We have never felt the need to have a generator. Don't have a microwave,Air Con, Water Heater.  We stay off grid whenever we can and are on trips  some times of 4-5 months some years. Off  again to the Kimberly this year for a few months, Broome bird Obs. Charnley and Mornington  Wildlife conservancies.  We have enough Solar Power and Battery power for all our needs in an Avan Cruisliner.

 

And from someone who has spent about 6 months on the road each year for the past 15 years, almost only off grid.
We don't have a generator, nor can we plug in to 240V at all.
We have lots of solar and if the sun does not shine there is an alternator under the bonnet that can charge our batteries up very easily.
Spend the money you were going to spend on the generator (plus its smelly, dangerous fuel) on extra solar panels instead and you will be sweet.
Cheers,
Peter

There weighty noisy thinks that stink of fuel,not needed today with modern 12volt systems ,if you want to cart one around to power a hair dryer that makes a lot of sense  ..

Thanks for that vehicle is a 3ltr TD prado also van is fitted with a diesel heater so the only thing I would need to carry fuel for is the genie. I have advised he wife towel ONLY lolll 

Strop n i are on the road full time. Most of the time we do not need it. But when you need it, you need it. Eg. 1. raining for one week and shock, horror, no tv, internet or hot water. 2. Its that hot you are sweltering. 3. You get vomiting n diarhoea, r running a temp., feel like crap and its very hot n humid n are in the middle of nowhere but cannot drive any further. No fun vomiting by torch light and Cleaning up vomit by torch light because  you have used all the solar power.  Also cannot heat water for shower. Usually find when you do not take something, thats the item you will need most.  If it were me, i would take the big genie, for just in case. Enjoy your travels. Rocket n strop.

 

-- Edited by the rocket on Friday 15th of March 2019 11:04:14 AM

Dougwe wrote:

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Oh no, someone mentioned a Generator! 

 

Welcome to the gang mwez, enjoy here an out in the playground.

I am on the road full time, no home base anymore, so everything needed is with me.. I have heaps of Solar up on the roof and portable 120w fold up Solar sheet and two batteries on/in my aluminium teepee. I carry a Honda 20i Generator in the back of the Collie all the times. I have it for when off the grid and only for aircon if needed. I feel the heat quickly and badly. I have a Truma Gas Heater fitted for colder weather as I also feel the cold quickly and badly. 

The Generator doesn't get much use but more than happy to have on board for if needed. 

 

My comment up the top could be worse I spose as it could be someone carrying a Generator in a Whizzbang.........Who said that! Not me, no way 

 

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 Totally agree. Hope you are recovering ok. heard the twins came down from byron to help you. You luckyman. Sorry, off topic. Back to original post.

We have the Yamaha version of the Honda 20i. Carried in on our 10 week, 10,000km trip around the west. Never used it. We never stayed any longer than a few days without power. However I am glad we took it as we have needed it where we have stayed more than about 3 nights without moving on. The worst that can happen (and we did it on one trip) is to run the ute to top-up the van battery. We tend to run out of battery power in the ute powering the 12v fridge to keep the beer cold on very hot days when we are camped.

Between a gas powered van fridge and the butane cookers you can travel anywhere. Our 2 pair of travelling companions had generators but also used their butane stoves rather than getting out the generator.

The most important thing is drinking water. We've filled our van tank with dubious water. Even filled with good water that tastes horrible. So taking your own drinking water is a must whether it be purchased bottled or you fill containers up in places where water is clean and tastes OK. We save and refill our water bottles when we can rather than purchase more.

mwez wrote:

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Hi everyone, I am a new member and this is my first post and I would appreciate some advice on the following. We are hitting the road in May to commence our big lap and I am struggling as to whether or not to take a generator with us. We need to be mindful of our weights. I have 2 genies a 2 kva and a 2.6. My conundrum is we have ample solar with 250 on the roof and another 120 portable. In the past we have really only used the genie to run the microwave or my hair dryer etc absolutely nothing essential, our solar set up does pretty much everything we need. The only reason I can see to take a genie is if we are parked up in a shady spot for a while but then I have the portable solar to top things up. So is it worth carting all that extra weight plus fuel to run it if I may never need it. Be very interested to hear your thoughts especially those who have taken a genie and how often it was used. cheers folks safe travels mwez

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 Hi mwez,

In your own words, if you can do without a hair dryer and microwave leave it home otherwise you'll be like the majority here who have taken it and not used it.

I'm thinking if start in May and head North and follow the temperate weather around Aust, you probably won't need it.

Cheers Bob

Jaahn wrote:

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Hi Mark 

Here is another point of view. Your Prado has a good alternator which can be used to charge your van battery. So when travelling it can fully charge it normally and the batteries are full when you arrive. Then you can use the solar for your power. If the solar is poor and your batteries get down, you can always run the motor to charge up the batteries. You are not stuck with flat house batteries as has been implied and cannot charge them. 

Indeed if you still want to use a microwave or a hair drier for a short time you could run the motor to keep the batteries charged while you do that. Easier than lugging a generator and less weight for sure. 

The thing is to setup your rig correctly to enable the charging from the Prado alternator to work well as you want it to. Depending on the model it will probably need a DC to DC charger and a good sized cable and connector. Buy a high amp charger that will recharge in a shorter time. A 20Amp unit will do charging driving but not much help other times. 

Jaahn

Seems a waste of fuel to run a large motor for several hours just to charge batteries , esp considering deep cycle batteries can be slow to accept charge ... plus there is the issue with catalytic coverters on new vehicles - not recommended to idle for long periods - for several reasons

-- Edited by Jaahn on Friday 15th of March 2019 12:04:12 PM

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Generators are great cause when for an example if you are free camping on 4 acres and there is no one else there some one decides to park at your front door just put it on and they soon move on they are also great for air con