How long propane last? House battery?

[Btwoplus]

Thank you for letting me join the forum. We just bought a 2021 Coachmen Galleria and I must say that after taking a trip in it, the "walkthrough" from the dealer leaves a lot to be desired. I actually emailed the corporate office with a list of questions and didn't get a lot of help either. I asked if there was a person I could talk to that could give me some answers..nothing  I am a ROOKIE, I admit it! Need help.

1) We parked for the night on the beach, running the a/c at about 9pm. The house battery was just over 12volts. Within 3 hours, the a/c just shut off. So, I turned the generator on so I could run the a/c. I noticed there's a switch in the upper right cabinet "use house battery". Is there a limit to the voltage it will drop to? Am I missing a step here?

2) After sleeping for the night, the propane tank was at 25%. Is this normal?  Any tips or trick? I assume I would need a tank a day to boondock based on this.

 a) If I use one tank a night, could I pull a trailer to carry extra tanks to fill the main tank?

3) Being on the beach, the tv reception was bad. Is there a good satellite company for these situations? Or is a streaming device (fire stick) a good option?

I have a ton of questions and am open to adding to this system to make it last longer while traveling. We are wanting it more for road trips and less for staying in parks. Thank you for anyone that responds.

[SWharton]

Welcome to the forum.

First, Escapees has a Boot Camp, you should really signup for one ASAP. Make it a priority. Another great learning opportunity is Escapade, great fun, great education.

Your battery does not have enough amperage to support the electrical draw of the AC, always run your generator when running the AC and not plugged in. I hope your battery recovers, you might need to get a new one depending upon its status.

You probably started with 25% propane unless you have a propane generator, then that is a different story that I know nothing about.

Your RV Operator's manual should have an explanation of the battery button.

If you plan to do a lot of boondocking the odds of being able to stream might be questionable. The 2 satellite companies are Direct and Dish, pluses and minuses to both.

Let us know if you have additional questions.

[Btwoplus]

Thank you! Would there be any downsides to carrying a couple of 20lb propane tanks to extend my usage? I was thinking about storing them in my cargo trailer when I pull it and also getting one of those hitch mount propane tank carriers. I see that Camco makes a brass tee to tie into the rv's tank and hook up to an outside tank. Any drawbacks here?

[sandsys]

Hitch mount is good but inside a cargo trailer is not so good. Propane tanks need to be in a ventilated area. On motorhomes even the permanently installed propane tanks have to be in a compartment that has no lock.

Linda Sand

[Kirk W]

10 hours ago, Btwoplus said:

Thank you! Would there be any downsides to carrying a couple of 20lb propane tanks to extend my usage? I was thinking about storing them in my cargo trailer when I pull it and also getting one of those hitch mount propane tank carriers. I see that Camco makes a brass tee to tie into the rv's tank and hook up to an outside tank. Any drawbacks here?

With the Camco device, or one from Marshal Brass who also makes them, it doesn't refill the RV tank but rather it is an alternate supply. Those are quite common for RVs that are used in one of the long-term, seasonal RV parks where people stay for several months at a time. Often they are connected to a much larger tank so it doesn't need to be filled so often. As to using 75% of your propane in one night, that is highly unlikely unless you were supplying it for fuel to the generator. If your generator uses propane it won't last long since a loaded generator will typically burn about 1/2 gallon of fuel per hour. For that reason most class A motorhomes have a generator that gets fuel from the main tank that supplies the chassis engine. 

[podwerkz]

Wow.

Just wow.

[Btwoplus]

Wow just wow? Elaborate? 

[sandsys]

2 hours ago, Btwoplus said:

Wow just wow? Elaborate? 

podwerkz likes to make posts that don't say anything. 

Linda

[podwerkz]

No they say a LOT...you need to look deeper. 

[Btwoplus]

Yea, he's very helpful. Will make a note!

 

[Kirk W]

Does your generator burn propane?

[Btwoplus]

Yes the generator is a propane generator. When the AC shut off at 11pm, we turned the generator on and the propane was at about 25% when we woke up. SO the AC ran off the house battery for a few hours.