Boondocking Adventure Ahead
 

I've been working on the family mountain property clearing enough space to get our Hi-Lo in there. We're planning a boondock trip next weekend. I think we've got the propane appliances and the water systems figured out. My biggest concern will be about electric power. I'm thinking about buying one of these Champion 4000 generators from Camping World to put in the back of the truck. Anyone have experience with these generators? Looking ahead to next Spring/Summer will it operate our air conditioning?

A 4000 W generator should run the AC unit without difficulty, but I suspect it will be quite noisy (although I see it's rated at 68 db - probably the 50% load rating). It's also big and heavy though. So, these are considerations.

On the plus side, it's cheap and you can possibly get it cheaper online than at Camping World.

- Jack

Buying a generator.
 

Seems to me I remember quite a discussion about generators on this forum. Do a search for back posts. I agree with jack about getting a better price on the internet. Camping world and others do have sales. Spend sometime this cold winter reseaching the topic and compare prices.

khhorton -- We have the 4000 Champion generator. Beach and I live about 18 miles from the coast of SC on the upper Ashley River and have to regularly prepare for the possibility of hurricanes, hence the generator. About four years ago, we sold our 2000 watt Honda generator and purchased the 4000 Champion. Oh how we wish we had our Honda back because it was so quiet. However, the Champion would allow us to live in our 2009 25-foot Hi-Lo, run AC, and lights while our house was being repaired in the event of hurricane damage. We went through hurricane Hugo in 1989 and stayed to experience the hurricane without having an RV for shelter and generator afterwards to rely on while we were making repairs. If you can stand the noise, we got our Champion at Home Depot for between $400 and $500, but that was four years ago. It is a heavy generator and is required that one runs all the gas out of the unit before storing.

Dee
South Carolina

Thanks for the replies. I found it on Camping World's web site for $299 that includes a cover, but would need to buy the separate wheel kit. It's about 101 lbs. I'd get some ramps and a winch to get it into the bed of the truck. I'd like to have a Honda or Yamaha unit for the quiet operation, but I cannot justify the high price.

Getting a generator.
 

I don't have a generator as we seldom dry camp. However, we did pick up a reasonably priced winch at Harbor freight. Probably was on sale and used a coupon.

The more I've researched the more I believe this Champion generator will suit our needs. We're on 12 acres of woods so no real concerns about the 68 db level. Looks like Camping World is the winner on price. Sam's has it listed $10 cheaper, but they're all out of stock. I may go Wednesday and pick one up.

We went to the property yesterday to see what our options are for setting up camp. We figured we've got three options on parking spots for this trip. One would be in direct sunlight. If we pick that one we can have our solar charger topping up the batteries. Plus with cooler ambient temps we shouldn't have to worry about the fridge staying cool using propane.

Actually the fridge works best with propane.

Yes it does work best on propane. I got that working before our last trip. A/C power for fridge does ok. I'll never have it on DC power again due to completely draining our battery power.

DC while traveling is the safest but if your charge line from the TV isn't up to the task you have a problem. If everything is cold before you leave home, you are good for a number of hours with the fridge turned off. Just don't forget to turn it back on.

I do need to check the 7 pin connector and make sure the battery charge circuit is functioning. Last trip out we were on DC for about 2 hours, with the truck running 85% of the time. Got to the site and the battery was drained to the point the lift motor wouldn't work. It did the same thing when we drove back home. Good thing we had shore power at the campsite.

This is a 2003 Ford F150. I'll check that the wire is there on the connector, and that the fuse/relay is in tact.

khhorton - How long are planning to boondock? If it's less than 4 or 5 days and you don't need A/C you should be fine with just a good battery. It should last that long running a few lights at night and the water pump. If you run the furnace a lot that can use up some juice too.

Check your battery to see if it is up to snuff. Those deep discharges can seriously shorten the life of even a new battery.

We'll be in the camper for three days. I'll pull it to the house tomorrow so we can load up and keep it on the extension cord. Temps will be mid 40s to high 60's. No air conditioning, but will probably keep furnace on at night.

I'm considering buying a spare deep cycle battery. I would like to eventually have a dual battery setup. That won't happen this trip, but hopefully in the near future.

also,if you are running your fridge on 12v even if its hooked up to your truck it drains the battery very quickly I know it happened to me. 2 days prior to your leaving, plug your hi-lo in and run your fridge on 110 to get it cold, it should stay cold for 8 hours if you don't open the door.

I have one of those generators, yeah they are loud but alot cheaper than one of those red ones, check out Cabela's, when I bought mine it came with a wheel kit and cover, it was $353 shipped to my house

I have a double batterey set up and can go five days with batteries if I am conservative. I put a batterey operated flourescent lantern on the refrig in front of the mirror and it gives me all the general house light I need at night unless I'm reading in bed. I also bought one of those "mr Buddy" heaters with the small 1lb propane cannisters for keeping the chill down during the night-though they are "bright". Wife found a cheap little fan that ran on d cells that helps move air around and also will move that Mr Buddy heat around. The furnace will run down the battery if it is cycling on and off all night a lot. I woud keep the thermostat at its lowest setting and use a decent sleeping bag or down comforter if you go with that. Otherwise- I usually just power mine up for a good blast of hot air in the mornings until I get dressed or if we are showering.

I have a 97 f150 and can run the refrig on electric while on the road and not run down my car or house battery-so I think you DO have some type of issue there. I agree- plug it in for a couple of nights and leave a couple of frozen bottles of water in the refrigerator while on the road and leave it off until you can run it off propane at your site.

But HAVE FUN!

Rick

We survived our first boondock camping experience. Friday evening through Sunday evening. The efforts we put toward the property paid off. We were able to get on the property and setup quickly and easily. We even had a fire going before sundown.

There were some lessons we had to learn the hard way. First, we ran out of water. The fresh water tank was 2/3 full when we pulled away from home. I think it was closer to half full really. We ran out, and had to go buy some more.

Our biggest problem was power, or lack thereof around 1:30AM this morning. Our furnace is run on propane, but has an electric fan to push the air around. It kept running Saturday night and ran the battery completely down. It was 39 degrees in the camper this morning! Even the dogs were shaking and shivering. Reason our furnace kept running was due to a roof vent being left open, heating up nature instead of our camper.

The battery was dead. The solar charger wasn't going to get us back on track, so I had to buy another battery. It's a good thing though. We found out the battery installed was a starting battery, not a deep cycle RV/Camper battery. Now we're OK.

We spent a lot of time building and maintaining the campfire, and cooking. Granted we reduced one of our biggest brush piles by half, but we used up a lot of energy. That, and our meals with getting the fire going and cooking were taking 2 hours plus. I do have to say it was really nice to be out in the meadow by the campfire looking up at the stars.

So lessons learned to carry over into our next experience, as well as some new projects:

-Make sure the fresh water tank is full. Then carry the blue water container for an extra 5 gallons.

-Add a second battery to be installed in parallel with the new battery to extend our time.

-Invest in more LED lighting.

-bring the cook stove to at least cook breakfast on so we can put our time to other uses.

-Stop talking about buying a generator, and buy the blasted thing already!

!st.camping trip shakedown.
 

Great to read about your adventures. Seems like you are the kind of person that learns from your mistakes/adventures. We all are learning no matter how long we have owned our HiLo. Does your HiLo have an oven? Maybe you could spray foam insulation under your trailer or strap some foam sheets underneath to keep it warmer. Maybe make some side panels backed with sheet foam. to lean against the RV on the exterior. I rug my HiLo to "death" and it keeps the floor much warmer. Makes the RV prettier. We always stuff a towel at the door to help with heat loss. I've read about some rv folks that winter camp and use heavier curtains on the windows or make reflective window liners. Google winter camping mods and you may get some ideas.

Cook stove
 

khhorton,
Since we dry camp a couple of times a year I read your posts and the replies with interest. It seems you have a good prespective and additiude toward getting it figured out. For us it was an ongoing process, we are still learing. I did not understand your comment about bringing the cook stove to at least cook breakfast? Does your Hi Lo not have a cook stove? Ours does and it runs on propane. When we camp in cold temperature conditions we set up our coffee pot before going to bed. Since we do not use our furnance when dry camping due to battery use, it does get cold in the camper. First thing on the adgenda the next morning is jumping out of bed to turn on the camper's cook stove to cook the pot of coffee. Then it's back to bed until you smell coffee. The cook stove does help knock off the chill by the time coffee is ready.
Keep us posted. I for one always learn by reading others experiences.
Thanks and God Bless
Papa

Sam-We do have some throw rugs down, and there's a strip of permanent carpet on the floor. With three dogs going in and out we like to have things where we can shake them out or wash when they get too dirty. It's funny you mentioned the towel at the door, as we were talking about that on the way home. We need to add to our night routine to go around and make sure vents are closed and temps set on heater and air conditioner.


Papa-We do have a propane stove/oven in the camper, and we could have used it. We were looking to have more of that outdoorsy experience. Our camp meals were all done in Lodge cookware set over the campfire. We usually like cooking/grilling outside if at all possible. So far we've only used the stove & oven when we've been in campgrounds.

Speaking of which we kinda lucked out on another aspect of our boondocking experience. I was sweating where we were going to dump our tanks. Not a lot of places around. One said they had full hook-up sites for that purpose, but they wouldn't be available till Monday.

We found a campground about 10 miles away from our property that allowed us to do it. When we drove in both of us were amazed with the setting. It's a small campground, but all lots are right on a nice big creek, full hook-ups, etc. The camp host was very interested to know about our Hi-Lo. We'll definitely be back there in the near future.

I always bring my backpacking stove for coffee in summer- like to be outside and not irritate my wife by moving and banging around. But- a few weeks ago with temps hitting below freezing over night I did what papa does and the heat from the stove top helped a bunch.

With a single starter battery as your electric you were lucky to last as long as you did. :) Dual deep cycle, group 24 or 27, will take you much much further. I also carry a smokey joe weber grill and charcoal for it an my Lodge dutch oven. Saves messing with wood fires for food.

If you can tolerate the noise and have nobody else to bother- a generator and two decent batteries will keep you happy a long time. Also- see back posts for transferring water- I got a small 12v pump per Jack's suggestion and it works great for moving water into the fresh water tank.

Rick

It sounds like a Three Dog Night. I agree with Papa and Hilltool - With LED lights and not using the furnace to heat the outdoors you should be OK. I always carry the 6 gal water jug empty due to weight - It sounds like the Campground would let you fill it as you get there. I always carry a separate fully charged deep cycle with me in a RV battery box. Then if the one drains I just swap it out with the other. That has always been enough for our needs. I have a piece of pipe foam insulation that I cut to seal the gap between the doors. Nothing beats the smell of coffee on the stove when it's cold and you are camping. I loved the smell from when I was 6 years old in my parents trailer.

Dry camping
 

Generators are great for Dry Camping, which we enjoy for the lack of noise. Yes I bought one of those Red ones around 3000 watts, dual purpose, to be used at the house when/if we loose power again. It is heavy so I have a lift to get it on/off the truck. NOTE: make sure that the output of the generator is stable and clean because the modern electronics will fail sooner if the output is not clean, by experience. So went with The Red one and it really is quiet!!

Boondocking and cooking.
 

Cook something for breakfast in your propane oven. Leave your vent cracked a little bit. The fringe benefit is it will produce heat and take the cold chill out.

I guess we were really caught up in the campfire cooking scheme. Neither of us considered using the stove/oven. We will next time, or use the Coleman stove if we're really feeling outdoorsy. Everything should be cleaner with that approach. We're still scrubbing soot off our camp coffee pot.

Hint: Coat the outside of the coffee pot with dish cleaning liquid. The soot will come off easier the next time you use it over the fire.

Rich-I haven't heard that technique before, but will give it a go next time out.

I went through just one partial
tank of propane running the fridge all summer ---covering maybe 9-10 days of camping and if I leave it on 3 or above stuff freezes in fridge. I still prefer carrying a coleman extreme cooler for beverages- and not emptying the melted water. Less effect opening and closing constantly and If I am out and about its usually not hard to grab an extra bag of ice or two at a gas station.

Nat forest and state cgs with no hook-ups but, a dump station, are turning into my favorites for economy and best sites for up to five day stays. Its pretty comfortable living under those circumstances. A couple of water containers that I fill and haul back to site with a small 12 volt pump which connects to the battery gives me more water for five days than my waste tanks can hold. I tend to view my hi-lo as luxurious tent camping on steroids. :) I envy the fact you have that much property to camp on. I have six acres in the mountains of West Texas but it takes me three days to get there. ;)

Rick

I like that "luxurious tent" as we got older we went from Tent to Truck Camper to HiLo. One other thing we do to save battery power is we have lanterns that run on AAs. They provide enough light as we sit around and talk in the evening. It kind of ads to the ambiance. If we are outside a Coleman propane lantern provides a lot of light - never tried it but it would provide some heat inside at night.

Rick,

I'll will take me about 3 hours to get there. :) I'm just sayin'.