MicroMinnie 2022 2100BH solar autonomy

[Tintititante]

Hi everyone!
Though with some experience in RV camping in Europe, I am new in RV experience in USA. I bought a micro Minnie 2100BH to camp around Texas and enjoy the country. My first struggle (unless I missed something) came with the fridge (it is not propane😬!), my first group of doubts… how long does the unit run on solar having the fridge is it effective (specially the freezer) under 12V?🤨
Being aware of the big assumptions these two questions carry it would be enough at least some limit estimations.

[creativepart]

Hi and Welcome.

You're going to love camping in this big beautiful country. Too much to see and do.

About your 12v fridge - people love them for many reasons but there is a big BUT in that statement. They use about 50ah of battery in 24 hours and if you got the standard battery setup it's only about 65 to 75ah of capacity. The solar panel is a real help in making up for that BUT... there's that word again, it's not always sunny. Plus, when you need to run the furnace, etc that can use a lot of your available power, as well.

It seems that Winnebago's intention was for folks to always be camping with AC Power hookups. And, really most folks do that already. But when you want to dry camp or boondock you are limited and will really need to carry a portable generator with you.

The fix for this is to add more battery storage. Replacing the single group 27 FLA battery for two identical batteries is a good start. Replacing the single 12v with two 6v golf cart batteries is another good solution and replacing the single 12v battery with one or two 12v Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries is the ideal solution, but more expensive.

Also, you could consider adding another solar panel or two.

Regardless of the route you take you should expect to carry a portable generator in your tow vehicle.

We've had people join here lamenting the 12v fridge choice in the past and then they increase their battery size and are super happy with the choice.

Enjoy!

[creativepart]

I see you are in Austin... be sure to get a Texas State Park annual pass and check out all of the parks around you.

There are dozens and just about every one is really great. Plus, from Austin you can get to many of them in just an hour or two drive.

Near you, our favorites are:
Inks Lake State Park in Burnett
Mother Neff State Park near Waco
Dinosaur Valley State Park near Glenrose
Garner State Park near Uvalde
South LLano River State Park near Junction
Palmetto State Park near Lulling
Pedernales Falls State Park near Johnson City
and of course, McKinney Falls State Park right in Austin proper.

Here's a link to a map and listing of all the state parks in Texas:
https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/parks-map

Also, there is another class of RV Camping you may not be familiar with that's super popular here in Texas and all over the US. There is a military branch of the US Army called the Army Corps of Engineers. They are tasked with protecting and operating all of the water reservoirs around the country and a great many of them have RV Parks at their lakes. They are inexpensive, beautiful, very well organized and scattered all over.

Texas doesn't really have natural lakes (only one in the state) and all the other lakes are dammed up rivers. So, we have a LOT of Army Corps of Engineers campgrounds around Texas. You'll see these listed as COE campgrounds. Near you there are COE campgrounds all over the place. Check 'em out.

Here's a link to a listing:
Texas: https://corpslakes.erdc.dren.mil/vis...y.cfm?state=TX
All States: https://corpslakes.erdc.dren.mil/visitors/camping.cfm

[Marine359]

Originally Posted by creativepart

We've had people join here lamenting the 12v fridge choice in the past and then they increase their battery size and are super happy with the choice.

That would be us. Wanted an absorption fridge but didn’t have the choice. For far less money than it would cost to replace our 12v compressor fridge, we invested in some upgrades that allow us to dry camp for 3 days without using the generator. First and foremost is battery. Switching to LiFePo4 is a natural for TT owners. Light in weight, and charges quickly on solar or generator. Then, solar. We started with a soft folding portable. Almost enough production to replace the amp hours used each day for the fridge. Then, a 2000w psw inverter/charger.

We like the huge size of the fridge, its efficiency, and ability to cool down fast, and keep very low temps in freezer even in the hottest days. Since we’re stuck with it we’ve learned to love it. Feeding it is kinda like bringing along enough food to feed a big dog. Consumption ranges from 35 ah/day in cool weather, to 60 ah/day in very hot weather. Average about 50. The perfect battery setup is 200ah LiFePo4. If you use a cpap like I do, it’s best to offload its draw onto a cheap power station, and use a 12v adapter.

We plan to soon add 200w of rooftop solar, which can give us complete freedom from the generator. We’ll still take it along in case we camp in sub-optimal solar conditions. If you’re considering a generator, we highly recommend a small propane model. It frees you from having to carry gasoline, and you can just plug it into one of your tongue mounted bottles. Way less weight. With the proper inverter/charger, you can charge the battery in less than 2 hours. And, it will run your A/C if you first install a micro air easy start.

You’ll learn to like your new MM and the fridge. Have fun.

[NV_Camper]

Originally Posted by creativepart

Inks Lake State Park in Burnett

We don't talk about Inks Lake... One of my favorite spots for sure.

Although at this point people are probably moving out there and saying they live "in Austin"