That depends on a couple of factors, like does your pop-up have electric brakes and where you are going to camp. If your pop-up has electric brakes, yes you need a battery in order for the break away switch to work correctly. Should your pop-up inadvertently disconnect from the tow vehicle while towing, the break away switch will engage the trailer brakes to stop it. That is provided you have a battery on the pop-up to power the brakes. See how that works.

This is one of those personal preference items. Many pop-up owners are happy to use coolers for all their food items. I find it easier to use the refrigerator for reusable items (mustard, mayo, milk, OJ, eggs, dressings...) and to use a cooler for drinks. It is a very nice option, but it is just that optional. Ask around then consider your lifestyle before making this decision. Remember if you get one, it needs some power source to work.

The "legal" need for brakes is different for each and every state. Once purchased and registered, your home state rules will apply while you travel. If the state you are registered in does NOT require brakes for your weight trailer, then no state you travel through can require them of you (unless you move to that state and attempt to register it there.

Like an air conditioner, a heater/furnace is a personal choice comfort item. Heaters used by pop-up campers can either be a factory installed LP Gas fired furnace or electric "space" heaters. If using anything other than a factory installed heater be aware of dangers which may include fire and/or carbon monoxide gas. Factory LP gas furnaces have an outside vent, so assuming it's operating properly, there's little danger of CO poisoning.

This is a personal choice comfort item. Depending on where you live it may be unnecessary to have one, or it may almost be a necessity. Pop-Up campers in the northern states or Canada may not need an air conditioner, but a Texas or Florida camper would probably look strangely at any one with out AC. Even living in the Maryland and camping in the Mid-Atlantic area I am glad I got an air conditioner. An item to keep in mind is that a pop-up has very little (OK, none) insulation.

First, for those who don't know the term, "Porta-Potti" is the name of a self contained toilet system manufactured by Thetford. This is a personal comfort choice. They are very nice to avoid those late night runs to the bath house to heed the call of nature, or to avoid going out in the dark when dry camping to dig a hole. You can take a look at mine on my potti page.

ATPM is looking to add more regular reviewers to our staff. Though all positions with About This Particular Macintosh are volunteer, reviewing is a great way to share your product knowledge and experience with fellow members of the Macintosh community. If you’re interested, contact ATPM’s Reviews Editor, Paul Fatula.

A deep cycle (not marine) battery. These come in several sizes, known as groups. The most common sizes used are group 24 and group 27. Group 24 has less capacity than a group 27 (almost always; there may be exceptions). The size you need will depend on what electrical items you run, how long you camp for and how big your battery tray is. In addition to the group size, there are many types of batteries (starting, marine/starting, deep cycle and so on.

This is a very valid question that every bargain shopper will encounter. Your first option is to purchase a new battery that naturally has new power cells inside. Performance will be at 100%, and it usually comes with a 1 year warranty. However, many companies will either skip th...

Depending on shape and chemistry of your battery, we strictly use brand name cells like Samsung, Panasonic and Sanyo.

You can save lots of money buying your pop-up used rather than new. Be aware that as this is a large investment you need to make sure that the unit is in good condition. I have a page devoted to Purchasing a Used Pop-Up.

A pop up is a page or image that appears as a small window when you click on an image or link on the main page.

Laptop batteries are just like those for our portable CD players, radios and handheld video games. If they go bad, we buy new ones. The laptop battery will be replaced free by the manufacturer only during your freshman year. After that, you will have to purchase a replacement if yours fails and you want to operate your computer on battery power. The battery you receive with your computer is a lithium-ion battery.

A new battery comes in a discharged condition and must be charged before use (refer to the devices manual for charging instructions). Upon initial use (or after a prolonged storage period) the battery may require three to four charge/discharge cycles before achieving maximum capacity. When charging the battery for the first time the device may indicate that charging is complete after just 10 or 15 minutes. This is a normal phenomenon with rechargeable batteries.

Portable devices like pendant panic buttons should not be supervised because you often will leave the premises with them for several hours. Since they don't check in, you will have to test them manually every month or so. Smoke detectors and burglary devices should "check in" at least every hour, since these devices never leave the premises.

Here is the experience of Ed Chapman who very generously offered to answer queries about his procedure. Send in queries to Ed using the 'Contact Us' link on the left. I bought a LIR-18650-FT to replace the exhausted one in my mate's Tomtom 700 which was five years old and no longer held a charge.

No not always, in most cases if the battery was drained over-night due to a light on. then the battery can be recharged using a standard 10 amp charger for about 8 hours. If the battery is left dead for many weeks the likely hood of it re-charging is diminished due to the accumulated sulfation. In this case you would want to use our Omega Revive treatment and our Battery minder. (see products section)