Almot wrote:
The way I see it, solar is a must for an offgrid snowbird, generator is optional.
I've been on / off with the genset / solar issue for several years now and came to the exact opposite conclusion - genset first, solar second. I did get my first EU2000i to run a 13.5 BTU A/C reliably
until the temps got into the 90s (ironically when I'd want A/C the most), then concluded I wouldn't bother with it anyway as running A/C all day means running the genset all day which in turn means dragging along copious amount of fuel ... which ain't happenin'. OTOH I am very much interested in the freedom having a genset on hand provides in terms of being able to dry camp at any time, for as long as I want, a particular advantage here in Ontario where getting an electric site during the busy summer months of July / Aug is pretty well impossible without reserving months in advance. By dry camping I can get a last minute site, without reservations, with little difficulty at all ... but I need a way to recharge the battery. Yes, I did consider solar but there's no way I'm going to babysit a portable system to follow the sun and to avert theft issues ... a system permanently mounted on the rig wouldn't work either because we so often camp in deep shade, especially if we're dry camping and have to rely on fans for cooling. For sure, genset noise can be an issue, even with a so-called "quiet" inverter genset, but I think I've managed to dull that down to the point where I'm confident most people walking by our site would hardly notice. Pics and a couple of vids are
here for anyone who may be interested.
