Another Dry Camping Dilemma

So we got our battery for our camper and we are planning on dry camping next weekend in Vermont.  It will be cold there (obviously).  We have some questions as far as our trailmanor goes.  Can we run the heat all weekend while dry camping without hooking to electricity and just using our battery????  If not, how do you "dry" camp with a trailmanor??  My idea of dry is no electric hookup, sewer hookup or water hookup.  If I need electric to run my heat how then do I dry camp?  Any thoughts, comments, suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  We don't want to go to Vermont and freeze our tootsies off.  Thanks!

You should check the "winter camping with trailmanor" thread on page 2 of this discussion.

I did purchase the "Portable Buddy heater" because it takes either the small propane bottles or an unregulated supply from a bulk bottle. Works great and uses no electricity. Some people say they have also disconnected the propane gas sensor to save power.

My 3326 has one battery so I wired up an adaptor to plug one into the wiring harness of the trailer when the trailer is not plugged into the truck. I carry an extra deep cycle battery in the bed of the truck and put it on the outside and plug it in to the trailer harness. The adaptor is just the truck end plug with only the +12vdc and ground hooked up to two wires that have circle connectors on the other end to hook to the battery.
Hope this is understandable. If not, let me konw.

[Sinclue]

Interesting idea with the second battery.  I carry a second deep cycle battery also, but I switch it with the "house" battery when that one gets low.  
Do you plug both batteries in from the start? (I'm assuming your adapter arrangement plugs the second battery into the front of the trailer as if it were plugged into your truck.)
Isn't there an issue of the batteries needing to be isolated from each other so as not to let the "weaker" battery drain the "stronger" battery?  This might be an issue if you camped for a couple of days then moved on to another spot.  The "house" battery would be recharged while the trailer was hooked up to the tow vehicle.  But the "spare" battery wouldn't be.  
I like the adapter idea also because I store my trailer away from my home and usually take the battery out.  With an adapter I could power up the trailer without having to put the battery in the back and hooking it up, etc.  

Unless your batteries are identical and at the same age I would not parallel these except to charge.  Using the batteries separately in sequence also gives one a better feel for consumption rate.  I was using two 6v marine batteries in series until recently when I decided to give up capacity in order to lighten up weight.  We have found rustic camping ideal to avoid the crowds and to get better campsites, and we use battery power sparingly.

Use an inline 30a fuse for each battery.  You don't want the fireworks should leads ever short together.

I have used the front trailer wire connector to feed in a battery charger on the day I've prep'ed prior to towing if the refer is running on 12v and the trailer is closed up (with the ventilation fan on of course).  

[Bruce]

I hooked up a catalytic heater that uses no electricity and very little propane. I mounted it on the  wall under the end of the countertop in our 3124 KS. I tee'd into the copper propane line to the furnace, fitted a shut off valve and a 36" length of butyl rubber flexible propane hose to the 5100 btu heater. I purchased the heater from Camping World.
RV Solar Electric of Scottsdale, Az (800-999-8520) sells kits with everything you need to hook up a catalytic heater. I believe they may have the heaters for sale also. You will need to reinforce the paneling where you mount the heater. I glued a small block of wood behind the paneling where each mounting screw went.
Be forewarned: a propane leak is very dangerous. Do not attempt this installation yourself if you are not trained in propane installation procedure. I worked in the heating field when I was in the service. I borrowed the necessary flaring tool and checked my fittings with a leak detector solution. If you do not have the knowledge get a professional to do the job.
Also see my post in the old section of this list on installing solar panels and multiple batteries.

Best of luck,
Bruce Martin

The first thing off my extra battery is a thirty amp fuse and, yes, the batteries  should be the same  age and use battery but so far I have the "good time exemption"  :D. If one battery goes "bad" i.e. a cell shorts or something it can ruin both batteries.
Ditto on the catalytic heater, I think the ones from RV solar electric are approved for RV use.

[hal]

Please tell me more about the catalytic heater and the solar heater.
thanks,

Hal

[Bruce]

Hal
Solar panels make electricity to charge batteries. Look in the old TM discussion to find that article or call RV Soalr Electric to get info on solar panels and batteries.
A catalytic heater produces radiant heat. It warms objects, not the air. All heat energy is kept in the trailer as opposed to the forced air furnace where heat gets exhausted. You must crack a window or vent to provide some fresh air though I'm not sure that's really necessary on a TM with all the leaks around the seals.  ::)
Both the heaters sold by RV Solar Electric and Camping World are the same brand and will work in RV's.
The drawback to having the heater mounted on the counter end wall is that I must move the chair when operating the heater. The only other spot that would have worked in our trailer was the place on the left as you enter where the decorative doors and small cabinet are. This would be a great location but would necessitate doing away with the cabinet and doors, something my wife objected to.  :-X
Bruce Martin

We have run heat on low (55-60) for 3 days with no problem.

For longer or a lot of lighting use, we run a jumper from truck battery to the trailer wiring harness.  The vehicle battery gets recharged each day while driving.

I'm new to TM and havn't bought one yet but I'm a boater for many years.  There are many types of Isolators that you you can get from marine supply stores that will let you use tow batteries without one draining the other when not charging.  The new electronic types will even let  you use one charger for both batteries without switches.

susanspark,

Our heater runs off the propane, and there's plenty of storage in two propane tanks to keep you warm all weekend.

Making heat from electricity uses a lot of amps.   I don't know how much battery you'd need cause I've actually never seen a DC electric heater to read the current drain.

Jon