Car generator

[Beachcamper]

In my search for generator options, I came across this item:

https://www.cargenerator.com/

It appears to be an easy and for me, lightweight solution to bringing batteries up to 100% while boondocking. Has anyone here used this product? Here is another video I found about how it works.

https://www.cargenerator.com/pages/videos

[Cate&Rob]

Beachcamper
Hi Vivian,

This is basically an "inverter in a box" running off your car/truck battery while this battery is being recharged by the generator/alternator on the truck engine. 1000 watts is going to provide about 8 amps at 120V, but draw 80 amps from the truck battery to do this. This would be a large continuous load that would have the truck engine alternator working hard to keep up. Connecting your RV battery directly to the truck's 12V system would seem (to me) to be a more efficient way to use the truck alternator to charge the RV battery.

Rob

[boyscout]

In my search for generator options, I came across this item:

https://www.cargenerator.com/

It appears to be an easy and for me, lightweight solution to bringing batteries up to 100% while boondocking. Has anyone here used this product? Here is another video I found about how it works.

https://www.cargenerator.com/pages/videos

Most vehicle engines, certainly including your Ford's diesel, don't like idling for long periods. Using your vehicle to charge your batteries would work in a pinch, but on regular basis it would be a really high-cost option in terms of fuel, air pollution, and additional costs for repair/replacement of parts in your engine and exhaust system.

If it's just charging batteries you want, and not the ability to run most things in the trailer on generator power, one of the very light and portable, very quiet, very un-thirsty Honda generators would be well worth looking at.

https://powerequipment.honda.com/gen.../eu2200i#Specs

[Beachcamper]

I did see that it was just an inverter, but I am not as confident as you guys are with anything electrical, he did answer that question (see below). I did order dual heavy duty alternators for my F350 diesel when I ordered it in 2018, don't know if this would be advantageous or not. My goal is to just get my AGM batteries (200 ah wired in parallel) up from 50% discharge. This is additional to my 100 watt portable solar suitcase I bring along. I wonder how long it would take to get battery charged up with 1000 watt inverter?

Why not just get a cheap inverter then?

Totally an option. If you want to jerry-rig an inverter in a waterproof container, you certainly could, but if you want to plug in any sensitive electronics (like your furnace, laptop, or medical device) you’ll need pure-sine wave power to avoid damage and ensure good performance. A 1000 watt, pure sine wave inverter can be purchased from Walmart for about $400. Then you need a set of heat-proof booster cables for prolonged use under the hood (about $100), and finally, you need a weather-proof housing that also allows for ventilation. If you’re an industrious, DIY-er who loves saving money above all else, you could definitely build your own CarGenerator; you’ll save about $150, providing your time isn’t worth anything. For the rest of us, who value our time and want an easy, proven solution, CarGenerator is simply the best possible option for worry-free, temporary power.

[Beachcamper]

Most vehicle engines, certainly including your Ford's diesel, don't like idling for long periods. Using your vehicle to charge your batteries would work in a pinch, but on regular basis it would be a really high-cost option in terms of fuel, air pollution, and additional costs for repair/replacement of parts in your engine and exhaust system.

If it's just charging batteries you want, and not the ability to run most things in the trailer on generator power, one of the very light and portable, very quiet, very un-thirsty Honda generators would be well worth looking at.

https://powerequipment.honda.com/gen.../eu2200i#Specs

Yes, I looked at that Honda but it is pretty expensive. I really like the champion dual fuel that Howard posted about, that is the one that interests me if I could figure a way to have it run from my propane quick connect I use for the BBQ. That way I don't have to be lugging gasoline around and dealing with a gummed up generator. One thing I don't understand and can't find videos of it is, how to connect the RV to the 120 outlets on these small 2000 watt generators? Does one just use the power cable that came with the RV and step down from 50 or is there a special connector?

[boyscout]

Yes, I looked at that Honda but it is pretty expensive. I really like the champion dual fuel that Howard posted about, that is the one that interests me if I could figure a way to have it run from my propane quick connect I use for the BBQ. That way I don't have to be lugging gasoline around and dealing with a gummed up generator. One thing I don't understand and can't find videos of it is, how to connect the RV to the 120 outlets on these small 2000 watt generators? Does one just use the power cable that came with the RV and step down from 50 or is there a special connector?

That Champion howson posted about is - I believe - the one that we have. We love it. In asking about the CarGenerator device I made the assumptions that you were looking for light weight and low cost. Assumptions are dangerous.

It is quite easy to adapt the Champion to connect to your trailer's BBQ quick-connect. The Champion comes with a short hose assembly for attaching it to a propane bottle. One end of it has the screw-on connector for the bottle, followed by a large flattened cylinder which is the regulator that limits pressure of the fuel delivered the rest of the way to the appliance / generator.

Your trailer's quick-connect supply is already regulated by a regulator elsewhere in the trailer. You can simply unscrew the bottle connector and regulator from the rest of the Champion's hose assembly, and replace it with the fitting that will connect to your quick-connect. (You may instead prefer to purchase a length of gas appliance hose with the appropriate fittings so that the generator doesn't have to be right beside the quick-connect and your trailer when it's running.)

Put these together (using gas fitting tape and checking for leaks with soapy water) and your Champion will purr happily on the propane from your trailer's supply.

Good luck with your choices.

[boyscout]

I did see that it was just an inverter, but I am not as confident as you guys are with anything electrical, he did answer that question (see below). I did order dual heavy duty alternators for my F350 diesel when I ordered it in 2018, don't know if this would be advantageous or not. My goal is to just get my AGM batteries (200 ah wired in parallel) up from 50% discharge. This is additional to my 100 watt portable solar suitcase I bring along. I wonder how long it would take to get battery charged up with 1000 watt inverter?

Why not just get a cheap inverter then?

Totally an option. If you want to jerry-rig an inverter in a waterproof container, you certainly could, but if you want to plug in any sensitive electronics (like your furnace, laptop, or medical device) you’ll need pure-sine wave power to avoid damage and ensure good performance. A 1000 watt, pure sine wave inverter can be purchased from Walmart for about $400. Then you need a set of heat-proof booster cables for prolonged use under the hood (about $100), and finally, you need a weather-proof housing that also allows for ventilation. If you’re an industrious, DIY-er who loves saving money above all else, you could definitely build your own CarGenerator; you’ll save about $150, providing your time isn’t worth anything. For the rest of us, who value our time and want an easy, proven solution, CarGenerator is simply the best possible option for worry-free, temporary power.

Heavy-duty alternators are good but it's the engine itself, and its exhaust system, that would suffer from prolonged use of your truck to charge your batteries, plus the high cost of fuel and the pollution.

The CarGenerator manufacturer's explanation that you quoted above is pretty glib. It doesn't address the high-cost issues in the previous sentence. Nor does it address the serious inefficiency issue that Cate&Rob raised in post #2 - converting 12V power to 120V power to charge 12V batteries wastes significant amounts of the 12V power in your source (more work for your truck batteries and the truck engine that is re-charging them).

If the Champion is within the range of possibility for you it's a better and lower-cost solution. Better because it will give you some 120V power while you're charging your batteries, better because it will charge your batteries MUCH more quickly than the CarGenerator device, and better because if you will regularly need to recharge your batteries it will cost less in the long term.

[howson]

Beachcamper

Have you read TucsonJim 's thread in the Reference Material section https://gdrvowners.com/forum/operati...ithium-battery ? It has a video from Victron that talks about the ideal charge (and discharge) rates for lead-acid and AGM batteries. I just reviewed it and Victron says that 20% of the battery capacity is the ideal charge (and discharge) rate to get the most capacity from these types of batteries. So for your 200aH AGM setup, that's a 40aH rate. Assuming you're recharging from a 40% SoC (there's 80aH left in the battery bank) that means an ideal charge profile of 40A will take three hours (the batteries need 120A) to recharge to 100%. Do you really want to idle your truck for three hours to recharge the RV batteries?

A small, propane-driven generator (no messing with gasoline) is a better choice than using your (very) expensive truck to accomplish the task. The CarGenerator may be fine for an emergency situation, but not as a primary charge source. (I think you'll find that with 100W of solar you'll be recharging your batteries with a secondary source on a regular basis.)

The Champion I have is not excessively heavy (manual says 57 lbs). If that weight is feasible for you to pick up and move around then a small generator is my recommendation. Maybe even having a professional install a permanent generator in your camper? (That would be $$$$$.)

https://gdrvowners.com/forum/operati...r-model-100402

Howard

[boyscout]

Beachcamper the generator that howson is talking about is NOT the one we have, ours is this one:

https://www.championpowerequipment.c...fuel-inverter/

... which weighs about 95 pounds.

However maybe Howard can confirm that the advice I gave above about connecting to the trailer's propane would also apply to the Champion that he has.

[howson]

Beachcamper the generator that howson is talking about is NOT the one we have, ours is this one:

https://www.championpowerequipment.c...fuel-inverter/

... which weighs about 95 pounds.

However maybe Howard can confirm that the advice I gave above about connecting to the trailer's propane would also apply to the Champion that he has.

Since my actual experience has only been to test, I used the Champion's regulator and connected it to one of the camper's propane bottles. My knowledge about propane is not extensive, but I remember something about that there are high pressure (red connectors?) and low pressure connections. I believe our camper's use low pressure? I'm not sure what the Champions use...hopefully someone else that knows this stuff will chime in.

[Beachcamper]

That Champion howson posted about is - I believe - the one that we have. We love it. In asking about the CarGenerator device I made the assumptions that you were looking for light weight and low cost. Assumptions are dangerous.

It is quite easy to adapt the Champion to connect to your trailer's BBQ quick-connect. The Champion comes with a short hose assembly for attaching it to a propane bottle. One end of it has the screw-on connector for the bottle, followed by a large flattened cylinder which is the regulator that limits pressure of the fuel delivered the rest of the way to the appliance / generator.

Your trailer's quick-connect supply is already regulated by a regulator elsewhere in the trailer. You can simply unscrew the bottle connector and regulator from the rest of the Champion's hose assembly, and replace it with the fitting that will connect to your quick-connect. (You may instead prefer to purchase a length of gas appliance hose with the appropriate fittings so that the generator doesn't have to be right beside the quick-connect and your trailer when it's running.)

Put these together (using gas fitting tape and checking for leaks with soapy water) and your Champion will purr happily on the propane from your trailer's supply.

Good luck with your choices.

I am a middle aged woman and would need help lifting a heavy generator to the truck bed for storage. So your assumption is correct, that 16lb car generator contraption caught my eye. I thank all of you for bursting my bubble

So, it will be the champion @howard posted and if anyone has a picture of what you described on connecting it to our onboard system, I would be very appreciative. Also, what electrical adapter and cable is required to connect power from generator to the RV?

Here is the propane hose we bought to connect the BBQ to the quick connect and to BBQ regulator. Would this work as a longer hose to keep the generator to the RV?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[howson]

Here is the propane hose we bought to connect the BBQ to the quick connect and to BBQ regulator. Would this work as a longer hose to keep the generator to the RV?

See TucsonJim's post about a bonding plug. You'll probably need one. https://gdrvowners.com/forum/operati...on-a-generator

For the electrical connection, an adapter like the one below will work. You'll find it at any RV store or on Amazon. (50A female to 15A male)



bogen2 posted in my thread about the propane--see post #8. https://gdrvowners.com/forum/operati...3120#post33120 The conversation continues about his mod in posts 14 and 15 ( Neil chimed in, too). ncitro

Also don't miss the sliding tray in post 21 by openrangeowners . That tray may be an option for you to consider in your 303.

Howard

[Guest]

Beachcamper
Hi Vivian,

This is basically an "inverter in a box" running off your car/truck battery while this battery is being recharged by the generator/alternator on the truck engine. 1000 watts is going to provide about 8 amps at 120V, but draw 80 amps from the truck battery to do this. This would be a large continuous load that would have the truck engine alternator working hard to keep up. Connecting your RV battery directly to the truck's 12V system would seem (to me) to be a more efficient way to use the truck alternator to charge the RV battery.

Rob

X2 with Robs statement.

Connecting the two rigs via the 7 pin connector and just running the truck (careful of exhaust position and distance) would be the same for like battery types and low loads. And since this will only provide power for 12V loads, a small light weight generator would be the best bet. You can strap the generator to a dolly and roll it down a ramp from the back of the truck.

Also with todays smart charging systems, there may be limitations on how much the alternator will put out at idle where if the load is high enough, the vehicle will begin load shedding to try and maintain a minimal state of charge. Also depending on calibration methods, the system current may be reduced as a function of airflow through the alternator to prevent overheating. Another consideration is that the OEM does not calibrate systems to protect for devices added to the system. There are instances where excessively high loads such as powering a 1000W inverter at low airflow could overheat the diodes in the alternator.

Jim

[boyscout]

So, it will be the champion @howard posted and if anyone has a picture of what you described on connecting it to our onboard system, I would be very appreciative. Also, what electrical adapter and cable is required to connect power from generator to the RV?

Here is the propane hose we bought to connect the BBQ to the quick connect and to BBQ regulator. Would this work as a longer hose to keep the generator to the RV?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This post has a picture that might help:

https://gdrvowners.com/forum/operati...3120#post33120

So yes, the 12-foot hose you have is a great start on making the connections you need. As you can see from that post/picture, you'll need a few more fittings - not very expensive - and for re-emphasis also need gas fitter's sealing tape and some soap solution to check your assemblies after you put them together to ensure there are no leaks.

Good luck.

[Cate&Rob]

Beachcamper
Hi Vivian,

Do you carry anything else "permanently" in the forward part of the truck bed? If not, strap a small generator into one corner and a 30 lb propane tank into the other corner . . . and you have a "ready to use" source of electricity. Plug your usual power cord into the truck mounted generator using the adapter shown in post 12. There are some other considerations to sort through like the mentioned bonding of neutral and ground, plus shutting off shorepower things like the electric water heater and the converter and limiting other power consumption when operating on generator power.

Rob