battery charging when boon docking

some say solar is the only way.
some say gen are great.
some swing both ways.

best if you plan on weeks out in the bush at a time.

at least six 6 volt deep cycle batt.
pending you usage a good 600 amp hr solar
and a gen for boost charge or if/when lots of ac is needed.
of course a better than charge controler.
make sure your total power supply and needs match up and are built right.

I think you need to answer two basic questions. How much money do you want to spend and how long is a "long time" for your generator to run? Solution for me may be a $750 generator, solution for you may be a $2000 generator and $3500 of solar. No one size fits all answer.

We are heading out at the end of the month for another 2 months of dry/boondocking without running the genny. It tags along but we have found that it is not needed. 450AH, 4 6V GC-2's, 490W solar, 2000W inverter, we camp comfortably without roughing it.

Best thing is we can be gone for 8-10 hours or more and the solar does it's thing without even a whimper.

After 7 years of dry camping, solar is king, industrial sized jumper cables from the trucks 2 batteries is the butler(always at the ready but not needed so far) and the Honda genny is the homeless lout.

Dave

Your math is faulty,

3000 watt-hours @ 12 volts = 250 amp-hours.

rvexodus wrote:
It starts with having enough battery capacity to easily make it through a night of running your furnace and any other loads. A good battery charger and small generator is the next best investment. The generator is more reliable running anytime you need it. 2am solar doesn’t cut it. With a 600w solar array, at best you are going to get 6 solar hours which means you will produce 3600wh (watt hours) during the day. Most likely you will produce around 3000wh in ideal conditions. That means for a 12v system that you will add 25ah back into your batteries. A Honda eu2000i can do the same thing in about 2hrs with a good charger. And the Honda will do it in the dark, when there are clouds, even when it’s raining if the generator is covered.

I have over 2500 watts of solar on my RV and a massive lithium bank coupled with two inverters in parallel capable of producing 60a of AC power. I can run my 4 door fridge, air conditioners, microwaves, kuerigs of course. But I wouldnt be caught without my generator (I have two Honda’s in parallel).

General theme. Start with good baterries with good capacity. Add a good battery charger and generator. Then add some solar to keep you from having to run the generator as much. Do more than 200w of solar. 200w doesn’t buy you much. 600w or more starts to make a difference. The goal should be to not have to run the generator every day. Boondocking with my fridge on propane I can go in definately. Running the fridge on electric I have to kick on my generators every 3-4 days.

Kirk

There is one other option if you don’t mind pedaling.

K-tor Power Box 20 Watt Pedal Generator

:)

It starts with having enough battery capacity to easily make it through a night of running your furnace and any other loads. A good battery charger and small generator is the next best investment. The generator is more reliable running anytime you need it. 2am solar doesn’t cut it. With a 600w solar array, at best you are going to get 6 solar hours which means you will produce 3600wh (watt hours) during the day. Most likely you will produce around 3000wh in ideal conditions. That means for a 12v system that you will add 25ah back into your batteries. A Honda eu2000i can do the same thing in about 2hrs with a good charger. And the Honda will do it in the dark, when there are clouds, even when it’s raining if the generator is covered.

I have over 2500 watts of solar on my RV and a massive lithium bank coupled with two inverters in parallel capable of producing 60a of AC power. I can run my 4 door fridge, air conditioners, microwaves, kuerigs of course. But I wouldnt be caught without my generator (I have two Honda’s in parallel).

General theme. Start with good baterries with good capacity. Add a good battery charger and generator. Then add some solar to keep you from having to run the generator as much. Do more than 200w of solar. 200w doesn’t buy you much. 600w or more starts to make a difference. The goal should be to not have to run the generator every day. Boondocking with my fridge on propane I can go in definately. Running the fridge on electric I have to kick on my generators every 3-4 days.

Kirk

Rocky, I think that is too basic and simple. It worked for me also. :R

I have found that the best way to charge batteries is to buy a 30/50 dollar charger and use the 110 outlet to plug in and charge.By far the most effecient.

For the cost of the generator you can have enough solar power to run everything in your RV, provided there is sufficient room on the roof.

In Canada one tank of fuel for the generator costs about $18 (13.50 USD) That gives you about 12 hours of power.

In 100 days that works out to $1800 for fuel. Then there is the cost of oil changes. An annoyance at one every 8 days.

packnrat wrote:
for the cost of solar you can buy fuel for the gen for three years...more?

for the cost of solar you can buy fuel for the gen for three years...more?

but best bet is use both. 3000watt gen ( charge and ac when needed). more if you have a must for 50 amp service.
get at least 600 watt hr solar up to the most your roof can hold.

this will keep you happy for weeks at a time out away from everything.

pending shade, clouds, weather, alt, where you are at ( loacation), etc. your millage will vary.