Boondocking with LL CL TB16

[PYG RYDR]

I am traveling ~1700 miles and boondock camping for ~ 5 days.  (Return trip is also 1700 miles) My 2016 CL TB16 has 2-12V Interstate Deep Cycle Batteries.  Camper will not be used during the day since I will be riding my WR250R through Big Bend National Forest.  Using propane for water heater-showers, furnace, refrigerator,  stove-coffee only.  Electric for pump and LED lights. 

So can I boondock safely for this time and not need to take my generator to recharge the batteries?

TIA

Galen ~ PYG RYDR

[Paul]

Reading this brought a question to me, is it better to plug both battery together as one battery bank or you use one battery and when at around 50% you switch?

[PYG RYDR]

Reading this brought a question to me, is it better to plug both battery together as one battery bank or you use one battery and when at around 50% you switch?

Both batteries are wired together for regular use.

[DavidM]

Well, maybe. We can squeeze 3 days with one 12V battery. A lot depends on how much you run the furnace, whch has a blower which draws a fair amount of amps, maybe 5. Say for sake of argument that you use it for 4 hours continuous during a day. That is 20 amp hours or 100 amp hours for the 5 days. That and normal lights, water pump, etc use which is about 10 amp hours daily will be 150 for 5 days, more than the 130 amp hour capacity of two 12V batteries, ignoring the need to only discharge half of the total capacity for best life.

What I would do is monitor the voltage or use a specific gravity meter. Try to check it when there are little or no loads on the battery. When it gets down to 12.0 volts or 50% discharged, then hook up your car's battery directly to the trailer batteries with jumper cables. You can put 30-40 amps back this way and an hour of idling maybe twice during your trip should get you by.

If you bring your generator, hook it up to the AC cord, so it will power the trailer's converter. Don't rely on the puny 12V output of most generators. With a 40 amp converter you will probably recharge about as fast as a direct car hookup.

Edit:

Paul, in general it is better to use both batteries at the same time. The capacity of deep cycle batteries is dependent on the amperage discharge rate as a percentage of capacity. You will get the rated capacity of a battery if you discharge at 5% of its capacity. If you discharge at 10% then you get about 25% less and so forth.

But one possible reason to swap in and out: If you want to recharge one battery using your truck while you take a day trip then it might make sense to leave one battery hooked to the trailer while you recharge the other one on your day trip. But it takes some intelligent hookups to do that safely.

David

[charliem]

I was typing an answer but David got there first. As usual his answer is correct and complete. I would only add that the jumper cables should be heavy duty #4AWG all copper, no longer than 20'. Recharging from the TV at idle for one hour every other day or so will usually keep you batteries in good shape. And if you have the two door fridge there is a frame heater that must be disabled per instructions on this forum.

[PYG RYDR]

Thank you for the information and your wisdom!

[PYG RYDR]

Traveled to Terlingua, TX for motorcycle dual sport riding of Big Bend National and State Parks.

Learned that I can boondock camp for 5 plus days on full water tank, with storage left in black and grey tanks.  After 5 days of conservative use of utilities, batteries registered 12.2 volts. I never charged them with generator, but the batteries charged by my TV to/from TX from VA with 3560 miles total. 

Had a blast camping, riding and socializing!

[rideandfly]

Galen,

Fine report and great DS adventure.

Appreciate photos and big Thanks for posting boondocking details!

[charliem]

Traveled to Terlingua, TX for motorcycle dual sport riding of Big Bend National and State Parks.

Learned that I can boondock camp for 5 plus days on full water tank, with storage left in black and grey tanks.  After 5 days of conservative use of utilities, batteries registered 12.2 volts. I never charged them with generator, but the batteries charged by my TV to/from TX from VA with 3560 miles total. 

Had a blast camping, riding and socializing!

The combined black plus gray exceeds the fresh capacity and the gray tank always fills before the black. With judicious waste water management such as catching sink water and pouring into the toilet you can prolong your stay. Worst case the manual method with a 3-5 gallon bucket from the gray waste valve to the toilet also works. Of course this assumes an accurate tank level monitor like the SeeLevel. A few 6 gallon jugs thrown in the truck will give you enough fresh water. With your minimal electrical use even a small solar panel should extend you trip almost indefinitely, especially in Terlingua! Fond memories of the Terlingua Racing Team.

[PYG RYDR]

Traveled to Terlingua, TX for motorcycle dual sport riding of Big Bend National and State Parks.

Learned that I can boondock camp for 5 plus days on full water tank, with storage left in black and grey tanks.  After 5 days of conservative use of utilities, batteries registered 12.2 volts. I never charged them with generator, but the batteries charged by my TV to/from TX from VA with 3560 miles total. 

Had a blast camping, riding and socializing!

The combined black plus gray exceeds the fresh capacity and the gray tank always fills before the black. With judicious waste water management such as catching sink water and pouring into the toilet you can prolong your stay. Worst case the manual method with a 3-5 gallon bucket from the gray waste valve to the toilet also works. Of course this assumes an accurate tank level monitor like the SeeLevel. A few 6 gallon jugs thrown in the truck will give you enough fresh water. With your minimal electrical use even a small solar panel should extend you trip almost indefinitely, especially in Terlingua! Fond memories of the Terlingua Racing Team.

Agreed!

Looks like my generator will be mostly used for air conditioning in summer months!

Terlingua is a unique place to visit.  https://www.outsideonline.com/1922521/murder-terlingua-texas

Plan to return in 2 years.

[DavidM]

PYG RYDR:

I am really surprised that you can go 5 days and still have your battery(s) read 12.2 volts. That is only about 1/3 discharged. How many and what kind of batteries do you have?

We can go about 3 days but by then we are down by half. This is with a single Group 24 Interstate battery, about 70 AH capacity. We don't have any unusual loads- LED lights used sparingly, control electronics for fridge but no frame heater, water heater lighting and controls but left off until needed at night, water pump usage, no fan no furnace, slide in and out once. Come to think of it, that isn't much load. I will have to check again when we go for three straight days. Maybe we can go more days.

David

[PYG RYDR]

PYG RYDR:

I am really surprised that you can go 5 days and still have your battery(s) read 12.2 volts. That is only about 1/3 discharged. How many and what kind of batteries do you have?

We can go about 3 days but by then we are down by half. This is with a single Group 24 Interstate battery, about 70 AH capacity. We don't have any unusual loads- LED lights used sparingly, control electronics for fridge but no frame heater, water heater lighting and controls but left off until needed at night, water pump usage, no fan no furnace, slide in and out once. Come to think of it, that isn't much load. I will have to check again when we go for three straight days. Maybe we can go more days.

David

David,

Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised as well!

I have 2-12 volt Interstate Deep Cycle Batteries-installed by dealer per request.  I do keep the batteries charging on a Battery Tender when parked in driveway. 

Keep in mind I was camping by myself and used the LED lights very little, toilet several times per day, showered daily-so pump on for shower and then off.  Showers did not use much water/electric-water on, then off, lather and wash, then rinse.  So very little pump use.  Brewed coffee daily on my stove.  No furnace use.  Refrigerator on propane for 14 days or TV when towing. 

I was away all day riding DS, so I am guessing the two batteries recovered some during the no use time.

Galen

[DavidM]

Ok, two batteries explains it.

Thanks, David