Community Forums

GKW · 01-30-2013, 03:32 PM

I have owned a 2005 Holiday Rambler Endeaver since new and have been extremely satisfied with it. We have been looking at some of the new Coaches and see that many have an all electric refrigerator, stove, etc. Of course the electrical requirements go up considerably with larger battery pack and invertor. We spend a lot of time dry camping and have no problem with using the propane mode on the refrigerator and hot water with the Endeaver over a week or more of dry camping. The propane seems to last forever for this use. Our only limiting factor is water and the holding tanks, which has been minor. Has anyone had any experience with the all electric coaches? I don't want to have to continually run the generator to keep the batterys up for the invertor. I know the generator can be programmed to kick in when the batterys get low, but who wants to hear a generator cranking up in the middle of the night while camped in some quiet secluded spot? Maybe some solar panel help would solve this. Any input is appreciated.

DSL417 · 01-30-2013, 03:36 PM

All electric has been everything we expected and why we chose it over the lower Aspire model with propane.

When dry camping, generator use was up, but with shore power, just no need for generator.

for. JMHO worth it.

Shardan1 · 01-31-2013, 11:01 AM

We have an all electric coach. We ordered ours with the Solar panels so we don't have to run the Generator unless we want to run the AC's. Otherwise the solar panels keep up with charging the batteries. If not set your generator to auto start and it'll kick on when the levels are low and kick off when they reach full charge. I don't miss propane at all.

Cat320 · 01-31-2013, 06:03 PM

Most all electric coaches have the capability of handling the electrical requirements. AC coaches have eight 6v batteries and two inverters, one 2,800 watts and one 2,000 watts.

Barlow46 · 01-31-2013, 09:42 PM

Almost an all electric coach here as ours only has the gas stove. Best setup we have ever had since we started back in the early 70's. The generator can also be programed for "quiet time" so that it doesn't start up in the middle of the night. Set the quiet time from 6pm to 9am if you want.

GKW · 01-31-2013, 11:30 PM

Thanks everyone for your input. It sounds like there shouldn't be a problem with extended dry camping in an electric Coach then. Particularly with solar panels to minimize generator time when you have the sun available.

Mr_D · 02-01-2013, 12:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cat320

Most all electric coaches have the capability of handling the electrical requirements. AC coaches have eight 6v batteries and two inverters, one 2,800 watts and one 2,000 watts.

Saw a Newmar Essex at an FMCA rally, it had something like 16 6 volt AGM's and two 3000 watt inverters.

bbeane · 02-01-2013, 03:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr_D

Saw a Newmar Essex at an FMCA rally, it had something like 16 6 volt AGM's and two 3000 watt inverters.

That would take care of the battery problem until replacement time,OUCH.

lonestarace · 02-01-2013, 07:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GKW

Any input is appreciated.

Dry camping isn't a problem for us.
Our 02 Sig has the original factory installed "all-electric" option package which includes:
1) 5 Lifeline 8D house batteries, 162 Lbs ea and $700 ea. When cared for properly they should last about 8 yrs.
2) Two 3000w inverters. The residential frig(and not much else) runs off the slave inverter, so we turn the master inverter OFF when we hit the sheets at nite. House batteries are still 80+ % in the morning.
3) 270 amp alternator
4) 300 amp battery isolator
5) electric cooktop
6) Two 90watt solar panels(needs more)
It's an expensive and heavy option, but we don't have to worry about the Nocold spontaneously combusting.

Cruzer · 02-01-2013, 07:44 AM

Eight batteries does a good job of keeping things running. The AquaHot will run on diesel, using 12 VDC for the pumps, burner motor, etc. We can pull in for the evening and easily do the things we need to without scrimping on power usage and the batteries will be fine in the morning, even on cold nights. We generally time our generator run cycles to be at breakfast and supper time. That way it covers the heavy power usage during cooking at the same time as topping off the batteries.

We have four 120 watt solar panels, giving us 480 watts of solar power. But I have to say that solar panels are highly over-rated. The do help to put some charge back into the batteries so that you don't have to run your genset to recharge the batteries as frequently but they won't eliminate that. They are also not very cost effective. You'll throw lots of money into a system for little return unless you are boondocking in a warm, sunny area and are real misers with your piower consumption. You really need 4 panels to make a dent in things. Our previous two panel system wasn't of that much help. For the money, I'd just add more batteries to extend your runtime. That way you have that capacity when the sun isn't shining as well.

Gary RVRoamer · 02-01-2013, 08:57 AM

A good quality new electric fridge uses very little power. It may suck several amps when the compressor starts, but it cools fast and doesn't have to run long - typically just a few minutes per cycle. And most residential fridges are better insulated than RV fridges as well. I think you wil find that on a daily basis the residential fridge uses only a small amount of power and that batteries will last.

You also get a much larger fridge - 16-20 cubic feet vs the max of 12 for an RV fridge. And more even cooling due to the forced air circulation.

YC1 · 02-01-2013, 09:58 AM

We are not all electric but have recently been using induction cookers. These things are amazing. We leave the cover on the stove so have lots of flat places to put the cookers. They do not heat up the kitchen like the propane stove does and are cool to the touch in 1-2 minutes after cooking on them. They are like having a microwave cooktop. The temperature can be set precisely as well as timed cooking if you like. The current draw is about 7 amps which is less than our microwave by about 5 amps. We also used a small electric skillet for the last couple of years and really like it too. With the stove top on our counter space is far more useful. You can run an extension cord out to a picnic table and cook outside too.

Trekkers · 02-02-2013, 01:00 PM

We have an all electric with induction stove top. We love it! Having said that, we have not done a lot of boondocking yet although we expect that will increase. But I don't see that being all electric is going to be an issue. Hope I am not surprised.
Irene