Well to start off I don't even know if we are RV'ers (lol) isn't that sad, I have been so obsessed with work and family life that this never crossed my mind.
Last fall we decided to buy a waterfront lot, there is no power to the lake, no motor boats allowed but we love it. In order for us to afford our piece of paradise we went out an bought a used 2001 39D terry trailer.
Well we got this baby on the lot, wow they are big to tow I was so nervous ! so we have her there now, and have no idea how to do anything at all... seriously.
My husband figured out that he could attach a battery to the front of the trailer and we would get some lighting and the radio will work, how long this will last without haveing to recharging I have no clue.
Right now we are trying to find the best solution to get power to our new found love, we have thought of either a propane generator or solar powered thingy. I am thinking we made need to go both ??? our fridge is electric, or so the guy says, I have no idea how to check to see if it runs on propane but he definatley said electric.
I am thinking we will need to go solar to recharge the battery to get the lights and radio to work without having to power up a generator??? although some of these solar systems say that it will power a tv and fan etc, excuse my inexperience but can you plug in the main power outlet then to the inverter somehow? and how would i beable to differentiate to have the fridge run off the propane generator.... yikes what have i gotten myself into ha ha
If anyone has any suggestions for me it would be greatly appreciated, like i said newbie is an understatement.
We would like to run a small tv with satelite, maybe a fan on hotter days, a radio, lights, we do NOT have water coming to the trailer, or anything coming out... ha ha we are having to outhouse it for a bit ha ha
Thank you so much in advance for your advice, opinions, and comments I am already finding so much information here, but as commented before not sure if this is where I should be
Terry and Jo said
04:22 AM Jul 2, 2012
Tracy,
Welcome to the RV Dreams forums. While you may not be a "traveling" RV'er, you have one, thus you are what I refer to as a "static" RV'er. (Just for comfort, Jo and I are the same; living in our fifth wheel in Oklahoma City and waiting for retirement so we can become "traveling" RV'ers.)
This won't be a bad source as there are folks here that are knowledgeable about all you mentioned in respect to generators and solar systems.
So, while you may not be exactly sure of whether you are in the right place or not, I would venture that you are. Not only are the folks here knowledgeable, but they are friendly and helpful as well.
Just remember that there are no "dumb" questions except those that DON'T get asked in order to get an answer.
Good luck with all your efforts.
Terry
GENECOP said
08:55 AM Jul 2, 2012
Welcome to RV Dreams....Use the search function to research many of your questions....whatever you can't find come back and ask. Jack Mayer has some great solar info, search his name first.....G
RVRon said
08:20 PM Jul 2, 2012
Welcome to RV Dreams! I'm sure you'll find a lot of answers to your questions by searching through the Forum and Howard's how-to pages but here are a couple of thoughts. What you're actually doing is called boondocking - camping where there are no hookups. Do a search for "boondocking" and you'll come with a lot of info. Yes, you will need to recharge the camper's battery somehow and the easiest would to be to have a small portable generator to take with you when you are living in the camper. Honda and others make light and quiet units. Your refrigerator no doubt will work on propane but also needs 12 volt power to operate. If you have a gas stove then there has to be propane tanks somewhere or at least somewhere to hook them up. Usually on a trailer the tanks are mounted on the hitch at the front. Hopefully this will give you a start in the right direction!
Trabuco said
08:46 PM Jul 2, 2012
Tracy....welcome to the forum!
NorCal Dan said
12:03 AM Jul 3, 2012
Welcome to the forum. You're making all of us jealous...sounds like you own a piece paradise. ;)
Get the make and model number off your fridge and post the info and we should be able to determine it's capabilities.
You should have propane tanks so you can cook with the stove and oven. Don't need power for these.
I don't think one battery is going to last very long...is there room to add more batteries?
Well to start off I don't even know if we are RV'ers (lol) isn't that sad, I have been so obsessed with work and family life that this never crossed my mind.
Last fall we decided to buy a waterfront lot, there is no power to the lake, no motor boats allowed but we love it. In order for us to afford our piece of paradise we went out an bought a used 2001 39D terry trailer.
Well we got this baby on the lot, wow they are big to tow I was so nervous ! so we have her there now, and have no idea how to do anything at all... seriously.
My husband figured out that he could attach a battery to the front of the trailer and we would get some lighting and the radio will work, how long this will last without haveing to recharging I have no clue.
Right now we are trying to find the best solution to get power to our new found love, we have thought of either a propane generator or solar powered thingy. I am thinking we made need to go both ??? our fridge is electric, or so the guy says, I have no idea how to check to see if it runs on propane but he definatley said electric.
I am thinking we will need to go solar to recharge the battery to get the lights and radio to work without having to power up a generator??? although some of these solar systems say that it will power a tv and fan etc, excuse my inexperience but can you plug in the main power outlet then to the inverter somehow? and how would i beable to differentiate to have the fridge run off the propane generator.... yikes what have i gotten myself into ha ha
If anyone has any suggestions for me it would be greatly appreciated, like i said newbie is an understatement.
We would like to run a small tv with satelite, maybe a fan on hotter days, a radio, lights, we do NOT have water coming to the trailer, or anything coming out... ha ha we are having to outhouse it for a bit ha ha
Thank you so much in advance for your advice, opinions, and comments I am already finding so much information here, but as commented before not sure if this is where I should be
Tracy,
Welcome to the RV Dreams forums. While you may not be a "traveling" RV'er, you have one, thus you are what I refer to as a "static" RV'er. (Just for comfort, Jo and I are the same; living in our fifth wheel in Oklahoma City and waiting for retirement so we can become "traveling" RV'ers.)
This won't be a bad source as there are folks here that are knowledgeable about all you mentioned in respect to generators and solar systems.
So, while you may not be exactly sure of whether you are in the right place or not, I would venture that you are. Not only are the folks here knowledgeable, but they are friendly and helpful as well.
Just remember that there are no "dumb" questions except those that DON'T get asked in order to get an answer.
Good luck with all your efforts.
Terry
Welcome to RV Dreams! I'm sure you'll find a lot of answers to your questions by searching through the Forum and Howard's how-to pages but here are a couple of thoughts. What you're actually doing is called boondocking - camping where there are no hookups. Do a search for "boondocking" and you'll come with a lot of info. Yes, you will need to recharge the camper's battery somehow and the easiest would to be to have a small portable generator to take with you when you are living in the camper. Honda and others make light and quiet units. Your refrigerator no doubt will work on propane but also needs 12 volt power to operate. If you have a gas stove then there has to be propane tanks somewhere or at least somewhere to hook them up. Usually on a trailer the tanks are mounted on the hitch at the front. Hopefully this will give you a start in the right direction!
Get the make and model number off your fridge and post the info and we should be able to determine it's capabilities.
You should have propane tanks so you can cook with the stove and oven. Don't need power for these.
I don't think one battery is going to last very long...is there room to add more batteries?