5x10 Teardrop

[tony.latham]

Thanks for the guidance. I think I will trim my counter back. KC - I think you are right about the modifying the walls. I love the profile right now and I think I would have a hard time making the curve look the way I would want it if I tried to add some depth. I also don't want to notch the hatch struts. I come from the school of overbuilding.

Not sure if this is the right place to ask this or if it should be posted in the electrical forum so it goes here. I'm looking at an electrical usage monitor and there are two versions, a 20A and a 100A.

http://www.amazon.com/6-5-100V-Display- ... rds=bayite

I will be running the following:
ARB cooler - 1.1 amp
Fantastic fan - 2 amps
9 LED Bolts - 0.35 amps
2 LED reading lights 3 watts each - 1 amp??

So it looks like I will be in the 5 amp range. Does that mean that I should be able to use the 20 amp version? I think the only difference is that the 100 amp one comes with a shunt and it is wired a little differently.

I am planning on using 2 6V batteries with an amp-hour rating in the 220 area. What size of charger would I need? Anyone have experience with the NOCO Genius? I have read some other threads regarding this but I am having a hard time wrapping my head around it.

Two 6V batteries is a lotta weight.

At five amps per day, I think the question is how many nights (without tow-charging) are you going to be out? With the exception of your ARB cooler, I have about the same draw (plus a 12V electric blanket on occasion) and my Group 27 Marine battery with 50 useable amps is good for at least five days before I consider setting the solar panels out. (After about two nights, I'm probably ready to look at some different country anywho.)

I'm planning on down-sizing to a Group 24 when this battery has seen its last campsite.

I'm big on these GT Power Monitors:

http://www.amazon.com/GT-Power-Analyzer ... er+monitor

If you have a master switch on the front end, they'll zero out at the start of each trip and give you a read out of total amps used (or watts).



But that's a good looking meter.

Tony

[UR_Gent]

Most of our outings will be 3-4 nights with a couple week long trips per year. I just assumed I needed the dual 6V batteries because... I don't know. If I didn't need that many AH then that would save me roughly 60 Lbs.

The thought of a solar panel never even crossed my mind. I will have to do some reading on that.

[tony.latham]

Most of our outings will be 3-4 nights with a couple week long trips per year. I just assumed I needed the dual 6V batteries because... I don't know. If I didn't need that many AH then that would save me roughly 60 Lbs.

The thought of a solar panel never even crossed my mind. I will have to do some reading on that.

I've got this 20 watt panel attached to my tongue box. I haven't towed my 'drop for three weeks but know the battery is topped off since it's been sitting in the sun and producing roughly 9 amps per day.



Inside is a SunGuard ($30?) controller that is good for 80 watts. I've also got two thirty-watters hinged together so that if I need to put them out in the sun I'm good for many nights in the same place but I find that it's a rare trip that I need to get them out. Realistically, my 20 watter–-if in the sun––produces enough to keep me topped off.







Solar is relatively cheap (I have less than $200 in this setup), it's maintenance free, and dead quiet. I like it.

Tony