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Gearheart · 10-31-2016, 04:40 PM

A Mr Heater Buddy catalytic heater uses no electricity. Runs for almost 8 hours at half output on a 1 # bottle of lpg. It will keep a Bambi nice and toasty at half power. Run the furnace for an hour before bedding down to take off the chill and then let Mr heater take over.

Gearheart · 10-31-2016, 04:47 PM

The furnace fan draws 4 amps. 8 hours @ 4 amps is 32 amp hours. Start the furnace running while driving the last hour to take off the chill, and the TV will supply the power for that. Then you start the night with full battery and a warm trailer.

Becky B. · 10-31-2016, 05:45 PM

Ok, my battery is a Marine Deep Cycle like this: http://www.exide.com/us/en/product-s...eep-cycle.aspx I have only one battery in my 32' Avion which I plan to take. I like the idea of warming it up while traveling. We'll only make one overnight stop where it's somewhat cold. That's probably the only time we'll use it. I guess I'll give it a dry run when it gets cold out here & see! Sounds like we should be ok if we keep it cool, which is good sleeping anyhow. :-) Thanks for all the responses.

ijustlee · 10-31-2016, 05:58 PM

Yes, you should be OK for one night because the furnace cycles on and off unless it's really cold outside. If your furnace ran continuously you would run the battery out. Good idea to heat up the trailer before you stop. I've some times unplugged my truck after a couple of hours being stopped to make sure it would start because my battery charging line is always hot. My dream is a furnace that charges my battery!

Adventure.AS · 10-31-2016, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gearheart

The furnace fan draws 4 amps. 8 hours @ 4 amps is 32 amp hours. Start the furnace running while driving the last hour to take off the chill, and the TV will supply the power for that. Then you start the night with full battery and a warm trailer.

Remember, though, that the furnace does not usually run continuously after the trailer is warmed up - perhaps 50% of the time. This means that you would only use 16 amp/hours for eight hours.

gecko · 10-31-2016, 07:21 PM

Your furnace draws about 8 amps for every hour that it's running full blast--much less when it cycles off. If you have it running for 10 hours full blast (worst case), it will consume 80 amps of your battery bank's storage. Your reefer will be drawing about 10 amps during the same time, and lites, charging if cell phones and laptops, inverter turned on, etc will all draw more.

So what is the full capacity of your battery bank? To keep the batteries sound, you do not want to use more than 50%. If you have200 amps of storage, you might be close to a problem getting by with 100 usable amps. We have 440, and have never had a problem! But when we first got the coach with factory solar, it came with half that, and we sucked the batteries dry on our shakedown cruise where the temp hit mid twenties. We were quite upset to find that Airstreams do not have reverse battery protection, and it sucked the starter battery of our TV dry, too! We now always unplug the umbilical, even for overnight stops--just part of our travel routine.

So very important that you know the storage capacity of your battery bank before you try it.

Alluminati · 10-31-2016, 08:24 PM

According to the owner’s manual on my 34’ Avion, you should start your furnace before you leave home. Set the temperature how you would in your home, and run it whether you are plugged in, boondocking, or driving. So a month ago we set the thermostat at where we wanted it before leaving on a 3 week trip across the northern US. We boondocked perhaps 10 nights on the trip and never had an issue with the batteries. The furnace ran frequently through the night when the temps were near or below freezing. We used a LOT of propane, but the trailer stayed comfortably warm.

dasams · 10-31-2016, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Becky B.

Will my furnace run the entire night if my battery is fully charged?

I've skimmed all of the posts and still don't know what indoor temp you find comfortable. For my wife and I, even on shore power, we set the furnace at 52F. What's your desired temp?

Becky B. · 11-01-2016, 07:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dasams

I've skimmed all of the posts and still don't know what indoor temp you find comfortable. For my wife and I, even on shore power, we set the furnace at 52F. What's your desired temp?

Well, my DESIRED temp is 63, but I can do 52 with a couple of blankets! Our Avion has twins, so I won't be able to steal body heat from my hubby...that's a project for next year, I believe. Sounds like we can make it through one night... We stayed in a hotel when we took the Bambi II because of all our stuff in the way & the process of making the bed was prohibitive. The Avion has lots of room & I don't see why we should shell out $100 for a night of sleep when we're livin' in the lap of luxury! ha!ha!

banderabob · 11-01-2016, 07:43 AM

Our experience has been with charged batteries and a moderate setting around 70, no problem.

Gneiss Guy · 11-01-2016, 02:16 PM

As indicated above, it all depends on the outside temp., the battery condition and how warm you want to keep the trailer. If you starting in Indiana and get an early start, you should be into KY or TN, maybe even GA by nightfall. I would take enough blankets to sleep at 50 degrees, set the thermostat at fifty and you should be okay. Turn the furnace up for a while to warm it up in the morning.

Alluminati · 11-01-2016, 04:14 PM

Not sure why I would want to live like a pauper in a luxury trailer. If I couldn't afford the heat, then maybe a cheaper RV might have been a better choice. I could have bought a popup for better gas mileage too.

We set our thermostat at 73 during the day, and 68 at night.

demijac · 11-01-2016, 06:33 PM

Don't know the answer to your question because we do all that we can to minimize furnace usage at night.

Instead, we do the following when boon-docking on nights below freezing:

1) turn the thermostat down to 40 degrees (mainly to keep pipes, tanks and plumbing warm)
2) use down comforter blanket
3) wear merino wool pajamas & wool socks to bed
4) if its really cold, wear a down vest or wool sweater to bed as well
5) snuggle

When we wake up in the morning, we turn the thermostat up to 60 degrees and within a few minutes, we've heated up our 27 ft. trailer.

This approach minimizes both equipment and propane usage. Best of all, getting a good night's sleep in the cold is a non-issue - we actually enjoy it.

Becky B. · 11-01-2016, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alluminati

Not sure why I would want to live like a pauper in a luxury trailer. If I couldn't afford the heat, then maybe a cheaper RV might have been a better choice. I could have bought a popup for better gas mileage too.

We set our thermostat at 73 during the day, and 68 at night.

It's not that I can't afford the propane....I WANT to stay in my luxury trailer overnight without electric....boondocking. And I asked if the battery would last the whole night with the furnace running. That's all....

Jarrod White · 11-03-2016, 07:20 PM

Becky
I think you will be fine. As noted, once you get south of Tennessee you will only need a few minutes if furnace time to keep the Avion at around 55-60 degrees. My guess is 10 minutes when you first turn it on, 2-3 cycles in middle of night, and then 10 minutes in morning. This is based upon my 30 foot avion and assuming night time lows in 30s to 40s. They avions are well insulted and it shows in the winter. Although the windows are the weak link and you might consider putting a blanket up at night on top of curtains (just tuck over curtain rail).
You also might consider getting a second battery. Your box will hold it and if will double your battery reserves. Just needs to be same type as your current battery to ensure no issues.
Jarrod

Jim Foster · 11-03-2016, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by demijac

Don't know the answer to your question because we do all that we can to minimize furnace usage at night.

Instead, we do the following when boon-docking on nights below freezing:

1) turn the thermostat down to 40 degrees (mainly to keep pipes, tanks and plumbing warm)

2) use down comforter blanket

3) wear merino wool pajamas & wool socks to bed

4) if its really cold, wear a down vest or wool sweater to bed as well

5) snuggle

When we wake up in the morning, we turn the thermostat up to 60 degrees and within a few minutes, we've heated up our 27 ft. trailer.

This approach minimizes both equipment and propane usage. Best of all, getting a good night's sleep in the cold is a non-issue - we actually enjoy it.

Good advice.

Once again I would suggest you try your furnace overnight before you leave on your trip. A very simple way to answer your question using your furnace and your batteries.

Sent from my iPhone using Airstream Forums

Alluminati · 11-03-2016, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Becky B.

I asked if the battery would last the whole night with the furnace running.

Your trailer is designed to run the furnace all night without killing the batteries. As I mentioned in an earlier post, last month we boondocked all over Wyoming, Montana, Idaho with the furnace running at 68 degrees all night long.

We didn't know that our batteries were well beyond their expiration date when we left home. Even so, they kept the furnace running our first night out. The second night we knew they were failing. So we stopped at an auto parts store where they checked them. One was completely flat dead, the other was 75% gone. But they didn't have our size. Instead, we found them at Walmart for $84 ea. But the battery box was big enough we were able to go up a size for just $3 more.

After that we never gave the batteries a second thought. We ran the furnace all night, took long hot showers with the water pump running steady, left lights on for our comfort. Again, if we wanted to act miserly, we would be pulling a popup. The Avion is WELL able to cradle you in comfort far from the beaten path. We went boondocking across the country for days on end without ever plugging in. Walmarts, truck stops, rest areas, and dry camps were our home. We simply had no need of a campground while we were busy touring the countryside.

Your trailer was designed to run on two batteries. If our trailer had only one when I bought it, I would buy two new batteries so they'd be a matched set. Buy the largest size that fits in your battery box. Then travel with peace of mind.

OTRA15 · 11-04-2016, 05:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alluminati

. . .
We went boondocking across the country for days on end without ever plugging in. Walmarts, truck stops, rest areas, and dry camps were our home. We simply had no need of a campground while we were busy touring the countryside.
. . .

Assuming your tow vehicle charges the trailer batteries as you drive, what is the longest time period during which your new batteries were not being charged by the TV or shore power? 48 hours maybe?

Boondocking is a term used differently by many folks, and IMO it refers to times when one is truly off the grid and stationary, like in a remote desert location, say, with no shore power or tow vehicle charging. Generators and solar power, along with energy conservation, are all there is.

Did you ever sit for more than 48 hours, for instance, and have your batteries stay above 50% with the many uses you have listed? It would be good to have some parameters sketched out so that everyone can gauge their intended uses, and battery configurations, against some real figures IMO. [edit -- including overnight temperatures and wind conditions might help.]

If you are able to boondock for longer than 48 hours, without any solar or generator, that would be the exception rather than the norm IMO.

Thanks,

Peter

OTRA15 · 11-04-2016, 05:25 AM

PS -- There is a "Sticky" topic in this Boondocking sub-forum entitled What is Boondocking:

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f382...ing-27327.html
Sub-forum: http://www.airforums.com/forums/f382/

The first few posts on that old thread include the following FYI:

[click on arrow at top of quote to go directly to that old post]

Quote:

Originally Posted by clancy_boy

Boondocks refers to a remote, usually brushy rural area. The expression was introduced to English by American military personnel serving in the Philippines during the early years of the 20th century. It derives from the Tagalog word bunduk (Bisayan Bukid) meaning "hinterland", that is, inland area. It also carries the implication that it is "backward" or "unsophisticated"; hence taga bunduk "people who live in the hinterland": i.e., people who are backward or unsophisticated.

You asked...... Internet provides......

BTW, I don't feel AS people are "backward or unsophisticated".......

Quote:

Originally Posted by warbler5

"Camping" without benefit of hook-ups....electrical, water, or blackwater disposal.

thecatsandi · 11-04-2016, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Becky B.

Ok, my battery is a Marine Deep Cycle like this: http://www.exide.com/us/en/product-s...eep-cycle.aspx I have only one battery in my 32' Avion which I plan to take. I like the idea of warming it up while traveling. We'll only make one overnight stop where it's somewhat cold. That's probably the only time we'll use it. I guess I'll give it a dry run when it gets cold out here & see! Sounds like we should be ok if we keep it cool, which is good sleeping anyhow. :-) Thanks for all the responses.

For a Trailer that large I would have two batteries. If you want to add a second battery you wil have to buy two. they need to have the same strength.