Hello from Newnan, GA (outside of Atlanta)

[drakcol 6]

Hello, my wife and I took our kids on a camping trip a few weeks ago and we saw a couple pull up with a Tear Drop. Curiosity got the best of us and the couple gave a quick tour of it. We compared it to the huge dinosaur trailers that surrounded us and decided that this type of trailer would be much easier to pull and maintain. Best of all, it would fit in our garage. Teardrops have now become my "internet topic of choice". I've been looking around for a used one to buy in the Atlanta area and I'm even comtemplating building my own.

Stupid question from a new guy: in all the blogs and web sites I visit, I see that the electrical systems in the teardrops are powered by a marine battery. But won't those batteries run out of juice after hanging out at the camp site for a day? How do you recharge these batteries? And can you rig your Teardrop to run off the power that some campsites have?

thanks for the help

Drakcol 6

[tinksdad]

This was taken during the "You have to stuff all that in where??" stage. Since the pic was taken, I have added a dedicated 110V outlet in the box for the battery tender, figured out the mounting for everything and did the actual hard wiring.



My 12V usage currently is a couple of lights in the cabin and galley. I still haven't added the 12V outlets; that's on the "to do" list. My 110V enters the side of the trailer in the rear and only feeds a couple of household type outlets and now the circuit for the battery tender. (I ran that one under the trailer in a plastic loom.)

[bobhenry]

Most of the teardrops are fitted with 120 volt ac as well as 12 volt dc capabilities. We had been on 10 - 12 outings before we ever used the battery. My latest has all 12 volt lighting but I have an onboard ac transformer to make the 12 volt from the campground ac as well as the battery. You can get as complex or as simple as you want.



Here is a dual voltage porch light. Some of us just get caught up in the invention aspects of teardropping wiring. [/url]

[Steve_Cox]

Welcome to the forum Drakcol 6,

Like they said as far as the power. My tear has 12 volts for the lighting, galley water pump and RV vent fan. 120 volts is for the air conditioner, built in battery charger and many outlets inside and in the galley..... And by the way it is like new and for sale.

Here's a link: http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=31439

[alffink]

Drakol 6

Like most, I have both, 120VAC and 12VDC but every thing I have hardwired is 12v, the 120VAC is specifically for my battery charger, I do have a couple 120 Outlets in the galley, have not been used.

We have been out for as much as 5 days using only the battery, most of our camping is at non-improved sites, so no electric to plug into.
I have interior lights, galley lights porch lights, DVD player, we will usually watch a movie before bed, but we do pay attention not to leave any lights on, that aren't being used.

But, you do want a deep cycle battery, as used for RV power supply, cranking amps aren't necessarry for a teardrop.

Welcome to the madness, it is addicting, but oh so much fun.

[nevadatear]

As others have said, you can do it anyway you want, but with your battery can last quite a while with careful use. This thread: http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=31536&highlight= is a recent one asked by a newbie about electric in a tear that you may find useful. Aslo, check out sdripper2's index at the top of the forum, there are tons of entries about electricity. Building your own isn't so bad, it is actually fun and you have exactly the one you want! We just finished ours. It has both 12V and 110 but the 110 isn't hooked up yet. it is also wired for eventual solar.

[WayneFromMo]

Welcome

[Alfred]

Welcome from the mountains of Western NC! I am wiring mine with both 12v and 120v.

Al in Asheville