A few of my mods for next spring

[BC Cargo]

Here are two mods that I will be doing next spring that I would like to share in case you are making plans now.

The first mod I used years ago in our little Boler trailer. Since our daughter was camping with us we needed privacy between the front where she slept and the rear where we slept, dressed, etc. Mid point along the inside was the vertical wall of a closet. Here is where I attached a normally mounted horizontal roller window blind, in the vertical position. It was a simple matter of pulling out the blind and hooking it across the trailer to the countertop. I had 3 places where it could be hooked (forward, midpoint and rear) this change the size of the area that was being used. I plan on doing the same in the cargo so that there is some privacy if someone else needs to use the potty or change. All that is need is a roller blind roughly the length of the inside height of your trailer and the availability of a vertical space about 3 inches wide on your wall to mount it. As in the Boler it does not have pull all the way across to a completely flat wall. It can hook to a counter which still gives you enough room to dress behind.

My other plan is to mount my RV battery on a removable 2 inch receiver tray on the tongue. Traveling every day on the road is not a problem to keep the battery charged, however when I reach a destination say like Las Vegas, why not be able to easily remove the battery from the cargo and plug it into the vehicles 2 inch receiver. This way by connecting it to the trailer plug on the vehicle I can charge it as we drive around the city to see the sights. Since we are only occasional campers we will be using our portable (thermo-electric 12V cooler) Koolatron as our main fridge. I will move the Koolatron from the trailer to the vehicle for the drive and take advantage of the vehicle’s AC to lower the temp inside the cooler. Leaving it in a hot trailer all day is just not how these coolers work well. This also lets us have cold drinks at hand and a place to put groceries to keep cool so we don’t have to rush back to the trailer. The Koolatron would run off of the vehicle while out and about but could be plugged into the RV battery if the vehicle was to be left many hours. This plan also allows me to use the RV battery when I don’t have my trailer on a Search and Rescue. I can operate my radios, area lights and Koolatron without have to worry about the vehicle battery going dead.

[smatthew]

Interesting idea about the battery, but I see a fatal flaw with the plan.

Those thermoelectric coolers, i.e. Koolatron, chew through batteries. They pull 4.5 amps, or about 54 watts, continually. That's 108 amp-hours a day of power, or almost 1300 watt-hours of power.

You will end up with a dead battery at some point.

Check out the DC compressor based fridges. Engel is the most well known, but Dometic/Waeco make some less expensive, but still good quality fridges. All Engel fridges use a compressor, but Dometic/Waeco still sells both thermoelectric and DC compressor fridges.

Btw - An Engel fridge uses about .8amps/hour - that's 19.2 amp hours or 230 watt-hours.

1300Watt-hours vs 230 watt-hours. That's a difference of over a kilowatt every day!

[BC Cargo]

You are absolutely correct on the current draw and that is why I think my plan will help with this…for the little we go camping. We have used the Koolatron for the past 10 years or so and know it is a battery killer. I can not recommend this type of cooler for any length of stay on 12volts or in high temps. It is only one step better than an ice chest.
Personally at this time I can not justify the expense of the fridges you have pointed out. I do like the chest fridges rather than a normal front door type that dumps out the cold air when opened and the fact you can use them in your vehicle as well.
I do think my idea would help maintain the battery for the chest fridges you pointed out as well. You just may not have to go on as many charging trips to check out the local area.

[pete42]

I have a coleman 12 volt cooler which I carry in my truck
it is normaly filled with snacks water and what ever food or other drinks we need.
I too fine it eats the truck battery when parked
so we have a routine we use when ever we stop and that is to make sure the cooler is unpluged.
it seems to keep cool for a while, an extra battery may be the way to go.

[8ball_99]

I'd probably look at just adding a solar panel the roof of the trailer, maybe two. You can pick up a 85 watt panel for less then 200 on ebay. That cooler is not a good choice to use on a battery in less its getting charged. IE while the car is driving or while the trailer is plugged in. A constant 5 amp draw just for the fridge will kill a single battery pretty quick. The other down side to your plan is that it will take quite a bit of driving to recharge a deep cycle battery. Atleast a few hours. Deep cycle batteries also charge a little different. As in they can take a lot of power charging at first but then the last little bit is done at lower amperage. Thats why we have those smart chargers with 3 charging levels.
I installed a 3 way fridge in mine so I could run it on gas. Which will run for weeks off a gas bottle with no power. Cost was around 450 Expensive but we find it worth it.. I also plan on adding a solar panel or two because just running our fantastic fan, radio and lights here and there our battery gets low after a day or so. I couldn't imagine having a constant 5 amp draw with the other stuff.. I figure a 85 watt panel will atleast off set the vent fan

[OverTheTopCargoTrailer]

Dont miss the boat !!! Only one left !! I tried to order 10 but no luck- they said they only had one....so if you snooze you loose


Schott Poly 235, 235W Solar Panel only $235


http://www.affordable-solar.com/store/solar-panels/schott-poly-235-235-watt-solar-panel_2

good luck

http://overthetopcargotrailer.blogspot.com/