We Made a Mistake and it Costs us our Battery! 

Good to know, thanks

Thank you good to know

You prob are all set up now, but when I did my preps for doing more dry camping, I added an additional 12v battery.

Lucky you didn't burn out the coils in your brakes!

Hello. I have an old 1989 camp trailer. It’s all I could afford when I got a divorce. I live in Idaho and found I was afraid of bears in my tent alone. I’m finally at a point where I might be able to get a new camper this year. I love the Geo Pro 19fbs but don’t think I can afford it. The Rubicon 1908rb looks like it might be the one for me. I was really happy when you did the comparison video. Your videos have been so helpful for me especially as a single woman who has to consider every penny spent. Thank you so much! I’ve been saying prayers for you little dog. I hope she’s feeling better. Take care, Tammara

Wife and I are newbies. Thanks for these videos, they are helping tremendously for helping prepare for the arrival of our 2021.5 e-pro 20bhs

I’m fairly new to all of this trailer stuff, but I recently replaced my 75ah 12 volt with 2 - 225ah AGM 6 volt batteries in my 19FD. I just returned from a 5 day boondocking trip where my batteries never went below 90%. I was in an open sunny area so my factory installed 100 watt solar panel did great recharging each day. I will also admit I wasn’t using tons of electricity ... a couple lights, furnace throughout the night, occasional water pump. We’ll see what happens in the future, but as of now I’m thrilled with this upgrade. Thanks for continuing to share your tips!

When I worked as a mechanic, I quickly learned to always disconnect the negative terminal first before doing any electrical work. Reconnecting the terminal was the last step of the job.

Living in Arizona, boondocking in Arizona my boondocking equipment is... Champion generator for ac as needed. 400 watts of solar on the roof. 200 watts as a moving briefcase . 4 lithium batteries 100 amps each . Extra black tank for longer stays. Extra water . Plus other stuff .

I have the 2018 GeoPro 19FBS, bought it new in 2018. I am still running the original factory battery and it gets me through a week of dry camping with only an aftermarket 40W solar panel with it's own charge controller, depending on the weather.. my trailer doesn't have the optional rooftop solar, inverter, TV, ect.... For the weights, mine is rated at about 3047lbs dry, 3860lbs Gross. I have been thinking of upgrading the battery to something with longer runtime when this one dies, so I appreciate the considerations list in this video. Thanks for the excellent content!

Thanks for all your advice you give us on what you may be dealing with ! Thanks all the help you can give will be great ! Thanks

Mistake Naaa. Opppps yup. I have the same trailer 2021 model I went with the 2 6v batteries and I haul my Honda EU2000 just in case. So far so good that Honda is super quiet and only use it for the A/C. I have the 12v fridge also. Love this little trailer and I do all boondocking so far.

Didn't see the link below. Thanks for the info.

Thank you for your videos. The information you provided helped us make the final decision to purchase an E Pro 19BH camper in January of this year. The unit has exceeded our expectations and we’re quite happy with it. When we ordered the camper, we knew we would want to expand its Boondocking capabilities. We ordered (2) 100 AH Battleborn Lithium batteries, (2) Renogy 200 watt solar panels along with another Renogy charge controller and 2KW charger/inverter. Also set up the Victron BMS. The additional panels along with the 190 Watt unit that came with the camper gives us about 600 watts of solar to feed the Lithium batteries. Right now I’ve got two of the panels going through the GoPower controller and one going through the Renogy. I discovered that I didn’t have to scrap the existing solar controller and that it’s fine to have multiple devices charging our batteries. We’ve discovered that we can easily get two days of usage with the Lithiums in cloudy weather. With sunny weather, we can go indefinitely and are limited only by our holding tanks. Our refrigerator is a 110 volt unit and must be powered by the inverter (or shore power) and I also use a CPAP machine that runs on 110 volts. We have no problem using as many lights as we want and can also run the furnace or MaxxAir fan continually. Hope this helps in your battery research. BTW… the lithium batteries have internal BMS systems that would have saved the batteries in your emergency cable situation. As an added bonus, my wife can use her hair dryer while Boondocking. We’re fellow NC residents and hope to run into you someday (not actually collide, but meet one another).

Loved the Yellowstone Bison shirt!🥰 Getting my 🍷, 🌲 & 🐕 fixes mid-week now that it is camping season!🤣 We just did a three day roll with no hookups and had the BEST orientation & sun☀️Were at 90% by 9 am each day!!

The forgotten cable reenactment acting was top shelf. LOL

We just upgraded to lithium batters because we just got solar and needed the lithium. We just bought the same flow water meter thing a couple of weeks ago because we wanted to know how much water we were putting in our tanks. We love it! We really like your Yellowstone shirt! Thanks for sharing! ~ Shion and Matthew

We have a 2019 Coachmen Apex Nano 189RBS, which is very similar to your trailer. In fact, we were deciding between your model and ours when we made our purchase. Since we live in the west and like to stay at State & National Parks and Harvest Hosts, we wanted our trailer set up to allow us to boondock for a few days at a time. To that end, we installed 2 deep cycle 12v 100AH batteries, and 200 watts of solar (Go Power) on our roof. We also recently installed a 2000 watt pure sine inverter and isolated our microwave to plug directly in to the inverter.

Why would you need to move the Lithium inside?

Good tip. I think I talk about this in my bearings video when I show people how to test their breakaway cable but I say make sure you put it back in after pulling it out 😂 👍🏼

Hello Troy and Linda!! Ayeeee Caramba!! This is a great teaching point to us! Thank you for sharing it with us. Ha...my wife and I were driving up in Montrose CO last week to do our monthly food shopping. She made the comment "those geo pro's sure are popular" as we saw 3 in town. Truck update.....our new full size pick up arrived to the dealer in Iowa this morning!! Thank goodness it arrived before our ordered trailer arrived! Travel trailer update.....manufacturer updated that it may not arrive to the dealer in CO until October :-( Safe travels.......and the moochdock offer is still open!

Great advice re E Brake as it relates to battery. Good luck on battery choice. I ultimately prioritized costs over lost of weight. I got two T105 Trojans 6V that easily allow me 3-4 days boondocking anywhere near 30-40 degrees N. They do add significant weight vs lithium. My guess is your 145 aH battery isn’t going to make you very happy boondocking. At only 75 available aH, you won’t have much in way of reserve to last a day (maybe only a day if you had good sun). Also, you DONT need to update solar controller OR converter with lithium. The solar controller should have a setting switch with LiFePo as an option. Yes, you converter won’t carry a high enough boost voltage to charge the lithium batteries to 100%, but your solar should be able to top off the lithium. Also, unless moving the batteries inside for security , it is unnecessary unless camping for extended periods in temps below 20F. Mind you that it is only dangerous to charge lithium batteries at this temp.....if camping on whether where nights are cold to freezing temps, your batteries will be fine since you won’t be charging them. Also, they sell lithium RV batteries now with internal warmers, or safety mechanisms that shut down the battery in the event it gets too cold. Given the Geo Pro isn’t a 4 season camper, I don’t like camping in freezing weather.

I made a similar mistake 😐 FYI… in addition to discharging the “house battery”, the breakaway switch may burn up if the pin is left out for an extended period. It was a good idea indeed to get the trailer checked out following your goof. I did not find out my switch was toast until time for vehicle (trailer) inspection. I use a blue top Optima AGM battery on my Casita trailer, seems to have enough juice and is maintenance free, which is good because the battery is virtually inaccessible inside the battery box of my Casita… without removal. In addition, AGM batts don’t corrode 😉

Just discovered your channel, great subject, thank you!. We have a 19’ Airstream we bought in 2000. Regardless of the deep cell brand we bought it only lasted 3 days then it’s down hill from that, and last 3-4 years max. We recently replaced EVERY SINGLE BULB inside and out with LED bulbs and now we can go 7+ days with bright lights while boondocking and we did found a marine/RV deep cell at Advance Auto that has out preformed every other batter we’ve bought from Walmart, and Costco, we are at the 4 year mark and battery is still going strong. Unfortunately i checked their website while making this comment and they don’t seem to have it listed (Autocraft 29 HM)😔

Oh dear!! I'm sorry to hear about your mishap although was certainly entertained by the reenactment!! And thanks for those consideration factors for batteries. I'll be picking up my new-to-me FD this week. (Recreational camping is still on hold here in Ontario though...) The trailer comes with a dealership 12V which I'm sure will meet my needs this summer. I have done some cursory research into upgrades but had no idea about the need to rewire, etc. for lithium. Please know how much I appreciate your videos and the information you share. I learn so much from you! All the best with your new battery! Have a great week!

Do you have a link to the correct cable please ? Thank you

I would suggest you switch to 2 batteries vrs 1. The juice is definitely worth the squeeze. We upgraded to two Duracell Ultra BCI 24M AGM deep cycle, 78ah model SLI24MAGMDC. $205 each. 30 month free replacement warranty. 10.875x6.75x9.875. For us, several problems solved all at once. Good Luck!

I currently have an Epro 20 bhs, and previously had a Epro 16bhs. I installed 4 100 ah lithium batteries(used same batteries in both) and extra panels on both. You can use the Gopower charger as the agm setting is ok for lithium, but I upgraded to an mppt charge controller. I used all the factory wiring and only added wiring for the batteries and extra components like bus bar, circuit breaker, and shunt. You really dont need to upgrade the factory ac to dc charger if you have sufficient solar to top off lithium batteries. My setup is reversible to factory if I wanted to sell the trailer.

Troy, we're pretty sure that you will receive an Oscar for that reenactment. If not, you definitely need to call foul. However, I think that could happen to anyone so thanks for sharing what happened. We're sure the battery will work out just fine for what you need. Great factors to consider. Ya'll always seem to do your homework and don't make rash decisions. Be safe and enjoy your trip out west. Bill and DeAnna

Always love your video’s. One thing I have not heard is your battery charges when you plug in to your rig.

I have one of those water meters. I use it when I flush my 2 black tanks. One of them doesn't flow too well so I make sure I run enough water to clean my tanks.

I would not beat yourself up too much on that mistake. Seems pretty easy to make it. I also wonder how old the battery is and if it was newer might have charged back up. If you plan on doing a lot of boondocking I would think a generator might be in order.

GREAT Vid as usual! Haven't acquired my trailer yet... but your vids have helped me immensely in my scrutinizing the units out there. I'll be boondocking only... high in the Cascade Mountains in WA. Solar is probably most important along with the proper batteries - and a GREAT point - my first trailer will probably not be my "forever" trailer! I foresee an Excel spreadsheet in your future to help figure things out? Give Desi a scratch and a treat for me! Cheers!

Yes, that pesky breakaway cable! On our old rig, our cable was wrapped around the equalizer bar, and one turn pulled the PIN. Well it was late at night, could not figure out why the brakes on the trailer were locked up. So, my might Titan was used to force the camper in the spot (I know, not too smart) Anyway, called the repair guy out the next morning to see what was going on. Before he got there, I figured it out, that the pin was disconneded. Re-connected and all was back to normal. The repair guy stated this happens a lot to new folks. I explained that I really was not new, as I grew up with a 1963 Gator Popup. He explained that the old camper probably did not have electric brakes. That makes sense, not sure. In any case, on our 2020 Jayco, I always inspect that cable before and during travel, to ensure it is secured. Note: Our Jayco does not have a cutoff switch for the battery. It was explained to us that Jayco did add those for the 2020 model year, but, it goes by when it was actually built for certain features. Ours was actually built in May of 2019 as a 2020 model. In any case, no harm was done, and glad you folks got going again. BTW: I have actually re-stored /re-charged several "Dead" Deep Cycle batteries with no issues. So, they are not always bad, but, there is a process that most mechanics don't even know to do on them to bring them back. Deep cycle batteries are not the same as a regular car / truck battery, and I have been told that you never really want to go below 20% charge. Not sure if that is true, but, I think it is a good tip for all of us RV owners.

Hi. Even though by not reconnecting your breakaway cable it drained your battery. How did it ruin it. Couldn't you just recharge it with an automotive battery charger.

We just got an e-pro and the similarities to the Geo Pro made me an instant subscriber. While I have found the boondocking series interesting I have to ask - why all the trouble? In my own research into solar it just doesn’t give the camper enough power or freedom over the weather imperfections that come with camping. Do you have a generator? If yes, what kind? If no, why not?

Be aware people that leaving the safety cable disconnected for a extended period of time can overheat and damage your wiring, electromagnetic coils, and the emergency switch itself, all are needed for your trailer breaks to work. They may seem to work fine after reconnecting or not. Either way please have those items inspected by someone that’s qualified. Be safe and happy camping everyone.

OMG,I never thought about that! And no one ever mentions it on a dealership walk-thru. But it's good to know. Troy & Linda (& Desi) I too have been considering lithium. As you may remember I'm trading in my 2020 19FBS, and I have a 2021.5 19FD on order. (The dealer contacted me recently and said because of the delay in production and order backlog, it looks like I'll be getting a 2022 at 2021.5 pre-increase price. Nice, but I have no idea what changes will be made) Anyway, I am swapping my batteries to the new trailer because I already have two 6 volt deep cycle batteries on the 19 FBS. I like the idea of lithium for life, weight and available power (100% versus 50%). But I am concerned about having to upgrade the controller and inverter. Forest River expressed concern about having to upgrade the wiring as well. Something I have to look into. I never thought about having to move their storage location as well. One plus, is that the 19FD has it's inverter in small storage compartment in the front. I could put them there. Anyway, I will be watching you two closely to see what path you follow. Be well, and enjoy the weather there in NC. It was 41 in MD this morning! Glen P.S. Curse you Linda, I like the gadget. Ordering one tonight!

In conclusion, we have found that we have plenty of power when we have enough sun, allowing us to boondock quite comfortably. We can run the microwave for a short time, and I can use my low voltage hairdryer and styling brush as well with the inverter. We will see a short drop of battery percentage down to maybe 70%, but within 10-15 minutes of full sun, the batteries go right back up to 100%. Regarding water tank usage/gray/black. With our 30 gallon tanks, we empty the fresh and 2/3 fill the gray in 4 days, with 1/3 going into black tank. That allows short showers every day, and 1 long shower to wash my hair once during that time. Black tank only needs to be emptied every 8+ days, but ends up getting emptied whenever we drain the gray. Hope that helps as you plan your power needs going forward. We LOVE the flexibility being able to boondock gives us.

Hi Troy, helpful video! And I’m definitely gonna get the save a drop. Couple questions. 1. I think you mentioned you have 650 pounds for cargo. How did you arrive at that number since the FR specs seem to indicate a much higher capacity. 2. Other videos I’ve seen indicate that the current onboard solar controller can easily handle a 100ah battleborn LI battery and there is a button on the controller to switch it to LI. Are you finding that not to be the case? Thanks! Hi to Linda! Lee

We enjoy your videos and have actually used some of the ideas. We live in Utah and can suggest some places to visit if you are interested.

Your dog is beautiful

I enjoy your videos and I’m a subscriber. Can you tell me what the video title is for changing out the thermostat?

Remember , Lithium batteries you can take with you when you sell the trailer. It’s an investment ! Peacefrom510

Love this channel thank you for the helpful tips. Desi hitting the bell is the best.