Solar paneling or generator

we started with two honda 2000's. Then I added 240W of portable solar and 150ft of cable.

Since then, the only time we needed the generator was when we needed the AC.

We've camped for as many as 10 days with solar and our battery bank was down to 90% SOC after 10 days. We use LED lighting, but also run the microwave every day when needed, exhaust fan to cool the trailer, heat in the mornings to warm it up. Being reasonable, but not anal about power useage.

Our daughters In laws often dry camp with us, and he has 120W of solar and after 10 days, similar use was down to 50%SOC on two 6v batteries.

In our case without PORTABLE SOLAR solar would be of virtually no use. MOst of the time we are camped in the shade, not in the sun, and often in FS/COE, county parks that are older and have trees. so without a way to get to the sun, fixed panels on the roof would do no good. That plus in the early spring and late fall in northern lattitudes really decrease solar efficiency. Like around 60% of the current you can get vs a properly angled panel (roughly the lattitude your at)

My NL TC came standard with a 95W solar panel and a couple of deep cycle batteries, but they can't run the AC. So, I keep a Honda 2000 in a dedicated compartment that will run my AC and charge up the batteries on those days with little to no sunlight.

Depends on how much you were planning to spend. If you were looking at a Honda 2000, they run around $1000. For that amount of money, you can get a Champion 2000 (around $500) and then have another $500 leftover to get some solar. At least a couple hundred watts worth, controller and inverter. You mentioned doing it all yourself and that will save you. That's what I would do.

Then you have the best of both worlds. That way if your sun is limited, you still have the generator to recharge your batteries.

Two very different things.

Solar power is a passive charging system which works only when it gets enough energy from the sun. At night, camped in the trees, even a cloudy day, solar will not do any good or not much good.

The genny provides power for a much higher rate of charge than solar, whatever your onboard charger produces, plus while you are charging you can use most of your 110AC devices.

For dry camping battery bank capacity is king. On a nice day solar will be charging that battery bank without you being there.

Having an onboard inverter is good to have with either solar or genny. Solar puts power back into the battery bank as the inverter takes it out. With a good sized battery bank & a genny, there is no need to run the genny for small loads like the TV or all those device chargers.

er78mph wrote:
I plan to mostly camp in places with hookups but would like an occasional option to camp in dry places. I was wondering if it would be better to invest in solar paneling( I am pretty handy and could place them on the roof) or getting a generator?

Perhaps neither. :W

If you're going to rely on solar to replenish battery reserve for several days of serious dry camping you're going to need a serious solar AND battery setup and be prepared to deal with the vagaries of solar harvesting - i.e. little to none in deep shade or inclement weather or with a portable system having to store, transport, and move it around the campsite throughout the day to chase the sun. If a system permanently mounted to your rig is your preference what is your alternate solution when you can't harvest the sun, for whatever reason? Doesn't seem like much of a solution to me if it can't be relied upon all the time. :(

A generator is attractive for many as it avoids all those solar vagaries and in many cases allow you to continue using your existing battery without upgrading but are you interested in dealing with fuel, fumes, storage, transport, noise, and maintenance? Obviously if you're setting out on a dry camping trip you'd take your genset along but what happens when you're intending to camp on an electric site, leave your genset at home, then later lose campground power for any one of a number of reasons? What good does your genset do you then? ... obviously none, with the only solution being to drag it along with you on every trip whether you think you'll use it or not. You really want to do that for "occasional" use?

How 'bout a third option ... neither. Presuming you're currently running just a single G24 or G27 12 volt battery consider replacing it with either a pair of G31 12 volt or pair of GC-2 6 volt batteries and retaining your current battery as a back up / spare, and just don't bother re-charging until you return home. Obviously this requires an energy audit to determine if this approach would work for you but it should be obvious the more you're willing to conserve the longer you'll be able to power those items you really do need to make your dry camping experience enjoyable. Once you've completed your energy audit the decision as to whether your re-charging solution should be solar, generator, a combination thereof, or nothing at all should be easy. Unfortunately no one here can tell you what that answer should be as we're all different, all have different "needs".

Remember, this isn't just about installing solar panels or investing in a genset, it's also about the batteries as well. There's a useful discussion here about 12 volt vs 6 volt Batteries that IMO is worthy of a read.

I would get a generator if the choice is that you can only have 1 of the above. In the summer, I prefer to park in the shade if possible so mostly to keep things cool enough the AC isn't necessary. I have the inverter generator capacity to run the AC but don't find it a very good option.

You'll find it also tends to vary a great deal as to how much good sunlight you'll get over the course of days, or even weeks which can result in your wishing you had a generator.

That said, I personally aren't all that much of a fan of generators and prefer not have to use them. That means something like a fairly large battery bank, more than likely solar, and a generator for when needed, which hopefully isn't often.

How's that for "It depends"

You stated you mostly camp with hookups but would like to 'occasionally' do without.

For your purpose I'd recommend a generator.

We loved our solar - quiet and always working in the background but we dry camped a lot.

If you need to run the AC, then you will need a generator or generators. Most of the time, I need AC when I camp so solar is not an option. We had a trailer and we would bring 2 Honda generators and tie them together to get 30 amps. They were small enough so you could carry them around and they are quiet.

The other issue is to look to see if you have the space somewhere for the extra batteries you will need if you go solar.

smkettner wrote:
For the price of a Honda 2000 you can install a good size solar charging system.

If you must run the air conditioner 24/7 then you may as well get a generator but the Honda 3000 or a pair of 2000 in parallel is a bit of money too.

I would go solar any day over a generator.

Don't forget it's not just cost, it's using up limited space and cargo capacity.

For the price of a Honda 2000 you can install a good size solar charging system.

If you must run the air conditioner 24/7 then you may as well get a generator but the Honda 3000 or a pair of 2000 in parallel is a bit of money too.

I would go solar any day over a generator.