Blast from the Past
Tech Topic:
7 Tips to Enhance Dry
Camping Experience
Originally addressed
by the CC, Inc. Service Team in August 2001
The simplest answer is to reduce your use of the coach's electrical system.
Here are
some suggestions
1.
Turn off the inverter when AC power is not
required. Although the inverter has an energy saving idle or 'search' mode, in
practice it never activates due to parasitic loads such as the microwave clock
and 'standby circuits' in TV's and VCR's, etc. Turning the inverter off when
you are sleeping, for example, can gain you as much as three to four hours of
dry camping time. When plugged in, the inverter can safely remain on.
2.
Avoid or limit your use of AC heat
producing appliances such as small heaters, the microwave, toasters, curling
irons, and coffee makers, etc. If making coffee, just make enough for one cup
each and then turn the coffee maker off to prevent the 'hot plate' from
discharging your batteries further. A microwave, for example, can pull over 130
amps from the batteries in use.
3.
Avoid using bay freezers when dry camping,
but if necessary, these should be powered by 12V with the temperature setting
adjusted to a minimum.
4.
When using your propane or diesel heating
system, reduce the temperature settings and use warmer clothing or bedding.
5.
Turn off any lights and fans, etc. that are
not being used. If the icemaker in your refrigerator runs on inverter power,
then this should also be turned off.
6.
An important consideration when recharging
your batteries is how long the generator will have to run to obtain a full
charge. For heavily discharged batteries, this can vary from three hours for
two 8D liquid cell batteries, to over ten hours for four AGM batteries. Owners
of coaches with larger battery banks will unlikely run their generator long
enough to fully charge their batteries and therefore usually experience reduced
dry camping time after their initial arrival.
7.
If
your budget allows, installing solar panels will significantly increase dry
camping time, and the energy they produce is free, silent, and environmentally
friendly. Solar panels do have a limited output however, so maximum gains will
be achieved when they are used in conjunction with the energy saving
suggestions above
ANOTHER TECH QUESTION: SHOULD I DUMP ALL AIR FROM LEVELING SYTEM BEFORE LEVELING?
ANSWER: While there is no
requirement to do so, it won’t harm the system and is a completely acceptable
practice. There are two main advantages to dumping first which may appeal to
you. The first is that the entry steps will be as low as possible once the
coach is leveled. The second is that the coach may feel more “solid” and less
“spongy” with some of the air springs completely empty and resting on their
internal stops. The only downside (sorry, I just couldn’t help myself) is that
under certain conditions it may take longer for the coach to level. Originally addressed by
then Country Coach Service Technical Resources Manager in Autumn 2007
*Note: CC, Inc./CC, LLC, the original manufacturer of Country Coach
Motorcoaches, closed its doors in November 2009. However, these beautiful
motorcoaches are still among the finest on the roads today! Many gather with owners of other brand coaches a Country Coach Friends rallies. Check that club out!
