Generator
You may wonder why I carry an electric power generator. When travelling in the
caravan
we had a heavy 5kVA unit in a cradle that could run the air-conditioner in the van and everything else including our satellite TV. I was glad to sell the van, if only for the reason that I didn’t have to lug the heavy-mother every other day... just to power our ridiculous array of electrical appliances.
The real reason I carry a small, and I mean small about 950watts unit these days is not so much to run appliances but for its battery charging capability. I have been caught before with dual batteries both dead flat (on Rainbow Beach in NSW and in the Victoria Desert) and waited two days while a small 32watt solar panel (look closely at the bonnett of the Toyota towing the van and you will see the solar panel) trickled enough charge for us to boot the vehicle up.
I don’t like the idea of being stranded anywhere, particularly when it shows I haven’t budgeted my energy requirements properly. Both these events were triggered by a couple of stinking hot days, and the big draw of the car fridge but most importantly it was the result of me not checking the status of the batteries.
I have had this little genny for about 5 years and it runs like a dream and best of all, it runs on the smell of an oily rag. There is a direct charge facility from the genny, just perfect if we ever have dead flat batteries again. You might be thinking this is a bit of overkill? It boils down to simple risk management, and will depend on how many trips you do in isolated areas. We tend to do quite a bit of travelling in remtoe areas and need to be self contained. A couple of hundred bucks on a small genny is good insurance.
Generator back to Camping Trailers |
