Generators & Boondocking

[rodgebone]

I've learned a lot in 8 months of full timing but I'm still relatively new and want to do more boondocking to save on park rent and enjoy a more beautiful camping/living experience at BLMs or parks w/o hookups around the Pacific Northwest. My goal is to stay a week+ at a shot before resupplying and dumping before moving on.

Was going to buy a new Yamaha 2200 gen but now have an opportunity to buy a pair of near new (under 20 hours) Honda EU2000i generators ($1400 for the pair with cables/covers). Generator(s) look like the simpler solution as opposed to an expensive solar setup in a region that is not always so sun friendly. 650watt of solar panels pales against a more rigorous 3600 watt gen setup but which requires more attention daily. Its probably overkill having that much power as I'm not so concerned with running the A/C (although beneficial for a few weeks in summer). nor am i concerned about the microwave or coffee maker. But I do run a 1300watt electric space heater to save on propane and it would be nice to extend my lp supply while boondocking. Other than that i just want to run my TV and 120V outlets to charge my laptop and phone. And of course, charge my onboard 6V Trojans. The math suggests two generators will pay for themselves on BLM/dispersed in just 2 months vs rent in full hookup parks.

Q1: I'm assuming by using the shoreline connected to the generators that my twin 6V batteries will automatically charge the same as when connected to park supplied shore power via my 50amp cord and onboard converter. Also Im wondering if using 50-30amp pucks and dogbones will overheat with extended generator use on a daily basis. Resistance is though adaptors is a worry and I dont want anything melting down.

Q2: I know I need an inverter (500-1000watt best guess) tagged onto my onboard converter (6AWG to the batteries) to power up the TV/laptop/phone charger/space heater. I've noticed some people just use a small 300-500watt inverter for TVs and laptop chargers. maybe a big 1000W inverter is overkill?

Q3: I'm also wondering about buying a portable dump tank as I usually dump a 30 gal black tank every 6 days plus another 30 gal of grey at the same interval. Obviously while boondocking I will conserve better on supply and waste - I've been very liberal thus far but RV parks spoil a person. More trips to dump stations with a portable tank or dumping between locations is okay but im concerned about flushing my black tank while boondocking with limited water supply. I like to do a very thorough flush everytime I dump and that will NOT be possible boondocking. guess it will have to be done at extended sessions at dump stations if no one else is in line behind me.

I'm sure this has been asked many times on here and I've researched it extensively. But I want some feedback for my particular criteria versus a generic answer.

thanks in advance

[Logan X]

The answer to question 1: Yes, if you plug your shore power cable into your generator it will charge the batteries just like shore power. The Honda 2000s are good, it is what I use. 2 of them for $1400 sounds like a great price. You shouldn’t have an issue using a dogbone adapter. I use a 30amp to 20amp adapter all of the time.

The answer to question 2: For what you want to do, a 1000 watt inverter is overkill. I use a 300 watt pure sine wave inverter to run my tv and Apple TV. It works great. I installed several usb outlets on the 12v system and I use those to charge my phones etc.

The answer to question 3: My guess is you will be able to extend the time between dumping tanks if you are more careful. I think for one person, you could go two weeks pretty easily. I use a portable waste tank at home (blue boy) and it works great. I don’t think it would be as great for Boondocking because it seems like it would be hard to transport the tank when it’s full.

As far as flushing the black tank, I have found it is not really necessary. My trailer is in my back yard and we use it as a guest house/overflow bathroom, so my tank has contents in it most of the time. I use happy camper tank treatment once a week and the black tank is great. No odors or anything. I flush the black tank once or twice a year when I am camping with full hookups.

A word of caution- don’t give in to the temptation to limit the amount of liquid you are putting into the black tank in an effort to conserve the tank. For the tank to function properly, it needs enough liquids to break down the solids. I’m sure you will get a feel for what your tank can do pretty quickly.

Here’s a video on my off grid power set up-

https://youtu.be/iaQZY_naOdE

And here’s a video on my portable waste tank-

https://youtu.be/bwoeeMDul2Y

[Canonman]

[COLOR="Blue"][/COLOR]I'm assuming by using the shoreline connected to the generators that my twin 6V batteries will automatically charge the same as when connected to park supplied shore power via my 50amp cord and onboard converter.

Yes

Only excessive amp draw will generate enough heat to melt your adaptors. This should not be a worry since they are designed for the 30/50 amp specified loads and your electrical system is circuit protected for over amp draw.

I know I need an inverter (500-1000watt best guess) tagged onto my onboard converter

We've found a 300 to 750 watt converter is sufficient to run your electronic accessories. I would not suggest running an electric space heater on battery power. Much more efficient to use the furnace. Or, the generator if you really need the space heater.

I'm also wondering about buying a portable dump tank...

We find the black tank can last about 5 to 7 days for the two of us. If your boon-docking has you out for longer periods of time a portable dump tank may be a good option.
We usually need to refill our fresh water and dump our galley grey tank by the time the black fills up which necessitates a trip to a dump station. I'm personally not a fan of portable dump tanks. VERY Messy from what I've seen.

[LewisB]

I agree with the two previous responses...but I question the whole thing about a "portable" dump tank. My personal opinion is just that and it is not based on experience as I have never owned a portable tank.

I've considered a portable tank for the use outlined by the OP, BUT...is a portable tank really "portable". If you can roll it to a nearby dump station, then I suppose it is. Some of them even have handles you can hook up to your bumper hitch and pull with your truck. But to use one for "boondocking" would, to me, indicate you will need to load this in your truck and take it somewhere. So, how do you get it in your truck? A 10 gallon tank (not very much extra capacity) would weight about 100 pounds full. A 20 gallon tank nearly 200 pounds. How do you get it in the back of the truck, transported to a dump station, back out of the truck, etc. You get my concern...

Then there is the issue of spillage, cleanup, etc. For this reason I have never owned one of these. It is easier to hook up and pull your rig to a dump station than to go through the above process.

So, just some food for thought (pun intended)!

[JRTJH]

Question 1 has been answered, except for generator capacities. If I remember, most 2000 watt Honda generators (4000 watts total surge capacity) are rated at 1600 watts continuous power output. That's 3200 watts for the pair, not 3600 watts.

Question 2. A 1000 watt inverter is "overkill" to run a 80 watt TV, charge cell phones/tablets at 25-50 watts. The space heater, however won't function on a 1000 watt inverter. You'll need a continuous 1500 watts, that usually means a 3000 watt inverter, both costly and excessively inefficient for your purposes. All you need is a 400-500 watt "connected at the source" inverter for your TV and chargers.

Question 3. There is a means to "flush the black tank" using gray tank contents. You'll need a terminal valve to do it. First you dump the black tank, leave the black tank valve open, then close the terminal valve, open the gray tank valve, gray contents will flow into the plumbing lines, into the black tank. When you hear the gray tank "emptying sounds" start to slow, close the black tank valve, the gray tank valve, then go dump the blue tank with black tank contents in it. When you return, connect the blue tank and again dump the "gray contents that flushed into the black tank" into your blue tank. Finish by opening the gray tank valve and flush the plumbing lines and flex sewer hose with gray tank contents. Go dump the blue tank again, rinse well as it will "smell quite nicely" with what's left of the black tank effluent.

ADDED: A thought regarding the space heater. Running the furnace on LPG is rather expensive, running a space heater on generator power is likely to be the same or nearly the same cost. You might consider a small wall mount catalytic heater (around 3000-5000 BTU) which would give much the same heating capacity and would be "miserly" with LPG consumption.

We have a blue tank, 25 gallon size. I have NEVER dumped the black tank into the blue portable tank. I use it ONLY for gray water and only then in campgrounds with water/electricity. We find that the black tank will last 5-6 days easily, the gray tanks (bathroom and galley) usually only 4-5 days,and we can stretch that to equal the black tank with some planning/conservation. It's when we have "unlimited water" in a campground that we use the blue tank. Daily showers, less conservation necessary, so we fill the gray tanks in 1-2 days. The blue tank allows us to dump the gray water, continue daily showers and essentially "operate the trailer as if we had full hookups"... I just hook the blue tank behind the truck and tow it to the dump station. There's no way I'm lifting 25 gallons of gray water in a 30 pound "plastic bucket" waist high to get it into the truck bed.

[JDDilly]

What is the need for the inverter? when running the generators you would have enough AC power to run what you need.

I would recommend getting the external gas tank setup, that way you can let the generators run with less worry of running out of gas. Just in case you have some hot weather and want to run the air.

[Roscommon48]

1. DO not buy the 2000 watt generators. honda now has the 2200 watt generator and it WILL allow you to run a 13.5 K A/C.

I'd say buy the one companion first--you won't have 30amp but you can plug into that. They you'll evenually by the other 2000 watt generator.


And, it will do everything else you want.
2. If you want more, buy the other.


the other stuff is common sense. And I would NOT back flush my black water when dry camping, just dump when Nearly full....

[Big1]

The Champion duel fuel is what I'm looking at getting, I want to use it at my home also.

[Logan X]

If you really wanted the portable dump tank to work, you could use a macerator pump (it chops and pumps the contents of the black tank) to pump the black tank into a portable waste tank in the bed if your truck. They are kind of pricey, but they work. Here is a video of someone using that set up-

https://youtu.be/kIoxtpzIQTo

[GHen]

Lots of great advice above, it’s all right on.
I live in the PNW and also boondock a lot. My Honda 2000 companion runs my 15k A/C, but not my kids A/C’s so your results may vary. I’ve only needed the AC for a few days and that was at lower elevations while I was at state parks.
Don’t plan on using battery for space heater on the inverter. With that said, I run everything you listed and what I need on 350 watt inverter, I suggest 500watts (continuous).

Good pricing on the Honda’s, they are the quietest on the market, the others mentioned are good also. We have only boondocked for just 7 days at a time and with my big tanks they are mostly 3/4 full. My kitchen grey tank fills first, if needed I drain 5 gallons into a bucket and put it in my back tank. Then I dump somewhere on my way home or when moving to a new location.
As far as a portable dump tank, make sure it’s small enough to be able to load in your truck, they get heavy fast.

Also, for 7 days, even with 75 gallons of fresh, I usually need about 10 more gallons of fresh water, so I always bring at least 5 gallons from home.

[KRumm]

Just as a sideline... As an avid boondocker I can tell you one of the worst things is to have a neighbor (near or far) crank up his/her generator for a few hours to make coffee... If you really want to spend time in the beautiful wilderness invest in solar for the majority of your needs...

A basic 60amp solar setup can be bought for less than $1,400

[LewisB]

Originally Posted by KRumm

Just as a sideline... As an avid boondocker I can tell you one of the worst things is to have a neighbor (near or far) crank up his/her generator for a few hours to make coffee... If you really want to spend time in the beautiful wilderness invest in solar for the majority of your needs...

A basic 60amp solar setup can be bought for less than $1,400

I too am an avid boondocker. I get what you are saying relative to "generators" - the 90 db contractor types. I would never take one of these camping either in a park or in the boondocks for the reasons you state. However, the newer "inverter" type generators (say 50 db) and modern "park" type generators installed in our toy haulers are very quiet and can be typically used without disturbing others, even close neighbors. They work 24/7 regardless of weather and deserve consideration in any "power" plan. Our 5500W Onan/Cummins generator, for example, is hard to detect 100' from our rig.

Solar power gets you power for 1/2 the day. For a solar system to provide power at night, you will need extra batteries, an inverter if you want 120VAC, etc. So a quiet generator can be a integral part of a reasonable power plan for camping. Plan based on understanding your intended needs/uses and then take advantage of solar, batteries, generator, inverters, etc. that will get you the power you need at the lowest cost and minimal impact (sound and other) to potential neighbors. JMHO.

[Logan X]

Originally Posted by KRumm

Just as a sideline... As an avid boondocker I can tell you one of the worst things is to have a neighbor (near or far) crank up his/her generator for a few hours to make coffee... If you really want to spend time in the beautiful wilderness invest in solar for the majority of your needs...

A basic 60amp solar setup can be bought for less than $1,400

I’m not a fan of open frame generators or people who run their generator all day long, but running the generator for a couple of hours in the morning seems perfectly reasonable to me.

Just my opinion, but if one wants to have an unadulterated nature experience, maybe they should consider backpacking, not RV camping.

[flybouy]

Originally Posted by Logan X

I’m not a fan of open frame generators or people who run their generator all day long, but running the generator for a couple of hours in the morning seems perfectly reasonable to me.

Just my opinion, but if one wants to have an unadulterated nature experience, maybe they should consider backpacking, not RV camping.

Or not homesteading so close to others.

[Canonman]

For sure how we all camp is very individualistic. I grew up spending my summers helping out on the farm. That meant tent camping without generators or batteries and inverters rather than making the drive back to town. We had the BEST coffee every morning using one of these
Still do

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by Logan X

I’m not a fan of open frame generators or people who run their generator all day long, but running the generator for a couple of hours in the morning seems perfectly reasonable to me.

Just my opinion, but if one wants to have an unadulterated nature experience, maybe they should consider backpacking, not RV camping.

There was a situation that happened around here 5 or 6 years ago, an "eccentric gentleman" sued the federal government/National Forest Service because airplanes were flying over the national forest. He argued that the purpose of the national forest was to "exclude civilization and all parts of civilized living" in the primitive parts of the forest. He argued that the noise from the airplanes "violated his reasonable expectation of silence in the forest". He wanted a "no fly zone" established over certain parts of the national forest... Of course the judge ruled against him, but it just goes to demonstrate that sometimes expectations about nature and natural environment can go to the extremes.....

[GHen]

There will be lots of varying opinions here depending on which end of the noise you are on. And everyone thinks their generator is the quietest around and don’t want to hear that they spent a bunch of cash unwisely. Expensive generators can be quiet and so can inexpensive ones.
Even though I have 2 generators I agree that hearing generators while camping is very irritating to me. I also have 300 watts solar so I seldom need the generator while camping.

What’s misleading about generator noise is how they are rated. It’s important to see the range like 1/4 power at 50db to full power at 67bd.
50 db is somewhat reasonable, 60 db is loud in a campground especially when your neighbors expect silence.

When I want to be as quiet as possible, I connect my 1000w gens together so they are running in that 1/4 - 1/2 power level at about 53db but would be at 60db at full power individually. That said having a 3000 watt generator running 1/4 power can create more power and be at about mid 50db but be 60+db at full power.

And if everyone else is running their generators because it’s 20 degrees and need heat, or it’s 95 degrees and need cool, well, then nobody seems to care about the noise.
On the other hand, a 7 am generator to make a cup of coffee is just rude. Boil water and use a manual coffee press, they work very well even with K-cups.

[flybouy]

GHen, I think it all boils down to common sense and being considerate of others. I've been in campgrounds where the idiot with the diesel pusher cranks the engine at 5 a.m. and let's it idle until he departs at 6. You can't fix stupid, it's everywhere.

[Logan X]

Originally Posted by Logan X

I’m not a fan of open frame generators or people who run their generator all day long, but running the generator for a couple of hours in the morning seems perfectly reasonable to me.

Just my opinion, but if one wants to have an unadulterated nature experience, maybe they should consider backpacking, not RV camping.

My apologies to KRumm if this came across as snarky. I hadn’t had my coffee yet...pun intended.

[KRumm]

I have a 5th wheel with all the bells and whistles... And have added solar and a battery bank to easily power the whole rig including a wonderful Italian espresso machine and grinder... (Not including the AC)...

My 600w Solar, 2k inverter, 40a charge controller and 400ah batteries cost me about ~$2,000.. It’s not rocket science...

No climbing out of the rig on a cold morning to fire up a generator... I don’t have to deal with a leaky or smelly gas container... There is more space in my bay, no heavy lifting setup required... No security chains or fear of theft... And no noise pollution to annoy the neighbors...

I guess everyone has their rights... But make no mistake your generator is creating noise pollution and your neighbors are not sitting in their RV thinking that guy has one of those quiet generators and is nice enough to only keep it on for a few hours...