battery issues

I've been doing a fair amount of dry camping.  The issue I am having is that my battery does not last very long.  Last time it lasted about 7 hours and then the carbon monoxide detector went off.  Ended up spending that night in my car.  What am I doing wrong?

After reading your message, I am thinking it may have to do with maintaining the battery when not in use.  Not sure about how or what to do between trips??  Someone suggested I get a battery tender?

Thank you!

All excellent posts by furpod, charlie, and sailor.  By following furpod's advice your batteries will last a long time.  My 2 deep cycle group 24 batteries are nearing their 6th year of service.  Only once did I bring one of those batteries to complete deadness and that was when it was brand new.  Not knowing any better and being a brand new pod owner (spring 2011) I decided to precool the fridge on battery mode.  So at 5 pm I turned the fridge on battery mode.  The next morning, about 14 hours later I was shocked to not only find the fridge at room temp, but also the battery icon blinking.  I tested the battery, it showed 8 volts, totally dead.  Took almost 3 days using a trickle charge at 2 amps to bring it back to full charge.  Still works great today.  In fact going to the UP of Michigan tomorrow after church for a week of boondocking, hiking along Lake Superior, rock picking and enjoying the autumn colors.

Originally posted by Mojave1 How does the battery affect carbon monoxide levels? This is dangerous and you need to get to the bottom of it. The battery, when it gets low, causes the PROPANE detector to alarm, because it is hardwired. If the battery is tired you need to replace it. A Group 24 battery has about 70-80 Amp Hours of electricity. If your battery is healthy, I wonder what's pulling the juice? One possibility is the fridge. Never run your fridge on battery, as it uses a lot of current. Dry camping the fridge should be on propane. Heaters in general pull about 5 amp-hour, but don't run constantly. Even in cool weather, I think one charge on the battery is enough for a weekend. Pods have phantom drains, that can't fully be addressed. Furpod has a couple extra constant loads, I pull the fuses for those if I can when boondocking. But just sitting, we pull .165aH constant. Also, you don't want to discharge your battery more than 50%. The less you discharge it, the more charges the battery has in it (it will live longer). If you need more power. Consider a Group 29 battery (about 114 amp-hour, $99 at Walmart). Or two group 24 batteries (75 Amp-hour x 2). RV battery sizes by group are 24, 27, 29, & 31. Or two 6v golf cart batteries (about 200 amp-hours). When dry camping, I find my generator very helpful. For anyone who does a lot of boondocking, paired 6v's are the answer. In 6v's you get true deep cycle batteries, so if you do pull them down past 50% SOC, they will take the abuse better. And dual GC2s are the most aH's you can get on the rack without modifications to the rack. I'm speaking in generalities above. I don't know your situation. The purpose is to help you find an answer.