Hunting Washington Forum

Equipment & Gear => Power Equipment & RV => Topic started by: elksnout on August 17, 2020, 12:35:31 PM

Title: Solar Panel of Generator for Trailer
Post by: elksnout on August 17, 2020, 12:35:31 PM: If all goes well I will be taking two extended hunting trips with 21' trailer in tow as camp. Trailer is set up with twin deep cycle batteries. I'll also have my 3000 watt generator.

The days will see me in the woods not using any power until back at camp well after dark. This is my annual eastern elk archery hunt so the days are longer in September resulting in less need for lighting, etc.

My question is will running my generator 2-3 hours per day be enough to keep my batteries charged? Or should I look into solar panels? I am on a budget and already have a decent generator so I'd really prefer to just use that. Thoughts?

I'll be gone for 2 p!us weeks for that hunt. Next trip would be last week of October for blacktails. Lot less sun then so I already know that answer.

Thanks
Elksnout
Title: Re: Solar Panel of Generator for Trailer
Post by: Stein on August 17, 2020, 12:40:31 PM: Unless you have some huge electrical loads, it should me more than enough.

Solar panels don't add a ton and rooftop are even more tricky with shading and angles not being ideal.

If I were you and I wanted more capacity, I would take the money I was going to spend on PV and buy efficient stuff, particularly LED lighting which uses almost no electricity.
Title: Re: Solar Panel of Generator for Trailer
Post by: Buckmark on August 17, 2020, 12:46:13 PM: LED bulbs make a huge difference, good batteries wont drain very much and charging for a few hours will be more than enough
I run my gen a few hrs in the morning for coffee then a little at night for charing phones gps etc and have no issues at all and i only have 1 battery, this is in my trailer i have on some property we use often and with 3 other people than me who like to use lights
Title: Re: Solar Panel of Generator for Trailer
Post by: Cougartail on August 17, 2020, 01:25:00 PM: Trust me.. generator and good batteries is the way to go for short term camping.
Title: Re: Solar Panel of Generator for Trailer
Post by: ctwiggs1 on August 17, 2020, 01:28:02 PM: I've heard that disconnecting your battery when you're out during the day can help a little as well (to avoid parasitic draw). Since you're really trying to push the limits, every little bit will count.

Since you're on a tight budget, I'd do exactly what Stein said. You already have a generator, so worst case just run that thing while you're awake at nights.
Title: Re: Solar Panel of Generator for Trailer
Post by: elksnout on August 17, 2020, 09:46:13 PM: Great idea about LED bulbs and I'll also be bringing lanterns. Thanks all for your ideas and words of wisdom.

Thanks
Elksnout
Title: Re: Solar Panel of Generator for Trailer
Post by: follow maggie on August 20, 2020, 08:20:58 PM: Use th generator you already have. A couple hours every day is plenty to keep 5e batteries topped off. Unless you have a lot of solar, it’s slow to charge the batteries if they’re being used.
Title: Re: Solar Panel of Generator for Trailer
Post by: hal on September 12, 2020, 09:53:40 AM: we have a 31'(box) trailer using 2, 6v deep cycle batteries. We use a 9400 propane gen set to power our 110v outlets for morning coffee, micro etc. The generator trickle charges the batteries while running. Without our solar panels (two 100W) the batteries will die in 4 days. These are newer batteries and well kept. This assumes it's cold in the morning which it always is at our 4000' elevation. we have been set up with gen and solar for 10 years with no noticeable change. the two panels give us unlimited power for the batteries and we never see less than 70% power on the coldest days. Our solar panels with controller and longer feed wires cost us about $300 and well worth it.
Title: Re: Solar Panel of Generator for Trailer
Post by: NRA4LIFE on September 12, 2020, 11:21:41 AM: The charging system in the RV will take days to fully charge 1 large deep cycle when on 110 from the generator. The solar panels won't do much if any better. I don't rely on the camper charger whatsoever. You are much better off charging from the generator with a regular battery charger. I have 2 group 29's with a battery switch that can completely disconnect them from the camper. The switch can only connect one battery at a time to the camper so I can charge the other one in the evening, switching to the other one the next night to charge. I typically run the generator only 4 hours or so a day and with enough gas, this system can go forever.
Title: Re: Solar Panel of Generator for Trailer
Post by: BNAElkhntr on September 12, 2020, 01:52:21 PM: Got one of these couple years go definitely helps plus you can mount on ground pointed at sun https://www.harborfreight.com/100-watt-solar-panel-kit-63585.html (https://www.harborfreight.com/100-watt-solar-panel-kit-63585.html)
Title: Re: Solar Panel of Generator for Trailer
Post by: MR5x5 on September 12, 2020, 04:21:32 PM: Get on line. Get the load calcs and run the numbers for your setup. No need to guess.
Title: Re: Solar Panel of Generator for Trailer
Post by: MADMAX on September 12, 2020, 06:05:17 PM: I run a 20 ft Jayco hummingbird
500 watt Honda generator at night for dvds on tv and furnace fan if needed
1 deep cycle battery
Small solar panel
3 weeks off grid no problem
Title: Re: Solar Panel of Generator for Trailer
Post by: elksnout on September 23, 2020, 09:38:39 PM: Ran the genny 2-3 hours per night. Worked great

Elksnout
Title: Re: Solar Panel of Generator for Trailer
Post by: KFhunter on September 23, 2020, 10:15:12 PM: I ran a costco 2000w genny 8hrs night for near 2 weeks and used about 5-6 gallons

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