First Camping Trip with the Updated Trailer

Once I finished with the trailer updates, it made sense to take it on a trial run.  So, our first camping trip of the season was a simple long weekend.  But where to go ended up being an interesting question.

Colorado is well known for beautiful scenery and outdoor activities like camping.  Unfortunately, in recent years, Colorado is also known for having an exploding population.  When I went camping as a kid, one would load up the trailer and head for a campground or area of choice and setup camp.  These days, if you want a camp site, you apparently have to reserve them months in advance via Recreation.gov or a private campgrounds website.  If you want to camp in other than developed campgrounds (what they call "boondocking" in the camping world), you take a big risk of not being able to find a spot. 

Image from CPR article on Denver traffic

We actually went on a couple of scouting day trips prior weekends to see what it was like trying to find boondocking sites that would work for the trailer.  Anything we found within a few hours of home was always occupied. Even worse, many of the ones closer to metro areas seemed to be occupied by people that appear to have been in those spots for well over the 14 day maximum stay.  I guess the homeless problem in the Denver area has spread into the nearby mountains.  So much for getting away.

We decided the best bet was to head up to Wyoming in hopes that there would be fewer people there.  We found a couple options and in June gave it a try.  Our first choice of a camp site was one a little off the beaten path in the Snowy Range area of the Medicine Bow National Forest.  Unfortunately it had been rather rainy in the area and it didn't take long on the forest service road to determine it would be impossible to tow the trailer to the camp site without ending up stuck in the mud.  

The Snowy Range in Southern Wyoming

So we turned around and backtracked to the Vedauwoo campground.  This area was lower altitude, drier, and paved so the muddy roads would not be a problem.  Not the ideal place, but suitable for a weekend test run of the new camper systems and...well...it was at least out of the house. By the time we got back to Vedauwoo, there were only a couple spots left, fortunately we did fit in one of them.  So this is where we parked the trailer for the weekend.

Our camp site (and our dog Tucker
waiting to get in the camper)

For a designated campground just off of I-80 in an area that upon first blush isn't what one would call scenic, it is surprisingly nice.  The camp sites aren't as dispersed as one would hope, but the area has some nice rock formations and more woods than one would expect when looking at the area from the interstate.  There are a number of hiking trails to keep one entertained as well.

A nearby tent camp site.

A hiking trail just behind the
above camp site.

Testing the upgraded electrical system went well.  The inverter worked as expected.  The solar panels, setup facing south at a low angle, kept the batteries topped up the entire trip, and when not using power hungry things like the tank heater, we never went below 80% capacity based on the new battery monitor.  

I feel a bit sorry for Wyoming...as we were far from the only people from Colorado that were trying to escape there for the weekend.  Just as we were trying to get away from the hordes of people flooding into Colorado, I'm sure those native to Wyoming would probably like it if they weren't pouring into their state every weekend.  

Other than the mass return to the Denver area on Sunday, the trip was a nice escape for us and we are happy with how the camper performed for our needs.

Travel Trailers Aren't What They Used To Be

 I'm not intending to write a lot about the trailer on the blog, but there are a number of similarities between cruising and camping (at least how I want to camp anyway).  So, I hope this provides some useful information as well as entertainment value as I write a bit about these experiences.

I spent way more time in marinas than I wanted while I was on the boat and I don't want to spend time in the camper at RV park type campgrounds.  What I've found is the modern camper seems to be setup to work best with "full hook-ups" (electric, water, and sewer connections at the camp site) commonly found in the aforementioned type of campgrounds.  Personally, I'd rather camp a little further away from the crowds...more like anchoring out on my own.

Back when I was a kid, at one point my family owned a small 16 foot travel trailer built sometime in the 60's or 70's I think.  It had a table that folded into the main bed, a bunk bed that folded down from the wall, a propane stove, a propane lamp, a small propane refrigerator, a small water tank accessed via a hand pump, and a small portable chemical toilet that slid out from a small cabinet when needed.  If you had propane in the tank, you really didn't need anything else other than enough room to park the trailer and you were set.  Yes, it was a more comfortable way to camp than backpacking (which I did as well), but it was still a somewhat rustic way to travel compared to what seems to be the current standard.

Stock picture of our trailer model.

Modern trailers have many more creature comforts, but they come at a cost.  Our new-to-us trailer has a fold down queen size murphy bed, a large, two basin kitchen sink, propane stove and oven, propane refrigerator two or three times larger than the old trailer, a microwave, air conditioner, propane furnace, a myriad of electric LED lights, amplified TV antenna and cable hookups, and a power retractable awning.  It also has a separate bathroom with sink, toilet, and shower.  The water tank is probably 4 or more times larger than the old trailer and no hand-pumping is required.  If it doesn't run on propane, it runs on either 12 volt DC or 120 volt AC power.

Since there is a 12 volt DC system, modern trailers can be used without hookups.  Unfortunately most come from the factory with a single 70 to 75 amp/hour lead-acid battery (a bit less than Rover's nearly 700 amp-hour battery bank).  So, realistically, there is only about 35 amp/hours of power available.  There is no inverter, so 120 volt AC items like the microwave, air conditioner, TV, or the 5 power outlets are of no use if not plugged in to shore power.  If there were an inverter, the microwave or air conditioner could easily deplete the battery in mere minutes.  As it is, the camper's parasitic draw on the battery (from the electronics in the refrigerator, propane detector, etc.) is a little under 1 amp, so a couple days just sitting can deplete the battery without even turning on the lights or using the water pump. What all this means is that my, and I assume most typical, campers can really only last a day or two without being plugged in to either shore power or a generator to recharge.

So, I made a few modifications to the trailer once I got it back to Colorado.

Realizing the battery power was insufficient, I replaced the standard battery with two 6 volt golf car batteries sourced from Sam's Club.  Wired in series, this boosts the 12 volt power storage from 75 amp/hours to 215 amp/hours.  The single battery box was replaced with a dual battery box. This upgrade tripled the usable power for around $200.

In order to stay someplace without power for longer than 3 days or so, increasing the battery bank wasn't enough.  The trailer came with a pre-wire for solar from Furrion.  The pre-wire is nothing more than a little bit of wire and a non-standard plug outlet (I assume they hope you will then buy their overpriced 100 watt kit).  I was able to find the plug and I decided to create my own foldable portable solar panel system.  Instead of the usual PWM solar controller sold with the kits, I was able to find a relatively low priced MPPT controller.  This means I could then efficiently use a higher output panel.  I created a 140 watt foldable panel kit that will charge the batteries significantly faster than the pre-made 100 watt PWM kits for about the same price.  I would imagine this setup would work equally well for a smaller sailboat or any other smaller solar power setup.

The solar controller mounted inside the trailer.

The solar panels setup at one of our campsites

Rear view of the solar panel "suitcase".
(carry bag not shown)

This takes care of the 12 volt DC power supply, but not the 120 volt AC one.  I had mentioned using an inverter, but even 215 amp hours of battery won't be enough to power an inverter to support power hungry items like microwaves or air conditioners for long enough to be useful.  It can, however, supply enough power for some smaller things like a TV, small fans, chargers, a countertop ice maker, or whatever.  So, I decided to install a 600 watt peak, 300 watt continuous inverter since it wouldn't use as much power (and I wouldn't need to run new wiring).  I was unable to find a smaller pure sine wave inverter with a remote switch, so I removed the on-unit switch and dual color indicator LED of the one I found and replaced it with an RJ45 connector that I then wired to a switch that had a dual color LED to create a remote switch that provides the red/green indications of the original unit.  The inverter was then inserted into the outlet circuit on the trailer with an automatic switch that will allow it to use shore power if available and the inverter if not (and the inverter is turned on).  

Inverter, modified with a remote indicating switch.

Now that we have a way to store more power and generate power, it made sense to have a better way to monitor the power available in the batteries than the simple 4 LED display that came with the trailer.  Instead of the expensive Victron monitors, we decided to give the AiLi/QWork monitor a try. It seems to work well.  I'm considering adding one to the boat.

The inverter and tank heater switches,
the master battery disconnect, and the battery monitor.

There were a couple other modifications as well.  The first time we used the camper was late last fall and the trip was cut short because we ran into sub-freezing temperatures the last couple nights.  I don't know that the tanks would have frozen, but the lines might.  To prevent this in the future, we added a tank heater and some insulation to the fresh water tank lines.  We figured a jug of RV anti-freeze in the waste tanks would be sufficient to protect them, but you can't do that to the fresh water tank.  For a creature comfort feature, we also added a MicroAir Easy Start that allows the air conditioner to be run off of a small 2300 watt inverter generator.  One final addition was a master battery disconnect switch similar to what is found on most boats.  This way I could disconnect the battery bank to prevent discharge while it was parked in storage.

So, just like the boat, it didn't take me long to start customizing the trailer to better suit our needs.  If anyone is interested in any of the details on these projects, let me know and I'll try to post additional information.

A Sailing/Cruising Blog or an Travel/Adventure Blog?

Ok, I've got a question for you.  This blog was originally intended to document our conversion to a cruising lifestyle.  Obviously plans have changed and while I will continue to write about sailing I know these will be less regular than they were in the past.

When COVID19 became an issue, I was preparing for a trip to the Bahamas.  My hope is to reschedule that trip soon...but that is another story.  After the Bahamas trip obviously needed to be rescheduled, my focus then became how to get back home.  As mentioned in my prior post, the solution ended up to buy a small travel trailer.  

Since returning home, we have taken a few trips with the trailer.  We have also made some modifications to the trailer so it would work better for us.  Some of this is surprisingly similar to sailing/cruising while other aspects are obviously different.

So, my question to you is...are you interested in hearing about the travel trailer stuff?  Or should I keep the blog more sailing oriented?  I don't think this will turn into an RV blog by any means, but it would give me something else to write about during those dry spells when I am not at the boat.

What do you think?  Leave a comment and let me know.