When I first bought my caravan it didn't have a proper leisure battery and the only way of getting 12v power into the van for the lights and water pumps was via the 12s cable outside.
The previous owner had rigged this up to a grey lead with crocodile clips on the end. I bought the battery/charger/compressor and simply connected the crocodile clips from that to the crocodile clips on the grey lead and eureka...12v power to all lights and pumps.
I don't know how long it would have run for though as I eventually had a proper leisure battery fitted inside and didn't use it in ernest. However, I took it with me on my first caravan trip this last weekend and used it to power a small radio/CD/TV set and it was ideal. Used it for a good two or three hours each evening and an hour or two during the day over the two days and it used a little less than 50% of the charge.
If it's any help, this is what the instructions say it will power from the cigarette lighter socket :-
Flourescent lights, cellphones...4 watts estimated power consumption...30 hours
Radios, fans, depth finders...9 watts...21 hours
Camcorders, VCR's, Spotlights...15 watts...12 hours
Electric tools, bilge pumps...24 watts...7 hours
Electric coolers...48 watts...3 hours
Air compressors, car vacuums...80 watts...1.5 hours
They can be fully charged in 12 hours from any AC socket using the charging adapter, so you could ask the campsite or a kind caravan owner with a 240v system to charge it up for you for a few hours during the day if it runs dry.
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Topic: 12 volt power packs
