vcorkett wrote: I've checked out the generators on ebay
- its a
"Powerking Digital Inverter 1KW 1000W Silent Generator"
They are about one-third the price I am being quoted for a Honda or Yamaha.
Has anyone every bought one of these generators. Would like to know how they perform and also how noisy they are.
Thanks !
I dont know anybody who bought one, I did look at about 8 pages of his feed back and found 4 buyers of the 1000 watt inverter, all with good feedback, you could go many more pages and look for more, you can also contact buyers through ebay, maybe you might find one near you so you can take a look.
- not go with solar power, tried that (125w Panel) & I think we camped in situations your taking about. Nicely treed areas right, this will kill solar option due to shade.
- I bought a Kipor 2000w portable genny for pretty cheap & it worked great. Go with a 2000w with whatever you buy as it will grow with your needs. Yes once you have discovered portable power it boggles the mind with gizmo's you can buy to make life great camping.
- Buy a good 3 stage charger & you will be set. batteries will charge within 2 hours.
- Get another battery, 2 in the morning is a lousy time to try to get your genny fired up to recharge the single battery. your neighbors may also have some select comments if you do this. Keep in mind your tent trailer will not hold heat very well. My motorhome had 1 12v deepcycle & in April camping was hit with snow. The furnace quit working about 3-4 am due to battery drain.
Have fun and as said before, bring extra blankets.
Vicki,
I had a TT for years and only boondocked. Never had a genny, I hate them. One 80w solar panel and four Trojan T 105's is all we needed. 450 amp-hours of power. Of course I sprung for an expensive StatPower charger/inverter because the standard RV "boiler" charger was very hard on batteries. We camped in the winter at Whistler for 4 days at a time and only drew the batt's down to 50%. Not bad, considering every day was cloudy. And that included 2 showers a day, CD player, halogen reading lamps on for 4 hrs/day and the furnace running. Mind you it wasn't that cold, and we always burned many candles in the evening. It was always above 0C. You might be boondocking for longer periods, though. And your trailer might not have as much room for batteries or solar panels. One option is to get heavy gauge wire and move one unfixed panel to a sunny spot.
One more thing. Camping in the summer made a huge difference. We could stay on Vancouver Island ( under trees) for 3 weeks and only drain to 50%. In the Baja we could go for 2 months, no problem. The only thing we discovered was that the Trojans need a good "blast" of AC charge once every couple of months to bring them up to 100%.
furrball wrote: Vicki,
I had a TT for years and only boondocked. Never had a genny, I hate them. One 80w solar panel and four Trojan T 105's is all we needed. 450 amp-hours of power. Of course I sprung for an expensive StatPower charger/inverter because the standard RV "boiler" charger was very hard on batteries. We camped in the winter at Whistler for 4 days at a time and only drew the batt's down to 50%. Not bad, considering every day was cloudy. And that included 2 showers a day, CD player, halogen reading lamps on for 4 hrs/day and the furnace running. Mind you it wasn't that cold, and we always burned many candles in the evening. It was always above 0C. You might be boondocking for longer periods, though. And your trailer might not have as much room for batteries or solar panels. One option is to get heavy gauge wire and move one unfixed panel to a sunny spot.
Only problem is 4 T105's are worth about $700.00 now tax in. That's a lot of cabbage & then another $1000.00 for panel & electrical if not more. I really wanted to make the solar work but in Alberta all the great campsites were Tree'd in. My solar would get the batt's (2X12v deep cycle) back up to about 60-70% with a perfect sunny day. This is very hard on batteries. To get lots of sun on the panel means having you unit out in the sun all day. So then your dealing with an oven for a TT at night. Also 4 T105's are 288lbs & that's a lot of added wieght to a Tent trailer. I run 2 T105's in my MH & wouldn't have any other type of battery but then I also have them hard wired to a 2000w Inverter/charger + 4k genny.
I guess it all boils down to cost & useage at the end of the day right.
It's very easy to use panels with a portable mount which can be located in the sun....been doin' it for 12 years in my "treed" Adirondacks.....doesn't matter whether I'm charging my l-16s, 125s, or 105s....the 150W panels do a fine job....without any attention, hauling extra fuel, siphoning fuel, or noise.....you do get what you pay for....start-up has it's cost factor, but my 4 original L-16s, controller, and panels presently work out to less than $100/year average cost.....
J
Well you have heard enought about getting a Honda EU2000i in case you want more power later on. Which I can almost bet on it, that you will. But really, do yourself a big favor, and get an up-graded Converter/Charger, with the Charge Wizard. And by all means, one battery is almost usless. You will need at least two batrerys, both at least group 27's, unless you want to spend all your time trying to keep that one battery charged up. That sure will take away a lot of your fun. Good Luck. Happy Camping, Dan & Jill
1997 Ford F-250, H.D. Extended-Cab, Short Bed, 7.3 PSD, K&N Air Filter, 5000 lbs air bags w/on board compressor w/guage, SuperChips Tuner/Programer. 1996 Nash 24fter 5er, 15K "Lil" Rocker Hitch w/BedSaver, Twin EU2000i Gen's W/Kit. Nam-Vet, 33 Months.
I used my 1000W Honda through three trailers of varying size before I upgraded to a larger Yamaha. A 1000W generator will do just fine for the occasional battery charging needs of your tent trailer. With that you will probably want to add a good quality battery charger and charge the batteries using that. I would also add a second battery to your Tend trailer for extra power. Remember to be sure to have a charge line added to your TV (tow vehicle) so that it will charge the batteries on the Tent trailer while you are driving down the road. Solar is nice, however it does cost a lot of money to do right and it also requires a lot of batteries ( which you likely do not have space for) to be most effective. Now, if you wanted to supplement your battery power, then one of the 80 watt portable solar panels could be a nice addition. With it's folding frame, you could place it in the sun to catch as much power as possible. But don't plan on relying on it totally, especially as you go farther North in your adventures.
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