dave17352 wrote:
Dad: great report. I can see what my next gadget will be! Sounds like whether or not you had solar you were going to sucking fumes and listening to generators there. Sense I put solar on my TC I have actually taking a fishing trip without the generator!!!!! Solar is so cool but still need the genny for AC. ๐
Yeah, there was no getting away from it. It was funny, we all complained to each other (I was friends with the 5 people surrounding me)- but it was just part of the experience. You wanted your windows open for the coolness, but down the line- one person started their generator and that neighbor had to close their windows. Their rig got hot, so they'd start their generator to run the A/C impacting their neighbor who did the same and so on.
time2roll wrote:
Solar is calling ๐
YES! But first, the rig has to go on a major diet. I don't have the available carrying capacity in the trailer to add solar.
I just got done with 2 weeks of dry camping at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta.
I've learned a few things:
1) We use a LOT of electric but also performed no attempt at conservancy. We would use anywhere from 200Ah - 280Ah each day after the generator + battery charger were turned off.
The Bluetooth enabled Victron BMV-702 was awesome. I loved being able to glance at my battery state from my phone any time I wanted (which was OFTEN being our first trip out).
2) My Progressive Dynamics PD9180AL charges the battery at an average of 40-45Ah. It starts at 60 but quickly drops down into the 50s and ultimately settles down lower. This means, to recharge the 260Ah, I'd need to run the generator around 5-6 hours a day.
3) Having 2 generators was nice. Friends with built-in Onan 5500 generators used 2x-3x the amount of fuel I did. I was able to run a single Honda 2000 a vast majority of the time. We only ran both if we wanted A/C or if we wanted to run 2 high use appliances at once (A/C, battery charger, microwave, etc.).
4) My little 1000W Xantrex inverter was a dang workhorse. I cheated by turning off all of the breakers and taking an extension cord from the output of the Xantrex to the camper's shore power inlet (with a 50-to-15 adapter). I could run most of the camper's outlets on it including running one of the following: ice maker, toaster, curling iron, hair straightener. (Actually, my wife had both the curling iron and hair straightener at the same time and it worked.) BUT, I couldn't run the 800W microwave.
5) Cheating with the inverter's power cord got annoying after a while. It was annoying to have to switch cords at the camper to switch between generator + inverter. Plus, more times than not - the GFCI on the inverter would pop and I'd have to reset it. If I stick with this inverter, Xantrex has very small single-breaker automatic transfer switches; I'll likely delve into installing them.
6) Generators are ANNOYING. There is no such thing as a quiet generator (unless maybe with a custom quiet box). My Honda 2000s are annoying loud. My neighbor's 3000W Inverter generator seemed quieter but was still annoyingly loud. Neighbors on both sides had Onan 5000 - they were annoying.
On top of that, the exhaust was insufferable with the nuts-to-butts closeness of parking. Genturi's / DIY solutions to lift exhaust should be required.
7) Per #6, I absolutely want solar now.
๐ The LowPro LockDown is the bomb diggity. I was able to move the generators from my truck bed to the bumper and securely lock them in place. Expensive, but awesome. Here I'm test fitting everything for the install:
And finally- the ABQ Balloon Fiesta, tight quarters and all was AWESOME. Here Grandma and Grandson are checking out balloons from the field:
I've learned a few things:
1) We use a LOT of electric but also performed no attempt at conservancy. We would use anywhere from 200Ah - 280Ah each day after the generator + battery charger were turned off.
The Bluetooth enabled Victron BMV-702 was awesome. I loved being able to glance at my battery state from my phone any time I wanted (which was OFTEN being our first trip out).
2) My Progressive Dynamics PD9180AL charges the battery at an average of 40-45Ah. It starts at 60 but quickly drops down into the 50s and ultimately settles down lower. This means, to recharge the 260Ah, I'd need to run the generator around 5-6 hours a day.
3) Having 2 generators was nice. Friends with built-in Onan 5500 generators used 2x-3x the amount of fuel I did. I was able to run a single Honda 2000 a vast majority of the time. We only ran both if we wanted A/C or if we wanted to run 2 high use appliances at once (A/C, battery charger, microwave, etc.).
4) My little 1000W Xantrex inverter was a dang workhorse. I cheated by turning off all of the breakers and taking an extension cord from the output of the Xantrex to the camper's shore power inlet (with a 50-to-15 adapter). I could run most of the camper's outlets on it including running one of the following: ice maker, toaster, curling iron, hair straightener. (Actually, my wife had both the curling iron and hair straightener at the same time and it worked.) BUT, I couldn't run the 800W microwave.
5) Cheating with the inverter's power cord got annoying after a while. It was annoying to have to switch cords at the camper to switch between generator + inverter. Plus, more times than not - the GFCI on the inverter would pop and I'd have to reset it. If I stick with this inverter, Xantrex has very small single-breaker automatic transfer switches; I'll likely delve into installing them.
6) Generators are ANNOYING. There is no such thing as a quiet generator (unless maybe with a custom quiet box). My Honda 2000s are annoying loud. My neighbor's 3000W Inverter generator seemed quieter but was still annoyingly loud. Neighbors on both sides had Onan 5000 - they were annoying.
On top of that, the exhaust was insufferable with the nuts-to-butts closeness of parking. Genturi's / DIY solutions to lift exhaust should be required.
7) Per #6, I absolutely want solar now.
๐ The LowPro LockDown is the bomb diggity. I was able to move the generators from my truck bed to the bumper and securely lock them in place. Expensive, but awesome. Here I'm test fitting everything for the install:
And finally- the ABQ Balloon Fiesta, tight quarters and all was AWESOME. Here Grandma and Grandson are checking out balloons from the field:
