“Under hood generator”
We are shopping for a good used Class B van camper. A number of them are being offered with what they call an “under the hood generator”, which I take to mean a second, larger alternator to provide A...
Forum Discussion
The UHG was and still is, a viable choice. But it depends just what you are using the RV for.
I had a Roadtrek, with UHG. It charged my bank of 8 AGM batteries. Those powered a 5000 watt inverter, which supplied all the 110 voltage I ever needed -- space heaters, microwave, coffeemakers, tv's. I never once plugged the rig into shore power.
Now since we were out and about almost every day, the UHG kept a full charge on those batteries as I drove around during the day. In addition there was a small solar, which would maintain the batteries while parked, so long as usage was not great.
Where this system was not viable was if you parked up for a number of days, say boondocks with no shore power. Then yes, you had to start the rig and run the engine for perhaps 90 minutes to recharge.
RT's problems were 2: Crooked management (that did them in), and their inability to stick to a configuration, changing it so often that their reliability went to heck because nobody knew how that rig was configured.
The RT Class B's with the UHG worked very well for their purpose.
I had a Roadtrek, with UHG. It charged my bank of 8 AGM batteries. Those powered a 5000 watt inverter, which supplied all the 110 voltage I ever needed -- space heaters, microwave, coffeemakers, tv's. I never once plugged the rig into shore power.
Now since we were out and about almost every day, the UHG kept a full charge on those batteries as I drove around during the day. In addition there was a small solar, which would maintain the batteries while parked, so long as usage was not great.
Where this system was not viable was if you parked up for a number of days, say boondocks with no shore power. Then yes, you had to start the rig and run the engine for perhaps 90 minutes to recharge.
RT's problems were 2: Crooked management (that did them in), and their inability to stick to a configuration, changing it so often that their reliability went to heck because nobody knew how that rig was configured.
The RT Class B's with the UHG worked very well for their purpose.
