I bought a 2023 Apex Nano 194bhs (in general, I love this trailer). It has large "OFF GRID" wording on the outside. What qualifies a trailer to be called "off grid"?
Because this trailer is NOT. A trailer that can stay without shore power for less than one day is not off grid.
Here is my reasoning: Coachmen switched to a 12V only fridge between the 2023 and 2024 models (I understand they are way cheaper than the 110V/propane models). With the fridge using ~180W (according to manual + I measured the same) it uses about 15 amps (at 12V). The battery that came with it was a lead-acid 80Ah battery. These batteries can produce about half the stated capacity before the voltage drops under usable levels. So, let's say I can get 50Ah out of the battery, with the 15A the fridge uses I can run the fridge for about 3-4 hours, then the battery is dead and NOTHING works anymore. That's less than 1 day of use, how can this be called off-grid? Shouldn't that be called false advertising?
Unless you park 12 hours in direct sunlight (who would want to do that?) the solar doesn't even make a dent in the calculation. Parked in semi-sun the 200W panel creates no more than 1A.
I had to upgrade to a 300Ah Lithium battery, so I can stay off-grid for a few days. Coachmen is saving a few thousand dollars on the fridge, the 300Ah battery was only $450 off Amazon. This should be the default!
Because this trailer is NOT. A trailer that can stay without shore power for less than one day is not off grid.
Here is my reasoning: Coachmen switched to a 12V only fridge between the 2023 and 2024 models (I understand they are way cheaper than the 110V/propane models). With the fridge using ~180W (according to manual + I measured the same) it uses about 15 amps (at 12V). The battery that came with it was a lead-acid 80Ah battery. These batteries can produce about half the stated capacity before the voltage drops under usable levels. So, let's say I can get 50Ah out of the battery, with the 15A the fridge uses I can run the fridge for about 3-4 hours, then the battery is dead and NOTHING works anymore. That's less than 1 day of use, how can this be called off-grid? Shouldn't that be called false advertising?
Unless you park 12 hours in direct sunlight (who would want to do that?) the solar doesn't even make a dent in the calculation. Parked in semi-sun the 200W panel creates no more than 1A.
I had to upgrade to a 300Ah Lithium battery, so I can stay off-grid for a few days. Coachmen is saving a few thousand dollars on the fridge, the 300Ah battery was only $450 off Amazon. This should be the default!