Deep cycle recharge time questions

[Safety_Chain]

Hi All ,
  I am kinda new to popup camping, only been on a few trips. I was wondering if anyone could tell me how long it would take to recharge my popups deep cycle battery via my tow vehicle. My RV dealer sold me a 12ft extension cord to hook up to my truck and recharge the battery on extended camping trips. I like to camp in cold weather and plan on using a lot of propane and 12v this winter.
I am wondering if it's better to just go ahead and get one of those super quiet 1000w coleman generators and recharge that way. I plan to avoid commercial campgrounds with hookups and go for NFS rustic campgrounds.

my rig is a 2006 fleetwood williamsburg
TV is 2004 ford explorer

[wavery]

Hi All ,
  I am kinda new to popup camping, only been on a few trips. I was wondering if anyone could tell me how long it would take to recharge my popups deep cycle battery via my tow vehicle. My RV dealer sold me a 12ft extension cord to hook up to my truck and recharge the battery on extended camping trips. I like to camp in cold weather and plan on using a lot of propane and 12v this winter.
I am wondering if it's better to just go ahead and get one of those super quiet 1000w coleman generators and recharge that way. I plan to avoid commercial campgrounds with hookups and go for NFS rustic campgrounds.

my rig is a 2006 fleetwood williamsburg
TV is 2004 ford explorer

Battery charging from the TV has it's drawbacks.

The TV's alternator really does not put out much at idle. I think if you were to put an ammeter in-line to the battery, you may well find that it is putting out less than 10A per hour. At that rate, it would take about 4 hrs to put a decent charge on your battery.

The TV will be putting out a lot of emissions at idle, that must be considered. Also, the TV cooling system is not designed to operate efficiently at idle, over extended periods of time (certainly not for hours on end). The possibility of overheating and having an engine failure, far from home, is something that must be considered.

If you decide to go with a generator, you may also want to consider a 25A, 3-stage "Smart" battery charger. Be careful about purchasing a generator that may be less than what your long-term goals are. If you buy a 1000W generator, I might suggest that you consider going used.
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lgb/tls/368316239.html
Many people buy 1000W generators and quickly discover that they don't really meet their needs or that their needs have changed a lot quicker than they expected. You can usually find a 2nd hand 1000W generator for a bargain price. If, later, you decide to upgrade (which is a possibility that can't be ignored) you can probably sell your unit for close to what you bought it for.

IMHO, it is a much better investment in weight and $ to simply purchase an additional series 29 or 31 deep cycle battery (or 2) and a plastic carrier (around $110 each, total). Just bring it with you fully charged and hook it up when your campers battery gets low.

Some people are starting to use solar chargers. They also have their limits, the greatest of which is the availability and dependability of direct sunlight. I would consider anything less than a 100W solar array to be very undependable as a charging source. Any size array will certainly be better than nothing (on most camp-outs) but I would recommend a 200W array with a 2500W inverter (if you want 110v capability), and a small generator back-up for those cloud covered camp-outs if/when considering solar-charging.

[Safety_Chain]

Battery charging from the TV has it's drawbacks.

The TV's alternator really does not put out much at idle. I think if you were to put an ammeter in-line to the battery, you may well find that it is putting out less than 10A per hour. At that rate, it would take about 4 hrs to put a decent charge on your battery.

The TV will be putting out a lot of emissions at idle, that must be considered. Also, the TV cooling system is not designed to operate efficiently at idle, over extended periods of time (certainly not for hours on end). The possibility of overheating and having an engine failure, far from home, is something that must be considered.

If you decide to go with a generator, you may also want to consider a 25A, 3-stage "Smart" battery charger. Be careful about purchasing a generator that may be less than what your long-term goals are. If you buy a 1000W generator, I might suggest that you consider going used.
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lgb/tls/368316239.html
Many people buy 1000W generators and quickly discover that they don't really meet their needs or that their needs have changed a lot quicker than they expected. You can usually find a 2nd hand 1000W generator for a bargain price. If, later, you decide to upgrade (which is a possibility that can't be ignored) you can probably sell your unit for close to what you bought it for.

IMHO, it is a much better investment in weight and $ to simply purchase an additional series 29 or 31 deep cycle battery (or 2) and a plastic carrier (around $110 each, total). Just bring it with you fully charged and hook it up when your campers battery gets low.

Some people are starting to use solar chargers. They also have their limits, the greatest of which is the availability and dependability of direct sunlight. I would consider anything less than a 100W solar array to be very undependable as a charging source. Any size array will certainly be better than nothing (on most camp-outs) but I would recommend a 200W array with a 2500W inverter (if you want 110v capability), and a small generator back-up for those cloud covered camp-outs if/when considering solar-charging.

Thanks for the info wavery. I think I'll take your advice and get an additional battery, I dont need 120v capability I just want to keep the furnace going. Last winter I got about three days use out of the onboard deep cycle using the furnace sparingly in 20 to 30 degree weather.