Portable generator for wilderness camping?

[Digistrator]

I’m curious if anyone in the group has gone into the wilderness with their truck and was concerned about lack of resources for power. I’m usually driving hours potentially on a dirt road to get to a trail head and leaving my vehicle over 10 days. My thought is to bring a portable gas generator in case of emergency. Any thoughts? Is there a perfect generator to take along? Solar would be great, I don’t think we are there yet and it may be to pricey, plus easy to steal.

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[nubbin77]

As far as the last comment... I would think it would be as easy to steal a gas generator as it would be to steal a solar generator. However for emergencies / real reliability - gas would be a better option.

To get an idea of what that would be like, watch this video. Obviously you can go bigger with generator, but this was a solid overview. He also did it with propane on the same generator (gas is a bit more powerful so it gave steadier electricity).

Charging the Tesla Cybertruck with a Gas Generator Part 2: Test Results & Comparison (youtube.com)

 

[M0unt41nm4n]

Yeah... not worth it. Even that guy in the video shows it isn't worth it. You are best off using an ICE.

Remember... don't use a sledge hammer for every nail. The CT has its spot. Long distance camping in the back country (especially pulling something) is not one of them. This is front and center why I still have 3 ICE vehicles.

 

[Digistrator]

Thanks for the link.

 

[Digistrator]

My reality is not hauling anything except backpacking essentials for backcountry hiking. I'm looking for a simple solution that will allow me to be able to leave the truck unattended for 7-10 days. The generator will be stored in the bed of course and locked until I return. The only use would be to get enough of a charge, if needed, to return to civilization where I then will be able to charge at a facility. Let's say a 30% charge to get the range I need.

 

[nubbin77]

I don't recall exactly that video, but to go from 0 to 30% with that generator would need like a full 24 hours. Not that the truck should drain to zero while you are out 10 days.... But if it did, would you want to sit and wait a full day for it to charge, just to get out? Also keep in mind you would need a pretty significant amount of gas to run it for that long. Practical if you brought it to generate 10 to 15 miles of range in a pinch. To get 50 to 75 miles (25-30%) seems like a not so good experience.

All this to say it is a viable solution, but you really have to set your expectations low and deal with all the negative aspects of it. May want to consider swapping your CT with a friend's truck for those particular excursions and enjoy the CT for the other 95% of the time.

 

[HaulingAss]

There is no problem parking the Cybertruck and going backpacking for 10 days, just turn off all the auxiliary functions like cabin overheat protection, phone as key, sentry mode, etc.

You will hardly lose anything in 10 days. I would be less likely to bring a generator in a Cybertruck because the it has 120V outlets with plenty of power. Just hit the nearest Supercharger before the trailhead and don't worry about lugging a generator around.

 

[Cybertruck 1974]

I've driven mine in back country for 6hrs and did a total of 100 miles one trip. Still had 180 miles left. It's easier on the battery going slow it seems the few times I've used it camping and wheeling. I did bring a 12k generator with me just in case but surely didn't need it. I've gone on trips for 9 days at a time towing a camper too and powering the camper and only needed to charge after running the AC for 4 days in camper by Truck outlet...14/50. I have a 2k solar kit I built that folds out over the truck and plugs right into the Tesla charge port using a Tesla wall charger like GO-SUN has. Truck is a beast. ICE is dead to me. Let's see an ICE truck do that and not bring an extra 5 gallons of gas......LOL. those days are long gone for me.

 

[Digistrator]

I appreciate the comments. GoSun.. never heard of the brand I’ll check it out.

 

[OUTLAW]

Yeah, this looks fully baked.
https://gosun.co/pages/ev-solar-cha...iH2vY3kxL1wZ7-jxBzgbhNgpaHl1a6KhoC294QAvD_BwE

 

[Lasttoy]

I have a 3000 Honda I tested on my S. So it will work when i get truck

 

[dw321]

Yeah, this looks fully baked.
https://gosun.co/pages/ev-solar-cha...iH2vY3kxL1wZ7-jxBzgbhNgpaHl1a6KhoC294QAvD_BwE

Love the Go Sun idea vs the generator but sadly, out of say 10 uses at a trailhead how many times would you expect it to be stolen or vandalized?

 

[Woodrick]

The thing that most people forget is that getting off the interstate is conducive to better range. The hot spot is about 30 mph, so depending on the conditions, you may even come close to doubling the range at 30 mph.

But no matter what, don't assume that off road range is the same as Interstate!

 

[Cybergirl]

I do most of my off road travel out west. There are large sections of Utah and Arizona with no Superchargers. I have to plan my trip carefully to make sure I don't strand myself with an empty battery. Even so, there are unanticipated events that can cause range anxiety. I need the equivalent of 'emergency gas' in these circumstances. There are other cases where I simply do not have the range needed to complete a trip.

My solution is to take along this Westinghouse iGen 4500 Dual Fuel 120V inverter generator and at least 20 lbs of propane.

I prefer propane because I can easily change the orifice for operation at various altitudes, propane doesn't smell up my truck, I use propane for cooking, and a propane generator doesn't require annual maintenance the way gasoline generators do. Being dual fuel, I can always resort to gasoline if necessary. The generator is not so heavy (100 lbs) that I can't get it into and out of the truck without a ramp.

I tested my generator by charging my Model Y Std Range. I set charging to 24A. The generator ran at 75% load. The car’s UI indicated that the charging time from 59 to 80% would be 5 hr and 40 minutes. The bottle of propane weighed 28.39 lbs at the start. I charged the car using exactly 1 lb of propane in 24 minutes. The car UI indicated charging at 120V and 24A. That’s 2,880 watts for 24 minutes = 1.15 kWh.

For multi-day overland off-road adventuring this works.

It means that from a single 20 lb bottle of propane containing 20 lbs of propane (not a short filled tank exchange), my generator can put 23 kWh of charge into the battery in 8 hours while camped. At my lifetime CT efficiency of 0.420 kWh per mile, that’s a range gain of 55 miles a day (6.9 mi/hr - Level 1 charging rate). Two 20 lb tanks will extend my range nearly as much as Tesla's 50 kWh Range Extender, but at a quarter of the weight, and not permanently taking up vault space.

At things considered, this fits my needs perfectly.

 

[FL370]

I really like the idea of propane! Having as a backup to get you back to civilization is a good idea.

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