan uses very little as one of our esteemed electrical gurus reported. Furnace uses a lot of juice. If you have to use it, you'll shorten your trip unless you recharge. Lots of info on the site about recharging possibilities including jumper cables and generators. We camp in the northeast where it's cool and don't need AC so we we haven't seen the need to lug around a generator. Solar will give you a slight recharge but won't be a total answer. See calculators others have supplied. And last of all - DO NOT RUN YOUR REFRIGERATOR ON 12v. Dry camping is very do-able with the r-pod. Start with 2-3 day trips and see how it goes. Enjoy. ------------- Larry and Debbie w/Rosie the mutt. Old: '13 177, '06 Silverado V6 New: '15 Whitehawk 20MRB '14 Silverado V8 |
Posted By: Leo B
Date Posted: 31 Jan 2015 at 7:06am
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Welcome to the group! Congrats on your 176!! ------------- Leo & Melissa Bachand 2017 Ford F150 2021 Vista Cruiser 19 csk Previously owned 2015 Rpod 179 2010 Rpod 171 |
Posted By: ToolmanJohn
Date Posted: 31 Jan 2015 at 9:09am
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Here's my experience with battery use . I do not have solar panel, I do not take a generator with me. I have run down the battery to dead on one occasion for a three day weekend (FURNACE!!! and Incandescent Lights). At the time , I had only one battery, I now have 2. More recently, I have gone 3 nights, 4 days, using only battery power (2 x 12VDC deep cycle batteries in parallel). Used the furnace on 2 of those nights. The furnace is the biggest 12 volt power user. I have all LED lights on my Pod now, so use from those is minimal. The refrigerator is very low power usage when running propane, just the control board. When I was done camping my batteries read 11.4 volts. You "can" run the microwave if you install a DC-AC power inverter of more than 1500 watts. BUT this will really use a lot of power, even for a few minutes. I have a small 200 watt inverter for powering the LCD TV (22 watts), also used for charging my cell phone (usb charge port built into it). I unplug the TV and shut off the inverter when not using it. Get a second battery , use a 4 position marine grade battery switch ( Battery 1, Battery 2, Battery 1+2, OFF ) Run the batteries in parallel when using them. Get LED Lights, get rid of the little incandescent bulbs if your pod comes with them they are huge power eaters at night. The furnace eats through battery power running the fan. I wish there was a more efficient way to heat the camper in sub 40 degree weather (it happens in Northern Vermont in Spring and Fall). I am looking into adapting the propane water heater to get a hydronic hot water loop running under the mattress. Still investigating this. It's been doen before, I'm not sure it's worth the effort or what the result would be like. Solar can replace some of the power used , depends on how much you actually use the 12V system. ------------- 2017 ATC 7X20 Custom Toy Hauler 2013 R-Pod 177 (SOLD) 2013 VW Touareg TDI |
Posted By: CharlieM
Date Posted: 31 Jan 2015 at 9:25am
A tip when you negotiate the deal. The normally supplied battery is a single 12V Group24 battey and it is really inadequate for any dry camping. The battery is a dealer installed item and should be subject to negotiation. The preferred substitute is two 6 volt GC2 golf cart batteries wired in series. This will give you almost three times the original battery capacity; much more than adding a second Gp24 battery in parallel. Do your homework. You should expect some price credit for the single Gp 24 since it was included in the original price. And, as stated above, the single biggest thing you can do to improve 12V capability, after you've installed the dual 6V configuration, is the replacement of the interior bulbs with LEDs. ------------- Charlie Northern Colorado OLD: 2013 RP-172, 2010 Honda Pilot 3.5L 4WD PRESENT: 2014 Camplite 21RBS, 2013 Supercharged Tacoma 4L V6 4WD |
Posted By: J&Jcf
Date Posted: 31 Jan 2015 at 10:04am
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We do a lot of dry camping in national parks & forests.I have a Honda 2000 gen. for recharge of the battery. Even though it is quite for a gen. l still don't enjoy hearing it. It is definitely less annoying to other campers. I try to consolidate all our major uses( showers, making coffee, microwave, etc ) during the charging/gen. use. You shouldn't have to use generator for more than two hours at a time to get a full charge. Push comes to shove with careful use we can get two days out of a single battery before it reaches the minimal 12 volts to run the Fridge's control panel on gas. In a pinch you can start you car and plug in trailer light hook- up , but it will take a while to get a full (2hrs) charge. Once hook- up to trailer , you cars charging system should charge the trailer battery while towing or when running. ------------- J. - 2011 rpod 171 |
Posted By: Wilde
Date Posted: 31 Jan 2015 at 1:20pm
| Okay. Good info. Especially the battery advice. Thanks! |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 31 Jan 2015 at 2:28pm
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See the http://www.solar-electric.com/deep-cycle-battery-faq.html - Wind Sun battery FAQ for lots of good info on battery care. Lots of boondockers buy a catalytic heater, like the Little Buddy or Olympian Wave. No battery power needed. ------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual 
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Posted By: Tars Tarkas
Date Posted: 31 Jan 2015 at 10:45pm
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We've been talking about electricity but another big factor related to boondocking is water and waste water. It is best by far to travel light -- without water in the potable tank. At least not much. Water equals weight which impacts your MPGs. Get fresh water at the campground or at least as late as you can, and get rid of left over water and dump the waste tanks before you head home. The other thing about water, fresh or waste, is that it can really affect the Pod's stability. I have a 176 (no T) and my fresh water tank is behind the axle. If there's much water in that tank it will lower the tongue weight, which will help magnify sway, which can be a major safety issue. TT ------------- 2010 176 FJ Cruiser |
Posted By: ToolmanJohn
Date Posted: 01 Feb 2015 at 9:28am
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I agree, towing with water lowers towing performance. But getting water at the final destination is sometimes NOT posssible ( such as a MTB Festival I go to each Summer ). So I do tow with a full tank of fresh water. As you said, drain almost all the fresh water left over beforer leaving, but driving home, I will have a nearly 3/4 full gray tank. The black tank has never been over 1/3 for a 4 day trip. After the 200+ mile tow home, I stop at a public dump station located at a Connecticut state rest area on I-84 East in Southington CT and empty and rinse the tanks. Short drive home from there. Luckily (??) I have never had sway. Even when towing full fresh tank, 65mph, past semi trucks. I get buffetting from air flow from those trucks, but keep my distance until the time to pass is right (uphill when they slow down).
------------- 2017 ATC 7X20 Custom Toy Hauler 2013 R-Pod 177 (SOLD) 2013 VW Touareg TDI |
Posted By: Podster
Date Posted: 01 Feb 2015 at 11:11am
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I am more concerned about towing with tanks 1/2 or 1/3 of capacity because of the shifting weight. ------------- Cliff & Raelynn Ranger 4.0/178 (1/2 ton 5,800lb tow capacity) |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 01 Feb 2015 at 10:22pm
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The weight of the water is negligible compared to the air resistance and terrain. Our last 2 trips across the US I kept records of every fill-up and mileage. Some legs we had full water, some w/o, and I just don't see a noticeable difference. Legs where we hit big hills and others where we went faster you could tell. ------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual
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Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 02 Feb 2015 at 4:33pm
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I think a big part of it is weight.. If you have all three tanks, say, half full, that's around 60 gallons, at 8 pounds a gallon.. That's 480 lbs.. or nearly half the useable cargo weight of some pods.
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Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 02 Feb 2015 at 6:19pm
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I agree that adds a lot of weight, but I'll give you an example of why weight means very little compared to the air resistance of a TT. Our prior TV, a Sienna, got 23 mpg in daily driving. Pulling our 3500 pound popup it got 16. Pulling our pod at near 3000 pounds it got 12. Heavier popup by about 600 pounds, but better mpg.
------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual
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