Need to run camper off of battery?

Question

I just bought a small camper that has a refrigerator, small air conditioner, a small tv, a dvd player, and a couple of lights. Now most of this besides the refrigerator won't be ran much (we will be camping.) Everything runs off of AC power. I would like to use a DC 12Volt battery(s) to power everything without running off of a vehicle. Trying to find the best way to do this. What kind of batteries, inverters, etc. will give me the most amount of time and how long will they last?

Answer 1

Run the fridge off of propane, if it has the capability. A/C compressors pull too much current, so it wouldn't run long off of an inverter.

The TV/DVD could be. I have run a ~20" LCD tv off of an inverter for a couple of hours in my trailer (single battery on trailer, dual batteries on truck) without starting issues of the truck motor.

You can buy an invertor for the approx size you need at many places, even Wal-Mart carries 800W units (easily run the TV and DVD player. It might run the fridge, if it is small enough, but no chance for the AC unit. You would need at least a 2000W unit to power the AC, and the vehicle would need to be running to charge the batteries.

If the AC unit is necessary, a gas generator would be the way to go!

Answer 2

You wold need several deep cycle batteries. They would take up so much space you would not be able to enter a small camper.