1995 Skamper battery add on

[truckandskiing]

Hello all,

So, I finally got a pop-up camper for my 2002 Dodge 2500 24v. I scored a 1995 Skamper in pretty much brand new condition barring one corner of the roof reglassed after a branch fell on it. It did not come with a deep cycle battery rather it just has a shore power plug + converter + fuse block.
Ideally right now, I want to be able to run my lights + fantastic fan for 2-3 three nights. I will be running propane for stove/heater/fridge for now.
My vision is if I get a good deep cycle(or 2), charge the battery off shore power at the house, I can do two nights running fan for 4-6 hours and minimum LED lights while not recharging.
With that, my questions are.
What is the best way/on a budget($300 max right now) to add a deep cycle to my system with the plan for down the line to add a solar setup.
Should I replace stock parts with a newer inverter + fuse panel or can I roll with what I got?
Can I add a battery just between the factory inverter and the fuse panel and call it good? Any advice/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Photo's are added for what I am working with currently. Thank you all!

 

[msimmo]

Two 6v golf cart batteries wired in series to make 12v. BCI group GC2, 6v, ~200-250AH, dimensions LWH 10.25x7.125x11.875, weight ~65-75 LBS. Cost ~$100-150 (plus ~$35 core). All of that is per battery. They are on the large and heavy side, and they are a flooded lead acid battery so they will need to be in a vented location for the hydrogen given off during charging, and you would need to periodically check the electrolyte level and refill occasionally. However if you have, or can make, the right location for them they are the best bang for your buck, and they are available everywhere.

 

[truckandskiing]

Thanks msimmo. What would be the best way to charge these batteries? Would it be to just buy a battery charger, and charge them at home or is there a way to do it through existing inverter/120v hook ups? Thanks!

 

[Buddha.]

Is your heater a furnace type with electric fan? If so that will be your biggest drain.

On my 30' travel trailer I run two 6v golf cart batteries which is enough to keep the furnace running all night. LED lights draw almost nothing unless you've got a big exterior flood light you're trying to run all night. The roof fan draws about 3 amps on high which is significant if you want to run it for a couple hours a day.

My batteries also get charged through the trailer wiring hookup and get topped off nicely after a few hours driving.


Unless I'm missing something you have a battery convertor, not invertor. You've got a converter already wich should have some wiring that goes to charge your batteries when on shore power. Just keep an eye on your electrolyte levels if you keep the camper plugged in long term so you don't burn them up.

All I would add is a couple batteries and some way to charge the batteries from your truck. You could do it with your budget.

 

[truckandskiing]

I don't plan on running my stock furnace right now as it is too much draw for my setup right now. I am camping almost exclusively at ~0* at 10k feet from now to Aprilish, a 100amp battery will hardly last a night/hard to keep up even at 50* thermostat. So, I am trying to use straight propane(Wave 3/Mr. Buddy) for my stove/heater right now due to energy consumption. All I plan on using the battery for is LED lights and a small roof fan that will run 4-6 hours a night. I want to get three days out of that before having to plug in.
Ideally, I want to stay away from running off my truck as it is a 24v diesel and I need all the battery juice I can get when I leave my truck at a campsite for 24 hours at 10-12k feet at 0~ or below with windchill.
Down the line, I will simply buy a generator and a solar kit but for now I am looking for a simple/cheap addition that can run some lights and a fan for this season. I think buying a AGM 100amp hr battery for starters(the 6v golf x2 is over my budget), splicing it into the existing system then topping it off before heading out is my only solution right now it looks like.

 

[Buddha.]

I understand hesitation about drawing down your trucks batteries but if you hook them up up correctly with a switch that only draws off the truck when the truck is running this shouldn't happen.
I think you could maybe do two batteries and still be under 300 or do one battery plus a battery to battery charger ( charging off the truck) and still be under 300.

But, if you just have led interior lights and don't plan on running the fan on high for the entire 12-18 hours I think you'll be fine just adding one 100 ah battery(minimum) and plugging into shore power at home. Should only use about half your budget.

 

[truckandskiing]

Thanks for the info. I suppose at the end of the day, because I do 70% winter camping at high altitude there really is no solution to boon docking besides buying a generator. So, I may end up splurging for a generator, then still go with a 100ahr battery setup when generator is not running. I guess I was trying to be a little too unrealistic about heater/battery consumption at the end of the day in the fact of going with a Wave 3...when I have a brand new propane forced air furnace in my rig right now.

 

[Trueblueis]

Hi
Your inverter will work to distribute the power and you can hook up a battery. From the pictures, the battery would be hooked up to the red wire on the converter.
I replace my converter with a Progressive Dynamics 4135, it has a fuse panel and battery charger built in. I did not trust the original one, and it didn't come with a battery charger.
My popup has a 12000 btu furnace with pilot light, and at -2C it runs about 20 minutes every hour with the thermostat set at 18C. The amp draw from the furnace is 3 amps per hour. At 20 minutes the furnace is using 1 amp. x 10 hours usage per day = 10 amps per day. We only use the furnace at night. The furnace uses very little battery, the fridge on the other hand is a power hog, switched to 12 volt, it uses 8 amps all the time is turned on.
I switched my 12 volt lights to led, incandescent use about 1.4 amps and led use about .4 amps. I have 3 lights which would use 4.2 amps an hour, with 3 led lights i use 1.2 amps.
On a two night trip i use about 25 amps total.
I have installed 2 - 200 watt solar panels with an mppt solar controller. Winter sun in Canada and parked in the trees doesn't produce much solar power.
Hope this helps.

 

[nhlakes]

Be sure to post what you did and how it works. If you have not bought the heater yet, a number of places has the Mr Buddy on sale over the weekend, might be worth googling around if you have not picked one up yet.

I've setup a number of campers and also agree that dual 6V GC batteries ($95@Costco) are the best bang for the buck right now. (unless you're full timing, then it may be worth investing big bux in a number of battleborns) I also like the PD convertor/chargers. I can go a few days on one charge (with minimum furnace usage), running a cpap all night every night plus lights, water pump, charging phones, even streaming a couple movies on a 12v tv over a roku stick via hotspot.

 

[KreamDC]

Hoping to bring this thread back from the dead . Did you decide on a battery and where did you install it?