So I bought a battery for my 13 scamp. The group 27 was too big for the tongue so I went with the group 24. Will this be enough? It will only run the lights correct?
Tue, 04/14/2020 - 15:32
#1
Battery
It will run the lights, furnace,waterpump, roof fan if equipped. a Group 24 would easily run lighting and careful use of the other items And if plugged in to shore power it will run from that first provided a converter is installed
2019 Scamp 13 standard
When ever I tow with 12 volt - refer, it draws my battery. If I turn off the 12 volt/refer completely my scamp battery charges right up to 13 volts, but as soon as I turn on the refer while towing or even not towning it drains down the battery quick. Infact if I leave my car hooked up it will eventually draw down the car battery. So all my fellow campers tell me to run the refer on propane when driving. I have heard that wont work either as the wind will blow it out.
What has been your experience?
Gary
gwhaile
gwhaile
If you are using LP gas to operate the fridge while traveling keep in mind that it is an open flame. If you have an open flame when pulling in to a gas station or while buying gas for your TV things could get very exciting!
when you tow do you use 12vt for the refer? and does in not drain your battery?
gwhaile
We only use the 12 volt system when traveling long distances. That is, traveling for more than 3 or 4 hours. Get the fridge and contents nice and cold before you start. The fridge will hold its cold for 3 or 4 hours without being turned on. For the longer trips we do use the 12 volt system. But we only keep the fridge on 12 volts while actually traveling. (Going down the road!) As soon as we stop at a rest area or what ever we turn the 12 volt system off. If the stop is just a few minutes to "rest" we leave the fridge off. If the stop is longer we put the fridge on LPG until we are ready to travel again. We are able to keep the Scamp battery charged while operating the fridge as above.
You've discovered a common problem. Most tow vehicle/trailer wiring set-ups won't supply enough power to charge the battery and run the fridge. Several work arounds have been mentioned. Starting out cold with a full fridge is good for 3 or 4 hours. Running the fridge on 12 volts only while the car is running will minimize the problem but the battery probably won't charge and may go down slowly. Running on propane on the road works for some but ours always blows out. I let the battery charge with the normal wiring while driving and run 110AC from an inverter in the car back to run the fridge.
You did mention one other problem - running the tow battery down while parked. You should either unplug from the car when parked/camping or make sure the car is isolated from the trailer when it's not running.