Camping with my 2009 FEH
 

Last night, I made a dry run with my 2009 FEH to see how it would work for camping. I got a little 4 foot long table and sat it in front of the SUV last night and popped the hood. I attached a 1000w inverter with cable clamps to the 12v battery. Next to the inverter I sat up my Keurig and made myself a cup of coffee (suggestion here-if you want to do that you need to get the Keurig K130/B130 hotel room model that only takes 500w. You'll be buying it gray market with no warranty, but it's perfect for this setup. It brews a bit slower and only one size, however.). When my coffee was done, I plugged in my all-clad hotplate. It's 1800w, but has two sides with independent controls, so I left one turned off. I cooked some hotdogs with no trouble. I put my scan guage out the window and watched and true to form my cooking went along perfectly with a slow draw down on the big battery and when the SOC hit 39.9% the engine started and recharged the hybrid battery.

Also, I hadn't realized how easy it is to pop out the seat bottoms for the rear seats. When I did that and slid the passenger seat all the way forward, put a rummermaid storage container in the gap between the back of the front seat and the folded down seat back, along with a twin size 4" memory foam mattress top over the whole thing, I found that there is plenty of room for my 6'2" frame to sleep comfortably. My head was at the back, and I was pleased to notice that the overhead light has a switch. Also, while I am a bit annoyed by the fact that there is no switch on the inside to open the back door, I remembered that there is a button I had never used on the keyless entry fob to unlock the back glass. Needless to say, I'll be keeping a key fob within arms reach at night-maybe hanging from the child restraint seat top tether, which I have also never used (actually didn't even know what they were until yesterday).

Needless to say, I'm looking forward to a little camping this summer.

John

Re: Camping with my 2009 FEH
 

Sounds like you are having fun, but I think in the long run you will be much happier with propane or butane powered heating devices. Check out REI.

Re: Camping with my 2009 FEH
 

Have fun typically means no problems. I'd encourage you to be careful and aware of what's going on. The inverter is so nice because you can use things you already own, like, are familiar with etc.. I use them too, and sometimes abuse them,,, but I can skate closer to the edges than many because I'm so familiar with the natural laws and limits regarding electrical stuff in particular. Do you understand what these contraptions do and how power is carried, controlled, and utilized? A 1000W anything powered by 12V needs 10x the current that it would need at 120V. That means your 12V wires should be 10x the size of your Keurig cord or hotplate cord,,, and 10x the connection areas too. I know overheated wires and burnt up connections would crash your party totally, so just be aware of these things and take appropriate measures. 12v coffee makers including single-cup versions are readily available, but that hotplate is the real potential troublemaker. Tom's right about using a butane thing instead, especially if you do this very much, or you've got it heating for more than 10 minutes or so at a time.