Service | Preventative Maintenance | Powering your RV
RVing is about freedom. Liberating your RV from electrical outlets makes your RV experience that much freer. So at Bucars, we offer expert advice on every means of powering your RV while dry camping: deep-cycle batteries, solar panels, and generators.
Deep-Cycle Batteries
Your RV is equipped with a deep-cycle battery, perhaps several of them.
Deep-cycle batteries dispense a limited amount of power over long periods, so they're ideal for powering the lights and appliances in your RV.
Automotive batteries operate differently. They provide short, intense bursts of power to start the engine, but they cannot meet long-term energy needs. So, once the engine is running, the alternator takes over, providing electricity to the vehicle and recharging the automotive battery.
The deep-cycle batteries in your RV are critical to your comfort and enjoyment, so it's wise to learn a bit more about them:
Solar Panels
Convert the energy from the sun into silent, clean and maintenance free power that continually recharges your RV deep-cycle batteries. Solar kits allow you to enjoy all the comforts of your DC appliances without having to worry about a loss of power. Let our trained solar professionals size up a package to suit your individual needs, and our expert technicians install your kit for trouble-free convenience. Here are two of our most popular kits that are currently available:
80 Watt Solar Kit
80 watt panel producing 4.8 amps of DC power to charge your battery. Package includes 22 amp digital regulator to monitor charging progress and battery condition, and to protect the panel from overcharging the battery bank. Kit also includes UV resistant wires and all necessary mounting hardware. This kit is easily expandable if your power demands increase.
102 Watt Solar Kit
102 watt panel producing 6 amps of DC power to charge your battery. Package includes 22 amp digital regulator to monitor charging progress and battery condition, and to protect the panel from overcharging the battery bank. Kit also includes UV resistant wires and all necessary mounting hardware. This kit is easily expandable if your power demands increase.
Generators
Air conditioners, microwave ovens, home theatre stereo systems, computers, hair dryers, toasters, etc. are all 110 V appliances, and are common items in today's RVs. If you are dry-camping without access to 110V power, you lose the convenience of utilizing these items. With a generator, you can have the freedom to maximize your RV experience and even charge your deep-cycle batteries at the same time.
Generators are internal combustion engines that convert gasoline into electricity. Modern generators are surprisingly quiet. They're not the chitty-chitty-bang-bang, wake-the-neighbours contraptions they used to be. They're now highly civilized. They're discrete. They purr.
Recreational generators are virtually silent. They range in size from 1,000 watts to 3,000 watts. They cost about a dollar per watt: $1,000 to $3,000. The smaller ones weigh just 18 pounds. They're easy for one person to lift and move.
You need a 3,000-watt generator, by the way, to run a coffee maker and a toaster at the same time. It takes a 2,800-watt generator to run an RV air conditioner. So while recreational generators are appealing due to their portability, you might need an RV generator.
RV generators are larger and more powerful. They're bolted in and hard-wired to your RV's electrical system. They draw fuel directly from your vehicle's fuel tank. They range in size from 2,800 watts to 10,000 watts. They range in price from $4,000 to $10,000.
With enough fuel, or the ability to replenish your supply, a generator can enable you to dry camp as long as you like. So what's the right generator for you? Phone us or drop by. We're glad to help.
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