It's been some time since I was on the forum and we are in AZ for the winter. Since there are numerous areas to boondock and campgrounds that you can park an RV at but they don't have any hook ups I wanted to know more about batteries. My wife is not real keen on the idea of boondocking so I don't plan on do it a lot and probably would not invest in solar...at least not right now. We didn't do a Gen Prep on the 5th wheel and I think a portable generator might be the solution to power but I'm not sure of the number of batteries that I might need to fill our needs during a boondocking period. I realize I should probably have the AGM maintenance free batteries but how would I set them up and what would be a good number for general use? I know I can also research this topic but would appreciate some help in this area. Thanks in advance. Curt
TRAILERKING said
10:49 PM Jan 18, 2015
Mine has (4)four 6 volt Interstate wet cells and power a 2000w inverter. They work good so far but haven't done much for boondocking. Did two nights of Wallydocking last summer in Bismarck and it worked out good for what we needed. I know some have more batteries and have two inverters.
HighwayRanger said
10:56 PM Jan 18, 2015
Curt, the experts will weigh in soon, I'm sure, but a few general concepts make sense to me. The battery bank you have will allow you to run things in your RV (except for the air conditioner and the microwave oven) for a certain period of time. The more battery capacity, the long you can run devices before it's time to recharge the batteries. As you probably already know, you can recharge the batteries in three common ways: by hooking up to a power pedestal at an RV park, by running your generator, and by using solar panels. So, while you can get by with one deep cycle battery, you will be running it down frequently, requiring more frequent recharging cycles. So, folks add batteries until they reach a point that they are happy with. Of course, this also depends on the electricity usage habits you practice. Some folks are very frugal and can go a long time on a small battery bank, while others use a bit more, in order to run things like televisions, satellite boxes, etc. To more directly answer your question: I would say that boondockers usually have at least two batteries, but many have 4, 6, or 8. As for the AGM batteries, they are preferred by many, but are certainly not required.
One method used by folks it to start out with, say, two batteries, and see how they do. Reserving the ability to add batteries is smart, if they are needed. I intend to equip my fulltime RV with as many batteries as it will conveniently hold (the diesel pusher motorhome we are looking at comes with 8 AGM batteries, which should be just enough for us.) Most fifth wheels are a bit more weight and space conscious, so you usually only see 2 to 4 batteries. The method you use to recharge the battery bank is up to you. Many, many, folks use one or two Honda or Yamaha portable generators of around 2000 watts each to recharge their battery bank each morning for a couple of hours when boondocking.
As you mention, there is a ton of information available on this topic on the Internet and the RV forums. We'll see what the more experienced RVers offer up, but doing some online research may be smart so that you make good choices. The bottom line is that your RV is set up to boondock to some degree right from the factory. If you choose to enhance that capability, it will allow you to go longer between battery recharging sessions. Some people are cool with running a genset twice per day, and others want to add solar to reduce the need to run a fuel-powered generator, decreasing noise, smell, and carbon-footprint. You will need to decide what type of RV user you are, and what you prefer.
Your mileage may vary, and I hope you find all the information you are looking for. It is certainly out there for you!
Roy
bjoyce said
07:01 AM Jan 19, 2015
It really does depend. We have 400AH of lithium batteries, a 3000 watt pure sine wave hybrid inverter/charger, 400 watts of solar and a 7500 watt diesel generator. We also have a large residential refrigerator and my wife needs to run a CPAP with heated humidifier when she sleeps, which both require 120 volt power.
I like to point people to Howard's electrical write up first, http://www.rv-dreams.com/rv-electrical.html, since he covers RV electric and has links to the other webpages most reference.
-- Edited by bjoyce on Monday 19th of January 2015 07:02:33 AM
Bill and Linda said
05:30 PM Jan 19, 2015
Yes indeed, as Bill J said and as I begin a lot of my posts, “It depends.”One just has to analyze the power requirements of the rig and your lifestyle.Rigs with RV fridges require less battery power and less solar.Are you going to boondock a couple of days – or weeks?Do you have a generator – how big and how much do you plan to use the generator to do the bulk battery charging with the solar “topping off” the last 15-20% for the battery charging? (Generators really aren’t a good idea to finish the charging of the batteries due to the long time it take to get the last 15-20% in the batteries as they sort of trickle charge the last amount to top them off.They do the initial “bulk” charging.)
Assuming you don’t have a residential refrigerator, I can tell you that a 300AH bank along with 400 watts of solar is about the minimum in our experience IF you have an RV (gas) refrigerator and use little to no power to cook except maybe coffee in the morning.This, with a 2,000 watt full sinewave inverter allows for some TV / DVR usage and naturally lights and water pump usage, etc. without undue concern.
We find 600AH, with RV (gas) appliances pretty well give us the freedom to do pretty much whatever we want as long as we have good sun during the day and maybe an hour of generator time in the AM to bulk up the batteries with the solar finishing the job.Naturally all of this is dependent on your lifestyle.
Recall that, for example, with a 300AH bank only 150AH should be used.Discharging more than 50% of a battery bank will, over time, significantly shorten battery life. So you need twice the Amp Hours you plan to use.
With a residential refrigerator, IMO, we would need 900AH and 800 watts of solar to do what we now do with 600AH, 400watts of solar and a big generator when we boondock.
Everyone is different.But that’s us for a reference point.
and you will get a lot of useful and accurate information. A lot.
lowryc50 said
09:31 PM Jan 19, 2015
Thanks to everyone that has commented so far....I appreciate bjoyce recommending /Howard's electrical write up. It is beginning to make sense. At this point I am not looking at going solar so that aspect of the discussion I will have to review later. From what I gathered from Howard's write up it looks like I need to upgrade to an inverter/charger from the converter that the rig came with from the manufacturer if I plan to ever go without hook ups. It also sounds like I could go with a portable generator to recharge my batteries with an inverter/charger on board. Bill I don't have a residential refrigerator so that helps lower my AH needs, I think. I appreciate the examples of AH's and Howard's discussion of calculating needs. So I will be looking into whether wet cell, gel cell or AGM is the way to go with my investment. Those who do boondock more, do you have a number of 6 volt batteries in series or 12 volts in parallel? It sounds like more 6 volts in series is the better way to go. Am I understanding the battery capacities right? Thanks again. Curt
bjoyce said
07:19 AM Jan 20, 2015
If you do not have room for 8D batteries or other larger 12 volt batteries, 6 volt golf cart batteries are your best bet. The reason is for a normal size, automotive, the 6 volts are the only ones with thick, deep cycle, plates. There is not enough room for thick enough plates in 12 volt to be true deep cycle. That is why most go with 6 volts in series, they are just a bit better. But, if an odd number of batteries is best, 12 volts will do the job better. Lifeline makes extra tall 6 volt AGMs, that are wonderful if your battery compartment is tall enough. I wish we could have used them. You mentioned gel cells, forget them since they have no advantages over AGM and some disadvantages like taking longer to charge. AGMs do not need to be vented and there is less issue putting them in the same compartment as your charger, though it is still better to keep them separate. As to the converter vs. inverter/charger, it depends. Many find the converter that is installed is not a good fit for a large battery bank, so they need to upgrade anyway. Converters come in different sizes, about the largest has a 70 amp charger. Most inverter/chargers have 100 to 150 amp chargers, so they will charge a large battery bank faster, and that includes a 4 battery system. Most inverter/chargers have more sophisticated and programmable chargers than converters. Some find it better to install more than one inverter and use a high end converter, since it gives them flexibility on what is using the battery. Converters are also good when your shore power is weak or flaky, like Mexico or Yukon, they will charge your batteries when the voltage is at 90 or 140, while most inverter/chargers will not. If you change to an inverter/charger and have the room, you can leave your old converter in with its own plug, as long as it has a decent charger, and use it when on weak (1000 watt generator or over a 100' of 15amp extension cord) or flaky power. To also address the residential fridge issue, a 12 cuft RV fridge uses around 40AH of battery a day (Norcold 1200), a big residential uses 90 to 120, so the real additional usage is 50 to 80AH per day. A friend who moved from an 8 cuft RV fridge to a top freezer residential, I think around 11 cu ft, found it used 40AH more per day.
-- Edited by bjoyce on Tuesday 20th of January 2015 07:20:39 AM
The Bear II said
12:23 PM Jan 20, 2015
We have 4 12v deep cycle batteries and a 2000w inverter. Plus I can bring along a 1500w, 2000w or 2-2000w Honda generators depending on what our power needs might be.
The 1500w or a 2000w is used to recharge the batteries. I will run it most of the day (single tank of gas) and then we use the batteries/inverter at night.
If we need air conditioning or will be running several high draw appliances, I will bring the 2-2000w generators with the parallel kit to provide 4000w and 30 amps of power. These we will run as needed.
We can usually go 3 days on just the batteries & inverter alone, being conservative in light and TV use.
With the generators to recharge the batteries, we can go for as long as we can get fuel. I carry a 5 gallon fuel jug to refill the generators which will last about a week when running one of the 2000w or 3days when running the 2-2000w generators.
Our typical use each day is microwave or toaster to cook part of breakfast. No real power use during daylight. At night we have a string of LED lights on the patio awning, lights and TV plus sat box and maybe a laptop if we are inside the RV (typically from 8PM to 2 or 3 in the morning). The batteries and inverter will support this use each day and then I recharge the batteries the next day.
Bill and Linda said
04:05 PM Jan 20, 2015
Curt:
A comment about the inverter/converter (charger) combination:I carry a good quality, but far less expensive, converter only (charger) in addition to the big 3,000 watt combo unit.If that big box full of technology were to fail the backup charger would at least keep you going and you can move the slides, etc.The combination units are very reliable, but just remember, no 12 volts - essentially no rig.Almost everything requires 12 volts.Even the RV refrigerator when it is running on gas needs 12 volts to run the computer.
A thought . . .
NWescapee said
05:07 PM Jan 20, 2015
Curt, Everyone else will be able to provide you the technical specs, etc. My perspective is from a what could we do with and without solar.
Last winter we boondocked in Quartzsite for 2 weeks without solar, our 2 6V batteries that came with the RV were adequate during that time, with the caveat that we ran our generator twice a day for about 2-3 hours each time, morning and evening. We didn't watch much TV, were on vacation, not working, etc. If we wanted to use our microwave or if I wanted to use my blow drier, we had to have the generator running. I think we had to refill the generator and our extra gas can 3 times last winter.
This year with solar and 4 6V batteries we were only running the generator 1-2 hours a day, working full time, using the microwave and other appliances whenever we wanted to, etc. We watched a bit more TV, especially with the Seahawks progressing through the playoffs so we were a bit addicted to the NFL games over the past 2 weeks, this year we only had to refill the gas tanks once. We had at least 2 days during that time without any cloud cover and managed to not have to run the generator at all on those days.
So, without solar, you can still boondock with a generator to recharge your batteries, it's just not as convenient and a little noisier with the generator running. Our plan is to boondock more as we go forward so the convenience of having solar was worth it for us, if you're not planning to boondock more than 2-4 weeks a year, it's easy to get by without solar if you plan ahead a bit.
lowryc50 said
09:50 PM Jan 22, 2015
Great comments from everyone....much appreciated. If I have limited funds and would like to boondock...a little right now or future....What would be the combination of components that I might need to accomplish that? Would 2-4 6V batteries and an inverter be sufficient with a portable generator? If I'm going that far would it be better to just go ahead and invest in solar? From what NWescapee said I might be able to just go with a couple of 6V batteries and an inverter to be off grid for a few days with a portable generator since I don't have one on my 5th wheel. Who would you recommend contacting to recommend, purchase and install the components? Maybe I need to take a class to better understand my needs for this type of venture?
Terry and Jo said
10:08 PM Jan 22, 2015
Curt,
I think much will depend on how long you plan to boondock, how many 120V appliances you may want to run and for how long. When we had a smaller (26-foot) RV, we boondocked for as long as a week at a time. We have a Honda EU3000IS generator that I would run for about 3 hours each morning and 3 each evening to operate my coffee maker and recharge the battery (yes, just one).
The only problem we had with that system was that the plugs fouled on the generator because of the differences in altitude. Because of that, if you go with a portable generator and even THINK that you will be going to higher altitudes, be sure and have extra spark plugs and the tools to change those plugs.
Now, we have a larger trailer (38.5-feet) and more electrical appliances, so we ordered our Mobile Suites with a 3000 watt PURE SINE WAVE inverter and 4 batteries. We still have the Honda, so if necessary, we can still recharge batteries if needed.
If you aren't really comfortable with installing all that yourself, I definitely advise finding a good source to install them, if not also supply the needed components. One wants to have someone knowledgeable about the systems so that there isn't a mismatch between the components.
Terry
Bill and Linda said
08:28 AM Jan 23, 2015
Curt:
Working on a budget: Actually, you can do a lot with 4 - 6volt “golf cart” batteries and a ~1.800 watt inverter plus a small generator if you don’t run hair dryers and microwaves. Naturally the battery charger that would come with the trailer would take care of the charging, but there is no need to go spend a lot of dollars on big inverters/converters, 3,000+ watts like we have, with a limited size battery bank.With a smaller bank you can’t run anything that requires that kind of inverting power for any length of time without killing the batteries in very short order.
I used one of these – the 1,800 watt continuous version – for years in our rig. Still have it on the bench. It is full sinewave and they are simple and work great.Two smaller sizes, full sinewave which you do want, are also available with a simple on/off remote switch.
This is a high quality product for relatively modest cost that is safe to run TV / entertainment stuff and computers, etc.
You can do a lot if you monitor power usage even without solar but with a small generator for relatively short stays.For longer stays solar becomes more of a requirement along with the small generator.But you don’t have to install solar day one.
PM me if you want to chat about specifics.
Bill
bjoyce said
04:57 PM Jan 23, 2015
If you are looking for good pure sinewave inverters, instead of inverter/chargers, I find http://www.donrowe.com/ a good and trusted supplier. If they sell it, it is a good product. Currently selling that same Xantrex 2000 watt pure sinewave inverter for $349 in Bill's link for a savings.
Bill and Linda said
05:10 PM Jan 23, 2015
Indeed, that’s an excellent price from Bill J.I would also include from the same supplier IF you needed to turn the inverter on/off from inside the rig:
However, this unit when “on” uses very little battery power until there is a demand, then it ramps up its output.But sometimes you want it fully OFF.
Do note there are several power sizes of these inverters and for this price I’d get the 2,000 one knowing that with a smaller bank you will never use that much inverter capacity, but would have some componet headroom.
In real world tests these will do about 1,700 watts which is 135 AMPs @ 12.6 volts.That will flatten a small battery bank pretty quickly and you need proper wiring to pull 135 amps.
It's been some time since I was on the forum and we are in AZ for the winter. Since there are numerous areas to boondock and campgrounds that you can park an RV at but they don't have any hook ups I wanted to know more about batteries. My wife is not real keen on the idea of boondocking so I don't plan on do it a lot and probably would not invest in solar...at least not right now. We didn't do a Gen Prep on the 5th wheel and I think a portable generator might be the solution to power but I'm not sure of the number of batteries that I might need to fill our needs during a boondocking period. I realize I should probably have the AGM maintenance free batteries but how would I set them up and what would be a good number for general use? I know I can also research this topic but would appreciate some help in this area. Thanks in advance. Curt
One method used by folks it to start out with, say, two batteries, and see how they do. Reserving the ability to add batteries is smart, if they are needed. I intend to equip my fulltime RV with as many batteries as it will conveniently hold (the diesel pusher motorhome we are looking at comes with 8 AGM batteries, which should be just enough for us.) Most fifth wheels are a bit more weight and space conscious, so you usually only see 2 to 4 batteries. The method you use to recharge the battery bank is up to you. Many, many, folks use one or two Honda or Yamaha portable generators of around 2000 watts each to recharge their battery bank each morning for a couple of hours when boondocking.
As you mention, there is a ton of information available on this topic on the Internet and the RV forums. We'll see what the more experienced RVers offer up, but doing some online research may be smart so that you make good choices. The bottom line is that your RV is set up to boondock to some degree right from the factory. If you choose to enhance that capability, it will allow you to go longer between battery recharging sessions. Some people are cool with running a genset twice per day, and others want to add solar to reduce the need to run a fuel-powered generator, decreasing noise, smell, and carbon-footprint. You will need to decide what type of RV user you are, and what you prefer.
Your mileage may vary, and I hope you find all the information you are looking for. It is certainly out there for you!
Roy
It really does depend. We have 400AH of lithium batteries, a 3000 watt pure sine wave hybrid inverter/charger, 400 watts of solar and a 7500 watt diesel generator. We also have a large residential refrigerator and my wife needs to run a CPAP with heated humidifier when she sleeps, which both require 120 volt power.
I like to point people to Howard's electrical write up first, http://www.rv-dreams.com/rv-electrical.html, since he covers RV electric and has links to the other webpages most reference.
-- Edited by bjoyce on Monday 19th of January 2015 07:02:33 AM
Yes indeed, as Bill J said and as I begin a lot of my posts, “It depends.” One just has to analyze the power requirements of the rig and your lifestyle. Rigs with RV fridges require less battery power and less solar. Are you going to boondock a couple of days – or weeks? Do you have a generator – how big and how much do you plan to use the generator to do the bulk battery charging with the solar “topping off” the last 15-20% for the battery charging? (Generators really aren’t a good idea to finish the charging of the batteries due to the long time it take to get the last 15-20% in the batteries as they sort of trickle charge the last amount to top them off. They do the initial “bulk” charging.)
Assuming you don’t have a residential refrigerator, I can tell you that a 300AH bank along with 400 watts of solar is about the minimum in our experience IF you have an RV (gas) refrigerator and use little to no power to cook except maybe coffee in the morning. This, with a 2,000 watt full sinewave inverter allows for some TV / DVR usage and naturally lights and water pump usage, etc. without undue concern.
We find 600AH, with RV (gas) appliances pretty well give us the freedom to do pretty much whatever we want as long as we have good sun during the day and maybe an hour of generator time in the AM to bulk up the batteries with the solar finishing the job. Naturally all of this is dependent on your lifestyle.
Recall that, for example, with a 300AH bank only 150AH should be used. Discharging more than 50% of a battery bank will, over time, significantly shorten battery life. So you need twice the Amp Hours you plan to use.
With a residential refrigerator, IMO, we would need 900AH and 800 watts of solar to do what we now do with 600AH, 400watts of solar and a big generator when we boondock.
Everyone is different. But that’s us for a reference point.
Go here:
http://www.jackdanmayer.com/rv_electrical_and_solar.htm
and you will get a lot of useful and accurate information. A lot.
If you do not have room for 8D batteries or other larger 12 volt batteries, 6 volt golf cart batteries are your best bet. The reason is for a normal size, automotive, the 6 volts are the only ones with thick, deep cycle, plates. There is not enough room for thick enough plates in 12 volt to be true deep cycle. That is why most go with 6 volts in series, they are just a bit better. But, if an odd number of batteries is best, 12 volts will do the job better.
Lifeline makes extra tall 6 volt AGMs, that are wonderful if your battery compartment is tall enough. I wish we could have used them.
You mentioned gel cells, forget them since they have no advantages over AGM and some disadvantages like taking longer to charge. AGMs do not need to be vented and there is less issue putting them in the same compartment as your charger, though it is still better to keep them separate.
As to the converter vs. inverter/charger, it depends. Many find the converter that is installed is not a good fit for a large battery bank, so they need to upgrade anyway. Converters come in different sizes, about the largest has a 70 amp charger. Most inverter/chargers have 100 to 150 amp chargers, so they will charge a large battery bank faster, and that includes a 4 battery system. Most inverter/chargers have more sophisticated and programmable chargers than converters. Some find it better to install more than one inverter and use a high end converter, since it gives them flexibility on what is using the battery. Converters are also good when your shore power is weak or flaky, like Mexico or Yukon, they will charge your batteries when the voltage is at 90 or 140, while most inverter/chargers will not. If you change to an inverter/charger and have the room, you can leave your old converter in with its own plug, as long as it has a decent charger, and use it when on weak (1000 watt generator or over a 100' of 15amp extension cord) or flaky power.
To also address the residential fridge issue, a 12 cuft RV fridge uses around 40AH of battery a day (Norcold 1200), a big residential uses 90 to 120, so the real additional usage is 50 to 80AH per day. A friend who moved from an 8 cuft RV fridge to a top freezer residential, I think around 11 cu ft, found it used 40AH more per day.
-- Edited by bjoyce on Tuesday 20th of January 2015 07:20:39 AM
The 1500w or a 2000w is used to recharge the batteries. I will run it most of the day (single tank of gas) and then we use the batteries/inverter at night.
If we need air conditioning or will be running several high draw appliances, I will bring the 2-2000w generators with the parallel kit to provide 4000w and 30 amps of power. These we will run as needed.
We can usually go 3 days on just the batteries & inverter alone, being conservative in light and TV use.
With the generators to recharge the batteries, we can go for as long as we can get fuel. I carry a 5 gallon fuel jug to refill the generators which will last about a week when running one of the 2000w or 3days when running the 2-2000w generators.
Our typical use each day is microwave or toaster to cook part of breakfast. No real power use during daylight. At night we have a string of LED lights on the patio awning, lights and TV plus sat box and maybe a laptop if we are inside the RV (typically from 8PM to 2 or 3 in the morning). The batteries and inverter will support this use each day and then I recharge the batteries the next day.
Curt:
A comment about the inverter/converter (charger) combination: I carry a good quality, but far less expensive, converter only (charger) in addition to the big 3,000 watt combo unit. If that big box full of technology were to fail the backup charger would at least keep you going and you can move the slides, etc. The combination units are very reliable, but just remember, no 12 volts - essentially no rig. Almost everything requires 12 volts. Even the RV refrigerator when it is running on gas needs 12 volts to run the computer.
A thought . . .
Last winter we boondocked in Quartzsite for 2 weeks without solar, our 2 6V batteries that came with the RV were adequate during that time, with the caveat that we ran our generator twice a day for about 2-3 hours each time, morning and evening. We didn't watch much TV, were on vacation, not working, etc. If we wanted to use our microwave or if I wanted to use my blow drier, we had to have the generator running. I think we had to refill the generator and our extra gas can 3 times last winter.
This year with solar and 4 6V batteries we were only running the generator 1-2 hours a day, working full time, using the microwave and other appliances whenever we wanted to, etc. We watched a bit more TV, especially with the Seahawks progressing through the playoffs so we were a bit addicted to the NFL games over the past 2 weeks, this year we only had to refill the gas tanks once. We had at least 2 days during that time without any cloud cover and managed to not have to run the generator at all on those days.
So, without solar, you can still boondock with a generator to recharge your batteries, it's just not as convenient and a little noisier with the generator running. Our plan is to boondock more as we go forward so the convenience of having solar was worth it for us, if you're not planning to boondock more than 2-4 weeks a year, it's easy to get by without solar if you plan ahead a bit.
Curt,
I think much will depend on how long you plan to boondock, how many 120V appliances you may want to run and for how long. When we had a smaller (26-foot) RV, we boondocked for as long as a week at a time. We have a Honda EU3000IS generator that I would run for about 3 hours each morning and 3 each evening to operate my coffee maker and recharge the battery (yes, just one).
The only problem we had with that system was that the plugs fouled on the generator because of the differences in altitude. Because of that, if you go with a portable generator and even THINK that you will be going to higher altitudes, be sure and have extra spark plugs and the tools to change those plugs.
Now, we have a larger trailer (38.5-feet) and more electrical appliances, so we ordered our Mobile Suites with a 3000 watt PURE SINE WAVE inverter and 4 batteries. We still have the Honda, so if necessary, we can still recharge batteries if needed.
If you aren't really comfortable with installing all that yourself, I definitely advise finding a good source to install them, if not also supply the needed components. One wants to have someone knowledgeable about the systems so that there isn't a mismatch between the components.
Terry
Curt:
Working on a budget: Actually, you can do a lot with 4 - 6volt “golf cart” batteries and a ~1.800 watt inverter plus a small generator if you don’t run hair dryers and microwaves. Naturally the battery charger that would come with the trailer would take care of the charging, but there is no need to go spend a lot of dollars on big inverters/converters, 3,000+ watts like we have, with a limited size battery bank. With a smaller bank you can’t run anything that requires that kind of inverting power for any length of time without killing the batteries in very short order.
I used one of these – the 1,800 watt continuous version – for years in our rig. Still have it on the bench. It is full sinewave and they are simple and work great. Two smaller sizes, full sinewave which you do want, are also available with a simple on/off remote switch.
http://www.xantrex.com/power-products/power-inverters/prowatt-sw.aspx
Also found this, FWIW as to first check for pricing:
http://www.toolfetch.com/catalog/product/view/id/70230/s/xantrex-8061220-prowatt-tm-true-sine-wave-12-volt-power-inverter-2000-watt-max-3000-watt-surge/category/33956/
This is a high quality product for relatively modest cost that is safe to run TV / entertainment stuff and computers, etc.
You can do a lot if you monitor power usage even without solar but with a small generator for relatively short stays. For longer stays solar becomes more of a requirement along with the small generator. But you don’t have to install solar day one.
PM me if you want to chat about specifics.
Bill
If you are looking for good pure sinewave inverters, instead of inverter/chargers, I find http://www.donrowe.com/ a good and trusted supplier. If they sell it, it is a good product. Currently selling that same Xantrex 2000 watt pure sinewave inverter for $349 in Bill's link for a savings.
Indeed, that’s an excellent price from Bill J. I would also include from the same supplier IF you needed to turn the inverter on/off from inside the rig:
http://www.donrowe.com/Xantrex-808-9001-PROwatt-SW-Remote-Switch-p/808-9001.htm
However, this unit when “on” uses very little battery power until there is a demand, then it ramps up its output. But sometimes you want it fully OFF.
Do note there are several power sizes of these inverters and for this price I’d get the 2,000 one knowing that with a smaller bank you will never use that much inverter capacity, but would have some componet headroom.
In real world tests these will do about 1,700 watts which is 135 AMPs @ 12.6 volts. That will flatten a small battery bank pretty quickly and you need proper wiring to pull 135 amps.