12 Volt System Query

[Brantime]

Greetings All!

I am getting my ducks in a row for a 5 week trip this fall ( I know it is a long time off, lol) and I need to ask the group for advice! After weighing the pro's and cons of taking my PU, I have decided to take it along for the trip, and to build a bed in my truck topper for quickie stops, (1 nighters where you stop late and leave early)!

My 1976 coleman Gettsburg has had it's electrical "Guts" torn out of them prior to my purchase and I need to hook up a 12 volt system for my trip. There are so many campgrounds in Colorado and Wyoming, in the National Forest/Parks, that are Dry camping that we can stay at for $6.00 nightly... also the ACE, and state parks are hit and miss when it comes to hook ups!

My wife has a CPAP machine that is a must...but we will be able to purchase 12volt adapters for it! The adapters that are available are, 1) aux. plug for the Lighter plug in 2) 12 volt battery plug (clips).

Question:

Should I install a complete 12 volt system or just a 12 volt marine battery with a battery charger and generator to recharge the battery?

Where can I find complete PU 12 volt systems installation suggestions?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

Mark

[flyfisherman]

Greetings All!


Where can I find complete PU 12 volt systems installation suggestions?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

Mark

One of the problems of going to a dealer (and perhaps not all dealers), is that the dealer would then farm out the electrical work somewhere else and then charge a middleman fee.  No too far from me is an RV repair facility who does all kinds of major repair and installation work for all kinds of RV's.  Dealers quite often send their work to this shop, whereas if the customer knew about this place ... in the first place ... would have saved some serious bucks. I'm wondering if there might be an RV repair shop near you that might offer a re-wiring service?  Also, besides the wife's CPAP machine, what other needs are there for electric service ... the overhead lights ... anything else?  I see there are CPAP machines that operate on recharable Lithium batteries, but how about plain old throw-away battiers?



Fly

[wavery]

Greetings All!

I am getting my ducks in a row for a 5 week trip this fall ( I know it is a long time off, lol) and I need to ask the group for advice! After weighing the pro's and cons of taking my PU, I have decided to take it along for the trip, and to build a bed in my truck topper for quickie stops, (1 nighters where you stop late and leave early)!

My 1976 coleman Gettsburg has had it's electrical "Guts" torn out of them prior to my purchase and I need to hook up a 12 volt system for my trip. There are so many campgrounds in Colorado and Wyoming, in the National Forest/Parks, that are Dry camping that we can stay at for $6.00 nightly... also the ACE, and state parks are hit and miss when it comes to hook ups!

My wife has a CPAP machine that is a must...but we will be able to purchase 12volt adapters for it! The adapters that are available are, 1) aux. plug for the Lighter plug in 2) 12 volt battery plug (clips).

Question:

Should I install a complete 12 volt system or just a 12 volt marine battery with a battery charger and generator to recharge the battery?

Where can I find complete PU 12 volt systems installation suggestions?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

Mark

How many watts does the CPAP draw? It will usually have a lbel that has either the amps or watts on it. The label may also list the voltage of the motor.

I tried using a CPAP (for sleep apnia) once and couldn't deal with it (mine is not severe). What I remember about the machine is that it runs constantly.

Depending on how long that you stay in one place will give you the answer about carrying a generator.

You can wire your trailer battery to charge off of the tow vehicle. So if you are on the move and don't stay more than a couple days, you might be better off carrying a spare battery or 2. I would suggest getting a decent battery charger so that you can charge your spare while the other is in use. I'm pretty sure that you may be able to find a place to plug in the battery charger.

The "adapter" that you are talking about is called an inverter. You can buy then in all sizes and qualities. I would suggest getting an efficient one that has a minimal rating of twice what the CPAP will use. I would also suggest carrying a cheap spare.

I think that some of those CPAP machines actually run off of 12v. You might want to check that out. They sometimes come with and adapter that changes your 110v house current to 12v anyway. If that's the case, you may not even need an inverter

[jakelaw]

See my pic page (in signature) for my install of almost an entire 12v system this summer.  I took out out 120v so I could use the storage space, and since we only dry camp, we don't ever use it.  I ran the battery through a cutoff switch, to a fuse block, etc, and it works great.  I took lots pf pics, and provided lots of info with the pics.  I do not have to power anything like a CPAP machine, but I would think two grp 31 batteries, and at least a 1000 watt generator to charge them, ought to work, but again, I don't know what kind of power it draws.  Check the 12 volt side of life web page for more info on power draw, fusing, and anything else you may want to know, it helped me a lot.  It even has info on inverters, which would probably be the best way to provide power to the CPAP machine.

[tlhdoc]

The "adapter" that you are talking about is called an inverter. You can buy then in all sizes and qualities. I would suggest getting an efficient one that has a minimal rating of twice what the CPAP will use. I would also suggest carrying a cheap spare.
 
I think that some of those CPAP machines actually run off of 12v. You might want to check that out. They sometimes come with and adapter that changes your 110v house current to 12v anyway. If that's the case, you may not even need an inverter

You don't need an inverter with the CPAP machines.  They sell a 12 volt plug to replace the standard 110 AC plug that comes with the machines.  You can expect to get 2 or 3 nights out of a group 28 battery (depending on how many hours a night your DW uses the machine).  If all you want to do is run the CPAP off of the 12 volt power, then I would just set the battery on the ground outside the camper and run the DC CPAP cord out to it.  You can get a "cigarette lighter" type plug with clips on the end to attach to the battery, then just plug your CPAP plug into it.  Depending on how often you will camp with electric hookups will determine if you will need a generator to recharge your battery (or batteries).  Good luck with the trip.

[Brantime]

Hey Gang!

You guys are "grrrreeaatt", lol! You have listed some great suggestions for me to think about!

The DW's CPAP machine draws 3 watts per hour, according to the companies web page (I just found that).

You can also purchase a "Battery Pack"  but it is only good for 36 hours...I guess mainly as a backup, in case the electric service goes out.

You can indeed get a plug that fits the cigeratte lighter! Would plugging the CPAP into the AUX. plug cause any damage to your truck battery, to use in an ongoing basis?

JAKLAW...thanks for listing your page on your mods and 12 volt electrical system! I need to redo my PU so that I can indeed be able to drycamp in the NF campgrounds in Colorado & Wyoming!

I may just be taking my truck on this 5 week trip (DW's decision, lol) so I will be building in a platform bed that folds up in the center, storage cabinets underneath the bed, and 12 volt for the CPAP.

I will decide soon on just how I need to proceed thanks to your great responses! I am not sure yet if I will be taking a generator, or batteries, or just adapter plugs for my truck, or what...more reading I guess, lol!

Thanks for all your help in this matter! Now I just need to start my mods, be it in my PU, or my Truck topper!

Happy Camping to all!