RE: need help with " dry" camping Question!

[a1coolmom]

 
Greetings!
 We are just back from our first attempt at dry camping and I have a few questions I hope the forum can answer.Since our PU is secondhand  we don t have all the paperwork that was original that might have the answers. Our PU is a 99 Starcraft Meteor.My ? s are;
 1.Can you run the furnace on propane alone?Hubby thinks not because he thinks the fan requres electicity.
 2.Is there a wiring diagram for the electric system
 3.can I use a invertor to run the electric( would need just enought to run a fan,and few lights,I m not a power hog!) & Do I need an invertor or just a deep cycle battery and an adaptor?
 4.If so what size invertor and what size battery?
 
 I really thought I could go " dry"  but it got quite chilly and the wilderness is too dark for this girl!

[brainpause]

 a1coolmom
I know there are some more veteran dry campers here, but I ll give it a shot.
 

ORIGINAL:  a1coolmom
 
 1.Can you run the furnace on propane alone?Hubby thinks not because he thinks the fan requres electicity.
 

 Yes, the fan will require electricity. The propane is strictly for the heat. A good deep cycle battery (groups 27 through 32) will give you lots of power for a couple of days (or more, depending on what you run). Get a good deep cycle battery, charge it, and do a dry run in the driveway to make sure everything works. Your fridge, if so equipped, can run on propane alone, without electricity.
 
 

ORIGINAL:  a1coolmom
 
 3.can I use a invertor to run the electric( would need just enought to run a fan,and few lights,I m not a power hog!) & Do I need an invertor or just a deep cycle battery and an adaptor?
 4.If so what size invertor and what size battery?
 

 If you start using 110V appliances on your deep cycle battery, it will run down much quicker. Endless Breeze makes an efficient but powerful fan that runs off 12V. We have one, and it ran for almost 24 hours on high speed, on a single charge of the battery!
 
 The rest of your PU s appliances, such as the lights and furnace fan should be 12 volt, so that no inverter is needed. Your PU s CONverter is designed to convert 110 volts to 12 volts for when you do have hookups.
 
 If you start to add to much like inverters, your dry camping experience won t be as fun. You can even get an extra deep cycle battery, or dual 6 volt batteries (hooked up in series) that will give you power for several days.
 
 HTH
 
 Larry

[MtnCamper]

 a1coolmom
Larry has that right! If you are going to dry camp, start thinking 12V and not an inverter. Your camper wiring isn t heavy duty enough to handle much.
 
 You must also learn to conserve. Run the furnace at night (when you are awake) and turn it off, add an extra blanket, then go to bed. You can start the furnace again in the morning if you want to take the chill off.
 
 If you follow this, and take care of your battery, you will have a great time. If you try to run the furnace all night, and deep discharge the battery, The next morning you will be without power, and buying more batteries than you will like.
 
 When you get home, charge it with a battery charger (not the converter), and unhook the battery. The propane detector will drain the battery in a few weeks. Here we go again, deep discharge... Not good for your battery.
 
 When you are ready to leave again, put the charger back on, and freshen up the battery. You ll have a much better experience. Enjoy.

[tlhdoc]

 a1coolmom

 

ORIGINAL:  a1coolmom
 
 1.Can you run the furnace on propane alone?Hubby thinks not because he thinks the fan requires electicity.
 
 The furnace needs 12 volt power to run the fan and to light the furnace.  If you know what brand the furnace is you can look on their website for more information on how to run.
 
 
 2.Is there a wiring diagram for the electric system
 
 Contact Starcraft for the wiring diagram.
 
 3.can I use a inverter to run the electric( would need just enough to run a fan,and few lights,I m not a power hog!) & Do I need an inverter or just a deep cycle battery and an adapter?
 
 Your trailer is set to run on 12 volt power, except the regular 110 plugs like you have at home.  You will not be able to use them when dry camping.  Your trailer lights will work on 12 volt power.  If you want additional lights or a fan get the 12 volt type.  You can buy nice bunkend light/fan combos or just get 12 volt fans at Wal-Mart or an auto supply store.
 
 4.If so what size inverter and what size battery?
 
 No inverter is needed to run the 12 volt stuff.  If you want to run 110 stuff you will need one, but the 110 stuff seems to drain the battery quickly.  As for the battery the bigger the more power you will have.  Group 24, 27 and 31 are the most common sizes.  You want a true deep cycle battery, not one that list CCA, cold cranking amps or starting power.
 
 

[Tim5055]

 a1coolmom
Both Larry and Gary have given you great information.  Stick with 12v stuff when dry camping, and be conservative.
 
 Check out my [link=http://www.title-3.com/DryCamping.htm]Dry Camping Web Page[/link] to see how we do it.