Bavaria 34 to FC 25FB

[RubyDog]

Just bought a 2014 FC 25FB and am transitioning from a Bavaria 34 sailboat. Am noticing significant differences between boat and trailer that surprise me. First, a single phase charger? Really? Secondly, running the furnace all night may deplete the batteries? Is the Owner's Manual accurate? We hoped to do some winter camping locally, we live in Vancouver, BC, and get temperatures now just above and below freezing. Nice to run the furnace all night. I take it we should unplug the trailer from the truck or risk draining the truck battery? Neither the truck nor the trailer seem to have a battery isolator that prevents drain on the starting battery. I would love to expand the battery bank but that is a discussion for another time. Anyway, glad to be here and looking forward to some time on land.

[10Smiles]

Welcome from a neighbor a bit South (NW Washington)!!

Yes, running the furnace will deplete the batteries. One way around this is to obtain some type of heater that does not have a fan such as a catalytic heater. These work well and do not use battery power.

Also, yes, you should unplug from the tow vehicle so you do not run its battery down when dry camping.

Again, welcome and I hope you have many great experiences in your camper. The camping experience in this area is great.

[Traxless]

That Bavaria 34 is a fine sailboat. I think I would have removed the keel and placed wheels on it used that as my travel trailer!

[slowmover]

Welcome. You'll find your experience as mariners a good start. Trailers are kind of half creatures. The more interesting threads on here can be where an owner takes a system or half-expressed idea out to a conclusion both admirable and useful.

[cwf]

Welcome ASHORE? =)

The heater fan pulls some serious power. The heater and water heater have electrically operated GAS solenoids... along with the control board power draw.

I left my 34' AS unplugged for 2 weeks, doing cleaning and basic maintenance with using lights and water pump and the voltage on the batteries dropped to 12.4VDC.. so, the circuit boards don't pull power when they are switched 'off'...

Yet, I have run the heater overnite on battery.. but, here in Texas we had the heater cycling on/off.... not continually running. It put a dent in the batteries and took about 6 hours to fully recharge on the new converter.

If you are plugged in to AC, then the Converter will supply the power needed in your camper, even with all the stuff running... or, it is supposed to. I have a multi-stage converter.. after market, that meets all the needs quite nicely.

So, the only way you are likely to 'run down' the the batteries would be if you are 'boondocking'... with no replacement electricity.

Running heaters is a great option if safely used... watch for Oxygen consumption and CO output... the combo is deadly and we lose a few folks a year who misuse the devices... as a prior mariner, you probably are aware of the risks..

You can get a small generator to supply enough power for the converter to recharge.. if allowed in your camping area. Exhaust must be properly monitored as well as theft of gennys occurs often..

Others use larger battery combinations and solar resupply methods...

Enjoy the journey... and the motion of Aluminitis...

[Gnorts]

Welcome Rubydog!

I too am an ex-sailor. I have outlived my knees, so we moved to a powerboat, and a 27FB. I sailed a Victoria 34 for almost two decades. Still miss her! But my knees don't.

In the marine market, we're used to 3-step chargers, hi-output alternators, and all those goodies. Not so much in RV's. Yes your "converter" is single-stage, and will cook your batteries if you leave it on all the time. I use a Battery Tender which works fine in storage. You can get a conversion kit that will change your charger to a 3-step. I have bought one, haven't installed it yet. Here's what I got:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[mefly2]

Welcome - you will have a foot up on other RVers who lack your sailing experience.

[JamuJoe]

Hi RubyDog,
Yes, you'll find many differences between the sailboat and the Airstream. Construction and systems are far superior on a quality yacht such as the Bavaria. That said, the Airstream is a fine land barge. We have a Leopard 42 Catamaran on which we spend our winters, and will load up our Airstream FC23FB to travel 2000 mi to the boat in St Petersburg next week.
As to the furnace, ours gets extensive use traveling and camping in CO and down to FL at this time of year. Propane consumption isn't unreasonable. My 2 GP24 AGM's (not the original Interstates) hold up just fine overnight, and 255 watts of solar recharge them within a few hours. Regarding the low amperage Parallax battery charger, I just switch it off if on shore power for extended periods, and use a BatteryMinder 12248 for storage and conditioning. My Jeep GC does isolate the trailer connector, so I don't bother unplugging if not unhitching. Hope that you enjoy land travels in the Airstream as much as we do.

Safe Travels,
JamuJoe


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