Rookie battery questions.....

[Big Dan]

My wife and I are taking our first trip in The House Truck, leaving Februaury 1st. We're pretty excited about it, but I have one concern. We'll have to "overnight" one night each way, and my generator doesn't start. I'll be able to fix the generator myself here at home when all the snow is gone, but can't afford to have it fixed, so we will be without generator for this trip.

My main concern is 110v power on the 2 "overnights." These will be at a Flying J, Cracker Barrel, Rest Stop, Walmart, what-have-you. We won't be able to plug into shore power. Will the propane-fired furnace's blower fan run off of 12v dc? If not, I'm assuming I'll need to use the inverter so that it will run on 110v ac. In either case, how long would one typically expect the house batteries to last? I also have sleep apnea, but have a state-of-the-art CPAP machine that uses very little power. It'll run all night with a 500 watt inverter plugged into my motorcycle, and the bike will still fire right up.

The house batteries are 2 new, large, 6v deep-cycle batteries wired in series to supply 12v. There is a large ground to chassis, and a large "hot" that runs forward. I'm assuming this is for the "emergency start" feature, possibly starter for the generator, and/or so that the alternator can maintain charge in these batteries when the engine is running.

The only other wires coming off of the coach batteries go to the 750 watt inverter, which has a large yellow 110v power cord plugged into it and disappearing towards the rear of the coach. I'm guessing this runs to the main electrical panel in the rear where shore power plugs in, and will supply 110v ac throughout the coach when the inverter is switched to the "on" position. If this is correct, is there anything else I need to do other than flip the switch on the inverter?

My apologies for such a long post. I just like to give the most complete information I can when asking questions. Thanks in advance for any help.

[Izzyblueye]

Your funace fan is 12V and two golf cart batts should handle overnight use with out a problem. I would use as little 110V as possible.

[Big Dan]

Thanks!

[GaryKD]

Hi Big Dan,
Consider lowering the temp. in the coach and turning fully off all that is wired to the inverter. The furnace fans are a big draw on the batteries (around 10 AMPS). The inverter, all by itself and anything wired to it will be another big draw. One could also start the engine and let it run for about an hour. If your coach is wired so the alternator charges the coach batteries this will help provide some extra power. At idle the engine shouldn't take more than a gallon or two of fuel.