One or two batteries?

[BlakeNelson]

Hello everyone. My wife and I are in the process of buying a new sport 22 fb and was wondering about some possible options I should or should not consider. We are new to trailering so bare with me. Standard is 20# propane tanks (2), should I bother to upgrade to 30# tanks? Also, should I consider 2 batteries instead of the 1 AGM battery it comes with? On another note we decided to buy this after renting a19' Bambi for the last month, towing with our Acura MDX 2012 tow package, which did a fine job during our 2400 mile trip to BC and back to Calif. thanks for any input. Love the forum by the way! Blake

[FCStreamer]

Blake, it depends on how you intend to use your trailer. Those upgrades will help you be off the grid longer. You'll need to weigh the cost of the upgrades against the extra time you will get off the grid. I'd suggest trying your trailer as is, and if you run into a gas or battery limitation, upgrade then. If you already know you'll hit a limitation, then upgrade. No reason not to other than cost.

Good luck.

[Boxite]

I agree with FCStreamer. I have a 22' Sport with a single Group 27 flooded cell (dated 8/14 and not as good as your AGM) and dual 30# LPG bottles (both installed by Previous Owner.) While we've done very little "boondocking" (off the grid) after a year-and-a-half of ownership we've never been able to completely empty even one of the 30# bottles. (Admittedly, little cooking has occurred, usually only morning coffee, and no furnace usage, but ALL our hot water has been propane use (and over a month's cumulative use with at least 2 and sometimes 3 people, two of them (relax-in-the-shower-women)...so lots of that!)
I wish I weren't carrying around what I now consider unnecessary tongue weight due to the larger LP bottles.
I have considered a second battery, but that is also probably unnecessary weight for our purposes. We've never been able to run that ordinary flooded cell battery down, even after 3 days of "boondocking". (We do carry a generator in the back of the pickup TV, but have not needed it for battery-maintenance purposes... we've primarily used the gen a few days for AirConditioning down here in TX.)
Keep in mind that when your TowVehicle is connected the TV battery is in parallel with the trailer batt. Even after a week of boondocking with the TV connected, neither batt showed any signs of problems and the TV batt spun the engine on startup in the usual fashion (however unscientific that test might be. But, it's good to recognize that even if boondocking and if you should run-down the AS batt, ..as long as your TV was disconnected it should be fine and the TV could be started and the AS plugged-in to re-charge your AGM AS batt.)

In summary, I believe it's a good idea to see what kind of "camping" you actually do before carrying around extra tongue weight. If my wife and I find that even our planned winter camping episodes come nowhere near depleting a 30# bottle, I intend to swap them out for dual 20's I already own and quit carrying around dead wt.

[BlakeNelson]

Gentlemen, thanks for the quick reply.i appreciate it. I'll stick with your recommendations. The only upgrade I'll be doing then will be 100watt solar panel.

[Spinonedad]

I found a 120w solar panel on Amazon for $235
Works great,,,folds up like a suit case when not in use
Only down side is, it doesn't come with a case,,,so save the box,,and reinforce the carboard sides

It's made by a company called Eco- Worthy

[dames7]

You should take time to understand how many AMP hours you use and which appliance use the most AMP hours, this is good to know if you are going to dry camp.

Your AGM has more AMP hours than the wet-cell batteries which does help and will last longer.

[mandolindave]

I'm thinking that if you are getting solar, you will be boon docking with no electricity. I would want a second battery.

The furnace fan blower can almost run a battery down in one night. It gets cold at night even in July in Pennsylvania. ( don't know what elevation is where you will be camping)

Secondly, if you are getting solar, I would think you would want another battery, because It would be frustrating to get a fully charged battery when the sun is still beating down.

I have two 30# tanks…The propane lasts for at least three weekends or more.

Don't know what your camping habits will be, but I would consider one or two stand alone containers for extra water. ( for 2 gallon per minute showers- do the math )

[Rpatrick16]

Originally Posted by BlakeNelson

Gentlemen, thanks for the quick reply.i appreciate it. I'll stick with your recommendations. The only upgrade I'll be doing then will be 100watt solar panel.

I have a 2016 Sport FB. Living here in the mountains of western Montana I like the options of camping without the benefit of hook ups. Therefore, i added a 2nd battery, 120 Watt Solar Panel. I also have two Ryobi 2200 watt gennies even though I've not been required to use both units for AC. I have tested them and they work great when AC is required.

Often when "boondocking" in this part of the country .....especially in the late spring" the furnace cycles on and off to keep the coach at our preferred setting "60 degrees".

Here is a link to some changes I made to accommodate our camping goals:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f295...137731-10.html

My posts on this thread start at #127. There is a complete detail of what and how i modified my coach and a follow up of the results.

Hope this is helpful.

Pat