I need HELP!!!: alternative power supplies?

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alternative power supplies?

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Forum Name: I need HELP!!!
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URL: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=16129
Printed Date: 25 Jun 2025 at 12:49pm
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Topic: alternative power supplies?

Posted By: karencrist
Subject: alternative power supplies?
Date Posted: 17 Feb 2025 at 2:22pm

I just purchased a 2024 rpod 194C. I didn't realize, until after the purchase, that the refrigerator did not run on propane. I will be camping for a week this summer without electric hook up. What are my options? A heavy 100+ lb generator isn't an option as I can't move that by myself. I would like to run the frig, charge my phone, and run a fan. Any ideas?

Thank you

Replies:

Posted By: gpokluda
Date Posted: 17 Feb 2025 at 3:06pm

Tell us more about your 194C. What type of battery(s) did it come with? Did it come with an inverter? Does it have solar panels?

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Gpokluda
2017 Rpod 179(sold 2023)
2022 Escape 5.0TA
2022 Ford F150 4X4 3.5EB
Kawasaki KLR650

Posted By: karencrist
Date Posted: 17 Feb 2025 at 7:37pm

no solar panels, no inverter, standard lithium ion battery.

Posted By: gpokluda
Date Posted: 17 Feb 2025 at 8:05pm

The easiest thing you can do is add battery capacity by adding another battery of the same size and type in parallel. I would also get a portable solar panel, around 200watt, with a built in controller to charge the batteries during the day. This of course assumes your fridge runs on 12volt and 110volt.

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Gpokluda
2017 Rpod 179(sold 2023)
2022 Escape 5.0TA
2022 Ford F150 4X4 3.5EB
Kawasaki KLR650

Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 17 Feb 2025 at 9:49pm

A lot depends on where you are camping. If it is in the desert southwest, you would have plenty of sunshine, but temperatures are such that you might want that generator so you could also run the air conditioning. That won't happen on just solar unless you have a very large array of panels and a lot of battery capacity, much more than you would carry in an RPod.

If you are not concerned with the AC, but just the refrigerator, then a much lighter 2000 watt generator will suffice. That is well under 100 lbs. It will run the refrigerator and charge the battery. If you are in an area where generator use is limited, it will charge the battery enough during the day to carry you through overnight.

I have such a refrigerator in our current trailer. The down side is the need to have reliable electricity from shore power, solar, or generator to make sure the battery is charged. The plus side is that it cools much better than the propane ones that can't really handle summer heat very well. On top of that, I use a CPAP machine and my wife uses an oxygen concentrator. I have had to make choices on what to carry to make boondocking possible.

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StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,...

http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods
Former RPod 179
Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS

Posted By: gpokluda
Date Posted: 18 Feb 2025 at 2:36pm

A generator would be the simplest solution. These are popular on another RV forum I belong to https://a.co/d/dlmBxN4. The problem is many campgrounds are beginning to limit generator use. We were at a campground that did not all generators at all.

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Gpokluda
2017 Rpod 179(sold 2023)
2022 Escape 5.0TA
2022 Ford F150 4X4 3.5EB
Kawasaki KLR650

Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 18 Feb 2025 at 8:09pm

Make sure it is an inverter generator and not an open frame cheap one. The inverter ones run much quieter as they can throttle the engine down if the power isn't needed, unlike traditional generators which need to run at full-speed to maintain the 60 Hz frequency.

The quietest ones are, of course, the most expensive (read: Honda). There are other good options though.

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StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,...

http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods
Former RPod 179
Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS

Posted By: gpokluda
Date Posted: 19 Feb 2025 at 9:46am

FYI, companies are beginning to make open frame inverter generators now. I saw a Champion open frame inverter genny at a local feed store the other day.

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Gpokluda
2017 Rpod 179(sold 2023)
2022 Escape 5.0TA
2022 Ford F150 4X4 3.5EB
Kawasaki KLR650

Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 19 Feb 2025 at 9:57am

It would be best to stick with the enclosed ones as they will in general be quieter than an open-frame generator. Check the specifications for decibel level when deciding which to purchase.

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StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,...

http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods
Former RPod 179
Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS

Posted By: karencrist
Date Posted: 19 Feb 2025 at 2:57pm

I will be on a bicycle trip camping in parking lots where they do not permit generators. With this in mind I am guessing an extra battery inline hookup with possible solar panel to help would be my best bet. The event is in NW Ohio. It will either be very sunny and hot or rainy with storms. I am hoping a battery powered fan will be enough to keep me comfortable at night with the windows open. I have medication that I need to keep cold and was trying to avoid going out and purchasing ice every day. I will be using the events shower truck and port-a-potties so not using the black tank. Probably will use water but not shower.

Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 19 Feb 2025 at 4:37pm

If your main concern is to keep medications cool, then a small cooler style portable refrigerator might serve your purposes better for this trip. It would likely take much less power to run and since it is a top-opening, the cold air inside won't spill out when you open the door. A small one would also not need as much energy to cool and then to maintain that temperature. You may wish to check into one of them.

Here is a link for a Bodega 10 quart model which might be big enough for your medications and for a small amount of perishable food items. https://www.amazon.com/BODEGACOOLER-Refrigerator-Portable-Compressor-DC100-240/dp/B0CJ513NDQ - https://www.amazon.com/BODEGACOOLER-Refrigerator-Portable-Compressor-DC100-240/dp/B0CJ513NDQ

There are others which may have better specifications. Hopefully, one of these might be the answer to your need. Back when we still had the RPod and the propane refrigerator which did not adequately cool in hot weather, I found a Free Piston Sterling Cooler at our local ReStore. These were used to transport pharmaceutical items (not biological though). They only cool to 4C, but are very efficient. I should have gotten a couple more at the price they were selling. I have not seen any since. I could trust the FPSC to keep perishable items cool and safe for use when I could not trust the propane refrigerator to do so.

Whatever you decide, do not get a thermoelectric (Peltier junction) cooler. Those are cheap. They use a lot of power and will drain your battery much faster than one of the small compressor powered coolers. They also share the same problem as the propane refrigerators in that they can only cool to about 40 degrees below ambient temperatures. The compressor ones do a much better job with much less energy use.

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StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,...

http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods
Former RPod 179
Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS

Posted By: mjlrpod
Date Posted: 02 Mar 2025 at 3:30pm

The fridge is 12 volt and it will kill that battery in 2 days. Adding a 200 ah lifepo4 is your best option that will get you just about 7 days. T will cost about the same as portable solar panels.

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2017.5 Rp-172
2020 R-pod 195
2015 Frontier sv 4.0L 6cyl
I'll be rpodding

Posted By: Suess
Date Posted: 04 Mar 2025 at 3:29pm

I also have a question about batteries and the 12 volt fridge. We have a 200 watt solar panel on our Rpod 203 but we may not always have sun. Been playing around with getting a 100ah but do you think that we should get a ah 200 instead?

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Suess

Posted By: StephenH
Date Posted: 04 Mar 2025 at 4:15pm

Changing from lead-acid to Lithium Iron Phosphate isn't as difficult as it used to be as the converter in the new ones auto-detects the battery type and adjusts the charging parameters automatically. You will want to check the manual for the solar charge controller though to see if it needs to have any switches changed for the battery type. All else being equal, It is going to be better if you can go with a 200AH LiFePO4 battery. That is what we have.

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StephenH
Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,...

http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=7712 - ouR escaPOD mods
Former RPod 179
Current Cherokee Grey Wolf 24 JS