Generator need

[pappi49]

Really hate to interrupt the good times you guys are having at "Q" but I have a question for those of you with gennys. Have any of you ever had to use the generator because the power went out in your campground. I think that the only time I have ever heard of this was last year in Texas but I was curious as to how many of you have run into that problem.

I am currently in the middle of making plans and reservations for our trip out west this year and I am trying to decide if taking my generator with me is worth the trouble. At 100 pounds for the genny and 30.5 lbs. for extra fuel I am not certain I want to add that much weight to my load. Not to mention the trouble of getting it into and out of the truck bed. Also, being extremely nervous about finding a place to stay I will/have made all of my reservations at full hook-up camp grounds. Just dont have the nerve to try wingin' it 2000 miles from home and no place to stay(still nervous about boondocking alone).

Again, thanks for all of your help and let the fun resume.

 

[Isaac-1]

I have experienced power outages at campgrounds a couple of times, the longest was perhaps an hour or so, and due to pleasant weather we just ran on battery power and never cranked the generator.

 

[NY_Dutch]

Over the years, we've been in campgrounds with power failures that lasted more than a few minutes probably 6-7 times. Most of them were fixed in a matter of hours, but the campground we were in when hurricane Irene rolled through in 2011 was out of power for most of three days. We ran our 7 kw onboard generator and fed power to ourselves and the travel trailers on each side of us.

 

[Bobtop46]

Yes, many times, in several different states.

 

[whiteva]

Power outage at older campgrounds on 2 occasions. Switched to inverter for the day ready to crank generator however power was finally returned. One time the loss was from traffic accident taking out power pole to facility. Both times was not an inconvenience for us.

 

[steveblonde]

If you have made reservations for the entire trip i wouldnt take it.
If you HAVENT there is no harm in taking it. If its in the truck bed you can potentially just run it from there. Dont overthink it. Lol every trip i take cross country i always ask myself if i need my floor jack,air compressor tools lol. Never needed any of them. And never taken them either

 

[Mark_K5LXP]

If this is purely for "in case of emergency" or backup use, my solution is to take an inverter and run it from the vehicle. You won't run A/C from it but this time of year that shouldn't be a problem. Plenty of power from a modest size inverter to charge batteries and run house stuff if needed, with the vehicle idling. No, you won't do this for hours on end but you likely won't need it that much anyway, if at all. An inverter is easy to pack and set up and there's no fuel to mess with. I've been doing this for years even back in my tent camping days.

Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM

 

[chovy]

I e been off grid since august. My solar batteries kept dying. I first bought a 5000 watt generator. But it was 90lbs. As soon as saw it at ups I returned it lol.


Got two 2500 watt champion dual fuel inverter generators. Just sold one. bexause I never even opened the box.

I ram the champion 2500 for 20 minutes and my batteries are all charged up. Maybe have to do this every few days.

 

[markandkim]

More cases of dangerous low voltages rather than outages. If the campground voltages were too low, I would disconnect from shore power and run in the generator.
This occurs mostly in old crowded hot campgrounds.

 

[Foto-n-T]

Years ago while staying at an old KOA when I was working the oil patch in Texas we were sitting down to supper when "poof" the power went out. I figured it was the glass 30 amp fuse on the post outside that got tired of trying to run the water heater and the TV at the same time. Not wanting my supper to get cold while I wrestled with the old screw in fuse I just got up and hit the switch on the generator and viola... problem solved. Well not really, the 200 am line than ran approximately 5 feet under ground beneath my steps had gotten water in it and shorted out. We spent the next 5 days with a massive hole right in our front yard half full of water as the staff tried to keep it pumped out and decide how to fix the problem. In the meantime I had a 100 foot extension cord going to the neighbors post behind us. On the bright side, they didn't charge us for power that month.

 

[HappyWanderer]

I ram the champion 2500 for 20 minutes and my batteries are all charged up. Maybe have to do this every few days.

Running the generator for only 20 minutes is not fully charging the batteries, which will take at least 4 hours. Don’t be fooled by the surface charge.

 

[chovy]

It charges them up enough for me

 

[kwplot34]

At the KOA in Moab a few years back and the power went out, started the generator and turned the a/c back on, no problem. Did run an extension cord to a neighbor so they could use their fan's since they had no generator or a/c.

 

[beaverfever]

low voltage once in states twice in canada. all in older rv parks not a big deal just finish out the night and move on down the road

 

[JayArr]

Running the generator for only 20 minutes is not fully charging the batteries, which will take at least 4 hours.

Before you toss out a generality like that don't you think you should at least ask him what kind of charger or converter he has?

Maybe it takes your gear four hours to charge the batteries but it doesn't have to be that way and he may have gear that'll do it faster.

It's going to depend on how discharged they are, how many charging amps he has available and the size of his battery bank.

I'm installing a Xantrex with 75A bulk charging rate, I expect to be able to charge a pair of 90AH LA batteries from 20% to 90% in about an hour.