• Welcome, Guest! We hope you enjoy the excellent technical knowledge, event information and discussions that the BMW MOA forum provides. Some forum content will be hidden from you if you remain logged out. If you want to view all content, please click the 'Log in' button above and enter your BMW MOA username and password.

    If you are not an MOA member, why not take the time to join the club, so you can enjoy posting on the forum, the BMW Owners News magazine, and all of the discounts and benefits the BMW MOA offers?

Camping Fan

Dave_Faria

Slow & Easy
Just curious if anyone's done this before. I like to camp in the desert and want a fan at night for obvious reasons. What I'm thinking is an extra AGM battery same as used by the bike and a small 12v truck fan. Charging the battery while riding the bike during the day. Any thoughts???
 
Sounds like a big/heavy package, to me...

I like your thinking, but I think it sounds like overkill to me.

Lots of places sell "tent fans" that operate on a couple of D-cell batteries or the like. You could charge these on the bike during the day, and I think they'd be a lot lighter than an AGM battery.

Check you local sporting goods store or WalMart. Going online to Amazon.com, Campmor.com, REI, etc. should yield something to your liking.

I searched Amazon.com for "tent fan," and there are lots choices, starting under $10. Here are the first three that popped up:

http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-20000...UPSS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1300683444&sr=8-1 Under $10, and "up to" 16 hours on 1 D-cell. Fastens via magnet with a plate on outside of tent. Soft foam blades!
http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-Cool-...XMD2/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1300683444&sr=8-3 Another option, $16, with LED light included. Should be easy to hang from inside of tent, avoiding the magnet foolishness... 4 D-cell batteries
http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-20000...UR90/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1300683444&sr=8-2 $12, freestanding, 4 D-cell batteries.

4 D-cell batteries = still lighter than an AGM battery.

I charge AA batteries (camera, GPS off bike) and my CPAP battery in my tank bag by day. This lets me take photos by day, and sleep soundly (and quietly!) by night.:)
 
Last edited:
Thanks Uncle for looking up those fans. A fan is just something I'm considering and I suspect this summer will be a hot one. I was surprised that camping at most state parks is $15+ a night. Still cheaper than a hotel.
 
I just booked 2 nights at KOA Santa Cruz for my family. $199 for 2 nights in my own tent!!!!

I'll gladly pay $15/night...
 
I just booked 2 nights at KOA Santa Cruz for my family. $199 for 2 nights in my own tent!!!!

I'll gladly pay $15/night...

That's why I live in Texas. I've heard Big Bend National Park is only $25/night for camping. Which social program are you paying for???
 
What about solar? Anyone try to use a DC volt fan and a solar charger? Been thinking of options for the Family Gathering in Bloomsburg. Also watching the cook stove thread as we will be preparing some of our own meals. I live just 2 hours away so the "local cuisine" doesn't mean much to me, that's the way we eat every day.
 
What about solar? Anyone try to use a DC volt fan and a solar charger? Been thinking of options for the Family Gathering in Bloomsburg. Also watching the cook stove thread as we will be preparing some of our own meals. I live just 2 hours away so the "local cuisine" doesn't mean much to me, that's the way we eat every day.

I hadn't considered a solar panel. I think it would be bigger than the motorcycle battery I'm thinking of carrying. Plus the little fan I'm looking a, if the current draw is correct, will give a nice flow of air for 15hr on the 22amp-hour battery.
 
Small fans

I got some fans from Walmart, they take 'D' batteries and are narrow enough to back even in sidecases. Good for a couple of weekends on batteries.
Use these a lot, with our dogs (in Creates). Also will have AC adapter.

I found them on sale for 10, but list for about $25
 
Jeeeeez;

I stay at KOAs a lot. How big is your Santa Cruz family? The most I ever paid at a KOA was at YellowstoneNP @ 45$ a tent night and that was way over the normal KOA rates, most everywhere else. Hundred bucks a night for a tent? Seems you are paying for something else and maybe a large family, which is cool:) Randy
 
hadn't considered a solar panel. I think it would be bigger than the motorcycle battery I'm thinking of carrying.

At 14.5" wide it would be close (length is 23" (rolled diameter is 4")). But if you rolled it loosely you could fit other stuff around it. This one is from West Marine. Starting at 5W @ .45A (which sure oughta run a fan...)

But cheap it isn't; $163

10933653.jpg
 
I have a friend that carries an extra AGM battery in his pannier that is connected for charging while riding and he uses it to power a medical device at night.

If you want to get fancy, I have heard about voltage cutoff switches used in motor homes and trailers for charging extra batteries. The idea is that the voltage switch disconnects the spare battery when the system voltage drops below a certain voltage. That way the battery is only charging when your bike is putting out plenty of power.
 
Ya need to go with a wind powered fan, real eco friendly that...

Me thinks you are poking fun...........:whistle

I saw a solar shed light that charges it's own battery during the day, so the light runs off battery. Thinking this could be used as a power source to run the fan at night (when the wind isn't blowing, of course)
 
I don't understand the problem...I went to Wal-Mart and bought a nice Qscolating(sp) fan. I plug in and Wa-La cool air. Of course being I use a C-Pap, I need to be near electric. :laugh:laugh
 
I want a fan that's really going to move some air. I'm just afraid one of the "D" size battery fans will not do it. Some of the places I've been it doesn't drop below 80 till after midnight. With low humidity and a good breeze I can make it.
 
I don't know if you have bought your tent yet, but If not, pay attention to ventilation. I know this because we are in the laborious process of choosing a tent and bought a copy of Backpacker magazine's 2011 Gear Guide. The Marmot Boreas 3P is reviewed as 'best ventilation'. 'like sleeping under a celing fan'. Since our camping will be in desert southwest and Big Bend this will most likely be our tent.

Also, some years ago camped down on the river in Big Bend and it was 103 degrees at midnight. I told my husband, "this story has two endings: one, it was the most miserable night we have ever had, or two, we packed up and went home. So which ending will it be". We packed up and went home to Ft Davis. Being older, wiser, and with slightly more jingle in our pockets, we will be buying summer stuff, not the tent, sleeping bags, etc., rated for Mt Everest!
 
Last edited:
That's why I live in Texas. I've heard Big Bend National Park is only $25/night for camping. Which social program are you paying for???

I just stayed in Big Bend, and you will not be disappointed. What a fantastic place to experience. The night skies are incredible. The first morning we woke up, a herd of javalina were meandering through the camp site. But we were there in February, when nighttime temperature were in the 40s. In the summer, you will typically cook yourselves in a tent at night.

We already had an annual park pass, and the camping was $14 per night. After seeing some truly exhorbanent prices in other places, BBNP is a bargain, and quite underutilized.

I think what may have caused the $25 fee was the entrance plus camping fee. An annual pass is $80, and is a bargain if you use it even occasionally.
 
Thats god to hear abt BB. It has been years since my last visit. I plan to stay in the basin. My tent is an REI and can't remember the model. It's a summer tent with mosquito netting starting abt a foot off the bottom and it goes to the top of the dome. Has a rain fly for bad weather.

Wished I could backpack agn Kris. To old, bad shoulders, knees and the BOSS(AKA the wife) wont do it..
 
Oh we aren't backpacking, Dave. We just figured that backpacking gear would work great on our bikes. Our knees wouldn't handled it either. ;)
 
Maybe you can find this locally? (...and I don't mean the woman)

Sleepbreeze



Sleepbreezecamper_000.jpg


The Sleepbreeze can use both mains and battery power. The Sleepbreeze needs a 12 volt dc supply and draws approximately 0.35 amps.

What power supplies do you provide?

We ship the Sleepbreeze with a mains power supply unit (PSU) as standard. We stockPSUs with US-style and standard UK plugs. The power supplies are voltage switching (a 240 volt PSU works on 110 volts and vice versa) so can be used with a travel adaptor when you travel to countries with other mains voltage levels.

Is there a battery option?

Yes. We provide a battery accessory which can be used, for example when no mains power is available. The battery accessory holds 8 x AA batteries.
 
Back
Top