Gas Generator, Wind Generator, or Solar Panel for your RV

One of the hardest decisions I had to make was what kind of generator to use to recharge my batteries. Would I purchase enough solar panels to recharge them, a wind generator, or get a gasoline generator. I really liked the idea of free charging just by parking the home in the sun or rasing up a wind generator. This is definitely the green solution. However, as a frugal vagabond, this was a costly option. Then i priced generators and realized, they were all cost;y options. Seems like each was going to cost about $1000.

Wind, solar, or gasoline?
While the wind generator was a reasonable cost, a pole to raise it up was more than the generator. The other problem with wind generators is that they aren't very efficient when camping in the forest so I decided to forgo one for now. I also like to park underneath the shade trees in the forest so there would be areas without enough sun to charge my batteries. There is a work around for that by making the solar panel portable so I decided to look at both a solar panel and a gasoline generator.

Power requirements
On the positive side, I don't use much electricity anyway(15amps a day) which makes solar panels a definite possibility. My stays are usually 14 days and my batteries are 300 amps. So to stay in the 50% range, I will need to recharge after 10 days. Or rather I need to generate 60 extra amps of power in 14 days. That is only an extra 4 amps a day. I also don't need to run a generator when boondocking to power my accessories. I just do without anything that is a power hog on the 12 volt circuit. So, my generator is used to recharge my batteries. I don't have to run it often but when I do, I  can use a few appliances at the same time.

Solar Panels
As I mentioned earlier, the main drawback for me in using solar panels is that I camp in places underneath the trees. I can get around this by making the Solar Panel portable and I did just that with my one solar panel. Sometimes, that doesn't even work very well where I camp. Since I use very little power every day, the panel will more than keep up when it is in the sun. So, as a frugal vagabond, I certainly advocate being conservative with your power requirements. It makes it so much easier to provide for them. A 50 watt panel will give me 4amps over an average of 5 hours of sun which keeps ahead of my 15 amps a day. Don't forget, you can always add more panels later if you find you need more power.

Gasoline Generator
The 2000 watt Honda or Yamaha generator is what I recommend for the following reasons. I don't use my air conditioner unless I am plugged into shore power so I don't need a bigger one to power it. These two generators are very quiet but expect to pay a premium( $900) for their advantages. The 2000 watt generator and a 45amp charger will charge my ( 50% discharged ) batteries in about 3.5 hours. The generator will run for 9 hours on one gallon of gas so it is very economical to run it.  It is also a backup for battery failure and if I decide to boondock longer.

So I recommend a solar panel and a small generator as a backup if you are doing frugal boondocking. The solar panel works to keep me charged most of the time but the generator saves the day when the sun isn't shining or I am in  the deep forest. I also have a backup if the batteries fail.

Know your power requirements before boondocking

It seems like there isn't ever enough power to run everything electric in an RV. That is simply because we have become accustomed to having all the power at home that we need to run almost anything we desire. This has to change when you live a life in a RV with its limited power availability. Not only do you have limited power at any one time but you are limited in your total storage of power. Think of it as a bucket and a pipe. The pipe( amps) can deliver water only so fast and the bucket (battery) can store only so much water. Unless you have a wind turbine or solar power, you will need a generator

Peak watts and Continuous watts
When you select a generator it is about the size of the pipe. Generators provide only so many peak watts and continuous watts. So it takes some planning on power usage when you are boondocking . Let's look at some appliances that only use continuous watts versus those that need power to start but use less when they are running. The refrigerator and furnace fan will use a lot of starting watts but much less when running. The appliances like the microwave, lights and TV use only continuous watts.

If you look in the table you will see that 2900 continuous watts will be needed to run all 5 items together but you need 5300 watts peak. The peak would occur if the furnace starts when the refrigerator starts along with using the light, microwave, and TV at the same time. You would need a 5300 watt generator to keep from overloading the circuit.

If you are like me and run your refrigerator on propane, the wattage is much lower because it only uses a 12 volt fan. Another option is to turn off appliances temporarily when you use the ones that are power hungry. If you start up one thing at a time, you would 1600 occasional + 1400 continuous. This means a 3000 watt generator is okay. If you turn off everything when you start an appliance, you will need 1400 continuous or 1600 occasional. This would change the size of the generator from 5300 watts down to 1600 watts. So, you can buy a small generator for staying in those low costs BLM camping sites and save on fuel costs by simply managing which appliances are running.

Extras to take when being a frugal vagabond

Here are a few items I use on my trips and some I would like to add soon.

I like to cook over an open wood fire when wood is available and this is a good tripod for doing that. All my campfire cooking is done with cast iron cook wear. They are easy to clean and never wear out. I built this wood stove from a coffee can. I use it to heat water with just a few small sticks or if you like charcoal cooking it can be used as a chimney starter.

One of my favorite things to cook when I have eggs is the Camping Omelet which is cooked with boiling water in a freezer bag. I learned from my sailing friends that eggs don't really have to be refrigerated if you turn them each day. Be sure and check them to see if they don't float in water before you use them.

Two things I always want to have working is my radio and my flashlight. Both of these use a mechanical wind up charger so I never have to worry about batteries. I also take one of those folding  portable camping toilet that use a bag just to have in an emergency. It stays in my truck as a backup or when I am away from the trailer. In the back of my truck is a 5 gallon container for gasoline plus I have a hand siphon. The gasoline is not just for the truck but for my camping stove that uses it also. My camping stove is a backup in case I don't have any propane. Sometimes, I like to take my tent and hike away from the trailer. The camping stove goes with me.

I keep a folding bicycle in my trailer and use it when I can for both exercise and to save on gasoline. It doesn't take up much space and works well for short trips to pick up food or get to some place just a little to far to walk. I keep a folding shovel for bathroom duty and a thermometer because I like to know the temperature. A few of things I would like to add is a canoe, outside shower, and a wind generator. The canoe I haven't been able to justify yet because I am not around water that frequently. I am gathering my parts for wind generator.

I purchased a black garden sprayer that I fill with water and leave out in the sun. You may also purchase a white one but spray paint it black. The sun heats the water for my shower. I then put on my swim suit, spray myself, soap up, and then rinse off. I really need to add a shower cabana but most of the time I am alone where I camp.

As you travel around, you too will add some items. Just remember everything takes up space and too many extras takes you away from the simple life of not having to worry about anything but the basics.