New power, for new van, for weekender

[rbirch333]

Hello, my name is Bob, avid hiker and rock climber, and building a van for me and fiance and 2 dogs.  I'm a professional HVAC tech and plumber and have done little electrical so I do have technical skills.  We usually camp 1 night a week on the weekend and once a month we get out for 2 nights.  I want to run a 12v vent fan for mostly when I'm cooking, a couple LED lights, and charge a laptop and cell phone.  I  usually drive 2-5 hours to our destination.

Originally I was thinking of a solar system, but now I don't think I really need the solar being that I will be parked at my home charging 5 days a week.  So I've spent a few days reading lots of options and now I'm confused.  With trying to keep the system as simple as possible here was my idea.

I want to use an AGM battery, that I want to put behind the driver chair in a cabinet.  This is a temporary build and I don't mind working the battery and replacing within the year, so I was thinking of using a Universal UB121000-45978 12v 100AH Deep Cycle AGM Battery 12V 24V 48V off Amazon

Then I want to charge the battery during the week at my house using a 110v charger.  I'm not sure exactly what to look for on this, I was looking at black and Decker and Schumacher smart chargers but really don't know.

While driving I read of running the battery of the alternator with a solenoid.  But again not sure what to use for the charger and can I use the same charger for the van and the home.  And to simplify can I use one of those 12v cigarette lighter to 110v inverters, to then plug in my 110v charger to charge the battery.

Thanks for reading the long post and your ideas 

 

[user 37446]

I can't see the text, can you enlarge it?

 

[bullfrog]

You don’t want your battery going below 50% charge at anytime. You do want to recharge it fully each day if possible. The less you run the charge down on the battery the better. To charge a battery with the alternator will require several hours of run time to fully charge it. Since you are using an AGM battery it will require a little higher voltage to charge fully than a lead acid. With a solar controller you can set it to charge the type of battery you have. Really the ideal system is to use both the alternator with a cut out so you don’t run down your vehicle battery while parked and solar to fully charge the battery when the sun is out. If you can get by over the weekend camping trip without discharging your AGM battery below 50% then charge it on you charger at home the next day to full charge you are good. If not buy more batteries or consider charging with solar if setting or the alternator if you take long drives while camping.

 

[Happy Camper]

Just get something like this Jackery. At $199, it's almost the same cost as the battery you're looking at, and you can charge it at home.

Just do me a favor and call it a power station, and not a solar generator lol

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D29QNM...abc_TY1C1YM4G9WNQZ4PH8YM?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

 

[bullfrog]

^^^By getting a lithium battery one it can be discharged further without harming it unlike an AGM battery and have a longer life as well.

 

[Camper]

If I were going with a Jackery at just $199, I'd buy two of them. That 240wh model would be too small for my use, but it might be just right for you.