I have camped in all types of situations with all types of tents and small trailers. Perched up in the mountains in a hammock stretched between two trees to ful hook-up with cable TV connection. It seems you are always making compromises which is to be expected. Most of the time it has to do with electricity for the hair dryer for my wife, the toaster, the radio (that sucks way too much amperage), etc.
Last year when I moved up to the 25'
Bigfoot we purchased a 3000 watt
generator. After a lot of research into all the makes and noise levels I lucked out in the second hand deptartment and got a good deal. Without naming brands this one is the quietest one on the market at 47 db on econo-mode. Now we run the hair dryer, toaster and radio plus use the laptop in the evening to watch a video, recharge the cell phones, recharge the GPS units and not worry if we've left a
light on.
I made a frame of 3" pvc pipe and cover it on 3 sides and top with tarp to protect from the elements with one side open to vent the exhaust and keep the air circulation to cool the engine. I then place it at the end of the trailer opposite the bed. We run it at night and it is only a distant white noise that does not bother us.
I started camping in March this year and had to run the
furnace continually to keep the water lines from freezing. On real cold days I also used a small electric heater placed so the air would flow behind the counters and across the water lines and pump. With the electricity requirement it wouldn't happen without the
generator.
The
generator will run over 24 hours on econo-mode with minimal draw on one tank of gas allowing us to run it continiously 24/7.
I also purchsed a stainless flex pipe used to vent exhaust from foreign model cars out of service garages (the exhaust vent on foreign model cars is around 3/4 to 1"). Now I don't even have take the generator out of the back of the truck (I have a topper on my truck). Just hook up the exhaust pipe and turn it on.
We are now totally independent and most of our camping is
boondocking. No more worries about the batteries running low or not having a convenience that makes our camping experience a little more enjoyable.
I've also used it in the dead of winter at -30 C while camping in an outfitter tent. The generator was used to run
lights and a small heater and secondary we placed it between the ATV's threw a tarp over the generator and ATV's and used the heat of the engine and exhaust to keep the ATV's from freezing up with a quick start in the morning.
The only negative points are this generator weighs 150 lbs so its all I can do to lift it on and off the tail gate and they are a rather expensive toy.
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