Battery Life?

Cccjim

Still a newbie here. My wife and I are spending our first night without Shore power. Can the fantastic fan run all night on a 12 volt battery fully charged? Should I unplug from the vehicle? If I remain plugged into the vehicle through the night will my fantastic fan automatically draw from the vehicle battery if the camper battery is dead? As I was driving down the highway should I have disconnected or turned off the camper battery? I know a lot of stuff is probably in my manual but I do not have it with me.

2jgcampers

When we had no shore power, we didn't use the fan, or much of any electric power. Used battery powered lantern instead. Here's a URL of a chart from the T@B forum. I don't know which trailer model or battery (batteries?) you have. Hope this helps. You might want to carry a copy of your manual with you on a thumb drive, and any other helpful info you copy from the forums.

https://us.v-cdn.net/5021717/uploads/editor/xk/v9y8w5wnplp2.png

2jgcampers

Oops! Forgot to say have some fun (travel with the battery switch on).

Lightningdon

If you are not using the fridge, you can run the fan, lights, and watch a few flicks without worrying about your battery. On the original battery, you will get 2-3 days on battery alone using your lights as needed, the fan, and entertainment center if you don't use the fridge. The fridge is the hog in your rig.

Cccjim

Sorry I didn't mention I have a 2017 tag. I thought I was leaving the question on the tag forum. Does the tag fridge freezer also draw a lot of power?

Michigan_Mike

The frug/freezer is your biggest energy draw. Buy an LED voltmeter that plugs into the cigarette style receptacle and monitor your battery consumption as that will give you an idea as to where you stand.

You should unplug from the tow vehicle as otherwise you could end up draining the car battery. And when traveling down the road, leave the battery switch on to allow the tow vehicle the ability to charge tbevtraiker battery.

If you plan on boonfocking a lot you might want to consider using two 6 volt batteries to supplement your power needs. A solar panel would help out too, something around 120 watts. You also may want to wire a separate and heavier gauge (fused) wire directly to the frig and that is dedicated to the frig.

But agree, you should be able to run the fan over night if you keep it running at a lower speed and the battery is fully charged. Remember too that the battery reading will fluctuate some and recover once the fan is turned off after use and the cells stabilize. This is normal. But having a meter will allow you to monitor the battery and it will allow you a means of knowing your general usage and better managing power consumption. Walmart has the LED meters and you can buy them on Amazon too.

Cccjim

Thanks Mike! I do have a voltmeter. It plugs into the DC adapter inside the camper. Sounds like I should turn off the fridge if we would like the Fan to run through the night on a higher speed than low? I will have to check into that wiring stuff when I get back. I would not trust myself to do those kind of things. I guess I am still wondering if when the camper battery goes dead does the camper immediately draw from a plugged in vehicle?

Verna

The Fantastic Fan is known as an energy hog. If you can buy a battery operated fan, you would be able to conserve a lot of energy, plus be able to have the needed air movement.

I use an O2 rechargeable fan during the winter boondocking in Arizona (check Amazon).

Brian

If you leave the camper plugged to your vehicle when parked, it will pull both batteries down equally at the same time. I certainly would recommend unhooking the vehicle connection, otherwise you risk not being able to start when it's time to leave. I've had no problem running both the fan (on low) and the Norcold fridge overnight. In fact, I've been able to go three nights on my single (stock) battery leaving the Norcold on and some fan use, but no tv or stereo, before the battery was down to 50% charge. Remember, you will risk permanent battery damage if you consistently pull the battery's resting voltage down below 12.1V, which is that 50% charge. When towing, your battery switch should be on so the vehicle can recharge the trailer battery (assuming you have a charge wire in your connection). Happy camping!

Michigan_Mike

@Cccjim said:
Thanks Mike! I do have a voltmeter. It plugs into the DC adapter inside the camper. Sounds like I should turn off the fridge if we would like the Fan to run through the night on a higher speed than low? I will have to check into that wiring stuff when I get back. I would not trust myself to do those kind of things. I guess I am still wondering if when the camper battery goes dead does the camper immediately draw from a plugged in vehicle?

Ryobi also sells a nice fan that runs off their rechargeable 18 volt batteries and it is powerful.

When the trailer is plugged into the TV it isn't selective in which battery it draws from so there really isn't a choice 1 or choice 2. The only way to leave it plugged in and still have power to start your vehicle would be to have a battery isolator installed in the engine compartment. This would isolate the vehicle battery and allow you to run the trailer battery independently. Unplugging from the TV will be your best best.

Turning off the frig will help at night and will give you an idea as to what power you've used at night. I agree with Verna however that running the fan on high is going to consume a lot if power. I would beef up the battery as the stock battery won't get the job done.

Cccjim

The T@G manual states, "The charge in the 12-volt batteries can be replenished, depending on the tow vehicle, from the
tow vehicle alternator through the 7-way cord. This charge will flow to the batteries regardless of the battery disconnect switch position." Several have said that I should several have said that I should leave the disconnect switch on while going down the road. Doesn't the above statement indicate that my battery will charge whether or not the switch is on or off? I do have the 7-way plug

mgreen2

You are correct. The disconnect switch is between the battery and the converter. It won't charge on shore power if the switch is off but will charge from the TV

Brian

Despite what the manual says, my T@G is wired so that the switch isolates the battery. When the switch is off the connection is broken so that power can neither flow in or out. The only exception is from the solar connection that is wired straight to the battery terminals.

Cccjim

Thanks! Brian