Ok a few questions

[Jeeper92]

Most of the camping Im going to do will be from a normal campsite with a plug in. I intend to use this in my trailer. i guess its 110v??? I also plan on doing some primitive stuff with no electric, is this possible? can you run stuff off a boat battery? What are my options?

[SteveH]

The answer to your questions is yes. Most RVs use dual systems, but the 120 VAC (Volts Alternating Current) is really just in there for convience of using appliances and for high power consumption things like air conditioning. The other system, 12 VDC, powers everything else like lights, and water pump...the things that must work if you have shore power or not. So, most people wire campers with 12 volt lights, a battery, and a charger. The battery will provide sufficent power to operate lights and water pump for several days of camping without recharging.

Then an AC system to power the charger, convience outlets, and a circuit for the air conditioning system.

[Jeeper92]

are the 12v systems expensive to do?

[pauld3]

I'd like to add a question...what power do you really need if you are out in the wilderness? You can use propane lanterns for light...pour your water out of a jug. Charcoal for cooking or else propane stove. Maybe for a fan or a cooler...? I'm just asking!

Lynn

[t-vicky]

I expermented with mine when I was building. I bought a 3-speed fantastic vent fan, got it installed & hooked it to a regular car battery. Turned it on low & left it. It ran 24hrs a day. On the 4th day it started slowing down. If you have a deep cycle battery & shut it off when you get up in the morning you should last over a week in the woods.

[mikeschn]

Thats good to know!!!

Mike...

I expermented with mine when I was building. I bought a 3-speed fantastic vent fan, got it installed & hooked it to a regular car battery. Turned it on low & left it. It ran 24hrs a day. On the 4th day it started slowing down. If you have a deep cycle battery & shut it off when you get up in the morning you should last over a week in the woods.

[Alphacarina]

For 'primitive' camping you need to either do without the usual 'conveniences' as Lynn suggested . . . . or carefully think out your 12 volt systems

LED lighting makes the most of your available power - A 12 volt LED light can consume roughly a tenth of the power that an equivalent incandescent light would use. They cost a little more to buy, but on the plus side, they last just about forever, so you won't have to be buying replacement bulbs

Some sort of fan to move the air around would be almost an absolute necessity to my way of thinking. They make the Fantastic Fans which are thermostatically controlled (the model 5000) and they turn on and off automatically, based on the tempoerature you select. They also use about as little electricty as anything you can buy, though they are fairly expensive

A good deep cycle battery would be a good investment (like maybe an Optima Yellow top) with a way to recharge it off the tow vehicle. Many folks (me included) will use a solar panel to recharge it during the day. I bought a 15 watt unit perfect for the top of a tear (because it's thin and flat) from Northern for $80

If you've been a tent camper all your life and you don't really miss lights, fans, refrigerators and the like, it's not that important to include them all in your tear, but for the rest of us, it's at least something we should consider . . . . before the tear is completed so we can make some allowances here and there for the 'modern conveniences'

Don

[asianflava]

are the 12v systems expensive to do?

Probably costs the same as an AC powered trailer except for the battery. Finding real estate for the battery also requires some thought.

You can do an AC only trailer (I think Ira's is) but you'd be limiting yourself. I have a hybrid system similar to what Steve outlined in his post. I can hook up to the power pole and have airconditioning and a microwave or not and use the fantastic fan. Although it is also nice to be able to turn on lights when not connected. There have been times when we are traveling and I had to get something out of the trailer. I can still turn on the lights.

[Jeeper92]

Because the trialer wont jsut be used for camping itll be used for TAILGAITING this fall at about 9 different college games and the eagles every sunday. So there are no power poles in those parking lots, but i ll be sleeping out over night in it. good question