We like to do off grid camping, haven't done any in a while since we had our son, but he is 4 now so we want to get back into it now that he is getting older. We did have a small pop up and I have a 100 watt solar panel, with that and a group 27 deep cycle battery we never had any problems camping for a week at a time, even running the furnace at night in colder weather (30-40s at night, using the furnace sparingly). We now have a 17 Ft. travel trailer so I imagine our electrical demands will be higher. Was thinking of getting another panel, but obviously they only make electricity when the sun is up, and don't produce as much on cloudy days. Was wondering if a wind generator in combination with the 100 watt solar panel would be a good combination, and this could potentially generate some electricity at night if there is wind. Looking for some suggestions, I don't need something that generates a lot, like I said we have never ran the battery down with one 100 watt panel before, we can get by pretty sparingly, camper has all LED lights etc. Also is there a charging controller that you can hook both a solar panel and wind generator up to at the same time? Thanks!

WindyNation isn’t selling wind generators right now as I understand it, so I’m not sure it’s a viable way to recharge batteries in RVs. Yes, solar produces less on cloudy days. Buying an extra panel or two beyond what an energy survey indicates is necessary will solve that issue. Plus there is no daily setup and takedown with a roof mounted solar panel.

You don't want a wind turbine. In order for most of them to make their rated power they need a wind of about 28 mph. That's pretty stiff around here anyway. They also need to be mounted at least 30 feet above anything within 500 feet. Even if you're in wide open spaces putting up a 30 foot mast and guying it off would be a lot of work. Then there's the noise and vibration a spinning turbine generates.Could you put a little one on a tiny mast and have it make a little bit of power in a light breeze? Maybe, but why? Just get another solar panel.

Before you spring for a 92 AH group 27 battery, which I'm seeing for $300+ from Interstate, consider this 125 AH AGM for $289: https://www.amazon.com/Vmaxtanks-SLR125-Solar-Emergency-VMAX/dp/B004DR3IIC/ref=as_li_ss_tl?keywords=vmax+tanks&qid=1560295430&s=lawn-garden&sr=1-1&linkCode=sl1&tag=vehicledwelling-20&linkId=26a2244ebe8ea426f3f51fa2ff34c4b5&language=en_USBeing designed for solar applications, it is a true deep cycle battery, unlike most batteries billed as deep cycle, which are really just thinly disguised starting batteries. The clue here is when they list CCA among the specs. Cold cranking amps are not an important data point for deep cycle batteries.

Beware of false replies. Turbines are proven technology just like solar panels. Both have their +/-Personal I like solar over turbines but they don't work in the shade.

I would fill your roof with solar before going into wind power. Aim for 300 to 500 watts.I went with a small propane generator (Ryobi 700w) for charging the battery if conditions get extreme.

Suggest a wind generator | Good Sam Community

Shearwater
Explorer
Jan 04, 2020
Wind generators are often used on live-aboard sailboats. I believe that West Marine sells them and you might get more practical info at Westmarine.com.
valhalla360
Navigator
Jan 04, 2020
Grit dog wrote:
Seems like a cool idea to be more self sufficient with power, and the price of entry is low.

Price them up...price of entry is far from low.

Very few cruising sailboats have them anymore with most being old installations.
JoshuaH
Explorer
Jan 03, 2020
Well thanks for the good input everyone, I didn't realize they would be noisy and wouldn't generate anything unless the wind was really blowing.
JRscooby
Explorer II
Jan 02, 2020
Would the fan make more power when going down the road be more than power it takes to move it thru the air? Why not use a generator rubbing on the tire like the old bicycle system?
Grit_dog
Navigator
Jan 02, 2020
Seems like a cool idea to be more self sufficient with power, and the price of entry is low.
Like others though, I question the practicality of it. Unless you're differnet than most, people generally (us included) try to get out of the wind when camping.
Didn't think about mounting on the camper roof. Would definitely work going down the highway, not sure how the cheap ones would handle 60-100mph winds though. (Think, doing 55-70mph into a headwind = 100mph pretty easy on the right day.)

Interested to hear what you come up with and how well it works though.
RoyB
Explorer II
Jan 02, 2020
I played with one of those small round units that had several blade around it much like one of those roof mounted heat turbines on houses. This would spin up and turn a shaft going down inside the RV unit. Then a alternator like device would charge your batteries like the automotive type chargers do... It worked to some intent but only reall would work going down the road at 60mph haha... This was when I was living in Texas that alwys had at least a 5MPH wind blowing. If one lived on the coast or near the mountains it might work just sitting there...

Solar Panels are the best way to go for sure...

Roy Ken
dodge_guy
Explorer II
Jan 02, 2020
I could see a wind generator working in an open field, but in a forested campground with trees it probably won't spin fast enough even if there is high winds due to the trees blocking it.
steveh27
Explorer
Jan 02, 2020
I did some light research a few years ago & found these. Not sure if they are any good or still around. I never got one, I just use a 120 watt portable solar panel.

https://www.amazon.com/review/RM4KWVPU0LNMA?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B0076FXB8K&cdMSG=addedToThread&cdPage=&linkCode=&newContentID=MxKKDNM9OE5N7Y&newContentNum=1&nodeID=&ref_=cm_cr_pr_cmt&tag=#CustomerDiscussionsNRPB

https://www.amazon.com/Sunforce-44444-12-Volt-400-Watt-Generator/dp/B000C1Z2VE#productDetails

http://velacreations.com/howto/chispito/
valhalla360
Navigator
Jan 02, 2020
bgum wrote:
Beware of false replies. Turbines are proven technology just like solar panels. Both have their +/-
Personal I like solar over turbines but they don't work in the shade.

Wind generators are really dying out (not talking about the giant commercial units).

They are noisy, have limited wind ranges where they produce (too slow they produce next to nothing...too fast and you have to shut them down).

As someone else suggested, add solar until you run out of space...then you can consider other alternatives.

If you've set it up correctly, an occasional cloudy day won't be a big issue with a properly set up solar.

PS: had solar and wind on our boat but the wind generator needed a repair...10yr on when we sold the boat, we handed the box of wind generator parts to the new owner...never needed it.
free_radical
Explorer
Jan 02, 2020
I wonder if one of these could be used on RV

https://www.windside.com/

Features include:

2-5 m/s cut-in wind speed
Up to 60 m/s max wind speed
50+ year lifespan
5-yr maintenance-free (optional)
Soundless Operation
No vibration
Graceful rotation

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