How Long Can I Be Offgrid?

[rodwha]

I realize the trailers I've been looking at aren't exactly ideal for long term boondocking, but I'm curious what the average length of stay might be with the capacities given.

All of these trailers have a 43 gal fresh water tank. Most have a 38 gal grey and black tank, but one has a 30 gal black and 60 gal grey. These all have two 20 lb LPG tanks. How long might these allow us to stay stationary for a family of 3 with a smaller child? And what of battery power?

[rodwha]

2 1/2 people (7 yr old daughter).

We intend to stay put during school down here where we are (great school district #10 in state of Texas). So it would be summering that we'd potentially do off grid living. An A/C, all depending, would be a must so we'd have a generator.

We backpack a fair amount so a bird bath is easily doable. We do drink a lot of water. I can be very conservationally minded, but the girls not so much. This goes for electricity as well. Hopefully that can be cured rather quickly and certainly.

This trailer holds 43 gals fresh, 38 gals grey/black, and has two 20 lb LPG tanks that I may swap out for 30's.

[JiminDenver]

Okay so it is still a personal thing. How many people, how much does your rig hold, how conservative will you be with food and water, where will the power come from, generator, where's the gas. Warm weather uses little propane, cold uses a lot.

[Slowmover]

Oh, let's see. House burned. There was a hurricane. Plenty of reasons to know how to use trailer to maximum effectiveness. And not all food requires refrigeration. Some of us believe that best to know in advance via some testing. Different strokes.

[JiminDenver]

I think it is a personal thing because we each are different in our needs and likely have rigs with different capacities. Mine is set up for two people for two weeks because that is the limit of stay on most public land. Why have more capacity than you can use? Even if I could stay out a month keeping fresh food becomes a issue.

[Slowmover]

I use the definition of "how long until a trip by vehicle away from the site is necessary"? (Nothing is available). Mild temps.

In which case it's fresh water capacity that is the limiting factor, for general purposes. Propane is a very close second. Really, a camping RV isn't such without propane given its functions.

So, the only trick is to ascertain X-people versus Y-gallons/water for a time line.

I figure mine at two people. I know two weeks is easy in the above. For four, it would be tighter.

I have yet to do it, but I'd be more comfortable with supplies for four for up to a month. Moving water to the trailer is then the challenge.

To that end (and others implied by this thread) there are strategies and tips from those who camp the winter on BLM land, etc. Lots of good ideas in those threads.

[Gjac]

If you were a backpacker and camp like one your limitation will probably be water. I have a 60 gal tank and can go 7 days with out hook ups at which time my 2 6 v GC batteries are down to 50 percent SOC and my wife needs to do laundry and wash the bedding anyways. With a genset you won't worry about battery power. If you have easy access to water the next limitation would be your grey water unless you can drain it off.

[tatest]

rodwha wrote:
How much fuel is needed to generate 3 days worth of electricity assuming the A/C is used?

3-4 pounds per hour for the 2KW needed to keep a 13-14 KBTU A/C running. For the rest of the loads, it depends on how much power your lifestyle uses.

How many hours per day for A/C will depend on heat loads and what temperatures you are trying to maintain. There is a lot of variability in this, as you can use a lot more power trying to keep the interior of a RV at 68 F than you will use if you are comfortable with moving air at 80 F. If it is 100 F outside and you are in full sunlight, running AC continuously might not even get you down to 85 F. If it is 80 F outside and you are in full sunlight, you might cool down more by opening the windows and running the vent fans, because the A/C might not keep up with the full sunlight heat load even when running continuously.

[DiploStrat]

Everyone is different. Our main limitations are water and grey water.

We have 40 USG and find that two adults, showering everyday, use about 5 USG per day.

Our grey tank is just about 10 USG so, unless we are in the boonies, that is the limit. A composting toilet will go two to four weeks.

We have a diesel furnace and good batteries (600Ah) and solar (500w). In the sunny American west we basically cannot use all of the power we generate, even cooking electrically and running the furnace all night. In the rainy east, we have to run the engine during meal prep after about three days. (Actually, we start immediately, but is simply to make it easier on the batteries.)

As with any numbers like these, your results will vary according to your usage patterns, the weather, and your equipment.

[mockturtle]

The battery will depend mostly on your use of the furnace. In winter, if you use it a lot, you could run your battery down in a day or two. If not, you can easily do a week. I have a catalytic heater that uses propane but no battery for times I don't want to run my furnace.

[theoldwizard1]

Tom/Barb wrote:
Our stay limit is set by our black tank.

Typically true, especially if you have a generator and fuel.

[rodwha]

time2roll wrote:
A week with water conservation. Maybe more.
Two batteries and extreme conservation a week. Solar or generator will go indefinite.
Propane will last a week very easy unless you are running the furnace pretty heavy. Run and get a refill should not be a big deal.

I tried sending a PM, but for some reason (post count?) it's not allowing me...

I noticed your signature shows your tow vehicle is an '01 F-150 and your trailer, according to Keystone, weighs 5950 lbs dry. How does this work for you and what is the loaded weight of your truck along with the GCW of everything?

I'm running estimates against what my manual gives me as my GCWR and GCWR and I'm uncertain about a dry trailer weight 6000-6200 lbs, but I'd like to be able to pull with a full water tank (adding 361 lbs - 43 gals). Running at the weight limits I'm uncertain about pulling through hills and mountains. I'm also figuring 1200-1400 lbs of gear.

[rodwha]

How much fuel is needed to generate 3 days worth of electricity assuming the A/C is used?

[doxiemom11]

We recently were at a park with only central water, and too far away from us to fill our tank without moving our motorhome. We have a 45 gal fresh water tank. With 2 of us being kind of careful, we ran out of fresh water on the 4th morning. We could probably have stretch that another day or two. Our grey tank is what would fill first, but we can make that last about 10 days.

So, for us it would be fresh water, grey water then the black. All tanks are about 45 gal.

[time2roll]

A week with water conservation. Maybe more.
Two batteries and extreme conservation a week. Solar or generator will go indefinite.
Propane will last a week very easy unless you are running the furnace pretty heavy. Run and get a refill should not be a big deal.