Battery Recovery

Assuming that you have the "standard" batteries that come with a Trailmanor, how long does it take to deplete them using them to run the refrigerator, heater at night, and minimal lights/water pump. Can the tow vehicle recharge the battery in 5 or 6 hours of driving? Will one night with shore power recharge them? How many have a generator and why? In short what do you need to do to make sure the heat will work that night while boondocking.

The fridge won't last long on 12 volt. Maybe a few hours at best. I use 12 volt for the fridge while towing and propane in camp.

I don't think there is any such thing as standard battery. You get whatever the dealer put on. I had a single group 24 Interstate battery. I immediately added a second identical battery.

For just my wife and I we can go 3 days without charging the battery, assuming very little use of the furnace. More people seems to use more power, but I don't really know why.

I have a Honda 2000 that I take with me any time I will be camped more than 2 nights.

Solar is another option.

Some people report that they do not get a very good charge from the TV because the wire is too small resulting in too much voltage drop. I havn't checked mine to see what the voltage drop is, so I don't have nan opinion on that topic.

Hondo:

"Assuming that you have the "standard" batteries that come with a Trailmanor, how long does it take to deplete them using them to run the refrigerator, heater at night, and minimal lights/water pump. "
My TM came with a 100 AH type 27 12V battery which is now 2 years old. Last weekend, it looked like its capacity has reduced to about 50 AH. I have a Xantrex battery meter on it now and this was the first trip out with that. I am not totally convinced that it is time for a new battery yet.

* Refrig on 12V in camp is a no-no. Switch it on propane as soon as you get into camp. It draws over 8 amps!
* The heater takes around 3.5 Amps, so running half time with a fully charged battery will give you 28 hours total with nothing else drawing power.

"Can the tow vehicle recharge the battery in 5 or 6 hours of driving? Will one night with shore power recharge them? "
Depends on the age of your TM. my '04 had a wimpy charger that needed maybe 4 days to charge the battery. The newer ones have a better converter, but nobody seems to know how it works, what its charge rate is, or other important data. I installed a PD9160 that will bring my 50% discharged battery to 80% in about an hour either from shore power or from a generator (Honda EU2000i). I like that combination real well. My TV only partially charges my TM battery. If the refrig is on, it actually runs the battery down while on the road.

"How many have a generator and why? In short what do you need to do to make sure the heat will work that night while boondocking."

I am real anal about that myself and put in the Xantrex battery meter so I would know. I couldn't figure any other way to be sure. My wife (deceased a month ago) could not tolerate cold and my aim was to be sure she didn't have to. Without that option, I would ration the lights and charge daily. I also am replacing incandescant lighting with flourescent. A dual tube ThinLight 112 draws about 1 Amp while 2 incondescants (OEM) draws about 2.8 amps. Lighting efficiency is about 5X with the flourescents.

Like I said, I am anal about this subject. Another issue is that depleting a "deep cycle" battery decreases its capacity 10% each time it is done. 4 or 5 of these cycles and you don't have much left.... that is where I am at with my battery.

Bob,
Condolences on the loss of your best friend.

Bill

It would be a bummer to stop at a boondocking site and find that the refrigerator had taken the charge out of the battery while towing, and the heater wouldn't work. I know that there are some owners with Toyota TVs. I will be towing with a V8 4Runner that came prewired for a trailer, or I might order a Toyota Tundra. I have seen that the trucks have a trailer towing option that increases the size of the alternator. Would that make a difference, or is the wire the controlling factor?

Hondo,
Its not the alternator, its the wiring. Too much line drop and it wouldn't matter how much current the alternator has available, line drop prevents the battery in the TM from accepting it.