What do you dislike most about RV--ing?

[team bradfield]

10 minutes for girls to get ready? I'm not buying it!

Agreed, 1 hour minimum

 

[Phillbo]

10 minutes for girls to get ready? I'm not buying it!

Yeah, I lie to myself a lot. They do know to get 5he blow dryer out and ready to go when I fire it up.

 

[TR25]

What do I hate most about RVing? Sitting at home, waiting to go on our next RV adventure.

Greg.

yeah, the packing/unpacking of the RV can be a bit annoying. I have 2 and decided to just outfit both of them as stand alones....so I have three of the clothing, utensils, etc. to cut down on the moving stuff.
But things like food/ice blocks will always be work to do.

 

[Michael T Klukas]

 

[Kevin D Pem]

I run my genny twice a day. 10 minutes in the morning while yhe girls prep and green and then again for a few minutes around dinner if the microwave is bring used....

Still hate the process of juggling itineraries due to an inability to book a camp site these days...

I get generators! I have one. It's looking like rain today! I was going to make a loaf of bread today but will likely put that off. Yes it's about having to run the Genny if I make it, then. . . My solar keeps the rig going, but on a day like today, extras require the smoke bomb, and My distaste for generators is not the noise!

 

[Phillbo]

Mine does not smoke.

 

[Vint]

Generators,and the people that run them all day.

Would I assume this pertains to dry camping off-grid? If that's the case, not everyone has jumped into solar, or has the funds to build out a suitable solar system and batteries to suit their needs. For drivable rigs, I'm pretty sure that's one reason they come equipped with genies.

If it refers to camping at RV parks, anywhere from state parks that may only offer 30A electrical hook-ups to FHU private CGs, I can't understand why someone would be running their genny at all. But, even here, there can be exceptions. Two Summers ago we were camping at a nice but less costly CG in the Poconos in PA, not far from Pocono Raceway. During a hot evening, my electrical management system kept cutting out power due to low voltage. What happened was we were on a hill, and our site was at the bottom. That also put us at the end of the electrical line, 30A only in the whole CG. Not enough power remained by the time it reached our site.

I went to the office and talked to both owners, truly awesome folks who explained the problem and the expense it would cost them to add new 50A power across the CG. They offered, and I accepted, to take $100 off my weekly camping rate, and asked if I would mind if I just used my generator for as long as I needed to stay cool.

 

[Vint]

As far as what I dislike about RV'ing/Camping, it would be paying $50-$60-$70, or more for an overnight stop. Second would be campsites that don't drain during heavy rains.

 

[Phillbo]

As far as what I dislike about RV'ing/Camping, it would be paying $50-$60-$70, or more for an overnight stop. Second would be campsites that don't drain during heavy rains.

We had a site in cottonwood that turned into a river during a hard monsoon rain. Covered the entire site in about 3/4" of mud. But it drained.

 

[RobertE]

We keep our drinks in a dual voltage portable fridge outside the camper.

Pet peeve - people who go off and leave their barking dogs inside the RV for 12 hours.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

Would I assume this pertains to dry camping off-grid? If that's the case, not everyone has jumped into solar, or has the funds to build out a suitable solar system and batteries to suit their needs. For drivable rigs, I'm pretty sure that's one reason they come equipped with genies.

If it refers to camping at RV parks, anywhere from state parks that may only offer 30A electrical hook-ups to FHU private CGs, I can't understand why someone would be running their genny at all. But, even here, there can be exceptions. Two Summers ago we were camping at a nice but less costly CG in the Poconos in PA, not far from Pocono Raceway. During a hot evening, my electrical management system kept cutting out power due to low voltage. What happened was we were on a hill, and our site was at the bottom. That also put us at the end of the electrical line, 30A only in the whole CG. Not enough power remained by the time it reached our site.

I went to the office and talked to both owners, truly awesome folks who explained the problem and the expense it would cost them to add new 50A power across the CG. They offered, and I accepted, to take $100 off my weekly camping rate, and asked if I would mind if I just used my generator for as long as I needed to stay cool.

Spending a fortune on solar is a choice. A generator that runs the A/C starts at 900 big ones. Used panels, China brand controllers start at 100, and batteries a couple hundred.

I can't afford anything but to run a generator is only an excuse, and a poor one at that.

Of course I am talking camping! Private RV parks are technically not camping, they are resort living where you bring your own bedroom.

 

[TheLooks]

We have been planning a run to Maine from Tenn. We have multiple apps and programs and Gmaps and a Garmin 795 and even know most of where we are going. It has taken us hours and hours to get that route into the RV795....it just blows my mind after all the years of GPS that something can be so bad and cost so much. Even Garmins ownd apps and programs cannot just let me type in the stops and send them to the GPS. And don't get me started about Basecamp and its inability to even find my home address much less any stops along the way. Put in my old address in Maine and it shows me suggested stops in New Brunswick Canada....close but no cigar. That is my rant.

 

[TheLooks]

I challenge you to get a solar setup that will run the AC for any amount of time for less then $2000. Mine is handy to that figure and I built it myself, no labor costs. It will run the AC for about 4 hours. In my class C setting in my driveway plugged in, the AC never shut off for several hours in this heat.

 

[Kevin D Pem]

I challenge you to get a solar setup that will run the AC for any amount of time for less then $2000. Mine is handy to that figure and I built it myself, no labor costs. It will run the AC for about 4 hours. In my class C setting in my driveway plugged in, the AC never shut off for several hours in this heat.

What Is the pay off of that challenge?

My system (1500w) will run My 9000btu system all day, not night. 200ah at 24v just won't run for more than about 4hrs after the sun sets.

Then the deficit can not be overcome while still running the A/C on following days.

With My system this issue Is significant because there is no provision to charge other than solar.

Inflation makes investment impossible to tally. My first of two solar controllers ran 45 dollars, the second ran 75 dollars. Now the same controller cost My friend 120 dollars. That was several Months ago. Still 120 times 2 is 240. The panels (used) were 50 dollars a piece for 250w panels, last I checked they are lower, a floating target. The roughly 70 volts can be handled by 10 gauge wire per 1000w without heating up.

So! 400 dollars for 2000w of panel plus 120 dollars per 1440watt capable controllers (220 dollars) comes in at 620 dollars.
Plus 2000w inverter, this is tricky, can range from 300 for full sine to 1500 depending on it's operating method. Still the total of 2120 is still in the ball park you stated.

Because battery bias, battery cost can't be estimated. My battery choice is currently about 1 grand. Standard LA for equivalent is 400. Lithium? Well lithium is not on My buy list at any price. I just passed on 300ah that was 6mo old. That shows My bias.

I can build a system more capable than what I have that drops off considerably at night. However I am working on testing a system without the limitations the sun exposes My system to. The results are not yet in.

 

[TheLooks]

Hmmmm, I don't see that you succeeded at all. A 9000 btu AC unit will cool a medium size Yeti, but not a camper. Btu's convert directly to energy. Running an AC of sufficient size requires more more more. More battery, more solar panels, and more fuses, switches, and larger wire. The decision to forgo Lithium leaves most of your AH on the table unused. Meaning even more batteries and more wire.