Generator recharge with solar roof panels

[Citrus breeze]

Out boondocking for a week. On fifth day noticed battery level has dropped to a level of concern. Question is, with my Honda portable generator…is there any special tricks I need to perform to do this right?

we’re way north in NH IN THE Great North Woods  

Appreciate any feedback

[Citrus breeze]

Forgot to mention that my Olliver hull number 734 has AGM Batteries. 

[mossemi]

I assume you have never connected the generator to your OTT based on your question.  Do you have a neutral bonding plug and an adapter plug for the trailer power cord to plug into the 120v outlet on the generator?

Mossey

[John E Davies]

You need a 30 amp RV female to 15 amp male adapter, this is the one I use. It is high quality and won’t melt:

You can plug its male end into your generator and then plug the big 30 amp shore power cable into the female end. But it works much better if you plug a heavy duty (12 or 10 AWG) 15 amp extension cord into your generator, then in to the adaptor, and attach the adapter to the side of the trailer using the threaded collar. That way you don’t have a massive cord dangling off the fragile generator socket.

The grounding plug is needed, it has to plug into one unused socket on the generator in order for the onboard surge suppressor to “see” the generator and then allow it to connect properly. If you don’t use that plug it won’t work right.

Another option if your generator has a 12 volt DC connection, use the supplied cord with aligator clips and hook those to (any of) your battery positive and negative posts. But this is a a VERY slow way to charge and also little risky for a few reasons. It should look like this:

Maybe you could just tell us what equipment/ adapters, etc you have at hand, hopefully you won’t have to make a trip to an RV supplier…. And I will say this, you are supposed to figure this stuff out in your driveway, not out in the remote woods 😀

John Davies

Spokane WA

[Citrus breeze]

1 hour ago, mossemi said:

I assume you have never connected the generator to your OTT based on if the your question.  Do you have a neutral bonding plug and an adapter plug for the trailer power cord to plug into the 120v outlet on the generator?

Mossey

Yes to both questions. I’ve used my generator on my previous camper(Casita), but that didn’t solar panels on that. 

[Citrus breeze]

Yes, I’ve the adapter. So if there’s nothing else that I have to be concerned about, I’m all set.  
 

Thanks to both of you  

 

[John E Davies]

No worries, you won’t hurt your solar charging system, it cooperates nicely with the other charging systems on your Ollie. What generator do you have? If it is a little 1000 watt unit you will have to trip (disconnect) the AC circuit breakers for all the other circuits except the converter (charger) or might not carry the load.

John Davies

Spokane WA

[mossemi]

The solar system will not effect the operation of the generator.  The Ollie should act just like it does when you are plugged into shore power.

Mossey

[Citrus breeze]

Yeah, I should have done this in my driveway. I deserved that comment. 

[Citrus breeze]

The generator is a Honda eu2000i. Do you think that is powerful enough?

 

[mossemi]

14 hours ago, Citrus breeze said:

Yeah, I should have done this in my driveway. I deserved that comment. 

As we say in Florida, "When your up to your butt in alligators, it’s hard to remember your objective was to drain the swamp".  
The Honda EU2000i will provide enough power for most things in the trailer with the exception of the air conditioner unless your Ollie has a EZStart installed.  You will have to manage your power consumption and not overload the generator as JD mentioned above.

Mossey

[ScubaRx]

4 hours ago, Citrus breeze said:

Yes to both questions. I’ve used my generator on my previous camper(Casita), but that didn’t solar panels on that. 

There is a slight difference in generator charging your former Casita and your present Oliver. The Oliver has a built in Electrical Management System (EMS) that most likely your Casita did not have. If you don't have a neutral bonding plug in your generator the EMS will prevent the generator from connecting to the electrical system in your trailer, but for the time being it's OK to bypass the EMS.