Boondocking Questions, Tips, Etc.

[Long & Winding road]

Originally Posted by Squerly

I have 4-6 volt, 430 ah batteries. So I'm estimating 400 ah as my usable power.

Ok, great. So 215 Amp Hr per 6 volt battery?

But that amp hr at 6 volt not 12 volt (right?). So 107.5 at 12 v x 4 batteries is 430 - 50% = 215 of usable amp hr.

Or am I missing something?

[Long & Winding road]

Originally Posted by Squerly

lol, but the air conditioner doesn't run on propane!

I wish they had a propane option for these AC units.... That would be awesome. Might have to upgrade to a 100# propane to make it last a week?

[Squerly]

Originally Posted by Long & Winding road

Ok, great. So 215 Amp Hr per 6 volt battery?

But that amp hr at 6 volt not 12 volt (right?). So 107.5 at 12 v x 4 batteries is 430 - 50% = 215 of usable amp hr.

Or am I missing something?

No, it's 4 - 6 volt batteries, each one is 430 ah. 2 in series, then 2 sets in parallel. Total of 860 ah. 1/2 of that = 430 ah.

link to batteries


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[Long & Winding road]

Originally Posted by Squerly

No, it's 4 - 6 volt batteries, each one is 430 ah. 2 in series, then 2 sets in parallel. Total of 860 ah. 1/2 of that = 430 ah.

link to batteries


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Ok, I use to seeing 6 volts around 215 - 225 amp hour each. So yours are super large (I bet thats the first time you were told that - LOL).

10-4. So its a total of 1720 in 6 volts but 860 in 12 volts.

Thats a great setup you have.

[Squerly]

Originally Posted by Long & Winding road

So yours are super large (I bet thats the first time you were told that - LOL).

10-4. So its a total of 1720 in 6 volts but 860 in 12 volts.

Thats a great setup you have.

Thank you L&WR!

I like the AGM (have them here at the house on our backup system) but didn't want to pay the price.

These were $250 apiece, have a 3-year full exchange guarantee, and more AH than anything else that I found. I added a DC 6.5-100V LCD display to monitor current, voltage, wattage and power used.

And on Wednesday, I get to try it all out !

[Long & Winding road]

YWC,

I have the same exact montior sitting in my garage waiting on me to install - lol.

I was hoping to add 200 watts of solar this spring and installing monitor at the same time

Its just now getting nice outside and Im so busy on the weekends anymore.

I also have a small AC current montior I was going to install above my fuse panel just so I can keep an eye on the AC current as well.

So many thing to do and such little time.

[donw]

I pick up my Thor Miramar the end of next week. I too have a concern about the residential refrigerator when dry camping. That said, I happen to have a Champion 3100w generator. I must ask where would one store 95lb generator in a motor home? I don't have the RV yet but the generator is rather large. About double of a Honda 1000 and very heavy. If I could slide it in a compartment I would have to fuel it and run it in that storage compartment.

I like the idea especially since I have one but it seems problematic for me.

Am I missing anything?

Don

[Oneilkeys]

Why is that any better than the generator in your MH.

[The Gritz Carlton]

Originally Posted by donw

I pick up my Thor Miramar the end of next week. I too have a concern about the residential refrigerator when dry camping. That said, I happen to have a Champion 3100w generator. I must ask where would one store 95lb generator in a motor home? I don't have the RV yet but the generator is rather large. About double of a Honda 1000 and very heavy. If I could slide it in a compartment I would have to fuel it and run it in that storage compartment.

I like the idea especially since I have one but it seems problematic for me.

Am I missing anything?

Don

I put it on an aluminum rear carrier rack in the hitch receiver. I can carry it along with 2-3, 5 gallon jugs. I remove the fuel jugs and leave the generator on the rack when using it. I also tow a 16' trailer with a Jeep so this leaves me room on the trailer for portable(s) and fuel, ladder, dog fencing and any other things specific to where we are going. My second option is 2 of the Honda 2000's with parallel kit. I can run one or both of them. The reason I use portables when boondocking is much less fuel consumption, less wear and tear on the diesel Onan and having a back up for those times you are not near any shore power source. If the house unit were to go down...zero power isn't good. I only carry them when planned for boondocking trips. For those who wish to rant on "you have a $10K diesel generator...don't be so scared to use it!"...I'm not...it's just a common sense thing to me...I can afford to run the generator to death and replace it if I wish. I just don't wish to.

[Long & Winding road]

Originally Posted by Oneilkeys

Why is that any better than the generator in your MH.

I with Oneilkeys on this one. I can see a small 1000 watt that is light and super fuel efficent and you plan on being in one spot for a month (or even a weekend at the races).

But the heavy 3100 watt genny can stay at home. Not worth it (IMO). The RV is already set perfectly for 90% of our power needs. Sure sometimes its nice to tweak it some .... but do you really need to?

I use my OEM genny all day long just to run the AC. Sure its adding hours to it but I want confort and convenance. I dont need any more steps added or hassels in order to enjoy AC when I need it.

[The Gritz Carlton]

"I use my OEM genny all day long just to run the AC. Sure its adding hours to it but I want confort and convenance. I dont need any more steps added or hassels in order to enjoy AC when I need it."

I pretty much covered your comments in advance with this...For those who wish to rant on "you have a $10K diesel generator...don't be so scared to use it!"

You run your generator all day for A/C because you have to in a gas A. That fishbowl gets pretty hot up there. Let's not turn this thread into another one of those..."this is what I do and it's better just because I do it that way".

[Long & Winding road]

Yep your right... But your extra 1000 watt genny is light and portable. Make sense the way you use yours.

But a 3100 watt IMO dont make much sense. Large and heavy... I already have a 4000 watt on board and at a flick of a switch im good to go.

I was just point that out. Some like to save hours on the OEM genny and thats fine. Others dont worry about it.

I like the fact you can save fuel and im sure it much quieter than the OEM Genny. Works well for your needs.

[The Gritz Carlton]

"Others dont worry about it."
Assuming I'm worried about it...no worries here, Mon.

"I like the fact you can save fuel"
Me too...it extends the fun...almost 8 times more efficient for just 1 A/C.


"im sure it much quieter than the OEM Genny"
There's about the same...the QD6000 is an inverter style, water cooled 3 cylinder Kubota diesel...well insulated cabinet and very quiet.


If you were dry camping for 4-5 days in the summer...how long can your house unit run on the fuel supply in your coach tank? That's also a consideration with the fuel economy. The 3100 runs 7 hours on 3/4 gallon. the diesel runs 1 hour on 1/2 gallon (half load). Huge difference for when you have small power needs.

[Bob Denman]

Could your power usage be reduced to the point of not needing the extra generator?

[The Gritz Carlton]

The extra generator isn't needed. An yes...you could run the house generator all the time. It's just an option for boondocking that saves fuel. More people do it than you think. I witness large DP's at ll the races using the dual Hondas and other small units. I think some overthink this. It's simply an option and has nothing to do with being scared, worried or cheap. How long will your generator run on the onboard fuel system if you were boondocking for days on end? Run the numbers...why run 6000W generator for days if all you need is 1600W for the most part?

[Squerly]

I did the math and I think it's right, but who knows. I've been trimming trees all day so I can get the MH out the driveway tomorrow, and I'm tired.

But the way I see it, using a portable generator that costs $600.00, and based on a gasoline price of $3.00 per gallon, it would take 512 (+-) hours to save enough enough gas to pay for the generator. After that, it's money in your pocket.

I talked with a friend who own several pawn shops and he has several craftsman 2200-watt Inverter's (still in the box) that he will sell me for $350.00 apiece, $600 if I take two. (they can be run parallel)

So if you pay less than $600.00 for a tag along generator, it'll take you less hours to save enough to pay it off. In my case, it would only take about 260 hours. That's only 26 days based on running the generator 10 hrs a day. YMMV

If you boondock a lot, I think it's reasonable to have the spare generator. Of course, you have to have the basement space to haul it around, and you have to be able to strong arm it in/out. I have both, so for me it makes sense.

My opinion only, and you know what that's worth, right?

[Long & Winding road]

Yep, your right.

If your going to boondock that much it make sense.

Will you have solar to help supplement as well?

[Squerly]

Originally Posted by Long & Winding road

Yep, your right.

If your going to boondock that much it make sense.

Will you have solar to help supplement as well?

I had planned to. Probably wouldn't do it if I had to buy some panels but I have several 24 volt panels from a previous project. They might as well be on the MH as in the barn.

[Bob Denman]

24 Volt solar panels?
What do you have to do with the wiring; to make them work with your rig's 12 Volt system?

[Squerly]

Originally Posted by Bob Denman

24 Volt solar panels?
What do you have to do with the wiring; to make them work with your rig's 12 Volt system?

The 12 volt system remains the same. The MPPT solar controler handles the 24 volts of power and sends the appropriate amount to the batteries. Or so I'm told. My understanding of how all this cool stuff works is at the bottom end of the learning curve. But I have faith!