Do You REALLY need Solar, Lithium Batteries or a Generator?
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- Опубликовано: 29 июл 2024
- Many RV owners may think they need solar, a generator or upgrade their batteries to lithium. But the truth is not everyone needs these items. In this video, I break down what each really is for and who might need and who may not need each of these items.
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*A quiet **Generater.Systems** , love the dual fuel capabilities, camper is 50 amp but the adapter helps and found it still handles the load. Haven't taken a camping trip yet, that's in a couple of weeks. Will see how well it does over a long weekend.*
What I have done in our trailer for 120v AC: We now have lithium batteries but that wasn't always the case. Our 2000 watt inverter (now a pure sine wave unit - but that too wasn't always the case) is mounted in the pass-through storage area in the front of our travel trailer. I have an outdoor extension cord plugged into the inverter and it runs inside to the rear of our trailer where the attached power cord resides inside that box-like area when traveling. If we want to use the inverter, we plug the extension cord in (on which I've installed a plug box like an electrician might put in a house and that also resides in that spot where we coil up our power cord when traveling). I turn on the inverter with a switch inside our trailer, disconnect the converter, and bingo. All our 120v plugs are powered. ALL of them. Last year our 10-year-old fridge died and we needed a new fridge 'yesterday'. It was 120° outside. Time was of the essence. We were in Houston at the time and could not find any replacement fridges - anywhere. Our mobile repair tech suggested the 120v AC fridge, which fit perfectly in our existing space. We found one at Lowe's for about $450. The best thing about THIS fridge was all the room it had compared to our old RV fridge. And it kept our stuff much cooler. So now we leave the fridge running when traveling, which we rarely did with the old fridge. We have 700 watts of solar on the roof and they charge the batteries through a Morningstar MPPT charge controller. Tech support at Morningstar helped me reprogram the controller to handle our lithium upgrade. Since these upgrades, we've never taken any of our generators with us. But then, we live in NV and rarely camp near or under trees. There just aren't any where we go - ha. I had this same kind of setup on our previous trailer as well. This system has worked flawlessly for almost 25 years.
That was an excellent presentation, probably one of the better ones I've seen.
I would add two comments to what you've said.
1. If you're going the solar route, and even the generator, you really need a battery monitor. The Victron BMV-712 is the one a lot of us use. That way you know exactly how much power you use.
2. I have 200 watts of external solar panels (2 Renogy 100 watt) and a Victron MPPT solar controller, and there are times when I couldn't get all the way back up to full charge. I can go a couple of days with only a partial charge, but I've had times when we had heavy clouds for five days in a row. On the third day, I fired up the generator for two hours in the morning. That didn't bring me to a full charge, but the solar panels were able to supply the rest.
I've also been in a campground that solar simply wouldn't generate anywhere near enough power because of really thick tree cover. Even my external panels with 50' of reach couldn't get to the sun. So if you're using solar, you MUST have a Plan B for power; that can be a generator, your tow vehicle driving or going somewhere to plug in.
BTW, I'm fortunate my Chevy Colorado provides quite a bit of power to my T@B for charging. But not all do. But there are ways to get it to do it.
Thank you! Those are excellent points that will help others out. We love our Victron Battery Monitor that Austin installed for us. So much better than the worthless onboard battery monitor.
@@TravelswithDelaney Yep, its a debate which I love more the Victron BMV-712 or my LevelMate Pro. Fortunately, they don't seem to have any feelings of jealousy between the two :)
@@TravelswithDelaney Patrick or Robert, question for you (reference my separate comment as well) . . .. Since my new 100W Renogy suitcase has the built in charge controller, would you still see benefit in or recommend a Victron battery monitor? I like the idea of a good battery monitor but doesn't the charge controller kind of do the same thing? Maybe just not show you how far you deplete the battery before re-charging I suppose. ..
I have a Honda EU2200 that I converted to propane with the Hutch Mountain Kit. I keep the Honda in the camper all the time and no gasoline to worry about. Gasoline has a short shelf life and can go bad over time and can ruins your carburetor. My Honda is always ready to go on clean propane the oil stays clean longer also.
The Honda's are very well built and super quiet as you know.
If you put Stabil in the gas can I think it will stay fresh for 2 years. I might be wrong about the time but its a long time.
Our first purchase before picking up our T@B was that fan! We agree, it gets the air moving, glad we have it! Ready to travel!
Isn't that little fan amazing! We love that thing....small, lightweight, affordable and energy efficient.
POWER 101!! You sure have a great way of explaining things, Professor - that was the most confusing thing to understand when we first got our camper. What powers what and how do you know what you need...it took me a while to understand it's the WAY you want to camp that dictates what you may need. Priceless information and well done, Patrick. ~💜
That would have been a great name for this video! LOL. Thank you so much as always for the positive feedback and support! We love you both!!
BWANA BWANA 👍
Instablaster
So informative and easy to understand! Appreciate the examples! We’re newbies and still waiting for our travel trailer.
We really like your honest approach to not only explaining the products and what they do, but how they may be applicable to the user's need. Well done!
Thank you so much for the kind words! Hopefully this will be of some use to people considering any of these items.
Thanks for the thorough review of the electric power topic that seems to be constantly evolving. I watched two videos yesterday that described "battery generators" where the power delivered by the"generator" comes from a rechargeable lithium battery pack and not a gas engine/generator set. They are pricey but in time like most things the price will begin to drop
As someone just getting started, I really appreciated this. So much to learn! My trailer should be ready for me in a couple weeks. Can't wait. Thanks, Patrick!
Thank you!
I learned sooo much (as always)! You break things down and make the complicated simple. Thanks Patrick!
That means so much coming from you Randi! You do the same on your videos!
Thanks for the great information. There is so much that I still feel like I need to learn but this helped clarify some of the power questions. I think I need to watch the video a few more times to get this part figured out and get the info to sink in. Thankfully, that won't be hard as your presentation style is easy to watch. Thanks again!
Thank you very much Kim! Don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions that we might be able to answer.
Very Well Thought out Video, Diane was choked that Pattie and the Pups were not even Cameo'd. Thanks Patrick, appreciate your time and knowledge!
Thanks Paul! We will get them back in some videos hopefully soon once we can get out traveling.
Just what I needed to know on the need of power. Thanks!
Thank you Patrick for this video. It’s all good information to hear about. Good to know ability the lithium battery. And generator. This helps me out for when I get my Rv camper. Thank you again Patrick. Have a nice day. See you soon. Can’t wait until next video. Stay safe and safe travels.
The suitcase solar panels are great except for the fact that you absolutely cannot leave them in your campsite while you are gone or people will steal them. At $600 per panel, it is quite frustrating to see your unit gone after you come back from a hike. Generators are also in that category. Essentially anything that has good pawn shop value is a big target unfortunately.
Lithium are expensive upfront, but are actually cheaper over time. They will last a decade or more easily, and even when they do start to degrade you still can get around 80% capacity. You will end up replacing dead AGM or lead acid batteries several times in the same time frame, costing more money overall. Plus, there are more affordable LiFePO4 batteries out there. A 100AH Battleborn is $950, but a 100AH SOK is only $570. That's twice the cost of a typical AGM battery, but lasts 10x (or more) as long. Lithium is the way to go in the long-term.
Totally agreee with you. I think its just the sticker shock for a lot of people.
We are currently drydocking (living full-time parked in one location with full hookups making upgrades and repairs before we travel full-time).
The plan is to go full solar/batter with generator backup.
Step one: Upgrade to LiFePo batteries for the occasional local power outages. These will be powered by the grid until further upgrades can be made to our rig.
Step two: Get a generator to run big power items like ACs and heaters during said power outages.
Step three: Build up solar to the point we can be off the power grid with the generator as backup. (We live in a Toy Hauler with a 13 gallon fuel tank for the generator.)
Step four: Buy land and set up a home base where we can sit if we want/need to on occasion. This will most likely be in TX or some point further west with family and climate being the two major deciding factors.
That’s the plan in a nutshell. Given our current situation, this is a 5-8 year plan from this point.
Anyone else out there drydocking and playing the long game?
Edit: And somewhere in there we will need a truck to haul our home. We kinda but the cart before the horse on this one. :P
D.
Sounds like you have great upgrade plan.
Agreed. Clean and straight forward points. I enjoyed this discussion because he explained, the technology and gave real examples of how and why.
Thank you Paul!
Great info! Thanks Patrick for the very educated considerations:)
My pleasure!
This answers so many questions. But I'm sure to have more. Thanks, as usual, for the easy to understand explanation.
Glad it was helpful!
Helpful indeed.
Well done as always!
Thank you Terry!
I'm fortunate to have a 3-way fridge (2019 T@B) and when boon-docking in the desert or the Sierras, propane is VERY efficient. I have a good Zurn solar cell system that charges two 6V Glass Mesh batteries connected in series. This allows us to watch movies at night even if we stay out for days. Indeed, most people do not need Lithium.
Just found your channel. Very informative. We just bought a truck mounted camper combo last September. The camper came with 2 marine deep cycle lead batteries an onboard 2500watt propane generator. Propane stove/oven , water heater, fridge and furnace. We tried out the camper on an overnight trip. Used the generator to run the microwave and to run the TV and DVD player. The next time we didn’t use the generator just used the batteries torun the tv DVD player and the lights. The batteries did ok. I changed all the bulbs to led. We also got a small BBQ to cook outside and plug into the quick attach propane line. We are not planning on plugging into power very often or staying in one spot more than a day. While driving the truck alternator charges the onboard batteries. We just purchased a 100watt portable solar panel that hooks directly to the batteries for charging to supplement charging while we are parked. We had no experience whatsoever camping so it’s nice to have folks like you to learn from. I was planning on purchasing lithium batteries and upgrading the converter but now I think we will stick with the lead batteries and just got the solar panels to help out.
Thank you and welcome!
Great info as always!
Thank you so much!
As Stacey Forrest said, good explanation of Power 101
Thank you Pat!
I have one of those fans! I love it.
Isn't that little fan awesome! We love ours and use it all the time.
Great video. Thank you
Thank you for this video. I was especially interested to hear the Predator actually running while you were talking. That IS quiet! While I mostly camp with hookups with my Tab 320S, I have dry camped a few times. In general power usage is a non-issue with propane heat and fridge, and solar lights (like Luci, etc). I did invest in a solar suitcase, just in case I need it. What I didn't hear you mention is power for medical equipment, such as a CPAP. My real concern is making sure there is power for my Cpap. I did buy the 12v plug and cord, but I want to be sure I can use it as needed, without humidifier and heated hose to save power if necessary. Thanks again for another great show!
Thank you!
The best decision I made was putting solar on the roof of our Airstream when I bought it in 2008, you never know when you will need to go without power for a few days when out camping. The portable panels are a theft target, have them mounted on your roof and forget about it...
Great video! You explain things really well. We only have the portable solar panels and a long extension cord for it. We have 2 battery operated fans for the inside of the camper. We also bought a solar powered phone charger. Little things to make things more comfortable!
Thank you so much Deanne!
Great advise and presentation.
Good job.
Thank you kindly!
Great stuff Patrick. Keep em coming👍
Thank you very much!
Wow, excellent easy to understand information. Well done!
Thank you very much!
really needed to see this thank you. Im planning on getting the 400 and going to Alaska next year and needed to see if i really needed extra juice
Thank you for another great session
Thank you! Hope you are staying safe and healthy!
Thank you for explaining so well!!! Been trying to get an idea of what we need, Def going with solar and a small duel fuel genny.
Thank you!
I like to live on 12 volts. If I need AC power, I have my generator for my hot plate, coffer maker and ice maker. I like KISS.
Very detailed video Thanks for your amazing videos !!!
Thank you so much!
Thank you.
You're welcome!
Lots a great useful information Patrick. Of course I have a Nucamp tag xl and with a couple of D cell batteries I’m good 😂. Thx for sharing. All out best for Patty and the pups. You guys be safe if when you venture to west Yellowstone. 🤙🏽
LOL! I love that....a couple of "D" batteries! Hopefully in a couple of weeks we will be able to hit the road.
I recently added power switches to the TV and radio. In doing so, I took some measurements and thought I'd share them here.
The TV seems very frugal when in standby. When you first plug it in, there is a 0.15-0.20amp draw but after 5-10 seconds, it settles down to 0.01amp. I questioned whether or not to put a switch on it but since I had everything there, i just went ahead with it.
The radio was more interesting. When you first plug it in (or switch the battery disconnect), the power drain settles down to a 0.2-0.25 amp draw. When you turn it on it spikes up to varying levels depending on use of DVD, speakers, etc. which is expected. However, what I didn't expect, was that when I turned the power off, it settled down to a 0.08amp draw. (1/3 of what it used when it was initially powered). I repeated this test several times with the same results. It could be that had I never powered the unit on/off, it would have eventually reached the lower power state, admittedly I never waited very long to find out.
I posted to another forum and someone else confirmed the same results. Maybe for those who rarely use the radio, they could save 0.15amps just by powering it on/off after the throwing the battery disconnect switch.
Ty
Aside from weight, the trouble with a car battery is that for efficiency and longest life it needs to be kept at its full charge of 12.6V. The longer its used in a depleting state, like 11.9, 10.8, etc, the shorter its life. People who swear by a certain brand are probably people who most often have a topped-up battery.
Very good points!
Lots of great information, you have a new subscriber. Thank you.
Thank you and welcome!
So informative and helpful. Thanks!
You are welcome! Thank you for watching.
Depends on how much you move if you run the car a lot you can charge a portable unit with the car.
You can?! 😲
Hey Patrick, great video. I think your right in saying a person needs to really look at how they plan to use their RV. I have a small 2019 Geo Pro 12SRK, no air conditioner as it has a Maxxie fan which keeps it cool enough for me. For my power needs I have a Go Power flat 100 watt on the roof and a Go Power 90 watt suitcase unit. The RV came with 90 ah AGM battery and it keeps my battery up just fine. I live in Alberta Canada, northern area, and an air conditioner is not a factor for me, more a furnace as it can get down fairly cool at nights, even in the summer. Yes, this trailer has a 20,000 BTU furnace, a little over kill for this size of trailer but I’m not complaining. I do about 60 percent off grid and have had no issues with power. Anyway, that’s what I have and it meets my needs. Stay safe. PS: I have one of those small fans too and it does work really well.
It sounds like you have a very good setup for your trailer and how you use it. I just thought this video might save someone money if they don't need something like solar. We love that little fan and use it all the time. We also love our Maxair Fan as well.
Wow you broke the big 17k congrats. We are going with 1300 watts of solar, 3000 watt converter, will have all the RV outlets powered in the RV but not the AC. We will be starting with 3 batteries from Battle Born. That will be our long term setup. We do have the generator onboard as well. Great video y'all. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you William! That sounds like a great solar system you are setting up. You will have more solar than Russ! LOL.
Awesome shirt. Rockfish Gap Outfitters is where I’ve bought all of my family’s kayaks. Awesome people. 👍
Thank you! We stopped there years ago when we were doing some backpacking in Shenandoah NP. It was a very nice shop.
I have the Jackery 500 with the 100 w solar panel that I use with my '98 Ford van. It powers and charges all my small electronic stuff. I just bought a Alpicool 20 and have been testing it with my Jackery and it works great. I put it on freezer mode and run it like that during the day with my 100 solar panel and then I turn it down to frig mode and have even turned it off as it maintains a cold temp during the night. My Luci lights, power packs, and 13 w solar panel are used for charging various items like my rechargeable Cusinart hand blender combo, fans, headlamps, flashlight and phones.
Our friend Randi from YT's Randi's Adventures has the Jackery 1000 and she loves it.
Thanks
Fantastic video! Very informative and detailed.
Thank You very much
I am a new travel trailer owner and getting use to of my lance 1985. I am thinking to do more boondocking once every national park or other places get open.
Loving this.
Thank you Kevin!
I appreciate that you take the time to differentiate between different types of campers need different kinds of power. We are not full time, but we spend a ton of time in the mountains boondocking during the summer. We have just regular old 12 v batteries and a generator (I think it's a firman). When our batteries need charging (or if I need a break from the kids and want them to watch a movie on our TV) we turn on the generator for a little bit and charge them up. I'd like to get some lithium batteries because they are lower maintenance than the 12 volt. My husband really wants solar, but we usually camp in the woods surrounded by trees so I don't think that would be a good investment for us.
Everyone has different needs when it comes to RV power. What works for one person may not be needed for someone else.
great info 👍
Excellent video and review, Patrick. Even though I've watched many similar themed videos, yours was clear, concise, and to the point (as well as accurate). Thought I would share what I do since you asked. Yes, most of the time, I'm in an RV park with electric shore power. However, I LOVE boondocking, and do it a number of times a year for three or four days at a time. Since my 21 foot TT only has a single lead-acid deep cycle battery, I also supplement with my 3000W Briggs & Stratton inverter generator but ALSO just bought the same 100W Renogy solar suitcase as you have. I just use the alligator clips it comes with and hook straight to my house battery on the tongue of the trailer. I much as I love the concept of solar and love the idea of buying a lithium battery, it's just not worth it for me. Our power needs are pretty minimal off grid so I can make my lead acid battery work with a little boost from solar during the day and maybe a little generator here and there. Hope you guys can get out now and enjoy! Our campgrounds here in Ohio just opened Thursday but I'm boondocking on private property this holiday weekend. Take care. . . see you next time.
Thank you! We love boondocking too!
Great video and well presented! Thank you! I would only add that solar, lithium batteries, and generators are more a lifestyle choice than anything else. It's about the experience you want to have while in your RV or camper. RV's and campers are already terrible investments, but we invest in them, anyway - because, it's a lifestyle choice, rather than a matter of practicality. And, if you have spent $100k, or more, on an RV, spending an extra $10k - or, ten percent - would give you all the solar and lithium power you would need to live full time in it. And, that's less than the depreciation the RV has as you drive it off the lot. I would also point out that solar panels and lithium battery installations can cost LESS than either of the generators you showed.
Very well said Richard!
You have answered a LOT questions for me and I thank you. We don't boondock very often( Wife doesn't like it..:( ) and we did stop like a Walmart, we used a Generator for a brief time ONLY. The ONLY thing that I will do (when the house battery dies) is replaced them with ONE (since I ONLY have one) maybe a AGM battery unless I find lithium battery cheaper. Thanks again.
NIce Job Patrick, I wish more people on the Facebook RV pages would view the many You Tube videos about boondocking before posting "where do I plug in my camper while boondocking". I think it is amusing to read about people who buy a fifth wheel for boondocking and it only comes with a single lead acid battery but it also has a residential fridge. I knew I wanted a boondocking capable camper and found one at Oliver Travel Trailers which had options like 340 Watts of solar, 2000 watt inverter and 400 Amp Hour 6v Trojan AGM batteries (they don't yet offer lithium). I also optioned the Easy Start system add on for the air conditioner. As long as I don't run the microwave or have the refrigerator set on AC, my Honda eu2200 will start and run the 13500 btu air conditioner easily. Keep up the good work.
Thank you Ken! I would totally agree with you.
I have a T@B 400 boondock 2020 with built in solar on roof
I also have 160 watt Zamp portable suitcase. I have gone for 14 days at a time wirh no problem.
That is awesome to hear. I believe you have the same solar panel as we do.
Awesome video thank you
Glad you enjoyed it
We have 100W solar panel on the roof and a Renegy 100W portable and two Battleborn Batteries. We camp in National Parks a lot, so this was a great choice for us.
That sounds very similar to our setup!
Hey there great video! Lots of great info! My Adventurer 89rbs came with a single 100watt roof mounted panel and 2 flooded group 24 deep cycle batteries rated at 80amp hours. After a few months of dry camping and hook up camping I made some upgrades. First was a 2nd 100watt roof panel. 2nd was bumping up to 2 group 31 flooded deep cycle batteries rated at 130amp hrs each. And bought a go power 90 Amp portable solar system with a 30ft extension. But always have my Honda eu2200 when dry camping. I think think the best set up is a mix of solar and inverter generator. Batteries are to each their own. I like flooded for price and reliability.
Sounds like a great setup you have. I think you made some nice upgrades to give you more capacity for off grid camping.
@@TravelswithDelaney Definitely. Old camper was a 2007 S&S bitter root 9' and it only had a single group 31 130ah battery with a harbor freight 100watt solar kit with the Honda Gen. Worked great in all seasons. Was surprised how much more power the new camper uses compared to the old. Both are all led light inside and out.
Excellent discussion thanks for sharing your knowledge
My pleasure!
We have a 2000 inverter, a Honda generator and 6 electric cart batteries and we are trying a solar panel when rv in storage. When we boondock
our batteries hold a lot of energy for several days before we need to run our generator. Our rv has all led lights which save a lot of energy.
Camping full-time in a utility van, I have 200watts of solar panels and 200ah of lithium batteries. I'm boondocking 100% in the southwest, never plugged in. I have more power than I have needed these past 2 years. I have an Engel DC fridge, LED lights, charge my phone's, charge my electric shaver, and that's about it. I also charge my power tool batteries since I have essentially a woodworking setup in the van. All with just a 300w inverter. Stove is propane, Mr buddy is propane. Solar panels are on roof. Right now it's in the upper 80's and it hits 95 here in July. Coldest was 18, warmest 105 last summer in New Mexico. AC I built using a cooler, radiator and sump pump kind of a swamp cooler which can drop temps from 100 to 75 using cool water which really is enough. Occasionally think of generators but honestly would only use it a few days a year. Better to just chase the weather. I've never run the batteries down to where I was out of power. But last winter in Leadville CO, it was soooo cold overnight, I did try to use the Mr buddy overnight when it was 5 degrees. And, yeah, Leadville is 10k feet so it didn't work, solution ? Chase warmer weather
That is great to hear! Sounds like that setup is working well for you.
Great down to earth advice. Everyone should watch it before buying an RV.
Thank you so much!
Hi Patrick and Patty. Good info for folks who are starting to think about how to power their rigs.
I noticed you have a new dinette table in your T@B - Is that something you've already shown, or maybe a future video?
We'll soon be joining you in the T@B 400 family - picking up a 2021 TAB 400 from Beckley's in MD in a couple of weeks. Having watched your channel for a while, I feel well prepared for what to expect! And it has the factory Solar, so one less thing for us to consider...Would love it if NuCamp offered a factory Lithium upgrade - I'd be all over that!
Thanks and have a great week.
ChrisFix We got our 2019 400 from Paul Chamberlain at Beckley’s last year. It was a great experience and worth the drive from Ohio. Patrick and Patty’s channel really helped us with our decision too. You’ll love the 400!
I actually just installed that new table top! It was an old coffee table we had that I tore apart and cut down to fit into the trailer. Its smaller than the old table so when you put it down as a couch, you don't have that section of the table sticking out.
You will love your new 400 and getting the solar from the factory is a bonus for you! Much cheaper than doing it after purchase like we did.
Thx again for great content Patrick. Our biggest consideration while not on shore power is my c pap machine. It does use 110 and i have to have it. The predator does a great job of bringing the batteries back though. Love my new Victron monitor system also. C ya guys. :)
Thank you Ron! The Victron System works really well. Love having that app to check battery levels.
I have a Lance 1985 with 160 watts of solar on the roof which works great most of the time. I occasionally dry camp and when I’m planning on that kind of trip I have a duel fuel 3400 watt champion with a 30 amp plug and it will run everything the same as if I’m on shore power but it takes room and weighs 100lbs, so when I use it I use , it on the tailgate of the truck so it’s only 1 time in and out per trip. Since most of the time I have electrical hookups I don’t take it but in the event power goes out or I change my plans I always take my small 900 watt Ryobi generator which is enough to keep the batteries charged up while you’re watch TV or running your fans all day. It weighs less than 25 lbs, doesn’t take up anymore room than a case of beer and runs on 1lb propane canisters. Basically it’s my emergency power source. Solar is nice but there are campgrounds in the mountains of the Northwest where the sun can’t break through the forest canopy at your site.
Patrick we are not allowed to use a generator on camping sites in the U.K. I as you know am sticking to my four Duracell! Solar is getting better but our weather isn’t that good for longer use. I may upgrade to a 100amp solar system just so I have it! Thanks for sharing the info! Stay safe! ❤️❤️❤️
I always enjoy hearing how camping is different there from here. We have been very happy with the solar panel on our 400.
The big down side to panels directly to the trailer is the heat. It makes the roof very hot
Good point!
I've got mine 3 inches above my van roof across roof rack. You do not want panels directly on the roof for a lot of reasons. The only downside to there being a gap is drag which you can mitigate by rounding the leading edge. It will create a little lift at speeds and in high winds but not enough to cause an issue if properly secured. I've been a roof attached panel strip off a roof on I-80 and it was scary, was far enough behind to avoid it.
@@ronmiller7916 that isn't how nucamp installs them at the factory. I agree an air gap is needed
We're almost exclusively dry campers/boondockers. We have a 34' class a motorhome. We run our little 2000 watt Honda inverter generator for everything but the AC. The coach generator is a 7kw gas hog so not only in the interest of fuel consumption but also avoiding running it with little to no load on it, we barely use it unless we really want AC. The coach generator gets run being exercised every other month than it does actually being used. We have considered solar but our little Honda generator serves its purpose so well we just can't justify the cost.
Solar is definitely not for everyone. Those little Honda generators do a very good job.
We have a small Minnie Winnie RV (22r) with a built in generator. We like having it in case we need it. We have a 300w foldable, soft solar panel (it is actually 4 panels) that we store away when not using. We had a solar charger/2000 watt inverter installed as well with a Battleborn lithium battery. We just plug our panel in and it has a 20ft cable so that we can move it around to where the sun is. We feel that with our solar set up and generator we are good for boon docking. With the generator we can use everything including air conditioning in case we need to take the edge off of the heat, and with the inverter we can use all of our lights and plus in the unit. We do not have the inverter hooked up to the microwave or air conditioning but it is sure nice to be able to use all of the electrical outlets.
Sounds like a great setup that you have.
If your car tow vehicle isn't charging batteries quickly, I think something needs to be done about that. You lose voltage in a long run of small gage wire, upsize it to welding lead so you can get some charge running down the road.
Yay excellent info!! I am not understanding solar and my little camper has two panels on top and one suitcase one?? I have no idea how it all works!! lol I also have two batteries that closed cell some kinda battery! Lol
If its a sealed battery, you may have AGM batteries. Its great that you have solar panels already on your trailer.
TY !!!
Thank you!
I have a renology. solar suitcase which I use. I have a generator on the front. Never use it. I did put in a second deep cycle battery. Buy some LED lights, an iPad and a Jetpack Mifi. I’m full time in a NuCamp 320 Boondock.
Sounds like a great setup you have!
Great overview.
Thank you
Not sure why this 3-year-old video popped up on my RUclips page, but it was interesting but a little outdated. Since you own a little tear drop trailer your power needs are much smaller than others with much bigger rigs. Over the years we've downsized to a 2023 Winnebago Travato class B and our carbon footprint is quite small now BUT the newer RV's now have compressor refrigerators as many companies are scaling back on propane. The compressor refrigerators are much better, colder, and faster but require electricity. Some have replaced the propane stove with induction stoves. The efficient Truma system for hot water and heat both require power for the fans. My rig has so many computer systems running in the background. Fortunately, it has two solar panels on top and I often plug in a 3rd panel in the side port. It's been so hot in much of the US so many of us run our AC's with our generators. So, the need for electricity is greater now than ever.
Wonderfull' vidio☺ very informative to me...but i need power to camp off the grid..😊campgrounds are closed to hookup for full power for my electric., so for now i run my generator😄
Solid video! Currently we use the Predator 3500. I'm sorry Honda fans but the people who did the Honda clone (Predator) beat the Honda on decibels, as far as being slightly quieter and runtime on the gas tank but if you want something smaller and lighter the Predator loses out. It's slightly over 100 lbs and we keep ours in the truck bed under the cover when not in use. I run it in the late afternoon with a battery charger to fully charge our twin 6v Batts on the 50amp charge. I do this every couple of days and takes about an hr or less. We are thinking of getting a suitcase solar set up with 200watts just to keep the batteries topped off. Anyway, great video!
Thank you!
Nice job Patrick. Good explanation of options. Wish I went w a predator. Our champion has been nothing but problems. Prob got about 5 hours of good use out of it without it failing in someway.
So far we have been very happy with the Predator. We are coming up on 2 years of ownership of it.
It's really about your family and your needs I do 1 fancy battery for my cpap on its own soler panel , the rest of the trailer is on 4 t-105 battery supposed by 400 watts of Soler, I also use a champion generator for the ac in Arizona lol.
I totally agree with you!
great explanation what people will or what they really need
Thank you!
I have 100w solar panels and a generator along with 2 interstate deep cycle batteries. No issues yet.
The average person does not know how to calculate how much power they need to store, it also causes problems when they think they can power anything like AC. I have 3/375watt panels and 600Ah lithium, I also have shore power and a gas generator. I learned my lesson one night when I first started camping not to depend on campsites to have power at all times. I also run a 15K BTU AC unit when its hot outside, I use my gas generator to run that.
What size generator do you use to run your 15K BTU AC?
@@TravelswithDelaney I have a 3KW Predator, I also have the SoftStart RV SSRV3T, it cuts off that huge chunk of electricity it sucks up when you first fire it up.
Thank you very much! Great information... now I just need a “Patrick” to help me. Lol
Hey Shelly! Hope you are doing great and enjoying your trailer.
Ditto!
Any plans to share just what the install of a sidewall port for suitcase setup involves? Thanks for this vid!
We actually had the dealer install that when we purchased the 400. Its just a 4 pin plug. They cut a hole by the outside storage door to put it in and then it's just two wires to the batteries.
Thanks for this! As we get ready to order our T@B 320, we will start with solar and consider lithium batteries. The generator is out for us due to the noise pollution. Cheers! 🌞
We rarely use our generator and in fact the only time we used it last summer was when we loaned it to a friend to charge his battery that was getting low and we were boondocking with them. They didn't have solar.
I would add, that it also depends on the size of your RV. A large RV with two AC units a washer/dryer and residential appliances will need a ton of deep cycle batteries or multiple lithium batteries to say nothing of thousands of watts of solar. If you calculate out your estimated daily wattage usage and the cost of installing all the necessary solar and lithium, a generator is usually cheaper. High wattage appliances like I listed above, a generator like the Yamaha 2800W or 3.75W will allow you to use these appliance and running it for a couple of hours a day is all that is necessary. Yes Yamaha's are expensive, but it is worth it and gives me great piece of mind. When I calculated my daily power needs I ignored solar completely, decided on 300W lithium and a Yamaha 2800 generator with remote control. If you are 50 feet away you can't even hear it running. I never think about my power needs now.
In most circumstnaces I'd say you probably don't need the batteries, generator, or solar panels. But with the times now a changing, and the number of disasters that have hit thousands of communities, the ability to find power and water may not be there if you try to go to your favorite RV park, since many will have been destroyed, or filled to the gills with thousands of people looking for shelter, so in this case, I'd go for the Lithium batteries, solar panels or the generator to help get you through the disaster.... Being from California and moving to Texas, then living through the 2021 snow storms and power outages in Texas, I'd rather have these items....
I bought the fan that you recommended and am anxious to use it. My 2016 tab has an outlet that goes into the battery for a solar panel but from my understanding I would need to use a zamp solar panel
You are going to love the fan. One of the best under $30 purchases we made last year.
No you don’t they just reverse the wires. Easy to get around they even sell reverse polarity plugs.
I'm having a second 12 volt battery to the Geo Pro 19fbs trailer we've ordered. The trailer comes with a solar panel and 1000 watt inverter so we should be ok for the occasional night boondocking.
I love your videos and as a newbie, you give us confidence to get on down the road!!!! This will be our second season as we purchased our RV just last August.
We just purchased a 100W Renogy solar suitcase for Tabitha (our 2018 Tab400) which will nicely top off our 12v AGM when we are occasionally dry camping and while parked at home. Like you, we added the port to make it all super easy.
Our AGM battery would not charge because the fuse was blown (who knew?) so the dealership, as advised by NuCamp, replaced it with a new fuse that will automatically reset. I think we are good to go now and I am much smarter about batteries!
Apparently this AGM has 240 Amp hours which I am told is excellent. Curious, do you still use your suitcase panels now that you have full solar installed? Anxiously awaiting parks to open here in WA to get out there again, post Covid-19!
Thanks again for all the great advice! - Cynthia J
We haven't used our suitecase solar panel since we got the roof mounted one. We still have it but so far have not needed it. We love the 194 watt panel that NuCamp installed on the roof of our 400.
Good info. I have a 4500 watt generator that I can throw in the back of the truck. 99% of the time I'm camping with electric.
Thank you!
Loved this video ❤✝️
Your trailer is just the way I would want it love it you ever sell it I'm there
We definitely it set up well for boondocking.