Hey all, obligatory "just started fulltiming" (class C Coachmen leprechaun 32 ft) and we have been thinking about boondocking with the weeks that we have to be away from a thousand trails campgrounds. However what is going to be difficult is that we wont have electricity. we do have a generator that runs off the gas in my gas tank. Now the question is im not sure how long i can work per day with working off the house battery for my monitor. i know the laptop battery wont last the full day so is there an alternative people use for a power source. I'm not really looking to get a solar bank and panels as of yet due to costs. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

The simple and typical way to handle that is to have an inverter on your battery to produce 120vac. Then you can run your generator to recharge the battery through the inverter (assuming it has a charge function). You don't have to run the genny 100% of the time, just long enough to recharge the battery. An added convenience feature would be to install auto-gen start which will turn on and off the generator as needed. This makes best use of what you already have.Certainly there are other systems, but as you said, not ready for solar yet.

The standard "house battery" in a all Class C motor homes is barely adequate to run the lights for one night ! On top of that the standard converter/charger is far from optimal.Anything you do is going to cost money. Your first investment should be a GOOD battery monitor like a Victron BMV-700. Now you will know at a quick glance how much power you are using and how much energy you have left in your batteries.Second, will be better batteries. This a big problem on a Class C because there is never enough space for better batteries. The cheapest upgrade is two 6V golf cart batteries from Sam's or Costco. They will probably almost DOUBLE your run time for the same load.If you are running a laptop, instead of plugging it into a 120VAC inverter, buy a 12VDC charger specific for that laptop. Mucj more efficient.

larry cad wrote:The simple and typical way to handle that is to have an inverter on your battery to produce 120vac. Then you can run your generator to recharge the battery through the inverter (assuming it has a charge function).Most inexpensive inverters do NOT have builtin charge controllers.Stick with a "pure sine wave" inverter, regardless of what size you buy.

A little off topic but having a battery pack to charge your cell phones and laptops is inexpensive insurance for essentials go dead.

We boondock exclusively. You will be surprised to learn how long you will have to run you genny to charge your house battery to full every day.

Boondocking and working with no electricity | Good Sam Community

jaycocreek
Explorer II
Mar 16, 2021
theoldwizard1 wrote:
Lwiddis wrote:
"Solar generators" are expensive, low powered.

Most pre-packages solutions (like Jackery, EGO and Bluetti) are way over priced ! Quick rant about "solar generators"

DIY Portable Solar Generator (minus panels)

That's Will..He did have good reviews on a couple solar generators and recommended them...Personally,owning three in total,they have there purpose for some,not all..Take my Jackery 240..Runs my cpap/charges my phones and laptop and even runs my Engel 12v compressor fridge for over 24 hrs for less than $200..That's less than a good 12V battery and it comes with an MPPT controller/PSW inverter and a 12v regulated socket and again,less than $200..I do not think that is over priced..
theoldwizard1
Explorer II
Mar 16, 2021
Lwiddis wrote:
"Solar generators" are expensive, low powered.

Most pre-packages solutions (like Jackery, EGO and Bluetti) are way over priced ! Quick rant about "solar generators"

DIY Portable Solar Generator (minus panels)
valhalla360
Navigator
Mar 16, 2021
Almot wrote:

Yep. The best kept secret of generator users :)... When it's not charged fully every day and not equalized once a week, it won't last long.

Don't let them drop below 50% and recharge to at least 80%+ and should be fine as long as you get them up to 100% every week or two...which if the OP is going back to a campground every other week as suggested will happen.

This is has been standard practice for decades with cruising boats. Operate between 50-80% with occasional runs up to 100%. Nothing unusual to get 5-10yrs out of a battery bank doing this.
theoldwizard1
Explorer II
Mar 16, 2021
Rocky2 wrote:
A little off topic but having a battery pack to charge your cell phones and laptops is inexpensive insurance for essentials go dead.

A battery pack big enough to charge a laptop can be pretty expensive !
jaycocreek
Explorer II
Mar 16, 2021
With lithium batteries starting at $399,i would suggest a stand alone battery for your extras...My camper only has one house battery so using a stand alone was about my only option and it works really well for extras like cpap/tv/DVD and charging devices..It takes the load off the single house battery.
MitchF150
Explorer III
Mar 16, 2021
Power ain't free no matter how you choose to get it.. Choose your poison on how you wish to get it and go from there..

Mostly just have to look at your ROI on the solution you choose.

Solar costs a lot to start off with, but as long as you have sun, you can run your A/C on it if you have a system to handle it.

Gens are easy, but loud and use a lot of gas if you are running an Onan just to charge the batteries..

Better to get a little Honda 1000 or whatever to charge the batteries.

Or?? Lots of options.. We all have our own preference.. You are just going to have to find your preference and see how it works for you and adjust accordingly.

Good luck! Mitch.
afidel
Explorer II
Mar 16, 2021
Another thing to consider is a USB-C powered monitor, that's what I use for my second screen, it pulls its power from the laptop and sips it compared to a typical desktop monitor. That way if you power your laptop off a DC-DC power supply you've eliminated the need for an inverter to run during the work day.
corvettekent
Explorer
Mar 16, 2021
The simple solution is to stop working. I stopped 12 years ago and now I can enjoy life. The next best option is to spend less $$ on gas and buy some batteries, battery monitor, inverter, solar panels, and controller.
Almot
Explorer III
Mar 16, 2021
smarty wrote:
You will be surprised to learn how long you will have to run you genny to charge your house battery to full every day.

Yep. The best kept secret of generator users :)... When it's not charged fully every day and not equalized once a week, it won't last long.

Definitely he needs a bigger battery bank. The cycle will become shallow-er, this will extend battery life while also making long laptop hours possible. LED interior lights is a must for a boondocker, costs less then $2 per bulb to upgrade.
qtla9111
Nomad
Mar 16, 2021
100W solar panel $100 or less
MPPT Controller $50-$100
Xantrax Inverter 600W $160
Add another battery $90

For around $400 or less you can have a decent solar setup. Mine is a 235W panel, MPPT controller 30A, two 6V lead acid batteries and a Xantrax 600W inverter.

Works great and took us on a 4 1/2 month trip through the U.S. and Canada. Never did without power.