I do a fair amount of off-the-grid boondocking with my RV.  Most of this boondocking is stay put camping either at multi-day music festivals or beach side camping where there are no facilities.

My RV is well suited for this.  I’ve got a large fresh water tank (31 gal) and two large waste tanks (36 gals for grey and black).  Most of the electronics in my rig are DC (all the lights, TV’s, radios, water pump).  I have two 12V coach batteries, a 1,000 watt inverter, and 200 watts of portable solar to charge the coach batteries.  I also have an on board generator that runs on propane.

Camping at the Charlestown Breachway with two 100 watt solar panels set up.  One panel is rigid and the other is flexible.  Together they put out about 10 amps of power in full sun.

Some Power Limitations

But there are some issues with ensuring I have sufficient power.  First, my propane generator runs great but it sucks down propane like Joey Chestnut eats hot dogs.  It burns about 1/2 gal per hour at half load.  That doesn’t sound like a lot, but my propane tank only holds 11 gals at 75% full.  Running the generator for 2-3 hrs per day means I would go thru about 1-2 gals of propane a day.  That’s ok if I always start out with a full tank, but I also use propane for my frig, heating water, and for cooking.

I don’t run the generator much (usually to use the micro wave or cool the rig down with the AC unit) because I have solar to charge my batteries.  Most of my electric need is for charging electronics (phone, cameras, computers) which the inverter and solar panels handle pretty well.

All of this works great as long as the sun shines, which is does most days. But a week of cloudy days at the beach made me take action and add another power source.

A New Power Source

Before I added solar, I looked into getting a small gas inverter generator for my power needs.  I held off on getting one because I wanted to see how the solar worked.  And, I didn’t want to have to deal with lugging and storing gas.

But, every time I go to music festivals or to the beach, I see lots of RV’s with the small portable generators purring away at a low hum.  Even the big class A rigs seem to have a small portable generator.  They run for hours and the owners seem to have no worries about having enough power.

So, I did some research into various makes and models.  The flagship brand and model for these generators is the Honda EU2000i.   This little unit runs for about 8 hrs on a gallon of gas.  At the low setting, it makes about as much noise as a fan.  Everywhere I go, I see more Honda’s than any other brand.

My Honda EU2200i setup

I researched some other brands, that are much less expensive than the Honda.  All these units (e.g., Westinghouse, Wen, Ryobi) have pretty good user review ratings. They are all made overseas but have limited service presence where you can get parts.

After doing all the research, I decided to buy the latest Honda unit – the model EU2200i.  This unit can put out 2200 watts of power.  It can run everything in my RV except for the AC unit.  And it was pricey at $999.  I added an anti-theft covering for the handle which prevents someone from cutting through the handle and stealing the generator

My Experience

I took it for a test outing at my latest stay at the Charlestown Breachway.  Most of the days were overcast during the mornings and partly cloudy during the day.  I did have a 100 watt solar panel set up.  During my five-day stay, I ran the generator for about 10 hours.  Most my daily usage was split – usually one hour in the morning and one hour in the evening when I use the most power.  During the five days, I burned about 1.25 gals of gas.  When I ran it, I could hardly hear it from inside the RV.  If I had run my propane generator, I would have burned 5-8 gals of propane.  The propane generator is also about twice as loud as the Honda and rumbles the RV when it’s running.

The Honda unit is compact and portable but fairly heavy at 47 lbs.  I can carry it with one hand but it’s a chore to get it in and out of the RV.  I transported it inside my RV right behind the passenger seat.  The unit has a special valve on the gas cap to seal the tank when it’s not in use to prevent gas odors.

Summary

I bought the unit for those situations where I do fairly local stay-put boondocking for an extended time.  I would not carry the generator on RV road trips.  I figure I’ll be able to use this unit with any future RV’s that I may acquire.  And when I’m done RVing, one of my sons will probably inherit the unit.

Some may suggest that I could have added more power by swapping out my 12V batteries with 6V units.  That would give me about 30 more amp hrs but it wouldn’t address the issue of cloudy / rainy days.

So, I’m pleased with the unit and glad I acquired it.  It’s perfect for those situations when I’m at a festival or boondocking at the beach.