Factory battery

[Jaydubya81]

I have a rockwood 194HW, never really dry camped in it. So I'm curious if anyone out there has an idea on how long will my new stock battery last, let's say in the cooler months. Assuming the fridge will be in propane, so the battery would be running water pump, lights , furnace fan. Are we talking one night? Half a night? Or am I just way off, and it last a couple of nights. I mostly want to to know how long I can expect to run the
furnace? Thanks


2015 rockwood 194A HW.

[Toddupton]

As far as I know the battery is from your dealer not the factory, at least that's what I was told.

[Flybob]

Furnace fan is the largest draw. It will depend on how much you run the furnace. If the cool can be tolerated with sleeping bags etc, then maybe a day or two. If furnace runs a lot during the night, then about one night. You will also have fridge controller, propane/CO detector, and Radio/CD ( if equipped) drawing some power. Remember you should not draw your batter own below half charge.

[Mtelkman]

A single battery (what size is it?) will usually run the furnace one night or less depending of course on temps and how long the furnace runs.

Batteries are supplied by the dealer and not the factory as far as I know. My dealer put in 2 nice group 27 size Interstate batteries.

[bikendan]

Dealers usually install the cheapest marine dual purpose batery there is.
You'd be lucky to make it through the first night, if you run the furnace the whole time.

Most of us seasoned dry campers/boondockers use at least a quality dual battery setup, either 12v deep cycle or 6v golf cart batteries.
Then an inverter generator and/or a solar system for recharging.

Factory doesn't install batteries on towables.

[Jaydubya81]

Appreciate it flybob, the first relevant
Answer. I know about all the other stuff pulling on it, alarms, radio, etc.
I never use he radio, the face plate has never even been put on. I also know it isn't good to draw the battery more than half, I was mainly curious about the furnace fan. It's a really strong fan, and I figured it would pull a lot of juice. Will the furnace run without the fan? I doubt it. Thanks


2015 rockwood 194A HW.

[pgandw]

Originally Posted by Jaydubya81

Appreciate it flybob, the first relevant
Answer. I know about all the other stuff pulling on it, alarms, radio, etc.
I never use he radio, the face plate has never even been put on. I also know it isn't good to draw the battery more than half, I was mainly curious about the furnace fan. It's a really strong fan, and I figured it would pull a lot of juice. Will the furnace run without the fan? I doubt it. Thanks


2015 rockwood 194A HW.

The furnace fan in a PUP typically draws 4-5 amps when the furnace is running.

The typical battery installed by a dealer is an 80AH dual purpose marine/RV "deep cycle". This gives 40AH useable if the battery is still in good condition.

As you can see, running the heater all night will run the battery down to 50% in one night. Most who are aware of this set their heaters in the 50-55 degree range so that the heater will run less than 50% of the time (gives them 2 nights).

The other draw that folks might not catch is that orange entrance light, which is/was not LED in 2014. Almost all the incandescent 12V bulbs used in RVs draw 2 to 2.5 amps each when in use.

High wall fridges sometimes have DC control boards (if they have inside controls, they usually do have thermostatic control/DC control board.

Fred W
2014 Rockwood A122 A-frame
2008 Hyundai Entourage A-frame

[D-mo]

Some very good answers in the previous posts.
This is not a big issue if your out on your first or next night camping
Your battery will last you one night...with furnace/lights/ waterpump/.
All of the batterys supplied with these units...at our price range...are basically landfill .
Group 24...which your a frame came with are basically used as a buffer between what the charging unit...in our case is the 12 volt converter.. has to charge.
Bottom line . .purchase a much better battery/batteries next year ... dont worry about this year....and purchase new deep cycle batteries if you decide to camp off the grid.

D-mo

[Jaydubya81]

Thanks d-mo
I gonna check and see what battery I actually have. I can't remember off hand. It's new, so I think you're right, I'll most likely wait until this battery dies before going to something better, I can't see trashing a new battery, I'll learn on this one.


2015 rockwood 194A HW.

[Mountndream]

make sure you disconnect it when you aren't using it... residual draws will kill your battery until it is damaged and unusable

[Pooneil]

Originally Posted by Jaydubya81

Thanks d-mo
I gonna check and see what battery I actually have. I can't remember off hand. It's new, so I think you're right, I'll most likely wait until this battery dies before going to something better, I can't see trashing a new battery, I'll learn on this one.


2015 rockwood 194A HW.

Most dealers install a group 24 dual purpose marine battery. It's only an OK battery. If you do plan on doing a lot of dry camping, then a battery upgrade is well worth it. Some people use the original battery as a backup to extend the dry camp time by changing the battery and taking the depleted battery to a service station where it can be charged. Unfortunately such service stations, as opposed to convenience stores that sell gas, are hard to find.

[mickrock]

How much better, if any, is an agm battery?

Don't mean to hijack the topic, as it is related...

[pgandw]

Originally Posted by mickrock

How much better, if any, is an agm battery?

Interesting question. According to my research, for a battery installed in a box on the tongue, you would be paying significantly more for not a lot extra.

AGM battery's main benefits are

- being able to be put in a living space because they are sealed.
- no adding water because they are sealed.
- can tolerate higher charge rates than flooded (standard) batteries. This would only matter if you were recharging with a generator, and had a converter that was optimized to recharge AGM batteries.
- AGM batteries can handle occasional deeper discharges (30-40% or so vs 50% for flooded) with no loss of life.

In my case, the benefits are not worth the extra cost. I bought my dual 6V golf cart batteries for $150 (for both, tax included) at Costco. They are mounted on the tongue, along with a disconnect. I do have to check the water level occasionally, especially since my converter will not go into trickle mode.

We do not have a generator or solar. The batteries are expected to carry the A-frame dry camping for 4 cold nights (30 degree) in Colorado. Then they need to be recharged.

Fred W
2014 Rockwood A122 A-frame
2008 Hyundai Entourage minivan
camping Colorado and adjacent states one weekend at a time

[Pooneil]

My understanding is that for any given size, AGM batteries have a somewhat lower reserve capacity. So the drawbacks of power and cost make them moderately less usable on the tongue of a camper.