Building camper in enclosed trailer. Need wiring help

[aushunter1]

Here was one article I read
https://rvhelponline.com/rv-batteries-12-volt-vs-6-volt/

Anyone who is trying to sell you their gear will always say its better

Advantages of 6 volt batteries

• Larger Amp hour capacity *Totally bogus, every battery has their own Ah rating
• Greater capacity to discharge and then recharge back to full capacity-*again bogus as , performance varies between all deep cycle types-AMG,Gell,Lithium etc, some are better than others
• Longer lifespan with proper maintenance-
  
  Totally bogus again, each battery needs to be treated right as to their individual type.,​

Disadvantages

• The initial cost can be more expensive upfront
• 6 volts are generally taller and may require different battery boxes-
• Can be more difficult to find

Sounds like you are just starting to investigate/research the whole thing which is great but don't ever believe just 1 source.

Its even like everything shooting and reloading related, you need hour upon hour to look at it from a research point of view before you even pull the trigger!

 

[yobuck]

I think I'd start by looking around for a toy hauler RV trailer in decent used condition. Lots of people buy smaller ones, then move up to larger, so there should be some available.
OR, I'd be just keeping the cargo trailer as basic as possible, as in a place to bunk. Because whatever by way of time and other cost you invest in it is of little to no value to others.
Met a guy at a camping area in Colorado who had done what you are thinking. He bought a wreck camper for peanuts and used all the equipment from that. But, it still didn't do well hauling the 4 wheelers after he was finished with it so they needed 2 trailers anyway.
So all he accomplished was building a hodge podge camper.

 

[bigngreen]

There is some very good solar diy YouTube channels around this idea, you just don't have solar yet! Personally I'd look at a Lithium 12 volt battery, you can get some solid eBay buys like a Valence on quality used batteries, many advantages to the Lithium especially in a camper type environment!!

 

[Pintail55]

Really good article on batteries and power for boondocking.
https://mozaw.com/best-rv-deep-cycle-battery/

 

[oldfortyfiveauto]

Really good article on batteries and power for boondocking.
https://mozaw.com/best-rv-deep-cycle-battery/

Excellent article, but I'm still not sold.

 

[aushunter1]

Really good article on batteries and power for boondocking.
https://mozaw.com/best-rv-deep-cycle-battery/

So you are banking up multiple 6V batteries which you would need to & halve the amp hour rating if running 12V equipment just to then try to get them to 12V performance.

Not sure I get the point other than selling more 6V batteries!

 

[Pintail55]

I honestly have no dog in this fight because all I know is what I read and what you guys are telling me but I think what they are saying is that 6 volt batteries can hold a charge longer than a 12 volt??? But again I'm definitely no expert. I'm just a confused guy trying to figure it out.

 

[Hatrick]

The average 6volt battery has 225 amp hrs. The average 12 volt has 140 amp hrs. If you series up 2 6 volt you don't lose the amp hrs. So 2 6 volt would give you more useable electric than 3 12 volts. That is why they use 6 6 volt in a golf cart instead of 3 12 volt. That is in a 36 volt cart.

 

[Winkfish]

I recently build a new trailer and I placed a 120V 30A twist lock connector on the exterior of the trailer just like an RV to keep it consistent with other trailers I have. From there I put in a main disconnect for all 120V AC circuits. I would recommend a combination charge controller to manage you loads and keep the batteries charged. Something like this: http://www.xantrex.com/power-products/inverter-chargers/freedom-hf-newgen.aspx

With this you can run everything off shore power or when on battery only you can run AC loads if you choose. If you want any example diagrams for AC or DC wiring options drop me a note.

 

[Pintail55]

Winkfish, so does that inverter power all of your devises and also charge your batteries all at the same time???

 

[Winkfish]

Yes it does and it also has a display that you can locate anywhere and it will provide a status of what your loads are and what your battery levels are at​

 

[26Reload]

Was just using my travel trailer for hunting camp and use a Yamaha 2000 generator/invertor...one 12v battery...
Drained really fast....spent most of the day recharging on it and never getting a full charge thru the trailer...had to go buy a real battery charger...turned off battery to trailer...plugged generator into trailer and ran whatever electrical i needed(tv)not enough power for microwave or AC)...plugged in charger and charged battery at same time....about 6 hours to fully charge battery....and with little use of any power over nite battery drained to half charge.....had refridge on gas(still takes electric to operate)as does the water pump lite and furnace and carbon monoxide detector)....lots of little things drain that battery......havent messed with 2 6 volts but dealers did try to sell them to me that way on a different trailer.....be easier to have two 12v and recharge one per day.....

 

[Pintail55]

Winkfish I would love to take you up on the wiring diagram help if your willing. Thanks.

Dave

 

[w33b8t1]

Just wire 120 and use a generator when you need one. Thats what i did. KISS.