Bringing a generator with to a FHU campground?

Again, you've pointed out what I'm saying. Camping in the southeastern part of the U.S. in July-August makes the AC a necessary function - so carrying the generator makes sense.

For me, I don't go to places with extreme heat. So the need for the AC is not there. I don't need a backup generator to ensure AC that I don't need in the first place.

Everyone's situation is different. Knowing how YOU camp and what YOU need will determine what items YOU need to carry as backup. That's going to be different than what I need. I wouldn't suggest you not carry your generator - it makes sense for you. For me to carry a generator is a waste.

As an example of what I'm talking about with respect to RV "equipment limitations" ... we once took a 10 week trip through the Southeastern part of the U.S. in July-August. We found ourselves in the Texas Panhandle wanting to rockhound in 95 degree or higher heat. We knew we had to have air conditioning of some kind working in the RV before attempting this ... or scrap our hobby activity at a place where we would probably never be at again.

Since we had both cab A/C (via idling the chassis engine) and coach A/C (via a built-in generator) backing each other up, we went ahead with the rockhounding. Had we been generator-less, we might not have attempted it due to having to rely on only the un-backed up cab A/C after rockhounding in that heat ... but since we kindof had two sources of air conditioning along, we went ahead.

As it turned out after walking around in that heat looking for rocks, the DW looked like maybe mild heat stroke could be developing. We went back to the RV and turned on both air conditioners to cool down in short order until she recovered and we both then had a very comfortable lunch out in the middle of nowhere by a remote lake that just happened to be during high temperature conditions.

That was a case of not being adversely limited or affected by inadequate RV equipment in an unforeseen situaton on a long RV trip. On that same trip, we even once had to run the coach generator and it's A/C almost all night to sleep in the Southern U.S. heat and humidity when unexpectedly having to drycamp.

One never knows what can come up and there may not always be desirable work-arounds available ... especially with regards to having, or not having, adequate RV generator capability.

pnichols wrote:
We drycamp as much as possible too ... most of it boondocking when we're out in the middle of nowhere rockhounding.

With us we don't know where we're going to camp and we don't want any limitations imposed on us by our equipment. We have camped way down low in Death Valley and way up high in other Western states. The weather is also not predictable much anymore, even within specific seasons.

It's pretty amazing the little things that have happened on RV trips that didn't affect us seriously because of our generators and other backup preparations and equipment. Even as recently as January I lent my spare water pump to another RV'er so they didn't have to cut their trip short and come home from about 1000 miles away.

That's why I don't think there is a one right answer for this. The only time I've had something go wrong that seriously affected me was when the clipper wouldn't start. Nothing I could have carried would have fixed that problem. Nothing else has made much of an impact - and that includes hot water tank ripped open, fridge stopped running, failed converter, etc. I work around the problem and then fix it right when I get home. As long as I have my bed, I can deal with the rest.

We drycamp as much as possible too ... most of it boondocking when we're out in the middle of nowhere rockhounding.

With us we don't know where we're going to camp and we don't want any limitations imposed on us by our equipment. We have camped way down low in Death Valley and way up high in other Western states. The weather is also not predictable much anymore, even within specific seasons.

It's pretty amazing the little things that have happened on RV trips that didn't affect us seriously because of our generators and other backup preparations and equipment. Even as recently as January I lent my spare water pump to another RV'er so they didn't have to cut their trip short and come home from about 1000 miles away.

pnichols - You did answer those questions when you decided that carrying the genset was worth it for the risk of losing "all the self-containment comfort that you thought you paid for". :)

For me, there aren't any self-containment comforts that I'd lose. 90% of my RV time is with no hookups. My RV lifestyle is based on the no-electrical end. The only thing I have with electrical that I don't have without is the AC and I don't use it where I camp.

toedtoes wrote:
Answer those questions and you'll easily figure out if you need to carry a genset as a backup or not (or whether you even need one). For me, I answered those questions and realized that I have no need at all for a generator.

There's the difference in RV camping philosophies right there!

For some of us those are not questions to be answered ... they're chances to be taken. Playing the odds is always that way.

As for us, considering what an RV costs and how valuable traveling adventures are as "one gets older" ... why not add in a few camping items to up the odds that the RV experience will, in every situation you can think of, deliver all the self-containment comfort that you thought you paid for? Life is getting too short to not do that.

Remember ... we're from California ... so we have to head out on every trip with the thought in the back of our minds that the BIG ONE could hit and strand us somewhere in the RV such that a generator or two might be well worth it (along with other backup provisions that we always carry in our rig). ;)

Lantley wrote:
The questions becomes what will the genset run that will be critical during a power failure? TV?recharge batteries?

To me, this is the crux of the question. If the power goes out, what will you lose?

AC is the biggest concern for folks. Will the genset in question be enough to power it?

Microwaves, hair dryers, toasters, coffee makers, etc. If you lost these for up to a few days, would it ruin your trip? Could you easily work around not having them?

Electric heaters, electric blankets, etc. In the case of a power outage, will the park temporarily rescind the "no generator after X p.m." rules?

Residential fridge. Will the genset in question be enough to power it?

Medical apparatus. If they fail, is it potentially life threatening? Will the genset in question be enough to power them?

Answer those questions and you'll easily figure out if you need to carry a genset as a backup or not (or whether you even need one). For me, I answered those questions and realized that I have no need at all for a generator.

True Story, thank fully I'm in a class A and have a genny.

Pulled in and set up, all was good,, Digger O'Gray (not his real name) was operating a back hoe digging a foundation trench for some park improvements.

Dug right through the primary high tension line feeding the park......

Took 'em 3 days to power the full park back up, Thankfully the section I was in was brought back up in only a few hours but much of the park was 3 days dark.

My 'C' came with a built in generator. I exercise it every so often, but I'm a FHU guy so I don't need it - except twice. I was on an expressway in Colorado on a hot August day. Suddenly, everyone was being moved onto a one lane access road on each side of the expressway. You can imagine how fast the re-routed traffic was moving. Not at all for over two hours. So I fired up the generator, turned the 'C' off and the generator and A/C on. I could have rented out the bathroom in the RV for a lot of money, but didn't. Other RVers did. The value (to me) of owning an RV went way up that day. I stopped for the night at a nearby FHU CG. The owner said that two cars pulled into the median, a couple of guys got out of one, popped the trunk with a crowbar, grabbed some stuff, jumped into the other car and the four of them drove away. So the Highway Patrol shut down the expressway in both directions until they could figure out what was going on. I never did hear it discussed on TV news that night.
I used it one other time when there was a weather related power outage in a FHU RV park for about a half hour.

This whole generator discussion thread comes down to the same two issues that these kind of discussions always come down to: The "boy scout preparedness" RV folks thinking as many bases as possible should be covered - versus the "why prepare for things that we can't imagine will ever occur" RV folks. These kind of discussions usually differ between the towables group versus the powered coach (motorhome) group.

We have a Class C motorhome and our thinking is that of the first group, within budget, time, and RV room constraints ... always with a bias towards preparedness.

Here's some comments related to why we have both a built-in big generator - and also carry along a very small (650 watt) portable generator - whenever we go on RV trips whether or not we think we'll need either one on any one particular trip ... because life is unpredictable:

- The big generator makes it possible to turn over the chassis engine if the chassis battery should fail, anywhere anytime.

- The portable generator makes it possible to turn over the chassis engine if the chassis battery should fail, anywhere anytime.

- The big generator makes it possible to air up the RV's tires, anywhere anytime.

- The big generator makes it possible to run the air conditioner in weather conditions that are becoming less and less predictable, anywhere anytime.

- The big generator makes it possible to heat the entire RV if the propane supply system or the propane furnace should fail, anywhere anytime.

- The big generator makes it possible to keep the refrigerator running if the propane supply system should fail, anywhere anytime even if traveling.

- The portable generator makes it possible to keep the refrigerator running if the propane supply system should fail, anywhere anytime when not traveling.

- The big generator makes it possible to cook if the propane supply system should fail, anywhere anytime.

- The big generator makes it possible to charge the coach or chassis batteries anywhere anytime.

- The portable generator makes it possible to charge the coach or chassis batteries anywhere anytime.

- The big generator makes it possible to use the microwave oven anywhere anytime.

- The big generator makes it possible to operate any power hand tool anywhere anytime.

- The portable generator makes it possible to operate some power hand tools anywhere anytime.

- Both the big and portable generators make it possible to run the CPAP machine anywhere anytime if the coach battery system should fail.

I consider having adequate generator power along as a very high priority in any RV - right up there with all the other systems in the RV. IMHO from an electrical power perspective, adequate generator capability for everything should come first - then after that solar battery charging capability.

So far we have no solar capability. We drycamp and boondock camp whenever necessary. The built-in generator is fairly quiet, and the small generator is very quiet. The portable generator partially backs up the built-in generator, and an idling chassis engine and it's alternator can very quietly partially back up both from it's 55 gallon fuel tank.