Inverter, generator or both... or niether?

[Porkchopexpress]

So I'm finalizing the build sheet on a truck camper and I have some electrical questions. I want the flexibility to camp off grid and I don't have any RV/camper experience. I figure on starting small then adding as necessary but I can't decide if i should get an inverter right away.

I confirmed the following so far:
-GoPower PWM Solar Controller w/100 watt panel
-Battle Born 100 amp 12v lithium battery
-No air conditioner
-No microwave
-No TV

And I'm considering:
-Renogy 2000W inverter
-Honda 2200W generator, (I will probably add later)

Would like to power:
-Instant pot or slow cooker
-Ridgid tools 18V battery charger
-Ceiling fan at night, (DC powered)
-Charge cell phones and laptop, (can use DC?)
-3.8 cubic foot AC DC refrigerator
-Maybe a blender?
-Maybe adding a CPAP someday?

If anyone has experience a similar setup or enough electrical knowledge to give advice, it would be much appreciated.

Thank you!

 

[Joe917]

Having lived full time more than 5 years my first thought is 100 Watts is no where near enough. How much roof space do you have? Can you fit a 315Watt panel, or two?

 

[MobileCabin]

In addition to more battery capacity you might want to take advantage of the truck's power system. Add a good battery-battery charger and you might not need a generator.

Sent from my KFKAWI using Tapatalk

 

[David_h]

From your list it doesn’t appear that you would need a generator although I must disclose that I detest hearing generators when I camp. You did not list heating or other cooking appliances, however if those are propane, then you may only need more solar panels.

 

[Buddha.]

Inverter, more solar, and a dc to dc charger from your truck battery.
Probably a 40ish amp dc to dc and 2guage wiring.

A generator and its fuel can(s) would take up a lot of space and payload in a truck camper.
What kind of truck is it?

 

[Porkchopexpress]

Having lived full time more than 5 years my first thought is 100 Watts is no where near enough. How much roof space do you have? Can you fit a 315Watt panel, or two?

It's a shortbed truck camper, (pop-up). There is an optional second panel but I was thinking I would see how much power I use and add more later. It's $900 for another 100 watts. Most options seem about the same price as adding on my own but this seems a little high? Also, no AC so there should be a decent amount of space to expand.

In addition to more battery capacity you might want to take advantage of the truck's power system. Add a good battery-battery charger and you might not need a generator.

I did order a truck with a second battery and 397 amp alternator so I would have that option later. Also got 5th wheel hookup so maybe the plug in the the bed will make it easier?

From your list it doesn’t appear that you would need a generator although I must disclose that I detest hearing generators when I camp. You did not list heating or other cooking appliances, however if those are propane, then you may only need more solar panels.

I agree and would prefer to not run a generator.

Inverter, more solar, and a dc to dc charger from your truck battery.
Probably a 40ish amp dc to dc and 2guage wiring.

A generator and its fuel can(s) would take up a lot of space and payload in a truck camper.
What kind of truck is it?

F350 short bed

 

[Joe917]

$900 for 100 Watts?
You should be paying $1 per Watt. Look at domestic panels.
Quick google, I know nothing about this website/company, but this is the sort of thing you should look at: https://www.gogreensolar.com/collections/solar-panels
Rigid domestic panels are very robust and will stand up to full time camper mounting no problem.

 

[Buddha.]

100w panels should be about 100$. Even a good solar controller that would run two panels is less than 200$.

 

[Porkchopexpress]

Dumb question, but can you charge your battery with a generator, (conveniently)?

 

[Joe917]

Yes with a battery charger, or inverter charger such a Magnum https://www.magnum-dimensions.com/mobile-power-products/inverter-chargers

 

[Alloy]

You'll want a battery monitoring system at some point.

Dumb question, but can you charge your battery with a generator, (conveniently)?

Yes but the Lithium will suck every watt out of a H2000 generator. You either want to be able to limit the AC input amperage or use a 60-70A charger

I have a Victron Multi plus that will charge up to 120 amp. When I use the 2000W generator to charge the batteries I set the Multiplus to limit the input current 13 Amps. Extension cords and receptacles get hot running at 15amps.

I also have a H1000. With our solar we only need a generator 2-3 times from Nov - Feb. The H1000 will supply 7A of 110VAC and the rest of what is need is made up by the inverter from the batteries. The H1000 is lighter, quieter and easier to put behind a tree or rock to block the noise.

 

[Porkchopexpress]

So the cost to add the first panel (100W) is 1K. I figure it's worth it to have the system already integrated and wired clean during construction which should make adding more panels a lot easier. Is my logic flawed? Would i have to rewire with a heavier gauge anyway? I checked other made to order campers/RVs and the solar options are all well above $1 per watt target.

 

[Alloy]

So the cost to add the first panel (100W) is 1K. I figure it's worth it to have the system already integrated and wired clean during construction which should make adding more panels a lot easier. Is my logic flawed? Would i have to rewire with a heavier gauge anyway? I checked other made to order campers/RVs and the solar options are all well above $1 per watt target.

Mfg. solar system are very basic.

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[broncobowsher]

Would like to power:
-Instant pot or slow cooker
-Ridgid tools 18V battery charger
-Ceiling fan at night, (DC powered)
-Charge cell phones and laptop, (can use DC?)
-3.8 cubic foot AC DC refrigerator
-Maybe a blender?
-Maybe adding a CPAP someday?

If anyone has experience a similar setup or enough electrical knowledge to give advice, it would be much appreciated.

Thank you!

Slow cooker, forget about it. The wattage and long duration use will not work.
Tool battery charger, How many batteries? How large are the batteries? Are you talking a full deep charge or just a little top off? This could be OK, or a not a chance.
Ceiling fan, give us links to what you are looking at. Wattage is an issue, especially since you are talking long duration and running purely on battery.
Cell phone, doesn't even factor in. Laptop might be a factor. Check the laptop and find the wattage or better yet plug it into a watt meter and see what it uses. If you plan on using it for hours, or just a little bit as well.
Fridge is another wild card. That alone may take more than your planned battery capacity for overnight, or no big deal. All depends on how good of a fridge you get, how cold you crank it down to, and how hot of an environment you are using it in. A good fridge in cool weather and not trying to keep ice cream frozen doesn't take much.
Blender, this goes into the doesn't really matter catagory. Yes, very high wattage. But the duration is so short it doesn't really eat the watt hours away from the battery. This gets into the inverters. While you may need the couple thousand watt unit to run the blender, the high wattage units tend to have a fairly thirsty idle power consumption. Just having the inverter on, waiting for a load, will eat a battery. Bigger potential inverters usually have bigger idle consumption.

Try to keep anything you are running (laptop and cell phone charger for example) from running on AC power. The conversion from DC to AC and back to DC is very wasteful. DC to DC chargers are much friendlier. Cigarette lighter USB charger uses very little compared to an inverter running a wall plug cell phone charger.

 

[Porkchopexpress]

Tool battery charger, How many batteries? How large are the batteries? Are you talking a full deep charge or just a little top off?

18v 2 amp hour. Maybe top off a battery or two once a trip

Ceiling fan, give us links to what you are looking at.

From reviews, "Mine pulls just over 5 amps on high (roughly 63 watts) and I would guess closer to 1 amp on low. (12 watts)"

Laptop might be a factor. If you plan on using it for hours, or just a little bit as well.

Maybe 2 hours every other day?

I am finalizing the build sheet this week and I think it will be more cost effective to add panels/batteries later. A lot of my list is luxuries and my first trip will probably be September to October. I think the lower temps should keep my consumption down and give me a few months to figure out how much more juice I will want.