generator/rv questions

drucake · Post by **drucake** » Mon Jun 29, 2009 7:20 pm

hello beautiful people. i will be coming to bm this year with a travel trailer. my question is do most people bring a back up generator? i heard that the dust can sometimes clog it up and its good to bring a back up. and also, whats a good thing to do with grey water?

EB · Post by EB » Mon Jun 29, 2009 8:16 pm

Generator -- most people do not bring a generator. But you're free to bring one. If it's a loud one please take some time to build a baffle. This will score you points with your neighbors. I've run mine in severe dust storms and it's been fine just be sure to clean it up when you get home.

Grey water -- You can either pack it out or you can build an evaporation pond (black plastic staked and curbed at the corners) to dry it up. There's a sticky thread above showing some of the work put into such ventures.

RV black water tanks -- these can be pumped out by roving, unpredictable RV pumping trucks. Usually about $75 cash money.

ibdave · Post by **ibdave** » Mon Jun 29, 2009 9:00 pm

Don't think you can let it "leak" out during the night or a mass dump the last day... Go back and read the 1st timer guide and then re-read it.. Really, lots of good stuff..

drucake · Post by **drucake** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 7:41 am

yeah. i would NOT let it leak or just dump it. i know better than that for sure. im a first timer for bm but i have been to a lot of regionals. i know the rules and plan on sticking to them. im just trying to gather as much info from you wonderful people before i get out there so i do this thing right the first time. thanks everyone for your input. if anyone has more tips or advise, keep it coming! thanks! god, i cant wait for my first big burn. its been 10 years in the making!

crstophr · Post by **crstophr** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 3:19 pm

They make a cap for your RV drain system that fits a standard garden hose. Last year I ran this into the evap pool setup mentioned above and it neatly took care of all of my grey water. I brought a 55Gal drum of water with me and took nice hot showers every afternoon:) I had enough to spare that I occasionally gifted showers and water to others towards the end of the week.

I did need the genny to charge the batteries on the TT regularly. I couldn't quite make it 48 hours without the voltage dropping too low and the fridge shutting down. I only needed to run it a few hours in the afternoon and that did the trick. A much better muffler and baffling arrangement are on the project plans for this month. No dust problems... change your oil and clean your air filter as soon as you get home.

Save your black water tank for emergencies and night time use. The pump trucks are hard to find and they only come by so often. They don't take appointments and you have to really try to catch them as they pass you.

Sail Man · Post by **Sail Man** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 3:21 pm

I also plan on buying a new gennie for the new rv but i am having chest pains over the price of the honda's which i do prefer. Any opinions on Generac's?

The Drifter · Post by **The Drifter** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 3:22 pm

The evaporation pond idea usually doesn't work very well. Become one with the dirt......

Token · Post by **Token** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 3:39 pm

If you have a builtin generator in your trailor, which is rare for anything other than a toy hauler, use that genny. It is likely a relatively quiet unit made by Onan. These are great little gennies.

Read the manual and find the high-altitude switch. Use it since we are at ~ 4K on the Playa. This is the most common source of failure for builtin gennies out there. A simple switch.

If your built inworks OK there is no need for hauling a spare.

Token · Post by **Token** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 3:43 pm

Sail Man wrote:I also plan on buying a new gennie for the new rv but i am having chest pains over the price of the honda's which i do prefer. Any opinions on Generac's?

The Generac is as loud and annoying as the Coleman. Please just say no to those.

The Hondas are a financial sacrifice that is worth every penny.

Trust me, I have three Hondas. Yes it was painfull on the pocket book but sooooooooo worth it.

crstophr · Post by **crstophr** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 3:51 pm

[quote="The Drifter"]The evaporation pond idea usually doesn't work very well. Become one with the dirt......[/quote]

I have heard mixed things on this subject. Mine was 8'x10' and I evaporated 60 ish gallons of water over a 5 day period, even with dust storms, etc. You have to remember to shut off the valve for the last day or two so the last remaining water can evap out. Do remember to place it in an area that won't be shaded and receives a maximum amount of sunlight.

Captain Goddammit · Post by **Captain Goddammit** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 7:13 pm

I also have three Hondas, after having owned all sorts of others. They're worth it, and I'm not loaded with cash.
Here's my water system: I haul extra water in plastic barrels, 30-gallon size because they are a lot more manageable when full than 55s. I usually bring about 100 gallons of water.
I bring one extra empty barrel.
When the camper tank is empty, I use an electric pump to reload from one of the full barrels, and I use a 5-gallon bucket and funnel to transfer grey water from the camper to that extra empty barrel.
As each of my fresh water barrels becomes empty, it serves as the next grey water barrel.
No screwing around with evap ponds, and I don't leave anything on the desert.
At the nearest rest stop with an RV dump station I just pour out all the grey water.

crstophr: do you run your fridge on electric?? Virtually all RV fridges will operate on propane, and work much better that way. Most will operate in the absolute absence of power.

ygmir · Post by **ygmir** » Thu Jul 02, 2009 7:00 am

I can attest to how well the propane (if working properly) fridges work.....my stuff in the freezer section stayed frozen all week, and, if I didn't get into the fridge all day. it would freeze the gatorade in the back.......

pinemom · Post by **pinemom** » Thu Jul 02, 2009 8:22 am

same here on the Fridge and propane...dont open the fridge for a couple hours and top shelf stuff is starting to chilly/ice crust...so good one a hot day!

Sail Man · Post by **Sail Man** » Thu Jul 02, 2009 11:58 am

Token wrote:
Sail Man wrote:I also plan on buying a new gennie for the new rv but i am having chest pains over the price of the honda's which i do prefer. Any opinions on Generac's?
The Generac is as loud and annoying as the Coleman. Please just say no to those.

The Hondas are a financial sacrifice that is worth every penny.

Trust me, I have three Hondas. Yes it was painfull on the pocket book but sooooooooo worth it.

Not to mention a nice little package

Sail Man · Post by **Sail Man** » Thu Jul 02, 2009 12:00 pm

I can get a Honda eu2000i for 970$ where I bought the travel trailer.