Sorry I missed this and thank you for this information. =)Weebdog wrote:I've been reading this thread and have a few questions and comments. From the discussion I assume the RV you are talking about is a motor home and not a trailer/5th wheel. The RV will have a fairly large battery bank on board. It will usually also have an inverter/charger for the batteries and to convert 12 volt DC power to 110 AC power and charge the batteries when the generator is running. If the main purpose for running the generator is to power your CPAC then you can probably reduce the time needed as the power can come from your inverter/batteries. (Find out the power requirements for the CPAC and how many ampere hours the battery bank on the RV has. This can give you an idea how long you can run on the batteries, and yes other things will be running in the RV and need to be factored). This would work in the early morning hours while it is cool outside. When it starts to heat up and you need the air conditioner, you start the generator for the air and recharge the batteries at the same time. Depending on how much of a drain your batteries have during the no genny time will determine how long the genny must run for recharge. I'll bet the time you use the AC will provide the time you need to charge your batteries. All RVs have some sort of "power remaining" gauge in them and you can monitor your power status. I really think that you will find that you will need to run your genny a lot less than you think (and your neighbors will thank you).
As for fuel can transportation/storage - (as a fire fighter for 36 years), there has been some good advice given. I have never come across a vehicle fire due to sparks created by cans vibrating on each other; you might be over thinking that one, however if you decide to place rags between the cans it won't hurt anything. As far as the rags causing a fire due to them being oily from gas getting splashed on them is unlikely, because unleaded gasoline is so volatile that it will evaporate very quickly and leave no oil residue. (Spill some gas on the pavement - especially if it is hot out and see what's left in a few minutes.) What is important with fuel cans especially plastic ones, is to be sure to remove them from the RV when you are filling them as the process can create static electricity and placing them on the ground will reduce it. As noted earlier, good ventilation and shading your cans is a good idea.
As you are out on the playa you will find the " charging rhythm" for your power use and I'll bet that it will be significantly less than your estimate.
We've never RV'd before much less drydocked... so it's all a learning process to me/us.