Solar or Genny
This is my dilemma I don't boondock but I do road trips that are days travel time, I only run the microwave for a few minutes and maybe a toaster on this trips or charge a device here and there. I am ...
Forum Discussion
I have a different perspective on why solar may be the way to go.
While having a generator is real nice, my move to solar has allowed me to leave the generator home or put away. I haven't used it while camping since installing a solar power setup last year. If the weather does go south for more than a few days the generator would be nice when dry camping.
Since you stated that you don't boondock, do you really need a generator if your on the road a few days than plugging in? Dealing with a generator seems like an unnecessary pain, you'll just have to be willing to forget the microwave while on the road, do you really use it that much? Toast, done in the oven. Try it, you'll like it.
Positives for a simple solar setup are once installed it just simply works to keep things charged and ready to go. Permanent mount was made to sound like a negative by some, to me it's a positive. No pulling out a panel running wires etc, which is perfect since it's out of the way and requires, no work on your part and is always ready to work.
My trailer sits at the storage yard all charged up, some trips we need to start the frig 4 or 5 days out due to work schedules and when we show up to load and leave, the batteries are still fully charged. I could not have had this luxury before solar due to the parasitic draws.
We've been fortunate to dry camp for about 20 nights so far this year and our setup has been working great with absolutely no generator use, the only issue we had was in a particularly forested site with good sun only in the morning hours, we had rain one morning and clouds another, so after our fourth night the battery was down to 60%, which isn't going to kill my AGM's, since they can run down lower than lead acid batteries. Either way I didn't have the EU2000 so it wasn't really an issue, we just pay attention to our use.
Our last trip was 10 nights with good afternoon sun for four hours. We watched TV 2 of the nights for a few hours due to weather, using programs downloaded to a Kindle. Ran an ice maker during the day for a few sunny days, and ran a big box fan another night due to a warm and muggy night. While I had the Honda in the bin, it stayed there. I love having it as backup but despise the thought of using it destroying the peace and quiet of others, though I was tempted to pull it out and run it first thing in the morning to wake up the neighbors that partied until 2 am with a lot of loud talk, I refrained since the rain came in and sent them packing.
My system was setup for dry camping purposes, something others don't need for simple charging, so this isn't a recommended setup I'm just sharing what works for us. 2 AGM Group 31 batteries, 2 160 watt panels on AM Solar Adjustable mounting brackets, a 30 amp MPPT charge controller, and a 1000 Watt Pro Sine Inverter.
The 300 watt panel you mentioned would easily keep things charged up and ready to go for your use if that's all you need.
While having a generator is real nice, my move to solar has allowed me to leave the generator home or put away. I haven't used it while camping since installing a solar power setup last year. If the weather does go south for more than a few days the generator would be nice when dry camping.
Since you stated that you don't boondock, do you really need a generator if your on the road a few days than plugging in? Dealing with a generator seems like an unnecessary pain, you'll just have to be willing to forget the microwave while on the road, do you really use it that much? Toast, done in the oven. Try it, you'll like it.
Positives for a simple solar setup are once installed it just simply works to keep things charged and ready to go. Permanent mount was made to sound like a negative by some, to me it's a positive. No pulling out a panel running wires etc, which is perfect since it's out of the way and requires, no work on your part and is always ready to work.
My trailer sits at the storage yard all charged up, some trips we need to start the frig 4 or 5 days out due to work schedules and when we show up to load and leave, the batteries are still fully charged. I could not have had this luxury before solar due to the parasitic draws.
We've been fortunate to dry camp for about 20 nights so far this year and our setup has been working great with absolutely no generator use, the only issue we had was in a particularly forested site with good sun only in the morning hours, we had rain one morning and clouds another, so after our fourth night the battery was down to 60%, which isn't going to kill my AGM's, since they can run down lower than lead acid batteries. Either way I didn't have the EU2000 so it wasn't really an issue, we just pay attention to our use.
Our last trip was 10 nights with good afternoon sun for four hours. We watched TV 2 of the nights for a few hours due to weather, using programs downloaded to a Kindle. Ran an ice maker during the day for a few sunny days, and ran a big box fan another night due to a warm and muggy night. While I had the Honda in the bin, it stayed there. I love having it as backup but despise the thought of using it destroying the peace and quiet of others, though I was tempted to pull it out and run it first thing in the morning to wake up the neighbors that partied until 2 am with a lot of loud talk, I refrained since the rain came in and sent them packing.
My system was setup for dry camping purposes, something others don't need for simple charging, so this isn't a recommended setup I'm just sharing what works for us. 2 AGM Group 31 batteries, 2 160 watt panels on AM Solar Adjustable mounting brackets, a 30 amp MPPT charge controller, and a 1000 Watt Pro Sine Inverter.
The 300 watt panel you mentioned would easily keep things charged up and ready to go for your use if that's all you need.
