Beerhippie
Well-known member
Years ago, I ran the stereo in my Vanagon late into the night at a very remote campsite. When I woke in the morning, the battery was, of course, totally dead. The camp was in an abandoned quarry, hence at the bottom of the hill. It was at least five miles' hike to the nearest USFS road--and there wasn't much of a guarantee for any traffic there.USB charging is only an asset because I most often camp in the RV without plugging into electricity or running the generator (which would be a waste of gas just to charge a tool battery). I have a small inverter, but insufficient onboard battery capacity to do much without the motorhome's engine running.
This silly little thing was less than $20.
I do see an RV-dedicated M12 setup in my near future...
Mike
Fortunately, I had one of those little battery-maintainer solar panels--8" square--that plugs into the cigarette lighter port. Also fortunately, I had work I could do within walking distance of camp. By the time I got back in the evening, the battery had enough charge to start the engine and get a full charge.
When I got home from that tour, the first thing I did was install a second battery and isolater and add 4 amps of solar panels up on the roof rack. I've never had a dead battery since.
4 amps of solar would be plenty to charge a tool battery and add some charge to your battery.



















