Generators for Camping, Who Has them and what do you have, like, dislike, What brand what Size?

shawn said:
A damn long time.

We have a pair of 6V Trojans in our camper. It will run on battery for three days straight, no problem. How long it lasts after that depends on how much stuff we're running and how full the batteries were before we left the house.
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Interesting... when we are camping, a normal day starts with crawling out of bed, going outside to start the gen, then turning on the coffee maker. The gen will then run constant (economy) for roughly an hour during which time it keeps the coffee hot, powers a toaster (real toast is nice for breakfast) and gives the camper battery a full charge. It is then shut down until the next morning when it does the same thing again. So, based on what you are saying, I assume we could probably run the laptop all night and not worry about draining the battery. The only other thing that draws off the battery is an occasional light and the water pump, both in short sessions. I will definitely give the inverter a try the next time we have to stay inside due to cold, wet, or whatever. Appreciate the advice! Glad I stuck my nose in on this thread! :)
 
The amp hours of the battery are generally related to the size. Consider that an auto battery is probably about 50 times larger than a laptop battery. You've got a lot more juice there to work with, even if auto batteries aren't as high-tech.
 
John B. said:
Nobody I camp with wants to stay up all night and tell lies all night anymore so I usually end up watching movies and enjoying refreshing beverages on my own till the wee hours in the morning.
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Do you miss me young Skywalker?
 
The hell to the no!
Late night alcohol fueled debates with you are awesome.
 
Yep...those are some good times. Hope to hang out soon.
 
FWIW we tailgate 8 or so times a year and previously the spot we were in didnt allow generators.
A deep cycle marine battery and inverter would run a 42" LCD TV, DirecTv dish, blender for drinks on and off all day, and usually a crock pot and fan for generally 6-8 hours.
 
Nate another good group to help your survey would be bow fishers. I know quite a few guys that bow fish and they all have multiple small generators on their boats. Hit up some of their forums I'm sure you can get some good info there
 
Agree on trying an inverter first....I got one of the HF 2k watt ones, has worked fine for me. For what you'd pay for a Honda, you can buy a pretty big bank of deep-cycle batteries. One is enough for me for a weekend.

BTW..."Ryobi" translated from japanese to English means "We can't believe Americans will buy this shit".
 
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After my week long trip with my son across the NC mountains, I was at one spot that didn't have a hookup so I had to make "chewy" coffee on the fire.
Not a big deal, but there are other times where I have wanted to run something else other than the bed air pump and the 12v converter conks out.
I have a 400w (cant rmember the name) I run off the truck battery (optima dry cell) and I was astounded that it wouldnt run the coffee pot but would run the air pump.
I don't know much about electricity but may have something to do with amps.
Learned that awhile back on a previous camp trips so now I carry a few long extension cords to blow up my bed to at least sleep slightly better than laying on the ground.

I'd like to get a small generator for tools and work lights, should you need them and other conveniences. Blender is a great idea, Ron.
Seems silly to start+run the truck to power any of the above.
 
I have the Northern tool powerhorse, Its just a Honda in blue, I visited the maint shop at northern to get first hand mechanic feed back on it before purchase, love it and so glad i didnt pay the extra $500
 
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