I think most campers and caravanners have something heavy in the back, batteries and gas bottles, and so on. The main thing is to get them right up to the back of the seat and then secure them. A coolbox full of food would weigh more.
Can't advise personally, I went down the same route as another poster, and have two leisure batteries.
I did think about getting a solar panel, but you need a good one (the link you supplied looks to be good!) but what I thought was, the weight of this is nearly the weight of another leisure battery - and they were cheaper!
Quote: Originally posted by Johnnie Boy on 22/2/2013
Quote: Originally posted by freeatlast on 22/2/2013
Quote: Originally posted by Johnnie Boy on 21/2/2013Why not use the generator under the bonnet of your tug !
Buy a second leisure battery and charge it up when you run around in the car, works a treat unless the tug is parked up most of the day.
.... and then just pray you are never involved in an accident with that second battery in the boot. I personally would not fancy the idea of being hit on the back of my head with a lump weighing 25kg travelling at 60mph.
and what's the weight of a generator ? My leisure battery is anchored with webbing straps
Genny can travel in the caravan. If I were you I would check how secure the load restraints are on your car. I know the bolts holding mine in would not stand a chance in a crash with that sort of weight strapped down. In a serious head-on crash at 60mph, you could probably come out of it not badly injured in a modern car, but your battery will experience a force of up to 15g. Thus a 25kg battery travelling at 60mph would "weigh" 375kg.
Quote: Originally posted by Greendemon315 on 22/2/2013
I think most campers and caravanners have something heavy in the back, batteries and gas bottles, and so on. The main thing is to get them right up to the back of the seat and then secure them. A coolbox full of food would weigh more.
Jim
I most certainly would not, and would NEVER carry a gas bottle in the boot. When I have to take an empty one to change, I put it in the rear passenger footwell.
Just think about how the shopping slides round the boot when you go round a roundabout. The forces in a crash are many tens of times greater. Still, its your life.
What about campers who carry gas bottles? I am well aware of the forces in a crash, I used to do it for a living. The restraint bolts are more than adequate. They have to be.
Shopping doesn't slide around the boot, as long as you load it up to the seat back. That's how things are kep still. It is certainly no safer to store a gas bottle behind the front seat. If you are serious about the forces involved, you will realise that this is just going to overload the back of the seat and help to propel your passenger into the windscreen.
Yes, you can hit the windscreen even if you are securely belted in. Seat belts in a big impact stretch more than you can imagine.
There's risk involved in anything. This is one of the low risk items.
I don't think you can go camping or caravanning without carrying a few heavy items.
And mount the panel on the roof with some aluminium brackets bolted to the side of the panel, stuck to the roof with Sikaflex. Although if you don't mind spending a bit more on the regulator, one with a built in battery monitor is a good option. You can also get them that will split the charge between two batteries, so you can keep a spare battery topped up.
I recently changed my cheap controller for one of THESE though I am sure I got it for a little bit less. I only have a 50 watt panel, but went for a 20 amp controller so I have the option of fitting a second panel in the future without having to replace the controller.
Even though we have become as far removed from the original post about generators, thanks for all the help.
I have decided to go with the panel in my link.
As stated, this will also be used for other purposes besides the caravan.
------------- Albino, Can"t say fairer than that !
Did you win the auction after? I personally wouldn't have imagined the bidding getting any where near that high. That's a lot of extra money for a couple of hinges.