what to do NO electric hook up

[peapod]

Hi we are going on our first meet to americana, have not yet been anywhere without hook up , we dont as yet have any extra leisure batteries so do we get some before wes go or a very big WHAT ?

 

[GJH]

It all depends how much electricity you use.

We have a solar panel now but when we first had our van we had nothing to charge the battery (85Ah) when not on hook-up. We still managed stays of 4 or 5 days away without any problems though. That was using power for pumping water for showers for two each day plus washing up, plus lighting whilst having supper for an hour before bedtime.

As it's your first time probably best to play it a bit canny and see how much you have left at the end.

Graham

 

[Geo]

Make sure you park near a big rig Peapod, and after dark ,fix two crocodile clips to his Huge bank of batteries, got there uses these RVs you know
there will be a million and one ways to charge you back up ,so it would be a good place to see how long you can last, if you do go flat just shout up, dont struggle, this is the FUN and helpfull site:thumb:
Geo

 

[Thepips]

A while ago we were parked up next to a european motorhome. We got chatting to them and offered to let them plug their battery charger into us our external socket while the generator was running. A couple of days later we came back from a day out to find they'd plugged in again. Only the generator wasn't running and they'd been using their charger running off our inverter
Fortunately enough power left in the leisure batteries to start the generator again

Regards
Doug

 

[Geo]

A while ago we were parked up next to a european motorhome. We got chatting to them and offered to let them plug their battery charger into us our external socket while the generator was running. A couple of days later we came back from a day out to find they'd plugged in again. Only the generator wasn't running and they'd been using their charger running off our inverter
Fortunately enough power left in the leisure batteries to start the generator again

Regards
Doug

You could'nt make it up, could you?

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[ruffingitsmoothly]

A while ago we were parked up next to a european motorhome. We got chatting to them and offered to let them plug their battery charger into us our external socket while the generator was running. A couple of days later we came back from a day out to find they'd plugged in again. Only the generator wasn't running and they'd been using their charger running off our inverter
Fortunately enough power left in the leisure batteries to start the generator again

Regards
Doug

Hmmmm I can't believe why on earth would you leave your inverter on?:Confused:

Just curious!

Regards Pat

 

[Thepips]

Hmmmm I can't believe why on earth would you leave your inverter on?:Confused:

Just curious!

Regards Pat

It auto-senses a load and comes on by itself. Really handy if you want to run the microwave but blooming annoying when someone plugs in unexpectedly!

Cheers
Doug

 

[Forestboy]

Hi we are going on our first meet to americana, have not yet been anywhere without hook up , we dont as yet have any extra leisure batteries so do we get some before wes go or a very big WHAT ?

Park next to a Big Rig and if your batteries go flat wait until they go out move into the Big Rig and claim squatters rights until Sunday pm
Seriously though there's plenty of us there to help out and plug into if you have a problem.
Hope the stays weathers good it promises to be a great meet.:thumb:

 

[peapod]

thanks everybody for their replies and help abviously we have the gennie but didnt want to keep the neighbours awake being real novices silly things seem so big anyway once again you lot big hugs and kisses

 

[American Dream]

thanks everybody for their replies and help abviously we have the gennie but didnt want to keep the neighbours awake being real novices silly things seem so big anyway once again you lot big hugs and kisses

We've got the genny too but we tend to economise on the battery power.

Have converted most of the RV to led lighting to conserve the available power.

Don't worry......You'll get by.

There's a lot of nice friendly people here.:thumb:

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[RuthRv]

thanks everybody for their replies and help abviously we have the gennie but didnt want to keep the neighbours awake being real novices silly things seem so big anyway once again you lot big hugs and kisses

hi peapod don't worry about using the genny, you are allowed to use it up till 11pm anyway, and as for keeping the neighbours up, don't worry we will all be out

 

[JayDee]

Hi we are going on our first meet to americana, have not yet been anywhere without hook up , we dont as yet have any extra leisure batteries so do we get some before wes go or a very big WHAT ?

We found to our embarrassment that the computer makes a huge dent in the available battery life. Ask Geo:Blush: - it's thanks to him that we ever left Newark:thumb:, What a hero.
And then we went and flattened the leisure battery at the Shakepeares birthday bash. When will we learn???

But we were parked up alongside Graham and his set up for a solar panel has convinced us of the error of our ways.

John

 

[American Dream]

But we were parked up alongside Graham and his set up for a solar panel has convinced us of the error of our ways.

John

What sort of cost are you looking at for an average solar setup please?

Not after anything flash.Just something we could set up on site to keep the leisure batteries topped up.Sun and bright days permitting.

 

[GJH]

We bought a 50w Carasolar brand panel from Solar Solutions of Poole. We got ours at the NEC show in 2006 so it was a bit cheaper than normal - think we paid about £325.

Reading postings on some forums, 50W might seem a bit small but we bought ours after talking to friends who have a similar one. As John knows, we were able to run the laptop without flattening the battery at Stratford

It's free standing, comes complete with regulator etc built in and a two piece cable with plug/socket connector. The cable not connected to the panel is connected permanently to the battery and you just plug the two together to use it.

The panel has a security cable & padlock to attach to the van to stop thieves but we found it easier to buy a bike cable lock with combination lock, which both extends the existing cable and means you don't have a padlock key to lose.

Certainly very pleased with ours.

Graham

 

[ruffingitsmoothly]

There are always some on Ebay

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I was lucky that our RV came with an 80 watt panel already fitted but I bought another and fitted it. The Monaco is prewired for panels although the previous owner did not know and wrongly wired it up. This set up has lasted us well and there is a really enjoyable feeling to see 10amps+ of free charging, even on a dull day not uncommon to see over 4amps of charge.

Regards Pat

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[American Dream]

Cheers Pat,

In my instance I would be looking at control electronics as well so it's not really a cheap option.:Sad:

Might HAVE to stick to the genny for now.oh:

Nice setup By the Way.