SoonerWing03
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Re: Yellowstone glacier NP with no reservations
My family decided to make the same trip about a week ago but we are going at the end of July.... this year. Keep checking the reservation website multiple times a day and (depending on the size of your rig) call the Yellowstone reservation line once a day to have them check for you. I have been able to piecemeal a trip together doing that. We aren’t staying in one spot for very long but that’s not a big deal to me. If I were going for a walk up site I would be there by 7 am. You can check current campground fill times as well as fill times for the same days and months of previous years. Go a couple hours earlier than that average and you should be alright. Good luck and have a great trip.703Views0likes0CommentsRe: Best battery charger options
Flooded GC2's. As long as I can run a few lights and the AC if needed then I think we will be good. I say I think because this will be our first real boondocking trip. Maybe just going with a generator for this trip is my best bet and then I can see how much we wish we could use X, Y, and Z and for how long. I don't really want to be sitting in the camper much anyhow. Generally speaking, is there an all around good "smart" charger that I could use both when boondocking with an inverter generator and at home when connected to shore power between trips? I really like the idea of boondocking as it opens so many other camping possibilities that I think that we would greatly enjoy. I love tent camping because you can really get in there with nature but I don't love waking up in a tent when it's 25 degrees outside or going to bed in a tent when it's 90 degrees. So if I can find that happy median then that would be ideal for me. My wife is pretty nervous about the whole idea of boondocking so I really want this "test run" to go as smoothly as possible. If my batteries croak on this trip it will not look good for future boondocking trips.722Views0likes0CommentsBest battery charger options
I’m running (2) 6v 215AH gc2’s wired in series for a 12 volt system. I am trying to figure out the best/quickest way to charge them with a generator. We will have limited times where we can use the generator to charge the batteries due to campground restrictions and the fact that I would rather us be out seeing things than sitting around camp waiting for batteries to charge. However, we will be traveling a fair amount between campsites so the TV should help with charging some as well. Every couple of days we should be hooked up to power as well but I would like to be able to do a trip like this without being dependent on campsite provided electricity. I know that we aren’t going to be able to run much just on battery power and I honestly don’t know how much they are going to want to run stuff... but I am about to find out. Lol. Anyhow, my question is: What battery chargers should I consider for this application? This is probably a dumb question but what is the difference between using a battery charger and switching out my WFCO converter in favor of a PD4655L MBA Wildcat? Does the Wildcat have a built in battery chargers?2.6KViews0likes18CommentsRe: Figuring this power stuff has my head spinning
I want to thank you all for your comments. It will take me several readings and additional research for me to process what you are telling me but I am extremely grateful that you all have taken the time out of your day to even respond and help me. I can’t thank you all enough for being such a valuable and positive resource for people like myself trying to make sense of all of this.375Views0likes0CommentsRe: Figuring this power stuff has my head spinning
valhalla360 wrote: Big question: What do you plan to run when off the grid and how long? Odds are the charging unit (converter) isn't a big issue worth addressing right now. Do you plan to run air/con off grid? If yes, that means the generator will be running and charging isn't a major consideration. This is typically the turning point between operating off battery power vs running the generator. If you are just running a few lights and maybe the TV off battery, you batteries should get you at least a couple days and then an hour or two running the generator (which powers the battery charger) should keep you going. For this trip I doubt we will need the AC but if I am going to purchase a generator I might as well get one big enough to run the AC in the event that we want to go off the grid in lower elevations. Going off grid just opens up sooooo many more opportunities and is really at the essence of what I want our family camping experiences to be. However my wife is more of a "glamper" so I will have to meet her in the middle. We like our coffee in the morning and the kids will want to be able to charge their phones at night. We would probably watch 1 maybe 2 tv's for an hour or two in the evening and may play a movie on 1 of them requiring a DVD player. If the phones have much of a signal at al, they will opt for playing around on them rather than the TV once the sun goes down. 1 or 2 lights max would be all we need and they are already LED's.375Views0likes0CommentsRe: Figuring this power stuff has my head spinning
NRALIFR wrote: I think you meant to say “inverter generator” rather than inverter. Two different things. :):) You are correct, that is what I meant. Being in OK and hopefully camping some locally in June - September, running the AC is almost a must.120Views0likes0CommentsFiguring this power stuff has my head spinning
***disclaimer*** reading most of these power related threads is like reading something where 50% of it is in a language I don’t speak/read/understand. I am planning a 10 - 12 day family summer vacation to the Yellowstone Grand Teton area and it looks like we might need to do a fair amount of boondocking.... which is fine by me but we have yet to do. We will do some practice runs around home first but my question is more about which or what size power converter I should upgrade to. My rig currently has the WFCO WF-8955PEC which I understand is not a great converter. I just removed a single Marine style 12V battery in favor of two 6V G2 Golf Cart batteries. My understanding is that is an upgrade but a good example of how good of a grasp on this is that I was shocked when I got to Sams to purchase said 6V batteries and to my surprise they were roughly the same size as the 12V :h I was expecting them to be roughly half the size because well 6 is half of 12.... so that is what you are dealing with here. I am looking to pick up an inverter for the camper (2017 MPG 2400BH) trip and wondering if a 3500 watt (like a Predator or Champion) watt would be sufficient or could I even get by with a 2000? Additionally, what converter should I consider?5.2KViews0likes35Comments
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