Camping energy sources

[Conrad_Turbo]

Hey everyone I'm new to posting here, although I have been lurking and reading A TON of threads.

Some background. I plan on purchasing an early '00 Tacoma or 4Runner for the purpose of a daily driver (hauling of material) and as a mild expedition vehicle. I don't plan on doing any serious off roading; however I want to build the truck/SUV capable to do what I need.

I do a lot of camping; however it is to campgrounds that have most amenities, something I want to get away from. We always go tenting and a lot of my camping gear is things I've borrowed from my folks. Now the fiancé and I plan on buying all new gear along with our new vehicle and do some real camping.

The one question I have is for camping sources between battery power, unleaded gasoline, white gas, kerosene and propane. Which do you prefer and why?

I'm looking in terms of energy/kg and it seems white gas comes out ahead, although unleaded gasoline doesn't trail by much. I'm somewhat inclined to buy a dual fuel stove, lantern and possibly shower hot water heater so they all can run off the same fuel. Minimizing extra containers of fuel. Any of you do something like this? If not, why?

You all are far more experienced than me in terms of extreme camping...but I want to be there someday.

 

[computeruser]

As someone with relatively little camping experience compared to many on here, take my advice for what it's worth. My preference has always been the white gas/unleaded dual-fuel setup for cooking and lighting. For car camping, I think it works pretty well. The little Coleman dual-fuel single burner stove I have gets tremendous mileage on a little tank of gas, and apart from the lanterns needing to be well-packed to avoid breakage, they work flawlessly, too.

Maybe with a trailer it would make more sense to strap on some propane tanks and use LP, but even then the ability to use unleaded in a pinch seems like a good backup plan if you're venturing far away from civilization and might actually *need* your stove and lights.

Just my 2c, so take it for what it's worth.

 

[kjp1969]

As someone with relatively little camping experience compared to many on here, take my advice for what it's worth. My preference has always been the white gas/unleaded dual-fuel setup for cooking and lighting. For car camping, I think it works pretty well. The little Coleman dual-fuel single burner stove I have gets tremendous mileage on a little tank of gas, and apart from the lanterns needing to be well-packed to avoid breakage, they work flawlessly, too.

Maybe with a trailer it would make more sense to strap on some propane tanks and use LP, but even then the ability to use unleaded in a pinch seems like a good backup plan if you're venturing far away from civilization and might actually *need* your stove and lights.

Just my 2c, so take it for what it's worth.

I agree- buy Coleman dual fuel and you'll still be using them 40 years from now. They're rugged and versatile and inexpensive. Plus, fuel is relatively cheap and there's no disposable cylinders to clutter up the earth.

Kevin

 

[the dude]

Hey Conrad, Good to see you on this sight, There is a TON of info on here and some really cool stuff.

We started off with a Coleman dual fuel stove and always burned white gas. They work great, will last forever and are reasonably priced. We also had a regular Coleman lamp that also burned white gas.

We switched over to the propane versions for a couple reasons. No matter how hard we tried, any thing that was packed near/on/or even close to the lantern/stove ended up smelling like fuel... I just couldn't stop the leaks/drips etc from infecting all our stuff. It bothered Jen more then I. We also found it a bit of a pain to set up and use. Not that it's hard, its just so much cleaner with propane bottles.

I now pack my MSR Dragonfly as the back up stove. It burns just about everything (including diesel) It goes in our emergency pack and rarely used.

What I don't like about the propane is the wasted bottles and the space they take up. I am hoping to eliminate this with the addition of a under body propane tank for the truck.

We are switching over to electric for our lighting this year. Running off our third battery. The light is more compact then a lantern and takes up less space, but it will have a cord attached... With LED technology, I am expecting no issues with battery life.

 

[Conrad_Turbo]

Hey Conrad, Good to see you on this sight, There is a TON of info on here and some really cool stuff.

Hey hey buddy! This site definitely makes me extremely jealous of what my fiancé and I are missing out on. We plan on doing a lot more camping and when kids come along we definitely want to take them on many camping trips as well. I’ve got a lot of saved photos from here for inspiration on what will be built for the new rig.

We started off with a Coleman dual fuel stove and always burned white gas. They work great, will last forever and are reasonably priced. We also had a regular Coleman lamp that also burned white gas.

We switched over to the propane versions for a couple reasons. No matter how hard we tried, any thing that was packed near/on/or even close to the lantern/stove ended up smelling like fuel... I just couldn't stop the leaks/drips etc from infecting all our stuff. It bothered Jen more then I. We also found it a bit of a pain to set up and use. Not that it's hard, its just so much cleaner with propane bottles.

I hate the smell of fuel too and we have a Tupperware container that we dedicate to the lantern, fuel and a few sealed army boxes (filled with tools and equipment) so the smell doesn’t affect us that bad. In the future I want to go with the army gas cans and have it mounted outside of the cab (obviously) and have a small pump that I can insert and use to fill any accessory we have at the site. In your case since you’re diesel your options are a bit limited, although with the MSR stove that opens things up a bit.

I now pack my MSR Dragonfly as the back up stove. It burns just about everything (including diesel) It goes in our emergency pack and rarely used.

What I don't like about the propane is the wasted bottles and the space they take up. I am hoping to eliminate this with the addition of a under body propane tank for the truck.

You’ll be running propane injection in the future too right? In your case propane would be the better way to go, unless you could find diesel powered stove and lantern? I think running 1-2 main fuel sources is so much easier as compared to bringing along AA/AAA’s (flashlights), 6V batteries (lantern?), unleaded fuel (for the truck/suv) and propane tank(s) (stove and possibly lantern). Just seems like a royal PITA. :lol:

We are switching over to electric for our lighting this year. Running off our third battery. The light is more compact then a lantern and takes up less space, but it will have a cord attached... With LED technology, I am expecting no issues with battery life.

LED tech would be a good idea since it’d be using the existing batteries on the truck/suv (which will be used for other items as well). The drain would be minimal as compared to most accessories. The only thing I like is the portability of a gas lantern as compared to an electric one, I hate batteries. The less spent dead weight I have to carry around the better (batteries and propane tanks).

Thanks for the advice Kevin, I guess I’m fairly set on unleaded powered items, but I’m just wondering if my logic is similar to anyone else’s out there. Or if there are things I am overlooking that an experienced expedition person has come across.

 

[Martyn]

RMarz was telling me at our open house that Cheetos will burn, produce heat, and maintain their shape. Plus you can eat them raw. A utility source for marginal nutrition and power. :campfire:

 

[ntsqd]

Cool Ranch Doritos burn too. The stuff left behind will convince you to stop eating them so I don't think their multi functionality is as good.

 

[DaveM]

For lighting I always use a Hurricane lantern, like the Dietz lanterns. Runs off cheap lamp oil, a single bottle of which is enough for a season at least. No issues with spilling so long as I keep the lantern upright. The best part about the oil lantern is the quiet, no hissing sounds. And the softer light. It's plenty bright enough to cook and eat by, but being a bit dimmer means it won't blow out your night vision. I see a lot further around camp than I do when I'm near someone with a super bright coleman.

 

[chet]

we use propane for cooking and have an LED lantern that is going on its third year with the same batteires!

I don't use the cannisters as with a little more room a 5-10 lb. tank fits almost anywhere and a long hose helps too. I can switch it from our stove to the lil buddy heater at night to keep us warm. one tank will easily do a weekend or way more if we use no heater.

 

[orangeTJ]

I've decided battery operated lighting suits me better. "mantles" in the gas fired lanterns don't last long bouncing around in the rig. The mantles disintegrate about every 2 trips.

 

[taugust]

In Walmart, I found a solar rechargable LED lantern, $20. I bought it but they may be discontinuing them since it was discounted. It's not real bright, but it lasts about 10 hours on a charge. It runs on replacable AA NiCads. I figure, when they go, I will replace them with NiMH. Comes with a wall wart recharging cord and a 12V cord as well in the base. I like it. No fuel or heat in a tent, no disposable batteries. Clean power.