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05-30-2019, 01:56 PM
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#41
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Member
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: Deux Montagnes,Quebec
Posts: 66
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lee
Hi,... Not sure about the $ conversion but last week I bought 2 6V golf cart batteries at the local Costco for $99/ea USD.
I realize the initial $ output is high,... but I would almost suggest the OP purchase a small 1kw generator.
I exclusively Boondock and this is how I do it.... use the small, quiet, 1kw gen set every other day to top off the batteries. Runs all day on 1 1/2 gal of gas.
Lee
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What is the make and model of your generator. I have a Honda 3000i but would lime to get a smaller one to top up the batteries with on short trips
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05-30-2019, 03:39 PM
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#42
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Member
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Topsham
Posts: 64
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For what it's worth, I figured a Honda 2000i would be a good investment for boon-docking. Bad move . It's heavy (i'm old) it won't touch the AC and frig on ac is grossly inefficient on a generator. Converter is 65 amp x 12 volts is 720 watts, unless your batteries are bone dead the converter is loafing along. A little 1k genset will charge your batteries as fast as shore power. Solar (if you have full sun) will help a little at 100 watts, but it's free .
If you are boon-docking, you probably have better things to do than watch tv . Check the wires going into your entertainment center, if you see a wire going to 12 volts labeled "Ignition" put it on a switch, you won't loose presets, the clock will go dark (DW likes dark nights) and power drawn drops tremendously .
Enjoy....
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05-30-2019, 05:57 PM
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#43
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2018
Location: Oregon
Posts: 1,138
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Good to know about the Radio. I’ll be looking into that as we don’t use it when dry camping. Also the iN·command unit. I wonder if you can turn it off after you are all set up? We have switches for all the lights anyway.
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05-31-2019, 01:05 AM
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#44
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Member
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Pittsburgh
Posts: 51
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Very good info in here. I live and camp 99.9 percent in the east. Since I bought my current camper new in 14 it has never had full hookups. I only camp in state parks or national forests, no “city style” campgrounds for me.
Many state parks have an electric loop, which get full and or reserved early, leaving many beautiful sites(sometimes several loops) basically empty. Since we are normally parked in trees here, I originally skipped solar. I set up with 2 6v on the tongue and a 2000w inverter generator. It opened up endless sites for us to use.
But I have found that it’s inconvenient using the generator in the daylight hours when you don’t want to be near your camper. We go to these places to explore. I am building a 200w semi portable solar rack that just fits under my tonneau cover. Hopefully the size keeps it from walking away.
I feel that since you don’t normally rely on your battery for your camping style, the 2 6v batts you bought will get you through 2 nights with power conservation in mind. Probably don’t need to spend any more money for a 0.1% outing.
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05-31-2019, 05:29 AM
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#45
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Okanagan, BC
Posts: 916
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mainer
If you are boon-docking, you probably have better things to do than watch tv . Check the wires going into your entertainment center, if you see a wire going to 12 volts labeled "Ignition" put it on a switch, you won't loose presets, the clock will go dark (DW likes dark nights) and power drawn drops tremendously .
Enjoy....
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Going to check that. Would love to turn the lights off at night, even if I have power. They keep the dogs awake
__________________
2010 Cougar 30RKS
2015 GMC Sierra Max Trailer
"Drinks for 6, Dinner for 4, Sleeps 2"
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05-31-2019, 05:50 AM
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#46
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: Salem
Posts: 20
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Scott902 if your still following this thread check out this site: https://handybobsolar.wordpress.com/ ALL your questions will be answered.
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05-31-2019, 06:38 AM
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#47
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Member
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Eastern Ontario
Posts: 68
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I would say a new 12volt would be the cheapest insurance for a one off trip. Keep truck connected and running while opening and closing the slide and using jack. Use park showers as not run water pump excessive. A little radio time and some lights will get you by fine. By all means leave that huge 6500 watt frame generator at home, as it will be heard throughout the park, and some will not allow them to be used. We love boondocking for the prized sites, and are set-up with solar, 2-6 volt golf cart batteries and a Yamaha i2000 inverter generator when needed.
__________________
2014 Bullet Premier 19fbpr
2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland Hemi
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05-31-2019, 08:59 AM
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#48
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Lacey, WA
Posts: 503
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nitehawk
What is the make and model of your generator. I have a Honda 3000i but would lime to get a smaller one to top up the batteries with on short trips
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Hi,
I use a Honda 1k.... VERY quiet,.... Small,.... Light weight..... Ruins all day on 1 1/2 gal gas.
Lee
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05-31-2019, 03:44 PM
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#49
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2018
Location: Oregon
Posts: 1,138
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You can find those little Honda 600-1000 on Craigslist most times and they are quiet and super light. Great for running lights and watching TV
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05-31-2019, 03:51 PM
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#50
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Green Valley
Posts: 124
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Forget the solar, if this is a rare event. We've lasted more than one day with a single 12V battery, but we didn't run furnace. Take the generator - it's the simplest way, since you don't plan to boondock much. KISS.
Our battery recharged in 15 or 20 minutes when we boondocked, but we were only running lights, refrigerator and stove. It ran another hour to recharge the phones. If you want to consider solar, get a small unit that will recharge the phones, and forger about the rest.
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06-09-2019, 04:46 AM
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#51
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Member
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: East Coast, Canada
Posts: 79
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boxes installed. Thanks all for the suggestions. We're gonna go with what we have for now (2 x 6v batteries). Ive got a couple booster packs with usb that we'll use to charge devices. For the couple nights we'll be there, I think this should do us.
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06-09-2019, 07:59 AM
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#52
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Gone Traveling
Join Date: May 2019
Location: Ridgefield WA
Posts: 190
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Another option is to go to a group 27 battery instead of the little group 24. You can get boxes for this size too. A group 27 has about a third more capacity than a group 24.
Also, make sure you're buying a real deep cycle battery, and not a marine/starting battery. These are for different use altogether. You can tell the difference just by pick each up. The true deep cycle battery is much heavier.
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06-09-2019, 08:11 AM
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#53
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Minneapolis
Posts: 196
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There is more than one advantage to adding solar. Not only will it charge your battery at 10 to 20 amps when boondocking, it will also trickle charger at
home so you would no longer need to plug your camper in at home. I use a ground mounted 230 watt 48v panel on my camper. I use 2 of the same panels roof mounted on my ice fishing house. I never need a generator for either.
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06-09-2019, 07:06 PM
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#54
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2018
Location: Oregon
Posts: 1,138
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bbells
There is more than one advantage to adding solar. Not only will it charge your battery at 10 to 20 amps when boondocking, it will also trickle charger at
home so you would no longer need to plug your camper in at home. I use a ground mounted 230 watt 48v panel on my camper. I use 2 of the same panels roof mounted on my ice fishing house. I never need a generator for either.
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Are the panels more efficient at 48v? And then does your solar controller convert the voltage to 12v or is there another piece to the puzzle?
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06-10-2019, 04:35 AM
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#55
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Member
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Lansing
Posts: 37
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fishsizzle
Are the panels more efficient at 48v? And then does your solar controller convert the voltage to 12v or is there another piece to the puzzle?
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I believe the short answer to that is, no. A charge controller is what you're missing. This is a merchant that sells their own MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) charge controller. Good 'splainer at the link.
https://zhcsolar.com/mppt-charge-con...Panels_Voltage
Victron is a long-standing respected manufacturer of systems including charge controllers. Sailboats have the same issues with power RV's have. Lots of cross-pollination there. I have one of their inverters.
https://www.victronenergy.com/solar-charge-controllers
This guy, Bob, an electrical engineer, doesn't sell a thing, but has actually been living it for years. He's a no joke guy I find humorous and has his head set squarely on his shoulders. Lots of reading there about, well, everything solar system related (not celestial tho). He likes the Trimetric and tells you why. Lots of words over there but if you take the time Bob gives a good sense of how all the parts work together in the real world. Link to his discussion of the Trimetric/Bogart:
https://handybobsolar.wordpress.com/...-2030-perfect/
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06-10-2019, 06:29 AM
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#56
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Gone Traveling
Join Date: May 2019
Location: Ridgefield WA
Posts: 190
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fishsizzle
Are the panels more efficient at 48v? And then does your solar controller convert the voltage to 12v or is there another piece to the puzzle?
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I have two 40 watt panels and a controller permanently mounted on my little 15' hunting/fishing travel trailer. It keeps the group 27 battery up even when parked in the shade. I see people all the time playing around with their panels to keep them in the sun. You really don't need to do that. This little trailer is stored in a covered RV storage, and it doesn't even need a battery tender. I just forget about it.
The only maintenance it takes is an occasional cleaning with Windex.
One of the best investments I've made!
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06-10-2019, 09:05 AM
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#57
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Member
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: East Coast, Canada
Posts: 79
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Maybe one day I'll go down that route. We've been RV'ing since 2012 and have never needed it. Having the option would be nice, so maybe someday.
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06-10-2019, 12:37 PM
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#58
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: Minneapolis
Posts: 196
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I meant 24, not 48v, sorry. But, 48v panels are even more efficient for their size than 24v. 24v (which are actually 36+volts) panels put out more power for the size than 12v. If you use an mppt controller you can get all the power out of them even when converting to 13.8v. If you use a ppm controller you lose about 40% of the power if you convert to 13.8. But, many people believe, and i am one of them, that if you need more power a second panel or a panel with higher wattage is more cost effective than paying the high price for an mppt controller. When hooking a grid up to a home most people wire 10 24v panels, or 5 48v panels, in series to put out 240v (actually closer to 360 volts in full sun) which is then inverted to AC to match the power companies freq. A good way of looking at it is a 230 watt panel puts out about 20 amps to charge the RV battery for 5 to 7 hours a day (less watts for the rest of the day). That would be 100 to 140 amps back into the battery. If a person needed more, like with my ice fishing house, a second panel would double that. Oh, if you don't want to go to the trouble of adding multiple 6v golf cart batteries to get real deep cycle, you can get very heavy 12v golf cart batteries from batteries plus. Marine deep cycle or any battery that has cca on it won't have a very long lifespan if you actually use it.
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06-23-2019, 01:23 PM
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#59
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Member
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: East Coast, Canada
Posts: 79
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Thought I'd follow up and say we did the weekend off the grid, beautiful spot right by the beach. We were pretty conservative with the lights and such, and the 2 6v GC batteries did wonderful. Never dropped below full on the battery monitor. A friend brought a small generator if anyone needed it, but we did not.
__________________
15 Sierra SLT 1500 Max Tow 6.2
16 Springdale 27OLE
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06-23-2019, 03:59 PM
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#60
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: Southern California
Posts: 1,286
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Scott902
Thought I'd follow up and say we did the weekend off the grid, beautiful spot right by the beach. We were pretty conservative with the lights and such, and the 2 6v GC batteries did wonderful. Never dropped below full on the battery monitor. A friend brought a small generator if anyone needed it, but we did not.
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That’s awesome! It’s a liberating feeling being comfortable camping off of the grid.
__________________
Mike
2017 F250 6.7 Powerstroke FX4 crew cab
2016 Hideout 24BHSWE (27 foot TT)
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