Yeah, I'm sure I'll get there eventually but I'll also need car charging so going that route first. Can use that to connect my compressor to the rear of the rear instead of popping the hood which will be beneficial also. It's an offroad rig so would not be easy at all to convert fridge. Since it slides out for access and the compartment is all enclosed excpet for a couple small vents, I doubt I could convert it easily since propane needs to be vented directly to the outside world.
Right? That's about what mine looks like. It's becuase it's an all in one. Those connections are all the accesories (lights, pumps, everything) so it can cut all power when voltage gets low.
I rented a Honda for a work thing a few weeks ago and liked it. Westinghouse looks good too. I'm too antisocial to spend much time in campgrounds : )
Needs to stay DC for efficiency and the AC charging is on the side of the caravan anyway. Planning on running a 50A anderson of a 40A relay / fuse to the hitch. I might just wire it into my aux beam panel and skip the relay if I can get it remember it was on and keep it on after car restart.
I'll probably end up with a small generator but I hate those things and in AZ, I can avoid it for most trips. Need to wire DC-DC for the trips where I don't bring it and we kill the battery like in DV. Just need a start up option since solar won't kick in until a minimum voltage is met on mine. I think I'll grab some sort of portable panel as well.
I appreciate all the advice as usual.
If you went with the XT13 you mentioned in the other thread...you really shouldn't be having problems. Specs and video from MDC mentioned 300w solar and 300A in LiFePO4 batteries. Then after learning how it uses (if I am wrong, please correct) a portable 12v fridge set into a slideout, I was really taken aback.
If you haven't already investigated parasitic draw,
start with any converters, power controllers, monitors,
A/C INVERTERS and related items. These things can starve your systems if left alone. To death.
For example, I run a single 100A LiFePO4 cell charged by a 100w solar panel on the roof of the camper. Running the LPG fridge, I have never ended a travel leg with a discharged battery. Prioritized items are as follows:
- Refrigerator: LPG(12v for temp control)/120v - Only draws electrical power unplugged and upon cooling cycle demand. 4-8 times daily and voltage drop unnoticable.
- Water Pump: 12v - Only draws electrical power on demand. If you hear it running without demand, you likely have a water leak or bad sensor. These are often missed by QC before delivery. You are not alone.
- Ventilation: The fans are pretty efficient usually. I'll leave them on a low setting all day.
Respectfully, I think something retarded happened with the power management in your rig. There is no reason why you should have been dead in the water over that time period, figuratively speaking. If were me, I would definitely perform a detailed electrical system survey before buying/incorporating anything else. For models like mine, the culprit was usually an inverter that had a surface mounted remote switch. If it got bumped or left on, the battery would fully discharge in a few hours, which was too much to recover from charging only by solar and tow vehicle power. That remote is disconnected on mine.
Again, your camper is spec'd out nice electrically and you shouldn't be starved for power even on a cloudy day. I think I'd break out a meter or invite an electrician buddy over for some beer. The first year with a new camper is the toughest, I think.
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We just got back last night from our clubs overland run at Death Valley. I'll be posting pic's on my build thread, hopefully later today.
. A couple weeks ago was particularly extreme though. The day after the storm we had LA-style air quality due to all of the dust from TX and OK that blew up here, plus our wildfires (which are very rare here). Felt like Armageddon. Today it's a normal, beautiful, early Spring day!
