CampStewart
Observer
You camp 8 to 10 days a year, Honda eu1000i. KISS
POPUP POWER FOR A DUMMY
- Thread starter slepe67
- Start date
As in your other thread, for what you’re describing I would start with a 100ahr AGM battery in a small tongue mounted box and add a basic weatherproof power panel to the outside. That can all be purchased for ~$200 at Costco/Sam’s/Amazon. Get a small Noco lithium capable charger ~10amps to allow later upgrades, and build a power extension box you can deploy inside the camper when you’re setup. Keep it topped up when you’re on the road or in camp with a 100amp panel & small charge controller. Zamp makes a nice suitcase unit with the controller built in, but it’s pricey. Not exactly portable, but affordable & expandable as your needs develop. If you need to keep small electronics charged on overnights away from base amp, carry a small Li powerbank/panel.
We have a similar setup except we’re powering a 65liter Dometic fridge and using 2 batteries. We’ve never come close to running out of power on a long weekend even on rainy trips.
As for hot water, since you’re carrying propane, just grab a Campmore .5liter endless heater. D Cell powered for the ignitor $120 Amazon. This is assuming you have onboard water & a pump.
We have a similar setup except we’re powering a 65liter Dometic fridge and using 2 batteries. We’ve never come close to running out of power on a long weekend even on rainy trips.
As for hot water, since you’re carrying propane, just grab a Campmore .5liter endless heater. D Cell powered for the ignitor $120 Amazon. This is assuming you have onboard water & a pump.
Awesome, thank you for this!!! I wont be doing much camping in Montana during the winter. Too much time doing that in the military! LOL
Can I keep the batteries on a trickle charger in my 45 degree shop all winter?
I spend a lot of time working away from home, so when I AM home, I'm busy on the Honey-Do List. Re-wiring vehicles is usually something I need to spend a full week on, since I have severe OCD. I'd rather hold off on the permanent (fixed) options & roll my funds into a (mostly) portable setup. I'm looking big-picture, and imagine one day I'll have a slide-in truck camper or topper that I'll use for quick fishing trips. A portable unit would allow me to simply slide the stuff from the Pop Up to the truck bed and hit the road in min time. I'm not sure if that's REALISTIC, but it looks good on paper. I use a portable cook stove, so that's my hot meal source.
A low-amp "maintenance" charger with intelligence should be fine.
Do NOT use the old garage style trickle chargers that just sit at a constant voltage until you turn them off.
Best would be your usual smart charger, applied overnight every few weeks, the batteries being completely isolated otherwise.
Yes cool temps is fine for storage, can charge lead no matter what, but Lithium should be very careful can damage charging in the cold.
This might be the setup I need.
I have looked at the Zamp products. Im on the fence.
I haven't given much thought about hot water, other than the PVC-type, roof mounted systems. Again, Im going for portable here...
Thanks for the info!
(retyping for ease of locating later!)
100Ahr battery (on tongue)
Weatherproof Power Panel (exterior)
Noco Lithium Capable Charger
Power Extension Box
100W(or 200W)Panel w/ charge controller
Ouch, thanks for that! I bet that would've been a lesson learned the hard way!
Yes, that was due to not having anything to camp IN. LOL I imagine once I get the pop up sorted, those numbers will go up significantly.
I have looked at the Honda unit. It's basically a small, stand alone, gas powered generator, right? (Meaning: I wouldn't need anything else?). I'm a biit hesitant on this route, as I really like peace and quiet when camping, not sure I'd hate myself for being in the middle of nowhere while listening to a small engine putter along...
CampStewart
Observer
2ea 50 ft 12 gauge chords gets it far enough away that you don't hear a peep. Treat the gas properly or run it dry every time you use it and you will have 100 percent reliable power day, night, rain or snow for the rest of your life. 1 or 2 pulls and you have your power. All this solar talk, it seems to me like another expensive hobby and then you have to nurse the batteries 12 months of the year or they will die an expensive death and need to be replaced if you don't coddle them enough. Solar panels have a limited lifespan also before their power output wanes. I go camping to get away from it and experience nature, not to experiment with creating and storing solar power. If I wanted to experiment with solar power I would do it in my back yard not when I am trying to camp.
dreadlocks
Well-known member
you cant run a genset 24/7, you still need a bank to keep your food cold overnight.. and if you venture into any actual campgrounds your gonna a hell of a time getting it 100ft away without putting it in middle of someone elses camp.
Ive got the same generator, and its only for air conditioning and occasionally recharging battery when solar cant keep up.. the amount of money I spent on my generator, would buy a fridge, two GC2's and 200W of solar panels.. OP seems like he has extremely minimalistic power needs, a generator is the last thing he needs IMO.. perhaps when he's going out full time and living out of this popup for months on end it'll make more sense.
I suspect with amount of time he's been going out, and hopes to go out.. he wont even need solar, a good fridge will run ~20AH a day diet.. with 120AH usable battery, thats 6 days he's got before he needs to get to mains power to recharge.. if he hooked up solar he could probably get that out a few weeks even in rough solar conditions.. but with 240AH GC2 bank and an efficient fridge he'll easily have enough to make it through any 3-4 day weekend trips without even worrying about a charge source.
OP has a little popup and almost zero electrical needs, really only wants a fridge and is considering powerless heat.. ye'all are going nutz with alternator charging upgrades, gensets and lithium and all sorts of expensive nonsense.
Ive got the same generator, and its only for air conditioning and occasionally recharging battery when solar cant keep up.. the amount of money I spent on my generator, would buy a fridge, two GC2's and 200W of solar panels.. OP seems like he has extremely minimalistic power needs, a generator is the last thing he needs IMO.. perhaps when he's going out full time and living out of this popup for months on end it'll make more sense.
I suspect with amount of time he's been going out, and hopes to go out.. he wont even need solar, a good fridge will run ~20AH a day diet.. with 120AH usable battery, thats 6 days he's got before he needs to get to mains power to recharge.. if he hooked up solar he could probably get that out a few weeks even in rough solar conditions.. but with 240AH GC2 bank and an efficient fridge he'll easily have enough to make it through any 3-4 day weekend trips without even worrying about a charge source.
OP has a little popup and almost zero electrical needs, really only wants a fridge and is considering powerless heat.. ye'all are going nutz with alternator charging upgrades, gensets and lithium and all sorts of expensive nonsense.
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luthj
Engineer In Residence
Like I said,
100-200W of solar panels
2x GC2 batteries
a small fuse block
a few 12v outlets
a volt meter
This can be made easy to transfer, just mount it all on a single piece of plywood, and you can just port it to a new rig. Might add a 5A trickle charger to keep it topped up if you park it in the shade.
100-200W of solar panels
2x GC2 batteries
a small fuse block
a few 12v outlets
a volt meter
This can be made easy to transfer, just mount it all on a single piece of plywood, and you can just port it to a new rig. Might add a 5A trickle charger to keep it topped up if you park it in the shade.
dreadlocks
Well-known member
OP's completely gutted and rebuilt a 1970's Coleman popup from ground up.. he's in the unique position he can easily make way for a couple GC2's.. so yeah, he could put all his electrical on a slide out platform thats basically standalone, I dont think he even needs trailer power for breaks so he could make it as modular or integrated as he wants..
I would suggest wiring up a normal 7pin trailer harness to the popup, even though your tow vehicle wont really charge a bank that size via that plug it will let you drive across continents w/out your fridge draining the house bank much along the way..
Only thing I'd change about @luthj's suggestion is a bit bigger onboard charger, a 20A multistage w/trickle would be better IMO, would let you take advantage of opportunity power sources along your journeys.. like if you stop over for an evening with family/friends or just need to crash at a Koa after a long day on the road when your trying to cover alot of miles in little time and dont need hotels anymore... a 5A AC charger on a ~240AH bank is like trying to fill your bathtub by pissing in it.
I would suggest wiring up a normal 7pin trailer harness to the popup, even though your tow vehicle wont really charge a bank that size via that plug it will let you drive across continents w/out your fridge draining the house bank much along the way..
Only thing I'd change about @luthj's suggestion is a bit bigger onboard charger, a 20A multistage w/trickle would be better IMO, would let you take advantage of opportunity power sources along your journeys.. like if you stop over for an evening with family/friends or just need to crash at a Koa after a long day on the road when your trying to cover alot of miles in little time and dont need hotels anymore... a 5A AC charger on a ~240AH bank is like trying to fill your bathtub by pissing in it.
luthj
Engineer In Residence
If you can't handle the weight and space of the GC2s, you could just go with a generic 100AH "deep cycle". It won't provide nearly the length of service the GC2s will, but would still work fine for your usage.
The portable power packs have their own limitations, including small capacity and slow charging. You would still want some solar to top them off for longer trips anyways. So at that point, save yourself some $$$, and spend a day or two making a basic electrical system.
The portable power packs have their own limitations, including small capacity and slow charging. You would still want some solar to top them off for longer trips anyways. So at that point, save yourself some $$$, and spend a day or two making a basic electrical system.
shade
Well-known member
Solar also offers unattended operation. Set it up right, and a fridge will be able to run for days, if not indefinitely while you're away from the vehicle.