Winnebago Vista 30T 2014 Boondocking..

[TeJay]

TonyLee,
We also have the 2014 Vista 30T. Your TV's DVD's and radio are 12-Volt. Most all of the lights are LED. The one over the sink I think is not LED. It's to hot to be an LED. Computers and cell phones are also small power consumers. But they will add up. Your microwave is 120 VAC. Your AC is also 120-Volts. You can boil coffee on the range and cook most meals also. Same with the oven. You just can't use the micro to heat stuff like we are all used to at home.

Your engine battery will not be effected by what current you drain from the two coach batteries while you are dry camped (not plugged into shore power). The power center in the hall will give you battery status. Common sense says. Use what ever power you want/need until you can't use it anymore then start the genny. We don't know what type of power consumption you and your family have or need but simple monitoring of the voltage at the center will tell you.

This is the time of the year when you may want to use the AC. If you are dry camping and need the AC start the genny. If you don't need the AC refer to the battery charge at the center. You will know when the power gets to low and things don't work then just start the genny.

Most have reported that they can get by with a weekend of dry camping with some careful monitoring or power usage. When it gets cold and you need the furnace it will use 12-volts to run the blower. In the past we ran the furnace until the blower didn't work. It got somewhat chilly towards morning but in the morning we just started the genny and all was good.

We would also run the three gas burners to take the chill off.

TeJay

[SteveLevin]

Originally Posted by TonyLee

Santara
I was not sure if running the gen to much would quicken its' life exectency and on the other hand, not running it routinely would not be good for it either. I will run it each month for 1 hour. Thank you, Tony.

Tony, the number of generators that "time out" from being run too much (assuming you keep oil in them, etc) is effectively zero. You can put many thousands of hours on your generator without worry.

On the other hand, quite a few generators that aren't ever run require rebuilds at ridiculously low numbers of hours... don't be one of them

Steve

[TonyLee]

Originally Posted by TonyLee

Hi MutinyGuy
We do have a "One Place" system n the main hallway which shows the battery voltage of the house batteries along with slide-out switches, gen switch, etc. Is it possible to set the generator to automatically come on when batteries are at 50 percent? Thank you for this valuable information. Tony

Hi MutinyGuy
On my 2014 Vista 30T, I have a battery charge gage the shows lights that indicate Fully charge, 2/3, 1/3, Empty and I have a digital readout meter for the Inverter that gives the input and output (Watts?). I should turn the generator on when the battery light indicator is at 2/3 drained? Thank you, Tony

[TonyLee]

Originally Posted by BFlinn181

Replace any incandescent bulbs with LEDs to reduce energy use. Of the things listed, your TV is probably #1 energy user, especially if you need an inverter to change to 120 v AC. Next energy hog is your furnace fan.
Monitoring battery voltage is the best indicator of battery state of charge. Remember, a battery needs to sit at least an hour after charging to disperse 'surface charge' which gives a false reading of how charged it really is. A battery's life will be shortened if discharged below 50% too often. Use this chart to assess their health:

Hi BFlinn181

On my 2014 Vista 30T, I have a battery charge light indicator that shows Full, 2/3, 1/3, and Empty. The inverter has a digital readout that shows input and output (Watts?). Should I start the generator before the battery charge indicator is at 2/3? Thank you, Tony.

[BFlinn181]

I think you should hook up a digital voltmeter or multimeter to see what voltage is equivalent to 2/3, 1/3, etc. That's the only way to know for sure. What numbers does your inverter report? Perhaps your inverter manual will tell you what the units are.

[macnut]

TonyLee, someone showed me this great resource, and I learned a lot about using 12 volt systems from it.
http://www.marxrv.com/12volt/12volt.htm

My biggest issue was starting out on a weekend "dry camping" trip with a less than full battery because of how I was charging it. I upgraded my Schumacher to a Progressive industries 9260 and keep the RV plugged in now. The batteries are always completely full when we start on our camping trips. We also reduced power by converting to LED lighting, and rarely use our heater blower, except to take the chill off. We use a catalytic heater instead, which safely uses only LP and no electricity (but follow instructions and crack a window open when using). We also monitor our batteries when camping using a digital volt meter rather than the lights on the one place panel....they just aren't that helpful to me. Anyway, hope the website above helps and happy travels to you!


2013 Itasca Sunstar 26HE, 2014 Honda CRV with Roadmaster tow package, RVing on weekends and vacation since June 2012

[TonyLee]

Originally Posted by tomrx1

Tony,
Congrats on your new rig! I too have a 30T, we just returned from a 3 month tour of the West Coast and finally ending in Forest City for The Grand National Rally.My rig came equipped with a 1kw inverter,which has worked quite well for us. We spend nights on the road at nearby Walmarts,the inverter is used daily for viewing the tv and charging cell phones,laptops,fans, etc. I monitor the voltage on the wall display and when voltage drops to near 12 volts i run the generator. The 4kw Onan consumes about .7 gal per hour at 75% duty which I find to be quite miserly!
I have run the genset as much as 5hrs. a night! We currently have about 43,400 miles on our 2013 30T,as well as about 139 hours on the genset!
I carry distilled water,and top off the battery bank as needed. I would not worry at all about wearing out the genset,it wil perform much better if run regularly.
..sorry for being so long winded,enjoy your rig and have fun!
Tom K3RX

Hi to all,

This is a follow up on boondocking. We stayed at Carlsbad State Beach for 4 days. We arrived at 2pm the first day. We used the generator until 8pm. While on the generator we used the air-conditioner. The refrigerator was on gas also the oven and stove were on gas. We had the TV on all day. After 8pm, the generator was turned off and we turned on the inverter. Batteries were fully charged. We watched TV until 0100. CPAP was on all night. We left the motion detector light to the porch on all night. In the morning the batteries were still full (at 12.3 from 12.4).
Day 2 we turned off the inverter at 1000am and started the started generator. Air conditioner was on until 8pm. TV was on all day. Hot water was on for showers. We were conservative with water usage. At 8pm, generator was turned off and the inverter was turned on. CPAP was on all night and TV was turned off at midnight. Living room light on all day and off at 10pm. Stove and oven used LP and were used throughout the day. Porch light was on all night. Our friends in the same site plugged into our outside outlet so they could use the air conditioner. They did not have a generator large enough to run their AC. CPAP was on all night. Our generator worked great. In the morning, batteries were at 12.1 from 12.4.
Day 3 and 4 were the same.
At the end of day 4, we were very satisfied with the generator and the batteries (2 for the house and 1 for the engine). We feel very confident when we need to boondock again we will without hesitation. Thanks to all who gave advise which we used with great results.

[jazzerjump]

Caution on any auxillary LP heater use in cold weather. Most coaches heat the basement water tanks-fresh and holding- for protection in cold weather. This only happens when the furnace runs. The catalytic heaters keep the coach comfy but not the basement so if you camp in temps in the 20's use caution.

[Still Bill]

Boondocked on the maiden voyage of my 2013 Sunstar 30T last weekend at Laguna Seca Raceway. Thanks to everyone for the tips I learned from reading the above posts.

Could watch the main TV (42") and some interior lighting for 90-120 minutes before running the house batteries down to 12V; then, just turned on the Onan 4000 generator for about 90 minutes to be fully charged up again.

And the house batteries lasted all night long in regard to running the heater fan.

Thanks again.