Community Forums

jfolktns · 01-02-2011, 03:56 PM

We were looking at Allegro Buses today at Lazy Days. Many seem to be all electric, with residential refrigerators and electric cooktops. Has anyone used an all electric unit? Do you miss the flexibility of propane? Pros and Cons?

Essex-Spensive · 01-02-2011, 06:29 PM

We Have an all electric unit. The RR Fridge is great! The cooktop is slower then the gas. DW says it ok but lets eat out.... We dont dry camp so Having to use the generator to cook would be a draw back. I think tiffin can use the batteries for a short time to cook before the gen set kicks in. They have a really great power management system.
Electric does give more storage also.

JMonroe · 01-02-2011, 07:07 PM

We recently purchased an 'all electric'. The American Coaches have 8 AGM house batteries so you can be off the grid for some time. I don't know if the stove top will work on the inverter or not (haven't had it long). I know you can use the microwave, but not the A/C units without shore or gen power. The fridge stays nice and cold while traveling on inverter power. Haven't tested the limits of the battery bank yet.

roboniko · 01-04-2011, 08:43 PM

I've had both, I love the all electric! Will never go back. Less things (different) to maintain such as filling the propane tank. Yes the gas stove is a little faster but I'm also not continually "clicking" until the gas decides to light. Pay that much for a coach and I don't think I should have to "click, click". I have a fold up coleman BBQ pit ($100) that uses the little propane bottles if my electric ever fails or dry camp. I can BBQ or cook on it so covered on both bases. I also have 8 house batteries and 2 - 125w solar panels as well as the genset. DEFINITELY would not have another MH without a house fridge. That will never happen again. They are more efficient and actually work at keeping things cold. My vote is for the all electric, hands down. And as previously stated, Tiffin's power management system is great even the heating system is awesome as it will either use the heat pumps or on colder days you can use the heat set thru the aqua hot system!! It truly rocks!..

refncpa · 01-04-2011, 10:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AC eagle

We Have an all electric unit. The RR Fridge is great! The cooktop is slower then the gas. DW says it ok but lets eat out.... We dont dry camp so Having to use the generator to cook would be a draw back. I think tiffin can use the batteries for a short time to cook before the gen set kicks in. They have a really great power management system.
Electric does give more storage also.

We dry camp 90% of the time. Attempted a 40 HR Neptune electric had solar 2*125 panels still had to run generator 2/3 days. Had a 34 Alpine for 6 years less than 75 hours on generator. Dry camp about 70 days per year

refncpa · 01-04-2011, 10:12 PM

All depends on how you camp. Spending time in national forests and state parks near beaches is in my opinion better than on concrete pads in expensive parks. Had an Alpine ordered Allegro Bus.

paz · 01-05-2011, 05:20 AM

In addition to how you camp (boondock vs. hookups), the other consideration is how you like to cook. Some people like to cook on electric, but DW and I both grew up with gas, and we had gas in our first 2 houses. When we ended up with an electric range in our last stick house, we both hated it. Electric is slow to heat up AND slow to cool down. We found it very difficult to regulate cooking temperatures. For that reason, we would never consider an all-electric coach, but that's just us. You have to decide what suits you best.

flc · 01-05-2011, 06:08 AM

We have the all-electric Allegro Bus with a propane cooktop in lieu of the electric range. To us having the benefit of cooking with gas outweighs the occasional need to refill the propane tank.

Cruzer · 01-05-2011, 12:02 PM

Really, it's all about what the cook likes.

We have the propane cooktop but the residential fridge and AquaHot so the cooktop is the only thing using LP. The residential fridge doesn't consume that much power so boondocking isn't as big of an issue as it might at first seem. AquaHot is a huge plus, especially when boondocking, so the only real question is "what does the cook prefer?" In our case Leann is always cooking something and propane is her choice.

Joe-K · 01-05-2011, 02:57 PM

I also like the combination of Residential fridge and Aquahot (neither of which require propane) but retain the propane cooktop. I can't say enough about the benefits of the electric residential fridge. I did upgrade my batteries to 8 AGM units, and typically with moderate electric useage, I can go 3-4 days of camping without worrying about the batteries getting low.

The cooktop is propane for the cook

, but I like having the built in propane tank anyway as I've plumbed into the on board propane supply for my portable propane campfire and cooking stove I frequently use outdoors. As long as you aren't relying on a propane furnace, the propane supply time lasts a long time. I still have half a tank on the rig and I'm still using the dealers initial fill

refncpa · 01-05-2011, 05:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe-K

I also like the combination of Residential fridge and Aquahot (neither of which require propane) but retain the propane cooktop. I can't say enough about the benefits of the electric residential fridge. I did upgrade my batteries to 8 AGM units, and typically with moderate electric useage, I can go 3-4 days of camping without worrying about the batteries getting low.

The cooktop is propane for the cook

, but I like having the built in propane tank anyway as I've plumbed into the on board propane supply for my portable propane campfire and cooking stove I frequently use outdoors. As long as you aren't relying on a propane furnace, the propane supply time lasts a long time. I still have half a tank on the rig and I'm still using the dealers initial fill

Thanks Joe for the information. How many and what size photo cells do you have? Are you using the unit in summer or all year? We camp mostly in heavily wooded areas and only receive 3-4 hours of ample sunshine to charge the batteries.

Joe-K · 01-07-2011, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by refncpa

Thanks Joe for the information. How many and what size photo cells do you have? Are you using the unit in summer or all year? We camp mostly in heavily wooded areas and only receive 3-4 hours of ample sunshine to charge the batteries.

I have the standard, Tiffin supplied single solar panel on the roof. The panel is rated at 125 watts, but I'm sure that's a optimistic rating with the panel in direct sun. The charge control panel on the unit does indicate voltage and charging amps, but I've never paid much attention to it to recall the typical amperage, and right now the rig is stored for Winter under roof.

I'm guessing (and this is only a guess) the panel would have an average output of 5-7 amps depending on light angle and intensity.. Maybe in a typical day that might equate to 50-60 amp/hours put back in the batteries providing you had full sun. Those are just very rough guestimates so hopefully others with more familiarity with solar might have a better estimate.

That single panel can't supply sufficient power to remain boondocking indefinitly, but does help supplement the battery power for extending the battery life for running the fridge.

In your case where you only have 2-3 hours of sun, I doubt solar will be worthwhile in attempting to extending your battery life. If you are boondocking in that location without A/C power available and don't want to run your generator, the propane fridge may be a better option.

Cruzer · 01-07-2011, 11:50 AM

We have four solar panels on our roof for a total of 480 watts. I also installed an Outback MX-60 charge controller which maximizes the output much more than the basic one that came with the Allegro Bus.

Even so, solar is highly over estimated in what RVers think it can do. Even with 480 watts of solar plus 12 house batteries we still can't be totally self-sufficient. Eventually you are going to have to run the generator to recharge the batteries. However, a larg enough solar system will extend that period so that you have more control over when you "want" to run the generator rather than when you "need" to run the generator. When I started out with solar I first had two panels for a total of 220 watts. That just wasn't worth the investment because it wasn't enough amp-hours to make a difference. Four panels is where you start to see some improvement unless you are boondocking in a super energy conservation mode in a sunny desert climate.

Regardless, an all electric coach won't be in any worse shape than a coach with a propane fridge, water heater, and furnaces.

bdpreece · 01-07-2011, 11:59 AM

No matter how you use the coach, you also need to look at the fact that at least 8 batteries versus 4 will weigh more, take up more storage space and cost at least twice as much to replace when the time comes.