Brian, we have gone up to 4 days boondocking and still had 50% of battery juice left. This is mostly summer and we are not running heat...I have no problem charging 2 house batteries in a good 3-4 hour tow. But again, that will depend on how depleted they are, your alternator output, etc.
In a nutshell; if you have not drained the batteries way down, you should be fine.
Uncle Bens is the stuff you want for skeeters, black flies, etc up North. It is something like 110% Deet. It will make you glow in the dark, and probably make your grand kids sterile. But it works pretty good with the bugs.
I don't believe TT are allowed in Baxter? Tent camping only IIRC. There are also some cabins, but they book fast.
Maine SP are pretty nice; Maine DOC ::Online Reservations
Mt Blue is a beauty. We'll be there in July.
Brian, we have gone up to 4 days boondocking and still had 50% of battery juice left. This is mostly summer and we are not running heat...I have no problem charging 2 house batteries in a good 3-4 hour tow. But again, that will depend on how depleted they are, your alternator output, etc.
In a nutshell; if you have not drained the batteries way down, you should be fine.
Uncle Bens is the stuff you want for skeeters, black flies, etc up North. It is something like 110% Deet. It will make you glow in the dark, and probably make your grand kids sterile. But it works pretty good with the bugs.
I don't believe TT are allowed in Baxter? Tent camping only IIRC. There are also some cabins, but they book fast.
Maine SP are pretty nice; Maine DOC ::Online Reservations
Mt Blue is a beauty. We'll be there in July.
Climb Katahdin while you're there. You won't regret it...
Bill
Thanx, Bill for the info on the battery situation.
We've done a lot of web research on Baxter, and you are right about it being tent camping only. We are planning to set up Lucy at a campground in Medway and make day trips into the Park with the TV and Kayak. We might consider an overnight in the park using the Suburban for a tent. Baxter doesn't open until May 15th, so we think that we will head to Moosehead Lake first. We are planning to set Lucy up at a campground in Greenville, and make day trips around the lake with the TV and Kayak.
We've got Uncle Ben's on our shopping list.
Brian
__________________ SuEllyn & Brian McCabe WBCCI #3628 --- AIR #14872 2005 25' Safari FB (Lucy) with HAHA 2005 Suburban 2500 Quadrasteer (Olivia) & 2004 Suburban 2500 Quadrasteer (Daisy)
Which way are you planning on coming into Maine? If you take the scenic route 16, up through the Mt. Washington valley (beautiful scenery), and go into maine that way, through the Rangeley Lakes region, you're guaranteed to see Moose. Rt 16 between the border and Stratton, they actually call "moose alley". There's a nice little campground in Oquossoc that I checked out a couple of years ago...haven't had a chance to go back and actually stay...but anyway, they're open all year, now, and they have sites right on the lake shore. Cupsuptic Campground - 207-864-5249
on the batts...people say you don't get much of a charge while driving...unless you're driving all day long...which is kinda what you've been doing, right? Running the furnace overnight shouldn't drain a whole battery, I wouldn't think. (depends on the battery...and just how cold it is!). But you have 2, right? and, if you're still plugged into your truck, you might be getting voltage off that. depends on the truck. On mine, the charge line is always "hot", even with the key off. On others, its not.
the rate at which your generator will re-charge the batteries depends on the converter you have. the "smart" ones will charge at a faster rate.
Rich Luhr does a lot of boondocking in his 30' Safari and can tell you about battery consumption. If you drop him a PM I'm sure he will be glad to help you out. He had a great blog about dry camping in Yellowstone in the winter and how long his batteries lasted using his furnace and how low they had to set the temp. He also had another on dry camping in Yosemite and his battery life there.
__________________
2006 30' Safari - "Changes in Latitudes"
2008 F-250 Lariat Power Stroke Diesel Crew Cab SWB
Family of Disney Fanatics
WBCCI# 4821
Get ahold of an Avon distributer. This stuff is non toxic and works like a charm. No see ums (chiggers) attack from the knee down. You will see the locals with jeans tucked into socks. They laugh at the tourists wearing shorts!
Black flies are relentless--some people wear bee keepers hoods. They fly in your ears, nose and eyes. Skin so soft is a bath oil, just use it like sun screen to make it through black fly season.
Bugs are not bad yet my way.
The winter killed a lot of deer up north of Clinton, otherwise deer, turkeys and moose held up just fine.
I like light colors for the bugs, tucked in cuffs, no sweat if possible and if fishing misquito nets.
I put bug juice (DEET) on clothing, hats and avoid the skin if possible.
Overnight possible near me.
Rob
__________________
Robert
"Talk is cheap, Airstreams are expensive," Wally Byam.
Buy in haste, repent at leisure; been there, done that.
"You cannot rush quality," fastRob.
Which way are you planning on coming into Maine? If you take the scenic route 16, up through the Mt. Washington valley (beautiful scenery), and go into maine that way, through the Rangeley Lakes region, you're guaranteed to see Moose. Rt 16 between the border and Stratton, they actually call "moose alley". There's a nice little campground in Oquossoc that I checked out a couple of years ago...haven't had a chance to go back and actually stay...but anyway, they're open all year, now, and they have sites right on the lake shore. Cupsuptic Campground - 207-864-5249
on the batts...people say you don't get much of a charge while driving...unless you're driving all day long...which is kinda what you've been doing, right? Running the furnace overnight shouldn't drain a whole battery, I wouldn't think. (depends on the battery...and just how cold it is!). But you have 2, right? and, if you're still plugged into your truck, you might be getting voltage off that. depends on the truck. On mine, the charge line is always "hot", even with the key off. On others, its not.
the rate at which your generator will re-charge the batteries depends on the converter you have. the "smart" ones will charge at a faster rate.
Thank you, Chuck! We just went on the Cupsuptic Campground website. That place looks great! We are also planning to come into Maine via Route 16 and Mount Washington. It's about 1,100 miles from Columbus. We'll probably take 3 days getting over there. We might also make a stop in Mount Washington.
__________________ SuEllyn & Brian McCabe WBCCI #3628 --- AIR #14872 2005 25' Safari FB (Lucy) with HAHA 2005 Suburban 2500 Quadrasteer (Olivia) & 2004 Suburban 2500 Quadrasteer (Daisy)
Bugs are not bad yet my way.
The winter killed a lot of deer up north of Clinton, otherwise deer, turkeys and moose held up just fine.
I like light colors for the bugs, tucked in cuffs, no sweat if possible and if fishing misquito nets.
I put bug juice (DEET) on clothing, hats and avoid the skin if possible.
Overnight possible near me.
Rob
Rob-
Your Zip Code indicates that you are near Mount Vernon. We are now planning to try out Cupsuptic Campground in Oquossoc, Maine. The map indicates that we will be about 60 miles from you. Maybe a meet will be possible. Let us know what your schedule will be like. We plan on leaving Columbus, Ohio on Thurday. That should put us in Maine around Sunday (May 11). This will depend on whether we stop at Mount Washington, or not.
Brian
__________________ SuEllyn & Brian McCabe WBCCI #3628 --- AIR #14872 2005 25' Safari FB (Lucy) with HAHA 2005 Suburban 2500 Quadrasteer (Olivia) & 2004 Suburban 2500 Quadrasteer (Daisy)
Maine is beautiful, without a doubt.
The plant life is in the midst of an explosion of growth, bugs too.
Be careful, one could get hooked on springs here.
Winter and the taxes will drive you away after a while though..
Just be careful about night driving in Moose country. They are active at night.
We had one on our road and driveway, the kids were chasing it on their bicycles, not a smart move.
R
__________________
Robert
"Talk is cheap, Airstreams are expensive," Wally Byam.
Buy in haste, repent at leisure; been there, done that.
"You cannot rush quality," fastRob.
Rich Luhr does a lot of boondocking in his 30' Safari and can tell you about battery consumption. If you drop him a PM I'm sure he will be glad to help you out. He had a great blog about dry camping in Yellowstone in the winter and how long his batteries lasted using his furnace and how low they had to set the temp. He also had another on dry camping in Yosemite and his battery life there.
On the way to the Can Opener this year we stopped at the Flying J west of Tallahassee, FL for the night. It went down to 20 that night. We had the furnace set to 55 and it ran off and on all night. By morning we had dim lights and a flashing red battery indicator on the monitor panel.
After a three hour drive to Topsail, the monitor panel was green again. Even though this indicated a full charge, the thought from others here on the forum was that had we not plugged into a power post that night, it would have gone into the red quickly. Several more hours of driving were needed to get a truly full charge. If you're not in this bad of battery shape though, a few hours of driving may be all that is needed to keep the batteries up for the next night.
We are leaving June 1st for Bozeman, traveling the Great River Road to Minnesota before heading west. (A new thread coming soon.) If it's not too hot, we'll be doing a some dry camping and using our Fantastic Fans for comfort. We don't have a generator, so I'll post how that works out.
Randy
__________________ Randy and Pat Godfrey
2nd VP Florida Unit WBCCI# 7591 - AIR# 17017
2007 Safari SE 23' - Daisy
2006 Lincoln Mark LT - Hoke
On the way to the Can Opener this year we stopped at the Flying J west of Tallahassee, FL for the night. It went down to 20 that night. We had the furnace set to 55 and it ran off and on all night. By morning we had dim lights and a flashing red battery indicator on the monitor panel.
After a three hour drive to Topsail, the monitor panel was green again. Even though this indicated a full charge, the thought from others here on the forum was that had we not plugged into a power post that night, it would have gone into the red quickly. Several more hours of driving were needed to get a truly full charge. If you're not in this bad of battery shape though, a few hours of driving may be all that is needed to keep the batteries up for the next night.
We are leaving June 1st for Bozeman, traveling the Great River Road to Minnesota before heading west. (A new thread coming soon.) If it's not too hot, we'll be doing a some dry camping and using our Fantastic Fans for comfort. We don't have a generator, so I'll post how that works out.
Randy
Thanks for the info, Randy. We get antsy about running the batteries super dead.
__________________ SuEllyn & Brian McCabe WBCCI #3628 --- AIR #14872 2005 25' Safari FB (Lucy) with HAHA 2005 Suburban 2500 Quadrasteer (Olivia) & 2004 Suburban 2500 Quadrasteer (Daisy)
Route One in Maine is a nice ride if you aren't in a hurry. You will be arriving prior to the height of tourist season so Route One is still do-able (I avoid it in the summer due to bumper to bumper tourist traffic). There are lots of things to see and do on Route One and 1A such as lobster, fried clams, the ocean/beach, antiquing, and wealthy-home-gawking (i.e., Bush has a home on the ocean in Kennebunkport) to name a few.
Thanks for the info, Randy. We get antsy about running the batteries super dead.
Here's what was said in the Fall/Winter 2006 edition of Airstream Life:
Quote:
If a new deep cycle battery is routinely discharged to 10% or less remaining and then properly recharged (i.e. initially a high current bulk charge, followed by lower topping-off-current-charge), it will have an average life of about 300 - 350 cycles. This amounts to a few years of typical useage in most Airstreams.
On the other hand, if that same battery is routinely discharged to around 40% to 50% remaining and then recharged, that battery will have a life span of around 3,000 cycles.
So, using your batteries some is healthier than not. The question is what does the monitor panel show at 40 to 50% remaining?
Randy
__________________ Randy and Pat Godfrey
2nd VP Florida Unit WBCCI# 7591 - AIR# 17017
2007 Safari SE 23' - Daisy
2006 Lincoln Mark LT - Hoke
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