Boondocking

[Boondocking]

Your biggest electric draw unless you power appliances from your inverter is your furnace. Most draw close to 10 amps of 12 VDC while running.

From many years of boating where you can't plug in we, run the generator morning and night when your electric demand for other needs is highest.

The number of hours it needs to run is dependent on many things:

1. 12 VDC electric draw (expressed in amp) and the duration of that load (expressed in amp-hrs)

2. Size of battery bank (expressed in amp-hours. Two batteries can have a widely varying amp-hr capacity depending on WHAT 2 batteries they are.

3. Condition and state of charge of the batteries. Obivously, if fully charged, they can "power" you longer. But when dry camping, running a generator to charge at levels above about 85% charge is a waste of propane.

4. Kind and size of your battery charger or inverter/charger. Many coaches are fit with smart inverter/chargers that can charge at over 100 amps, while others have"dumb" converters that struggle to get 20 amps to the battery and at lower voltage.

The other variable of course is how long you will be dry camping (particularly in terms of propane supply).

Fill in some of these blanks for us and we may be able to give you a better idea.

Brett Wolfe

Thanks for your help. I'm not sure what size my batteries are or what kind of onboard charger I have. My coach is vintage 1996 50 amp set up. I believe the charger is good sized because if I pull into a park with questionable power it trips the breaker on the pole. I purchased the biggest deep cycle batteries walmart had. I'll try running the generator an hour or so in the morning and again before I go to bed.

Thanks again

[Boondocking]

I am a full-hookup kind of camper. I will be visiting Yellowstone in June. The Yellowstone people have informed me that my full-hookup site will not have electricity. My question is: How long will I have to run my generator each day to keep my batteries topped off? I have a 6,500-kilowatt Onan that runs on propane. I have two house batteries that are 2 years old. Let's assume that I will not be running my AC, or the generator would already be running. The Yellowstone people told me I could expect to run my furnace at night. I will be running my frig and hot water heater on propane. I am supposed to have water, so I don't have to power my water pump. Just minimal lighting, the furnace blower, and maybe a Fan-Tastic vent during the day. I would like to make coffee and maybe some quick microwaving if I can't cook outside (bears) while the generator is running. I will be staying five nights. I have 110 # of propane. But with everything running on propane I don't want to run out by using my generator to much. Plus, I want to be a good neighbor.

Thanks for any help you can give me.