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Long Weekend working the Overland Expo
I just returned from the Overland Expo MTN West. Belle and I dry camped for five days and thought now would be the perfect time for an update on our RV power system expansion that we did six months ago. I just used these batteries exactly how I envisioned over this long weekend, and that is to protect Belle from the heat when I am away from the RV.
I worked the Winnebago booth at the expo on Friday & Saturday. The show hours are a bit long, from 8 am to 5 pm, so that is a long time for Belle to be alone in the RV while not being plugged in. Of course, I did stop in and check on her throughout the day. The Battle Born batteries did precisely what we needed them to do. They ran the AC the whole day while I was gone.
It was warm at this show but not excessively hot. I think the hottest day was 85 degrees, which is plenty hot for an RV. In fact, without the A/C on our RV, it would quickly get over 100 degrees inside.
Our RV Power System
A quick reminder on what our power system consists of. We have over 1010 amp hours of battery power, a 3,000-watt inverter, and 1300 watts of solar. During the five days, I ran our generator for 2 hours to help top off the batteries. We were not getting much sun on Friday & Saturday, and I wanted to play it safe and ensure the batteries had enough juice for Belle. I was being cautious, as I turned on the generator when the batteries reached 50% charge. When I left on Monday morning, we had 75% left from the sun being out on Sunday. If I had not had Belle with me on this trip, I would have easily gone the five days without using the generator. Again, I think I was overly cautious about her being in the RV alone.
I was also able to monitor the temperatures in the RV using our Waggle Pet Monitor, so even though she was alone in the RV, the temps were still being watched by the Waggle Monitor.
Other Ways We Use the RV Power System
Besides boondocking and dry camping, we have also found that we like using the battery system and AC while traveling. I will often use our rooftop AC rather than using our dash AC. This gives our engine a bit more power while driving while at the same time saving some miles per gallon. It’s not enough to shout about, but I have noticed a slight increase in our range per tank fill-up. Also, it is nice to have the entire RV cool when we arrive at a campsite instead of waiting for the RV to cool down after we park and plug in.
Changes to the RV Power System
Having Arizona as our home base, we noticed cooling issues with our inverter. We called Jordan from Echo One Adventures and let him know that our inverter was getting hot. Being the upstanding guy and company he is, he asked us to return to Albuquerque. He installed extra fans under our bed and vented them into our cargo bays. He did this at no additional cost and felt it was his responsibility to make us as happy as possible. Since the addition of the vent fans, everything has been perfect. If you are looking into building a system as we did in a motorhome, remember that motorized RVs become much warmer than towables because of all the drive equipment. We have a temp sensor under our stairwell, and when we are driving, it is not uncommon for those temperatures to reach 130 degrees in the summer. I am reasonably confident that our temperature issue would not have been an issue if we were in a towable RV.
I wish you all safe travels, and if you are going to be at the Overland Expo East, stop by the Winnebago booth and say hi to me!
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