Do I Need A Generator?

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jdcml

Active member
Joined
May 10, 2021
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25
Location
Clermont, FL
Looking to go dry camping in a couple of weekends. A friend has offered a generator but I’m not sure we really need it…

We are thinking of using the unit more as a hard sided tent. We have a propane griddle for cooking. Limited overhead LED light use. Some phone charging. The biggest draw is our 12v fridge that doesn’t run on propane.

I don’t have the specs available and not 100% sure where I’d get them. We have a Grey Wolf that has a rooftop panel. I’m sure that the panel is really more of a trickle to keep the onboard battery charged in storage. Sales info says it can run the fridge 2+ days but there are of course all sorts of variables with that number.

My thought is that with that trickle, can’t I just hook my tow vehicle up and recharge our onboard that way? How would I determine how long it might take to recharge? We are looking to go to an off-road truck event with lots of people in a similar situation so running the tow vehicle for a bit won’t be noticeable.

I’m guessing that none of the 110 outlets in the unit will work so I’ll have to figure out something different for our Keurig! (Cold brew is an option we’ve used before without power) Other than that, why would we want a generator? We are in Florida and won’t need furnace or a/c. Water pump will have some draw through the day. We’ve tent camped for years and done well with battery lanterns, etc. just wondering if I’m missing something for a Fri am to Sun am outting. Even thinking of putting things like drinks in a cooler with ice to limit fridge open and close and usage.

Thanks!
 
jdcml said:
How would I determine how long it might take to recharge?
Click to expand...
In most cases, it will take about four hours of engine running to fully charge a vehicle's battery from totally discharged to full. But normally you will not reach full discharge so it will take less time.

After a long drive you should be good for a coupe of nights of boondocking, but it depends on so many things.

Best to have a SmartShunt and know exactly where you're at with the battery. Then there is no guesswork.

-Don- Reno, NV
 
3 day weekend, treat it like tent camping with a much better bed. If you want luxuries, phone charging, coffee maker, take the generator. I suppose you can recharge the battery on the camper, for me, my F150 only charges the trailer battery while in Drive. If it was me, I'd take the generator if at all possible. Coffemaker and microwave makes momma happy.
 
I too say to take the generator. You don’t have to use it but if you need it you’ll have it. then you’ll know how long you can go off grid.
 
You haven't said what batteries you have (how many and what AH rating)

I have two 12V batteries that are around 90Ah each and I can dry camp as you describe (minus the 12V fridge) but including running the furnace at night (October) for three days. The fridge and the furnace may represent equivalent draws.

I would think you could make it at least two days with the electric fridge if you don't need heat.

Your idea of having drinks in a separate cooler is a good one, I do that and I think it helps. You can go even further by leaving on the first day with blocks of ice in the fridge so the compressor doesn't come on until day two. They will eventually melt but it buys you a day, maybe two. Make the blocks yourself, in your own freezer at home, they will be a better quality than the flash frozen blocks you buy at the store, they last longer and you can make them inside plastic containers so they don't leak all over the place as they melt. You can also choose container sizes that fit well into your fridge.

The vehicle will charge the batteries but it's slow compared to the charger on AC/generator. It could take hours and hours to recharge from the alternator but it's a viable option on Sunday morning to top your battery up.

The other thing to do is go count all the light bulbs in the trailer and replace them all with LEDs. They are cheap on Amazon and you can get them before you leave if you order now. They make a HUGE difference in battery consumption over incandescent bulbs.

Have Fun
HTH
 
jdcml said:
We are thinking of using the unit more as a hard sided tent. We have a propane griddle for cooking. Limited overhead LED light use. Some phone charging. The biggest draw is our 12v fridge that doesn’t run on propane.

I don’t have the specs available and not 100% sure where I’d get them. We have a Grey Wolf that has a rooftop panel. I’m sure that the panel is really more of a trickle to keep the onboard battery charged in storage. Sales info says it can run the fridge 2+ days but there are of course all sorts of variables with that number.



Thanks!
Click to expand...
I think this is like on foot on the dock and one foot on the boat. You either plan to be off grid and skip the Keurig or you plan to use the Keurig and have the power to do so.

I bought an RV to be one step better than a hard sided tent. I can do without microwave, A/C and stuff for a limited time but don't have to. We'd run the generator on the boat at dinner time to run the appliances and the A/C to "knock the heat off." Then we'd shut it down and be fine.

How big is you Grey Wolf trailer? If there is a solar panel on the roof at least let us know the size so we can guestimate the output.

I doubt the manufacturer would go to the trouble of putting solar on your trailer just to "trickle charge" the batteries (they aren't that kind - LOL)

How many batteries do you have? That will tell you how long you can go before "needing" to recharge.

If the literature says the fridge will go 2 days I am guessing you have 2 batteries or about 180a/h.

If your trip is 3 days and you have 100W panel you may harvest 40 amps a day. If that's all true you should be fine.

For "casual" 3-day boondocking in a trailer I would definitely bring a 1000W generator if I had one or 2000W generator. Above that unless it's a specialty generator I think its too heavy to bother with for me.
 
Ex-Calif said:
I doubt the manufacturer would go to the trouble of putting solar on your trailer just to "trickle charge" the batteries (they aren't that kind - LOL)
Click to expand...
They used to do that, perhaps most of the time. Perhaps ten or 15 watts worth. My Y2K RV was like that, stock. No solar controller of anything, went direct to the house battery. But the nice thing about that is you already have the wiring to add more solar. As solar got cheaper, it became more common to get 100W of solar and with a controller.

-Don- Reno, NV
 
I’ve done a little more digging. Seems as though it’s a 50W panel. The unit is in the shop right now for some punch list things so I can’t confirm the battery. I do know though that it’s only one which is tongue mounted.

It was hard to find too much information, but most seems to be that it’s more of a sales tactic. We didn’t buy it based off the solar system so not too surprised that it doesn’t seem as though it will handle much. I do know that leaving it parked and not plugged in we haven’t had any issues with the battery staying maintained - so if nothing else it has served that purpose.

For the most part, we do full hookup stays so going too far into solar really probably won’t be used much as a cost benefit comparison.

I’ll see how big and awkward the generator is and figure out what to do. I like the analogy of being both on the dock and the boat at the same time. We might just throw everything in two coolers and just hope for the best 😁.
 
As a matter of fact, I am in Clermont, FL right now, and high temps for the upcoming week are going to be in the 80s. The following week could be cooler or hotter. Admittedly, a portable generator is not likely to be enough to run AC, but a lot depends on how much power your rooftop solar generates because even running on propane, your refrigerator will use a tiny bit of electricity, and lighting would be nice.

I like the suggestion of taking the generator along and not using it so you can get a better idea of how long your battery lasts without being charged and how easy it is to completely dry camp.

And a cooler with ice for drinks will take a lot of the load off your refrigerator, especially if a lot of people are opening and closing it all day.
 
JudyJB said:
As a matter of fact, I am in Clermont, FL right now, and high temps for the upcoming week are going to be in the 80s. The following week could be cooler or hotter. Admittedly, a portable generator is not likely to be enough to run AC, but a lot depends on how much power your rooftop solar generates because even running on propane, your refrigerator will use a tiny bit of electricity, and lighting would be nice.

I like the suggestion of taking the generator along and not using it so you can get a better idea of how long your battery lasts without being charged and how easy it is to completely dry camp.

And a cooler with ice for drinks will take a lot of the load off your refrigerator, especially if a lot of people are opening and closing it all day.
Click to expand...
Spent quite a bit of time in Claremont. Granddaughter playing softball for her college team and I have a niece and family who live next door in Groveland.
 
If you are going off in the truck during the day, I suggest, half an hour before heading out, start the truck, hook up jumper cables from the truck to trailer and dump lots of juice to the trailer.
While out during the day, the truck will recharge its battery.
 
Ex-Calif said:
I doubt the manufacturer would go to the trouble of putting solar on your trailer just to "trickle charge" the batteries (they aren't that kind - LOL)
Click to expand...
It's not kindness - just good marketing. Being able to claim "solar power" and "charges battery" at a very low cost, maybe $20 extra. Sucks the newbies in every time...
 
We dry camp quite a bit for 7-9 days at a time and use a Yamaha 2000iv generator, it's quiet and will run for 12 hours on a gallon of gas, our biggest battery power eater is the residential fridge and since I have not installed the solar panel yet I have to run the generator quite a bit. This motor home came solar equipped just need to add the panel, our previous 2 motor homes had the absorption fridge and that kept the generator use down.
 
Will mostly reaffirm the above, you don't know what you don't know so the only way to find out is to get out there and see. Ideally you'd have a battery monitor that will give you an idea of how much power you're using and what you've got left. From there it comes down to replenishing some degree of charge if you need it. I've done it all manner of ways, from solar to genset to charging from the tow vehicle. They all work, just comes down to a matter of convenience and time. You can take along backups to backups if you thought this was a critical need but it sounds like you'll be with a group. So it's not a matter of sitting cold in the dark if you run out, you have people and resources you can tap into if needed. I've gone longer in a tent with just a cooler and some flashlights so I'd treat this just as you've offered, a hard sided tent that you don't have to sleep on the ground. As far as the keurig goes, I ended up learning how to make coffee on top of the propane stove using a simple percolator for DW, and she says it's "pretty good". For 3 days you can suffer through not having frou-frou coffee, obviating the need for taking that along and hauling out a genset just to run it.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM
 
I would take the generator, why not if it was offered to you? Nothing to loose by having it with you, everything to gain if you end up using it.

And oh, by the way, if you are planning on camping anywhere, you really need to pick up a non-electric coffee maker, something like this:

https://imgur.com/pSM3w9b

You can find these at Wall Mart (about $12-$15), any sporting goods store (Cabela's, Bass Pro) and even, sometimes at your local RV dealership parts store.

One time we found ourselves with out power. It was shortly after we got our current fifth wheel. We restocked the new camper, but tossed a lot of stuff out from the old one. In the old camper, we had one of these coffee pots. We'd dragged that thing along with us for over 10 years and never used it. So we left it out when repacking the new camper. BIG mistake. The campground lost power one morning and ... no power means no coffee because everything we had was electric. I ended up boiling water on the gas stove in the camper, put some coffee grinds in a filter and poured the hot water through the filter. It worked, but what a mess. Before that day was over, we purchased a new non-electric, over the fire, old fashioned percolator like in the image above. And unbelievable, ever since then we got away from drip makers, and such and found electric percolators we now use in the house. We gave up Krueg, and all of that. Real brewed coffee just can't be beat!
 
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jdcml said:
I’ve done a little more digging. Seems as though it’s a 50W panel. The unit is in the shop right now for some punch list things so I can’t confirm the battery. I do know though that it’s only one which is tongue mounted.

It was hard to find too much information, but most seems to be that it’s more of a sales tactic. We didn’t buy it based off the solar system so not too surprised that it doesn’t seem as though it will handle much. I do know that leaving it parked and not plugged in we haven’t had any issues with the battery staying maintained - so if nothing else it has served that purpose.

For the most part, we do full hookup stays so going too far into solar really probably won’t be used much as a cost benefit comparison.

I’ll see how big and awkward the generator is and figure out what to do. I like the analogy of being both on the dock and the boat at the same time. We might just throw everything in two coolers and just hope for the best 😁.
Click to expand...
You should check out the possibility of buying dry ice and putting it in the fridge to save power. The biggest problem will be overkill resulting in your drinks freezing.
 
jdcml said:
Looking to go dry camping in a couple of weekends. A friend has offered a generator but I’m not sure we really need it…

We are thinking of using the unit more as a hard sided tent. We have a propane griddle for cooking. Limited overhead LED light use. Some phone charging. The biggest draw is our 12v fridge that doesn’t run on propane.

I don’t have the specs available and not 100% sure where I’d get them. We have a Grey Wolf that has a rooftop panel. I’m sure that the panel is really more of a trickle to keep the onboard battery charged in storage. Sales info says it can run the fridge 2+ days but there are of course all sorts of variables with that number.

My thought is that with that trickle, can’t I just hook my tow vehicle up and recharge our onboard that way? How would I determine how long it might take to recharge? We are looking to go to an off-road truck event with lots of people in a similar situation so running the tow vehicle for a bit won’t be noticeable.

I’m guessing that none of the 110 outlets in the unit will work so I’ll have to figure out something different for our Keurig! (Cold brew is an option we’ve used before without power) Other than that, why would we want a generator? We are in Florida and won’t need furnace or a/c. Water pump will have some draw through the day. We’ve tent camped for years and done well with battery lanterns, etc. just wondering if I’m missing something for a Fri am to Sun am outting. Even thinking of putting things like drinks in a cooler with ice to limit fridge open and close and usage.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
So what I would do and I work on rvs for a living is accept your friends offer on the generator and run the generator during the day for a few hours and a couple of hours before dark then your batteries will hold a charge but if you don’t take the generator when you set up your camp make sure you get plenty of sun on your solar panels 2 solar panels will hold you over
 
My motto, better to have and not need than to need and not have.
I carry a Honda 2000, we have 2 6v batteries, and a solar panel I need to hook up.
 
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