Rickb RV Chronicles

WELL, I’VE BEEN LAX at posting. A couple of weeks in the Caribbean hasn’t helped much, since I had to leave the RV on the hard.

What to do with the unit while I was gone? That was the question. I had a reefer full of food I wasn’t really relishing replacing, including the relish.

I could put it into storage, if there was power. If I could keep power to the unit, it would be worth it – keep the batteries up and keep the reefer cold.

But, there was no storage facility in Yuma that I could find with power. Plenty of places, at $30/mo (which isn’t bad, really), but no power.

Another option would be to put it in a park and I thought seriously about that, for a while. Until I investigated the cost: $400, $500. For that amount, I could buy a lot of replacement food, should the reefer go out in my absence.

I was almost reconciled to just cleaning out the reefer and putting it in storage, but a stop by the LTVA admin office suggested an alternative: The LTVA’s are pretty much safe places (so far). People pretty much go about their business and don’t disturb one another. I asked the admin about just leaving it there for a couple of weeks?

“No problem,” was the reply, “just try to let a neighbor know, so they don’t come banging on our door wondering where you went.”

Well. Ok. Why not? I can lock the trailer up, and there’s a lock on the hitch pin so someone can’t just tow it away without making a big commotion. I scanned the reefer and expunged it of stuff I knew wouldn’t last, even if it stayed cold: lettuce, tomatoes, cilantro, milk.

Next was to charge the batteries as much as possible – I’m gone for two weeks. Will they last? This was the question on my mind as I finished packing, threw the luggage in the truck, locked up the trailer and circled it one more time to make sure all was in order. Then, down the highway. Next stop: blue water, warm sun.

TWO WEEKS LATER, I made my way back to the airport, and tentatively opened the door. Did they last?

A quick check in the freezer indicated stuff just beginning to thaw. Sonofagun. The main box contents were pretty warm, though, but I didn’t leave anything that couldn’t tolerate a bit of warmth, except the mayo. That has to go.

All in all, better than I expected. The freezer was the best news, but the batteries were severely down to the point they couldn’t turn over the generator. A quick jump off the truck battery solved that problem.

So now, everything is back up to snuff – the batteries recharged and the reefer back to it’s normal state. I’m putting long charges on the batteries, which uses up a lot of gas, but I’m sure the long hiatus didn’t do them any good. It’s worth putting a bit more juice to them, for now.

Of course, what would have caused no worries was solar and maybe a wind generator. But, those aren’t in the budget right now. Gas is (even though I’m using more than I’d like – about $27/week.)

So, the question – “How long can four six-volt golf cart batteries power a reasonably sized fridge, without a recharge of any kind?” – is tentatively answered: About ten days. Two weeks was too long, given the state of the batteries, but you have to find these limits…