battery and caulking

[msteward]

I have a fleetwood evolution E1 and a few questions.

1.  Battery.   It seems to drain very quickly especially when using furnace which causes some problems including setting off the CO detector.  
     a.  I've heard of people putting on "golf cart batteries" - does anyone have any experience with this and how do you do it?
     b.  I asked the dealer about disconnecting battery and putting on external trickle charger and he said the trailer acts like a trickle charger so no need to do that.  Is that true.
     c.   Solar panels?   Other ideas for extending battery life?  

2.  Caulking/filling gaps for dust.   I actually use this trailer for the intended offroad purpose.  Many of the CGs we go to have a section of dirt or gravel road for access.   this results in a lot of dust in the camper, especially around the wheel well areas.   I wondered if anyone has tried to seal with caulk or other sealent with any success?

Thanks for any responses!

[JimS]

I have a fleetwood evolution E1 and a few questions.

1.  Battery.   It seems to drain very quickly especially when using furnace which causes some problems including setting off the CO detector.  
     a.  I've heard of people putting on "golf cart batteries" - does anyone have any experience with this and how do you do it?
     b.  I asked the dealer about disconnecting battery and putting on external trickle charger and he said the trailer acts like a trickle charger so no need to do that.  Is that true.
     c.   Solar panels?   Other ideas for extending battery life?  

2.  Caulking/filling gaps for dust.   I actually use this trailer for the intended offroad purpose.  Many of the CGs we go to have a section of dirt or gravel road for access.   this results in a lot of dust in the camper, especially around the wheel well areas.   I wondered if anyone has tried to seal with caulk or other sealent with any success?

Thanks for any responses!

Yes, the furnace will quickly drain the battery.  Now does the furnace set off the CO detector or does it sound a low battery warning?

If you look at my and Birdman's posts about solar power under Dry Camping, you will see what others have done.  I do use two Trojan T-105 Plus batteries wired in series and have found that this gives me about 3 1/2 times the capacity of the old GRP 27.  Also, with the solar charging system, I have all the power I need and can use the furnace as much as wanted for as long as wanted.  All I need is about 4 hours of sunlight a day to keep the batteries fully charged from about 70%.  To get the batteries down to 70% takes about two days with steady use of the furnace in cold weather.  That means it is coming on about every 20 minutes and running for 5-10 minutes.  Not using the furnace, I can easily go a week or longer before the batteries reach 70%, and 10% of that can be attributed to their own internal discharge over that time period.

The power converter in the PUP will charge the battery when connected to the tow vehicle or when hooked up the shore power, otherwise, it is a drain on the battery.

As for caulking, I used silicon exterior caulk and filled any and every hole, seam, crack, gap, gouge and pit that I could find and still get dust in the PUP.  Of course, I drive dozens of miles on dry, dusty dirt roads when I go camping so I'm not suprised.  The wheel wells seem to be the biggest problem as the cabinets around them get the most dust.  Nowhere near as bad as it was before the sealing but still have a fine layer of dust on things.  I don't know where it is coming from.  I have sealed EVERYTHING!  Must be missing something.

[austinado16]

Could you guys "paint" the area where the wheel wells come up through the floor with that roof Kool Seal product or a similar "goes on thick, levels out and stays rubbery" type of product?

Or what about doing what the automotive industry does to prevent this and water from coming in through the doors.  Seal off the wheel wells from inside with 6mil or 8mil plastic sheet and stick it down with 3M Strip Caulk(available at NAPA and auto body supplies).  Automakers do this behind the upholstered door panels in cars and they either use a black butyl strip caulk or the thin/clear 3M double sided tape.

As you've seen msteward, lights and your furnace suck the battery right down. JimS has pretty much mastered the process of keeping batteries alive, so I'd follow his enlightened path.

You might also consider LED lights to replace your bulbs in all, or most of your fixtures.  The LED light thread is stickied above, and also talked about in detail in Brdman's post.  I did this conversion, and then went one step further with the furnace and purchased an Olympian Wave 6 Catalytic Heater.  I "T'd" into the propane line under the sink with an on/off valve and 10' of flex hose with a quick coupler at the other end.  Put the male quick coupler on the Wave 6.  So the heater stays stowed in a cabinet until we need it, and then is easily connected and put into use.  It's completely silent and makes great heat.

[mike4947]

Been down those dusty roads. What a pain opening up to a coating of dust all over everything.
The "fix" is two people, a strong light, and a caulking gun.
One person inside shining the light everywhere including under the dinette seats and in all the cabinettes and the other under the camper caulking util no light shows.
Other than behind the fridge, water heater, and furnace compartment where you really can't seal it up the trailer becasue of the vents will come out amazingly dust/dirt free.

[msteward]

Thank you all - great info.  Lots for me to do.      Final question.  When I use my turn signals in vehicle - both lights on camper flash (like hazards).  Checked bulbs (which have two filaments) and both seem fine?   Thanks again!

[Camp&Fish]

Thank you all - great info.  Lots for me to do.      Final question.  When I use my turn signals in vehicle - both lights on camper flash (like hazards).  Checked bulbs (which have two filaments) and both seem fine?   Thanks again!

This sounds like a wiring problem, either in the harness on your TV, or somewhere on the PUP.

[Haroki]

If you have regular lead acid "wet" batteries, get a Vector battery charger that has a " battery recondition" function.

What happens after a year or so is the plates form deposits on them that lessens the battery capacity. I have an aluminum boat with an electric trolling motor on it with 2 GRP 27' deep cycles, and couldn't get 2 years out of them. I got one of those chargers and they now have lasted 4 yrs. they're finally ready to be switched out.

Just do the recondition 3-4 times a year to keep them fresh.

[waterdoctor]

If you have regular lead acid "wet" batteries, get a Vector battery charger that has a " battery recondition" function.
 
What happens after a year or so is the plates form deposits on them that lessens the battery capacity. I have an aluminum boat with an electric trolling motor on it with 2 GRP 27' deep cycles, and couldn't get 2 years out of them. I got one of those chargers and they now have lasted 4 yrs. they're finally ready to be switched out.
 
Just do the recondition 3-4 times a year to keep them fresh.

Check out www.pulsetech.net  They manufacture a solar powered pulse battery desulfater/maintainer.  I've used one of these on a pickup that I drive, maybe, 2x a year and I always have a full charge.  I've also got one installed on my PUP and it keeps both "wet cell" batteries in tip top shape.  These things won't charge your battery, though they make one that will do that as well, but they will keep your battery fully charged and the sulfur deposits that accumulate on the plates inside the battery knocked off.  This will help to extend your battery life.  The model I got also has an external power supply that I plug into an extension cord for night time operation.
 
Steve

[Haroki]

Yep, this would work too.

Desulfators will GREATLY extend the service life of batteries.

My mom and dad have a diesel pusher, which has like 4 GRP 27's, and he was replacing them every 2 yrs until I gave him a charger with a desulfate function. He thinks it's the bomb...

Check out www.pulsetech.net  They manufacture a solar powered pulse battery desulfater/maintainer.  I've used one of these on a pickup that I drive, maybe, 2x a year and I always have a full charge.  I've also got one installed on my PUP and it keeps both "wet cell" batteries in tip top shape.  These things won't charge your battery, though they make one that will do that as well, but they will keep your battery fully charged and the sulfur deposits that accumulate on the plates inside the battery knocked off.  This will help to extend your battery life.  The model I got also has an external power supply that I plug into an extension cord for night time operation.
 
Steve