Off grid for first time, need some guidance !
Wow. Haven't posted in a while. I have missed tapping into all the available wisdom here. With Covid and boarders closed, site availably has sucked around me. We managed two sites consecutively at...
Forum Discussion
No, driving around is a poor choice to charge a battery.
For you really the only way is some solar. If you need that little power then a 100 watt panel might be all you need. They do work in the shade, and even cloudy rainy days, just not as good as full sun, but for what you describe 100w in the shade might be all u need to top off. $100 and you have something you can store away and use at home in the future if the power grid goes down as the power companies indicate might be a real thing, or CA residents will tell you is a real thing. IF you want to go 200 or 400w then all the better.
Get the glass panel, not the flexible ones. Just put it on the ground pointing at the sun, even through the trees. Run big wires and keep it all as close to the batteries as you can.
This is so simple. Solar will charge the batteries. No sound, no issues.
Generators are not set up to charge batteries. They do output DC but it is minimal, you would need to plug a battery charger into the 120v outlet and charge the batts off that, or your camper should have the charger built in so you plug camper in, but as you say, a generator running is not an option at this CG.
For you really the only way is some solar. If you need that little power then a 100 watt panel might be all you need. They do work in the shade, and even cloudy rainy days, just not as good as full sun, but for what you describe 100w in the shade might be all u need to top off. $100 and you have something you can store away and use at home in the future if the power grid goes down as the power companies indicate might be a real thing, or CA residents will tell you is a real thing. IF you want to go 200 or 400w then all the better.
Get the glass panel, not the flexible ones. Just put it on the ground pointing at the sun, even through the trees. Run big wires and keep it all as close to the batteries as you can.
This is so simple. Solar will charge the batteries. No sound, no issues.
Generators are not set up to charge batteries. They do output DC but it is minimal, you would need to plug a battery charger into the 120v outlet and charge the batts off that, or your camper should have the charger built in so you plug camper in, but as you say, a generator running is not an option at this CG.
