wa8yxm
Wherever I happen to park
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Joined: 07/04/2006
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While I do agree you need a genny just in case.. Wind or Solar might do it
There is another windmill thread on this forum. Please read it
Nothin adds excitment like something that is none of your business
John is Near Kenwood TS-2000 housed in a 2005 Damon Intruder 377
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pnichols
Santa Cruz Mountains
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Joined: 04/26/2005
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Of course the Honda portable inverter generators have a reputation for being "quiet".
Most folks talk about a single Honda 2000i (the "i" stands for inverter) portable generator to supply about 1600 watts continuous, or two Honda 2000i portable generators connected in parallel (the wiring harness to do this is sold by Honda or you can make one) to supply about 3200 watts continuous. Whether to use one, or two of these depends upon your expected highest power need when dry camping.
However, if your power needs necessitate going only with a single Honda 2000i generator ..... if you can afford a little more $$, then I'd recommend against buying a single Honda 2000i. Instead, I'd buy two Honda 1000i generators and run them in parallel. In parallel two Honda 1000i's supply MORE power than a single Honda 2000i - one 2000i is 1600 watts continuous, but two 1000i's in parallel will supply 1800 watts continuous (900 watts each). With two Honda 1000i's you get lighter lifting than a Honda 2000i through dealing with one at a time (about 29 lbs. each for the 1000i) and, maybe very important for boondock dry camping - you get "generator redundancy". When a single Honda 2000i fails you have no generator - when one half of a Honda 1000i parallel pair fails at least you have a 900 watt generator left to camp with.
* This post was
edited 07/09/08 11:08am by pnichols *
Phil, 2005 E450 Itasca 324V Spirit
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Lightload
Spring Mills, PA
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Joined: 07/08/2008
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Wow! Thanks for all the responses! I really appreciate the information.
I looked for a windmill thread on this forum and came up empty. Guess I wasn't using the right search words.
Again, thanks for the help.
George
2002 F-250 full size ext. cab Powerstroke
2005 31' Prowler Bunk House TT (for the grandkids)
Always try to be the person your dog thinks you are!
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globemaster9
Georgia
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Joined: 09/23/2006
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I have an Air-X 12 volt windgen. The only areas where it's worth the expense is near the beach or out west in the plains states. It provides 400 watts in a steady 28 mile per hour wind. At 10 mph wind it only provides a couple of watts. It increases exponentially as the wind speed increases. A steady wind is best for consistent power generation. Of course most beach winds are not steady nor that fast. But for me the windgen is a worthwhile investment. It is NOT noisy at all. You can't hear it at all outside in a 25 mile wind. The noise of the wind drowns out the whirr noise. Inside the trailer is a different story. There is a humming noise but I find it rather soothing and not annoying at all.
I spent about $750 for the gen, mast, guy lines and fabricated a hinge system to stand it up for use.
Even in windy locations it won't supply all your power needs by any stretch of the truth. But for me it is an excellent compliment to my 880 watts of solar which cost me over $5000.
Near the beach the wind can blow all day AND night making power while I've never seen the sun shining 24 hours per day.
2006 CHEV 2500HD
2006 Forest River Cherokee Wolfpack 295WP
2001 HD Softail Classic
Wife and dog 
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dalej
texas
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Joined: 03/19/2006
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If you are really interested in windmills you might check in with sailing forums, most of those folks are pretty knowledgeable about wind power.
2005 Chevy HD2500, ext cab, 4x4, 8.1, allison,lb,srw, 265 75 16's, timbrens
2005 Snowriver 8-10 truck camper
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