rossvtaylor
Adventurer
If you are really sold on wind energy, for something in this scale I'd urge you to look at the little Air turbines. They were originally developed by Southwest Windpower, for whom I used to work. There are more than 150,000 around the world and the bugs have been thoroughly worked out. Lots of round-the-world sail cruisers rely on them and they've held up on every continent. Southwest Windpower sold the rights, and then folded, so I'm not longer affiliated with them (but still think it's a great product). They are now built and sold by http://www.primuswindpower.com/ and they brought on much of the original staffing. They have a survival wind speed in excess of 100 mph.
I now work for another wind turbine manufacturer and it's been my second career, so I think I'm being unbiased here... And, having said that, I'd never put a wind turbine on an RV. First off, driving with one just doesn't make any sense. You'll use more energy than you'll produce and it's a terribly inefficient way to make the energy you want. Second, when stopped, the turbine's operational sound and vibration will be transmitted into your living quarters. I did have some experience with a mast, which tried to address this issue... it was, basically, a rectangular foot onto which you drove the RV tire. The mast protruded upward from that, without touching the RV. But, what a pain to set up. If, as you plan, you mount a wind turbine mast/tower onto the RV itself it will will drive you nuts.
Take it from a wind energy advocate and someone who's been on most of the wind standards panels and committees... for an RV or expedition vehicle like ours, skip the wind turbine. Wind has its place, certainly. But, we just ordered 855 Watts of solar (PV) for our rig today. And I even have two of those Air turbines in boxes, unused.
I now work for another wind turbine manufacturer and it's been my second career, so I think I'm being unbiased here... And, having said that, I'd never put a wind turbine on an RV. First off, driving with one just doesn't make any sense. You'll use more energy than you'll produce and it's a terribly inefficient way to make the energy you want. Second, when stopped, the turbine's operational sound and vibration will be transmitted into your living quarters. I did have some experience with a mast, which tried to address this issue... it was, basically, a rectangular foot onto which you drove the RV tire. The mast protruded upward from that, without touching the RV. But, what a pain to set up. If, as you plan, you mount a wind turbine mast/tower onto the RV itself it will will drive you nuts.
Take it from a wind energy advocate and someone who's been on most of the wind standards panels and committees... for an RV or expedition vehicle like ours, skip the wind turbine. Wind has its place, certainly. But, we just ordered 855 Watts of solar (PV) for our rig today. And I even have two of those Air turbines in boxes, unused.
