Questions about power for overnighting

[RnTBnB]

I tried the search feature, but I didn't find what I am looking for. My wife and I travel with a 5er and we do not have a generator, so overnighting on a parking lot in hot weather is not an option for us. What setup would I need in order to be able to run a fan in the bedroom all night and a coffee maker the next morning? Running the 13.5 BTU AC in the bedroom overnight plus the coffee maker the next morning would be even better, so what setup would I need to be able to do that?

Thank you in advance for your input.

[Almot]

is it friday yet? wrote:
It's not very easy to hear a twin cylinder Onan generator in a compartment with side exhaust.

I have yet to see a generator that I can't hear, or the one that is "not very easy to hear". Most RVs carry el-cheapo generators with no provisions made to quiet it down during a short-term stay.

Back to the topic - it is difficult to run A/C without a generator, no matter how small the rig. With the smallest and most economic A/C and extremely well insulated rig you still need 300-400 AH bank for just one night. Most RVs are big and poorly insulated. I would imagine a small well insulated RV with Li battery bank and a small inverter type A/C (I don't mean "the other inverter"), - don't know if inverter A/C under 9000 BTU even exist - in any event, such thing would be expensive.

[NinerBikes]

is it friday yet? wrote:

NinerBikes wrote:
Get a campsite with a power pedestal for hookups.

Running generators in parking lots is frowned upon, your overnight stay is supposed to be non intrusive, as in no noise pollution, and no smell of exhaust or carbon monoxide. This type of behavior is camping, not overnighting, and will tend to get all RV's banned from overnighting at public locations. You need to be stealthy and not noticed, not bring attention to your activities with noise and exhaust smells that are untreated, for the sake of only your comfort, no one elses.

Who frowns upon it? It's not very easy to hear a twin cylinder Onan generator in a compartment with side exhaust. Especially when everyone parks out as far as possible. I guess you can smell the exhaust if you stand next to it. Carbon monoxide is odorless.

You know there's sulfur in gasoline fuel, don't you? It is by no means odorless. Even when in diesel fuel at 7ppm, and gasoline is at 100ppm +, until EPA tier 3 gasoline requirements go into effect in 2017 for refining gasoline.

[is_it_friday_ye]

NinerBikes wrote:
Get a campsite with a power pedestal for hookups.

Running generators in parking lots is frowned upon, your overnight stay is supposed to be non intrusive, as in no noise pollution, and no smell of exhaust or carbon monoxide. This type of behavior is camping, not overnighting, and will tend to get all RV's banned from overnighting at public locations. You need to be stealthy and not noticed, not bring attention to your activities with noise and exhaust smells that are untreated, for the sake of only your comfort, no one elses.

Who frowns upon it? It's not very easy to hear a twin cylinder Onan generator in a compartment with side exhaust. Especially when everyone parks out as far as possible. I guess you can smell the exhaust if you stand next to it. Carbon monoxide is odorless.

[NinerBikes]

pnichols wrote:

NinerBikes wrote:
Running generators in parking lots is frowned upon,

We do it all the time for a few minutes in hot weather, when shopping, so that we don't come back to a dead dog.

We ran the genny nearly all night once in a Walmart parking lot in the Deep South in August so we could wake up alive. We slept well that night cuz the noise inside from the A/C (louder than the Onan) drowned out the noise from the teenages spinning brodies at all hours in the parking lot. 😉

Are you saying you stoop to the same level as teenagers making noise on a Saturday night when bored in a small town, ie, if you can't beat them, join them? Truck stops in farm /agricultural areas don't have bright city lights for teenagers to act like moths drawn to a flame. Try them some time, for some peace and quiet, where you don't piss off the store managers with getting in the way of the parking lot sweepers missing areas where you are parked, that run and clean up the pigs messes and littering in their parking lots before day break.

Sometimes you just gotta quit being such a cheapskate, and just go spend the money and get an air conditioned room. It's the nature of trips through the midwest and south during the hotter months of the year, budget accordingly.

I find Casinos are a lot more conducive to treating the place like campsite than WalMarts are. Try Casino's instead, they are independently owned and operated. If you piss one owner off, the whole chain of stores doesn't get shut down.

[pnichols]

NinerBikes wrote:
Running generators in parking lots is frowned upon,

We do it all the time for a few minutes in hot weather, when shopping, so that we don't come back to a dead dog.

We ran the genny nearly all night once in a Walmart parking lot in the Deep South in August so we could wake up alive. We slept well that night cuz the noise inside from the A/C (louder than the Onan) drowned out the noise from the teenages spinning brodies at all hours in the parking lot. 😉

[2oldman]

OP not responding.

[copeland343]

That is why we got a toy hauler. Installed 4kw generator and have at 30 gallon on board fuel tank. Pull into parking lot start generator. Watch some TV go to bed with A/C running all night and make coffee and breakfast in the morning. Pull into restarea or parking lot traveling and push button and everything works. Stop at antique shops spend several hours and have a nice cool RV to go to. If you want A/C get generator.

[NinerBikes]

Get a campsite with a power pedestal for hookups.

Running generators in parking lots is frowned upon, your overnight stay is supposed to be non intrusive, as in no noise pollution, and no smell of exhaust or carbon monoxide. This type of behavior is camping, not overnighting, and will tend to get all RV's banned from overnighting at public locations. You need to be stealthy and not noticed, not bring attention to your activities with noise and exhaust smells that are untreated, for the sake of only your comfort, no one elses.

[D_E_Bishop]

When it is hot my wife uses a couple of fans around the house. She also uses them when traveling or out to her Monday and Friday Sew group. She really like the breeze. I purchased her a smallish dry cell powered fan for some special day, she has worn the hinge out and so I found the new and improved version at West Marine. They are not cheep but they speed control and very portable.

Pardon me for a minute while I run out and get my catalog from the garage.

Got it, it is a Canadian made fan and very portable. No name on the one of hers I can find but the West Marine #'s are 1844851 for the $27.00 white one and #4543641 for the 199.99 black model. The fans are 5.25X5.25X2.5 folded and use four "D" cells which I have to replace about once a year. WM says 300 hours on a set of batteries.

The fan with the batteries is heavy and very stable sitting on the dashboard of our rig.

The name is feruno or something like that, I verify and post later.

Okay it's later, the MFG. is Caframo, the Fan is the Mini Max #748.

[dewey02]

RnTBnB wrote:
What setup would I need in order to be able to run a fan in the bedroom all night and a coffee maker the next morning?

Just trying to give some alternatives.
As someone has already said, you can make coffee via a percolator on the stove.
As for fans, you don't even need to plug into your house batteries if you don't want to. We use two of these (one in each bedroom window). They will run for a couple of nights on 8 D-cells. They have a hook that you can hang them right in the window. They don't create a huge breeze, but enough to continually bring cooler outside air into the camper. They are 12 volt, so they can run on the D-cells, or run on your house battery, and they come with an adapter so you can run them on A/C when you have access to power.

[Lantley]

To achieve your goal of A/C for over-nighting you need a generator.
If you want to settle for just a fan you can get by with a larger inverter and a battery bank.
Your 3rd option is to find a CG and get a site for the night.
There are no magical solutions.

One of the reason's I have a built in LP genset is to have the option to overnight with A/C when the need arises.

[pianotuna]

Here is a nice little chart that shows what happens to capacity as the load increases on an AGM (it is even worse for flooded) lead acid battery.

C = capacity @ 20 rate.



Li chemistry does not exhibit the same drop.

[brulaz]

We're always surprised how comfortable we can be in moist heat with a 16" floor standing oscillating fan.

Got one on sale at K-Mart for $20-30, it's very quiet, uses less than 300ma AC, so maybe 35W or ~3a draw from the batts using our 1000W PSW inverter? 30ah over ten hours?

But we've got the windows open as well for ventilation, not sure how that would work in a Walmart parking lot with dust and noise.

[is_it_friday_ye]

If it were me, I would buy the Champion generator. If you can load it into your truck and chain it down that is. You can then use the generator at home for emergency power if you don't already have one. We just purchased a 5th wheel with a built in generator. We "camp" at Walmart otw south to Florida and it will come in handy.

[TomG2]

For, "overnighting in a parking lot", I really enjoy the benefit of a Champion 3500/4000 generator. One or two pulls to start. Enough power to run what you mentioned. Enough fuel capacity for overnight use. Only about $300 and it works.