For camping a generator is definitely not needed; that is unless you want to keep your batteries charged and about a dozen other things when you don't have an electrical hookup. Let me explain.
Ever tried boondocking or dry camping? This is camping without hookups; no water, no sewer and no electricity actually there probably isn't even a bath house or restroom available. This type of camping can take place in many different settings, anything from National Parks, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) property, or even in someone’s driveway, pasture or farmlands. Some are free while other locations may have a camping fee additionally, there are membership-based programs such as Harvest Host and Boondockers Welcome which offer nationwide camping opportunities.
Managing your resources is essential in regard to water, electricity and wastewater disposal. Solar or generator power is necessary to keep the RV batteries charged and this is where a good generator really pays off. If in a warm climate you may want to run fans or even an air conditioner to keep cool or a furnace or space heater in the winter.
The key to any backup or alternate power situation is understanding how much electricity you will require and when you will need it. All of your 12v or DC power needs are supplied by the RV battery so all you have to do is keep the battery charged which can be a challenge.
Allowing your battery to sit in an uncharged state will reduce its service life. When a battery is not allowed to fully charge sulfation occurs. Sulfation will cause crystals to form on the battery plates not allowing the battery to accept a complete charge thusly the battery capacity is reduced.
The state of battery charge is displayed in this chart. The battery must be at rest and not being used when the voltage reading is taken. As a good rule to protect your battery never discharge below 60 per cent and monitor the battery voltage closely when dry camping or camping without electrical service.
Charging the battery once in the morning and again just before bedtime should keep everything in check, battery wise, just monitor your power consumption.
A generator rated above 3300 watts is sufficient to operate typical RV air conditioners; one AC at a time only. It will also operate a microwave oven, TV, and small kitchen appliances, just estimate your power consumption and don't exceed the generator's rating. Some like to use 2 generators hooked together such as the Honda 2200 units. These smaller generators are lighter, coming in at around 40 pounds where the 3300 watt units start at about 95 pounds and go up from there.
Generator noise in the campground should be minimized as a courtesy to other campers. This is why is it a must to get an Inverter Generator. These generators not only run with much less noise they also produce much "cleaner" power that is better for sensitive electronics.
The generator shown here is a Dual Fuel Inverter Generator which can operator on either gasoline or liquid propane (LP). This is the generator I have and recommend for may reasons. It is not the cheapest generator out there but one of the best. And I only use LP to fuel the generator and connect it directly to the RV's LP tanks to keep everything simple. It also prevents having to transporting extra gasoline and dealing with accidental spills and odors.
And finally, you never know when the power in the campground will go out. It has happened to me several times. This is when you can hear the muffled sounds of generators around the campground start up knowing those lucky campers still have air conditioning, heating and of course a fully charged battery.
Or so it seems from the perspective of the manufacturer and selling dealerships. If not, then why is it so common for a new owner to spend the first few months "working out the bugs?" Or in many instances, the owners themselves perform the repairs to avoid long waiting times at the service repair shop and to ensure the job is done right the first time.
Almost every high-ticket product we purchase today touts their quality, craftsmanship or product longevity except recreational vehicles. Just take a look at any automobile commercial which is chock full of references to how well they are built, detailing the over-the-top comfort level and quality of materials. You also see pretty much the same gloating for typical household appliances like refrigerators and washing machines.
How do I know all this? In addition to owning RVs for almost 20 years I recently conducted Internet polling to learn how RV Owners felt about the quality of their RV. The results were no surprise, or at least not to me a retired process and quality engineer. But understand there are many owners across the country that are very happy with their unit which isn't quite enough because we all should be Happy Campers.
First some numbers to study to understand the focus and target group involved witho the polling next we will look at the specific Grades owners have assigned to their RV.
Poll Categories with Assigned Grade
I conducted two polls, one for Airstream owners and the second for all other RV brand owners. Asking these same questions, you see in the graphic to both groups. There is more information in the video below titled RV Quality Report.
Participants were asked to select the statement that best describes their feelings about the quality of their 2018 to 2021 year model RV. There were 238 Airstream respondents, 313 for all other RV brands totaling 551 responses.
For fairness two caveats should be considered. 1) The poll was made available to over 200K RV owners as members of Facebook Groups and 2) Negative remarks are more freely shared on the Internet than positive experiences, just a fact of human nature.
As a sign of what was to come, the first two comments were owners asking why I had not included a "No Issues to Report" category? I immediately added the category and was surprised at how many respondents actually fell in to this category.
Owner's Response Graded from A+ to F
From this set of graphics nothing really jumps out and gives quality a thumbs up or down. One indicator may be the D and F grades for All RV Brands or the 92 (37%) Airstream Owners selecting Grade A and 98 (31%) All RV Brand Owners feeling Grade A+ is their best fit.
Not convinced one way or the other yet? I'm not either so let's do a deeper dive and ask the numbers to present a different picture.
In these next charts I combined the top two grades (A+ and A) and the bottom two grades (D and F) which should represent the most satisfied and most dissatisfied customers for each group.
Top Two and Bottom Two Grades Combined
The picture comes in much better focus from this perspective, at least for me. Over 60 percent of Airstream Owners assigned Grade A or A+ showing their satisfaction quality however 2.3 percent of Airstream Owners had to "cancel trips because of major issues" or "experiencing one issues after the other and it is still broke."
The All Brands group is reporting quite a different situation. Only 39 percent of these owners are reporting Grade A or A+ and the owners living with the lower grades is 7.3 percent of the All Brands group.
Where do all of these defects come from and why? The price of anything is a factor of materials and the cost of doing business, simplified of course. Manufacturers as a way to control expenses, have chosen production practices based on a timeline consistent with getting products to customers as quickly as possible. Dealerships gladly accept products with known defects which provide a steady flow of warranty repair work keeping their service departments fully engaged although usually not fully staffed. The maintenance waiting game begins here.
The cost of quality has to fall on someone's plate, the question becomes who and when? The reality is that if there is any quality at all to be had it is the buyer who absorbs the expense of quality knowingly or not and will be better off for it. We don't see Quality as a line item on the invoice nor can we tell the manufacturer "Hold the Quality" on this one to reduce the price. It is what it is.
If recreational vehicles were delivery in perfect condition with the best materials possible and a guarantee of zero failures for the life of the warranty, we would not be able to afford that RV. I’m not saying to go quietly into the night and just accept what you get, but I am saying try to be satisfied with this whole complex system of the RV Industry but hold everyone accountable.
Seeing the big picture from both the manufacture's and buyer's perspectives I think we can see that the process although troublesome is working. The manufacture ship products and the buyer finds an affordable deal. The long and short of the RV Industry is that RV defects are normal.
I hope you enjoyed this article and maybe learned something along the way. Please Follow my Blog and join the conversation on my Facebook Group "My RV Mentor,."
Thank you.
Thursday, October 15, 2020
Avoid the Bombs -- Don't Go Cheap on Tires
How often do you hear about travel trailer blowouts and the actual tire brand turns out to be something you have never heard of? Many (or most) RV manufactures put these off-brand tires on new recreational vehicles; it has to be a profit margin decision because great tires are available, they just cost a little more.
But in all fairness it takes 2 things to make a China Bomb and not just the fact the tire was made overseas.
Goodyear Marathon
Poorly made or engineered tires that are prone to heat failure and catastrophic failure. The Goodyear Marathon is pretty much the poster child of China Bombs but there are many other brands on the market today that you should avoid.
Owner Abuse. Yes, in countless number of cases it is you, the owner, that sets the stage for tire failure. The top three things that leads to blowouts are:
Failing to maintain correct tire pressure
Over speeding the tire (check rating)
Not replacing an old outdated tires (4-6 years)
My video below looks at all of these issues and provides recommendations on not only how to properly maintain your tires but how to keep you family safe going down the road. In addition, how to prevent tire failure which can cause thousands of dollars of damage to your RV.
Be aware that what your local tire shop recommends may be an off-brand tire or a tire he promotes just for profit reasons. As a consumer be proactive and know what tire you want "before" going in to buy tires. That way the tire dealer will agree with you or have the challenge to convince you in to buying another brand for specific reasons. Listen carefully and make an educated decision.
Once you get those great tires and know they must be replaced every 4 to 6 years you are still only half way there to being safe and money wise. Remember the comment above about "keep the correct air pressure?" Sounds easy and it really is but it takes a certain amount of dedication to check and monitor your tires.
Each travel day check air pressure and make necessary adjustments. Each tire Brand/Make has a tire pressure chart with recommended tire pressure based on trailer weight. The maximum tire pressure indicated on the tire sidewall may not be your correct running psi. Google search your tire.
Inspect all tires for damage, bulges or tread separation and cracks. Remember with the 4 to 6 year replacement rule your tire thread is not an indication of how much life remains in the tire. Chances are your tires will still have good thread when they are replace for old age.
Use a Tire Pressure Monitoring System which gives you an early warning for tire failure. I highly recommend the TST-507 4-Cap Systemwhich I have been running for over 15 years.
The last thing you want is a mechanical or tire failure that interrupts your camping experience or worst yet injures someone. You can take preventative actions against tire failure and I hope this information prepares you to travel with confidence and worry free.
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Tuesday, October 13, 2020
Begin at the beginning.
Learning, a never ending journey in which we are all guilty, on a daily if not hourly basis. Travel and learning are so closely related you can't have one without the other even if the travel is only to the front porch to pickup the morning newspaper.
My blog and youtube channel are more about the journey than the destination and the oh so complicated technology and machinery making the journey possible. The goal is to share my experiences to benefit others and to enhance my knowledge along the way.
When caught in a storm its always best to bring a friend.
