First time boondocking -electricity

[jemizasi]

2 propane tanks and a 12 volt battery

[BooBoo23]

Check to see if there is a valve on the water pump, if it has a winterizing kit the valve may be in the wrong position.

[wmtire]

Originally Posted by jemizasi

OK, we have power but faucet won't work. Water pump is on, tank is full but nothing coming out of faucet.

OK, do you have 12 volt power..or not? You are saying you have power.

Originally Posted by jemizasi

Thanks wmtire, looks like something else we are going to have to find but he says it's not there

Originally Posted by jemizasi

2 propane tanks and a 12 volt battery

Not really following what you are stating here in the two posts above.

[jemizasi]

Tried that, didn't help

[jemizasi]

We do have power, the water pump works. Sorry, we apparently have intermittent phone signal

[jemizasi]

Originally Posted by wmtire

OK, do you have 12 volt power..or not? You are saying you have power.





Not really following what you are stating here in the two posts above.

When dry camping, our power source comes from propane and some from the battery.

[VinceU]

Many pop ups have a counter cut out switch which cuts off DC to the interior of the coach when the counter is swung down. This preserves the battery when ready for travel.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by jemizasi

When dry camping, our power source comes from propane and some from the battery.

OK
I'm totally confused by your answers.
When you said that nothing electric was working, what specifically isn't working?

Are you talking about the outlets?
If so, they won't work on battery power.

[jemizasi]

Originally Posted by bikendan

OK
I'm totally confused by your answers.
When you said that nothing electric was working, what specifically isn't working?

Are you talking about the outlets?
If so, they won't work on battery power.

Thank you, we called a mobile service out here. He was awesome. He let us know that (we were told differently when we bought it) Turns out with the water that there was a blockage near the winterizing valve in the main line and a kink in the hose to the hot water heater. That was a fun few hours but it's all good now, thanks everyone for your help. Tomorrow we are off to buy a generator. We really want to get into this dry camping thing more.

[bikendan]

Suggest that you get some feedback here, before you go buy a generator.
It seems that you didn't get the right information before you went camping.

So don't spend money on a generator without getting some recommendations from our members.

[jemizasi]

Thanks bikendan I'll start a new thread and ask, appreciate the advice!

[tragusa3]

Don't feel bad about all this. I think everyone that starts out has gone through the same process. You scratch your head for a few trips, but once its all worked out, usually the issues go away.

If you can't embrace troubleshooting, camping is a terrible choice!

[ChibullsAN]

So with all the mysterious questions and no responses from the OP about why the power failed.... Why did the power fail and how did you get it back on?

This community is built on each other, you'll need to give us more info before and after an issue arises so we can better help the next person.

[Witch Doctor]

Originally Posted by bikendan

If the OP doesn't have hookups, what would the converter have to do with it?

His post #4 , he stated that he had 12v when last time he camp with power that's all. I was answering that question by the OP, not the original question, still confused? I am.



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[jemizasi]

I apologize to everyone for the confusion about the power. Still new to the camping world, and the lingo. We were told when we bought this that the 12v battery and 2 propane tanks onboard would power everything including the a/c and outlets. We were ill advised but that's why we thought we didn't have power. I'm still a little confused about what runs off battery and what runs off propane but we are getting there. That along with the water problem was why we thought we had no power. We are purchasing a generator today. Thanks everyone for your patience

[marinerjoe]

Originally Posted by jemizasi

I apologize to everyone for the confusion about the power. Still new to the camping world, and the lingo. We were told when we bought this that the 12v battery and 2 propane tanks onboard would power everything including the a/c and outlets. We were ill advised but that's why we thought we didn't have power. I'm still a little confused about what runs off battery and what runs off propane but we are getting there. That along with the water problem was why we thought we had no power. We are purchasing a generator today. Thanks everyone for your patience

No worries. We were ALL new at one time (some longer ago than others ).

Generally speaking, the following high power use items run off 110v power:

• Air Conditioning
• Refrigerator (can also run off propane and DC depending on the camper)
• 110v outlets

The following items run off 12vDC (and the battery is kept charged by the 110vAC charger in your fuse panel):

• Water pump
• Heater blower
• Radio
• Lights
• Ceiling fan
• Small refrigerators

These items are commonly powered (heated by) propane:

• Refrigerator (can also have 110vAC and 12vDC sources)
• Water heater (can also have 110vAC power source)
• Furnace (also called heater). Requires 12vDC for blower

Did I miss anything?

[rockfordroo]

Propane will run:
Fridge (but needs 12VDC for the brains)
Water heater (but needs 12VDC for the brains)
Stove/range
Furnace (but needs 12VDC for the brains)
External grill (if you have an extension hose)

12VDC runs:
Fridge brains (but you need propane or 110VAC to power the cooling circuit)
Water heater brains (but you need propane or 110VAC to power the heating circuit)
Furnace brains and blower motor (but you need propane to provide the heat)
All your interior lights
All your exterior lights
Any slideouts
Powered awning
Any vent fans you may have
Radio/CD player
TV antenna amplifier
Range hood fan
Water pump
Electric jack

110VAC runs:
Converter that changes 110VAC to 12VDC to run everything listed above for 12VDC, plus recharges your battery
All 110VAC outlets
TV
Microwave
AC
Water heater electric heating element, if you have one
Fridge electric heating element, if you have one

Hope this helps.

You might want to read The 12 Volt Side of Life, attached.

[youroo]

Slow Down,buying a Gen.will not Help your Knowledge of your RV! Find a RV person to "Hands On" help you,otherwise your Camping Experience is going to be a "Stab in the Dark"! Youroo!!

[wmtire]

Originally Posted by jemizasi

I'm still a little confused about what runs off battery and what runs off propane but we are getting there. That along with the water problem was why we thought we had no power. We are purchasing a generator today. Thanks everyone for your patience

Howdy jemizasi, and welcome aboard.

The below is a copy and paste, and I usually recommend it to those just starting out. Some of it, you may already know, or may not be applicable to your particular RV. You will be able to filter out what pertains to your situation or not. I would suggest you read the electric threads and energy management first, and then the converter thread. This will help explain your different electrical systems of your RV, and how they operate...as well as what the converter does. The very first link will explain what operates off what system.

You can just peruse at your leisure:

Basic electric:

Basic RV Electricity - RV Information (RV Maintenance)

RV Electric

Your very important converter:

RV Converters and Amp Draw - RV Information (RV Maintenance)

Suburban water heater (if applicable to your RV):

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...tml#post327988

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ml#post1527599

Water Heater bypass/crossover valves:

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...st-103381.html

And the newest additions to help understand what constitutes a true full cylinder in refilling vs exchanging propane cylinders... as well as how the automatic propane changeover regulator works:

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ng-133760.html

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ml#post1649595

Also if you ever add a 30 amp outlet at your house, print out the following pdf.. Make sure you or your electrician know that this is a 120 volt outlet ONLY:

http://www.myrv.us/Imgs/PDF/30-amp%20Service.pdf



Hope this helps

[jemizasi]

Originally Posted by marinerjoe

No worries. We were ALL new at one time (some longer ago than others ).

Generally speaking, the following high power use items run off 110v power:

• Air Conditioning
• Refrigerator (can also run off propane and DC depending on the camper)
• 110v outlets

The following items run off 12vDC (and the battery is kept charged by the 110vAC charger in your fuse panel):

• Water pump
• Heater blower
• Radio
• Lights
• Ceiling fan
• Small refrigerators

These items are commonly powered (heated by) propane:

• Refrigerator (can also have 110vAC and 12vDC sources)
• Water heater (can also have 110vAC power source)
• Furnace (also called heater). Requires 12vDC for blower

Did I miss anything?

Thank you for this! This explains why the heater quit working in the middle of the night even though we have a full propane tank. My next question was going to be about the battery that seems to have died after less than a day. If it's kept charged by the charger in the fuse panel, what did we do wrong there?