Onboard gen set vs solar

[flyingjack]

Hello from very green NW MT.
2022 295RL= one solar panel, no invertor and no generator other than Harbor Freight portables.

Towards the end of our 2 month tour of NW flying Cessna and pulling 5er. Wife and I take turns flying and driving to new locations then base Cessna from local airport for 1-3 weeks. Great way to see the country but gas prices were nearly a show stopper. Other than no income, I love retirement.

We can do a lot of DIY; BUT, totally suck at all things electrical. Would appreciated experienced opinions/suggestions regarding adding more solar & invertor OR installing an onboard Onan gen set. We'll be RVing SE US next winter for 3-4 months and after this trip experience we want elect power for more remote camp sites.

Appears we're going to spend about same $$$ for either system and gen set seems much simpler for our mission.

Thanks for any/all opinions/suggestions.

Jack

[jxnbbl]

Originally Posted by flyingjack

Hello from very green NW MT.
2022 295RL= one solar panel, no invertor and no generator other than Harbor Freight portables.

Towards the end of our 2 month tour of NW flying Cessna and pulling 5er. Wife and I take turns flying and driving to new locations then base Cessna from local airport for 1-3 weeks. Great way to see the country but gas prices were nearly a show stopper. Other than no income, I love retirement.

We can do a lot of DIY; BUT, totally suck at all things electrical. Would appreciated experienced opinions/suggestions regarding adding more solar & invertor OR installing an onboard Onan gen set. We'll be RVing SE US next winter for 3-4 months and after this trip experience we want elect power for more remote camp sites.

Appears we're going to spend about same $$$ for either system and gen set seems much simpler for our mission.

Thanks for any/all opinions/suggestions.

Jack

If you "suck at electric" then the inverter will most likely be exponentially harder to install and understand. The generator is much more straight forward, imo. The biggest item is if you are going to use AC a lot. If the answer is yes, then you will need a generator anyways (most of the time).

[bsmith0404]

Stick with the portable gens. On board use LP and will drain your LP tanks pretty quick, plus you lose the entire front compartment for storage.

Depends on what all you want to peer with the inverter if that is a viable option. They can drain a battery fairly quickly if you get a large one to power several items, so that requires a lot of solar to keep up. Not always practical. Plus, as mentioned, you won’t be able to run the AC with it.

[BigBobIa]

And Onan propane are on backorder about a year.

[flyingjack]

Good info, yes running AC frequently. Thanks

[Canonman]

INHO solar and batteries are a poor option to the generator for running the AC. It can be done but a generator is a much easier option when shore power isn't available.
Just curious, why not continue with the portables?

[foldbak]

I have the same rig. Mine came with a Gen prep and solarflex 4 package. It includes 2 solar panels, a solar charger and a 2000K inverter. It's an awesome setup!



I've had 7 trailers. 3 of which had a Onan gen and an inverter from 2k to 4k but no solar. All of which were add on. I would run the gen about 4 hours a day boondocking to keep the batteries 100% while running AC, micro and TV's.




With the new setup I run the gen about 30 minuets a day! Right before we go to bed I top off the batteries. By the time I get up the solar has the batteries at 100%.



If your unit which I believe all 2022 units are, is prepped for solar I would HIGHLY recommend installing a 400 solar package with a 2K inverter! If you want to go to next level install a transfer switch and an Onan LPG generator. If you conserve you can dry camp for 2 weeks. Longer if you carry a spare 30 lb cylinder.

[flyingjack]

canonman: had the two Harbor Freight portables and need both to run one AC; BUT, they are too noisy for State Parks.

foldbak: I was under the impression it takes very serious solar power to run one AC.

Thanks guys
Jack

[foldbak]

Originally Posted by flyingjack

foldbak: I was under the impression it takes very serious solar power to run one AC.

Thanks guys
Jack

You are correct. You would want the 1200 system with lithium batteries and softstart to run an AC. When dry camping I dont run the AC much. Only after reaching destination to cool the trailer and if I do need the AC I start the gen. I can run the ceiling fan and a couple 120 volt fans all day on solar.

[jxnbbl]

I got the impression from the post that the generator was used to cool it down before bed (besides fully charge the batteries). A solar flex 400 will not be wired to run the AC.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by flyingjack

canonman: had the two Harbor Freight portables and need both to run one AC; BUT, they are too noisy for State Parks.

foldbak: I was under the impression it takes very serious solar power to run one AC.

Thanks guys
Jack

In your first post, you said that gas prices (for towing/flying) were "nearly a show stopper".... If the price of fuel is a "impact" then the price of a "seriously large solar system" capable of operating the air conditioner would be a "heart attack inducer". You're looking at pricing (from Keystone as the "Solar Flex 1200" system at around $12K to $14K. Installing that kind of system for someone who "sucks at electric" would mean "dealer or aftermarket support" and would increase the pricing, potentially well above the $14K range.....

According to one report i read, the Solar Flex 1200 system was "capable of operating the air conditioning for about 4 hours before depleting the batteries."... If that is true, then the price of increasing the solar system capacity to operate for a 24 hour period would likely cost as much or more than the price of your entire rig.

Bottom line: Solar ain't cheap and the capacity to provide continuous power for "high demand use" is far more than than most people can afford. That's one of the major reasons why we aren't seeing electric tow vehicles on the roads. The ability to store "that much energy" is just not yet available for "mobile use".....

[Canonman]

Jack,
Understood about the noisy generators. We've been in areas where folks were operating the "open frame" type generators and they are awful to be around (think Russian wheat thrasher). On the other hand those running the inverter type generators, even in the dual configuration, were quite tolerable. Our 3k watt Dometic will run our AC with no problem. It's quiet and easy to store and use when we've had to. Maybe a single inverter type rated for your AC needs to augment your solar set up is an option. We've found that to be a good solution for us. Photo is our set up at the Reno Air Races. Days were hot enough to require the AC. Evenings were fairly cool. We were there dry camped over two weekends, about 10 days and took in the Reno Balloon Festival as well.

[foldbak]

Originally Posted by jxnbbl

I got the impression from the post that the generator was used to cool it down before bed (besides fully charge the batteries). A solar flex 400 will not be wired to run the AC.

Sorry if I gave you that impression. It's typically not hot when I go to bed but if it was I could run the AC with the gen. The solar 400 is gen prepped for a second inverter to run the the rear AC. But you would need to at the very least upgrade to lithium. I think its recommended to add more panels.

[rlh1957]

It’s not the amount of solar you have but the amount of battery bank you have. Anything less than 200 amp hours on batteries going to an 3000 watt inverter will start and run a air conditioner, but not very long.
The solar panels gather sunlight and convert into electric current going through charge controller into stored DC 12V, the inverter converts it to 110AC when needed.
The battery recharge is dependent on how quickly the solar panels can recharge the battery bank.

I always suggest that folks get a SoftStartRV unit installed on each air conditioner.
The Harbor Freight Predator 3500 generator is an excellent gen set for RV. Quiet, efficient and pure sine wave power for all electronics. It is allowed anywhere generators aren't prohibited.
Harbor Freight has a Predator 2000 that can run an AC with SoftStartRV.
I like to be able to run a bit more so I use the 3500.
Great for keeping batteries charged.

[flyingjack]

Thanks all, 4500 watt gen/inverter it is; ordered today.