I have a 23-FORD 350 built by 27North a year ago,
I have done a lot of weekend/week long trips from Rhinebeck NY for Sheep & Wool to NOLA for BIlly Springs. Stayed in tons of nice state campgrounds. Had 1 mediocre trip via Harvest Hosts,
I originally wanted to take month long trips (I work 100% remote for JHU). I have been fearful of depending on my solar for off grid camping…although I see tons of folks doing it on IG-
Looking for friends on the road, maybe. Sober, knitting enthusiast-
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Hey!
Welcome to the Forum.
Congrats on your 23-FORD 350! It sounds like you’ve had some great trips. Don’t worry about relying on solar; many of us felt the same way initially. You’ll get used to it with time.
Safe travels!
Greetings & Welcome!
I learned long ago to never rely on solar. Charging while driving keeps me fully charged 99% of the time, and my gas generator takes care of the rest, and is great for many other things as well.
Cheers!
"Count your blesssings, for they are many." ~ Unknown
I’m in the NoVA area and love knitting.
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I have read a little bit about gas generators…
open to any ADVICE you may offer!!
where do you travel mostly?
i am early.wendy on IG
Greetings!
The small in size inverter generators are portable, quiet, can generate a lot of power, and run 8-10 hours on a gallon of gas.
Battery operated tools have a tendency to die before you get your project completed. A generator is portable, can take it wherever I need it, and run many things with it. If it runs out of gas, I can refill it much quicker than recharging a bunch of batteries.
For nomads, batteries die, solar is unreliable, and shore power might not be available. You can’t charge via an isolator if your battery is dead and you can’t start it. A generator is really the only way to guarantee power when you need it.
Even the solar guru’s all carry and use their generators on a regular basis. Solar Bob said if he had to choose between solar or a generator, a generator would win hands down. That’s a pretty powerful recommendation from a solar expert.
Cheers!
"Not having an emergency fund, is an emergency!" ~ Rubber Tramp
hi I’m in Gburg, MD! Nice to meet you! I’m going cross country soon. Maybe we can be friends?
I don’t do a lot of regular travel, but I’ve been overseas a few times, and to Glacier National Park once
Hi I’m Kate. What type of generator do you have? I’m looking for something small but of good quality. Thanks!
im from baltimore as well. Crocheter, hugely.
Greetings!
I actually have what might be a rare generator that I picked up used many years ago. It’s a WWII era 3500 watt, solar/multi fuel, stirling engine generator. A sterling engine is an external combustion engine, in contrast to today’s internal combustion engines. They are also known as heat powered engines, meaning that any heat source can power them.
The previous owner said this generator was used to power a field hospital. It has a half moon fresnel lens that auto tracks the sun if it’s available to power it, and at night or when no sun is available it is powered by a small kerosene burner like the bottom of a kerosene lamp. I have discovered that it will also run on diesel, or cooking oil, which is what I’m currently using.
The advantage of these generators for the military is that they’re nearly silent, and the exhaust is no more than a kerosene lamp.
I actually rarely use a generator, normally I just charge via an isolator while driving, and that keeps me good to go about 99%+ of the time. I actually use very little power, mainly just to charge our laptops & phones.
While I have no solar panels on the roof, we do use solar rechargeable lanterns, bug zapper, fans, and I have a solar battery charger that charges AA/AAA/C/D/9v batteries, and it just needs to be sat in a window, along with our other solar goodies. Our typical lighting is dollar store stake lights that I converted into table lamps, which are strategically placed by windows for automatic charging.
Cheers!
"Accountability, responsibility, sustainability,
& creative solutions for the win." ~ Old_Soul
& creative solutions for the win." ~ Old_Soul