GX alternator to dc charging (1 Viewer)

[WTITW]

Does anyone have experience with DC-DC charging setups on a GX? I ran my rv lithium flat while out in Death Valley last weekend and found out my system needs mains power or alternator charger to recover. No soalr until it has 20%. Great timing with a 10year old and wife dragged out to Tea Kettle junction. Fun! : )

Setting up 6awg with realy back to trailer and it has a dc to dc. Wondering how much amperage I should expect at idle with all my lights and electrical in the truck off. I have the larger 150amp alternator they put in the dual AC models.

Anyone tried to charge a trailer using the truck as a generator? I realize output is much lower at idle and yes, I realize there are larger aftermarket alternators available but I just replaced mine with the 150A denso so not an option right now.

I have a two week nor cal beach vaca planned and worried that we’ll need a genie with the expected marine layer for most days. Really don’t want to carry a gennie.

 

[WTITW]

Heres some illustrative imagery:

“Oh what fun! We’re on an adventure of a lifetime”

“Oh isn’t this cool!!”

“Wait… why does the milk smell like baby puke? Oh crap… the nearest oulet it over that next range ”

 

[Jstawgn]

Many companies make DC-DC charger.
Victron probably makes one specially made for charging RV battery from towing vehicles.

 

[WTITW]

Many companies make DC-DC charger.

Already have a DC DC charger installed. My question is specific to the GX’s alternator amperage output at idle.

 

[Jstawgn]

Never seen one official chart of it.
Probably easier to borrow a clamp meter and measure it. They are definitely not great at idle.

 

[Acrad]

Just a general rule article

Ask Away! with Jeff Smith: Tips on Choosing the Right Alternator Amp Rating

This article explains how to pick the best alternator for your vehicle, based on its unique electrical accessories and current needs,

www.onallcylinders.com

"So if an alternator is rated at a maximum output of 85 amps, its normal operating temperature maximum output is likely closer to 65 amps. Then at idle, its probably much lower—perhaps only 30 amps. With a pair of electric cooling fans that could easily pull 30 amps and an A/C blower fan at max speed requiring between 10 to 15 amps, it’s obvious that this has more than maxed out that 85 amp alternator at idle. "

It could always be AI Hallucination ...but it says for 150AMPs

What DC to DC are you using?

I have and played with this ETAKER F1000.. it can pull in from solar and vehicle DC.. you can also lower the Car input if it creates too high of an alternator draw.

Fast Charger Fleet 1000 Compatible with M2000 Portable Power Station

【Supports Fast Charging of Car Battery and Solar Energy up to 1000W】During car travel, ETAKER F1000 car fast charger directly connects to the car battery to charge the M2000 generator. Additionally, F1000 supports rooftop solar charging, allowing for combined rapid charging of 1KW using driving...

www.etakerpower.com

 

[Acrad]

A basic MPPT solar controller & panels should be able to wake up that LiFePo4 battery. What brand is it?

 

[Littlehouse]

I don’t have input, but when are we going to see a new build video?

 

[WTITW]

@Acrad God I love Chat when it works. I never think to use it outside of work. FYI - You can tell it "don't hallucinate and cite you're sources and it will. In this one it cited Lexus parts pages and iH8tmud. Probably citing you : ) Here's what I got:

I have a bunch of BMPRO stuff and have thier BMPRO Mini Boost for DC-DC. It's not the best stuff. Been kind of finicky. It's and Australian brand and my trailer is from 2022 before they switched their USA models to Renogy. Wish I had Renogy stuff at this point but trying to make the best of it and buy some time waiting for solid state lithium. When price comer down on that I might just replace the whole set-up and add another 200Ah.

@Littlehouse I stopped filming projects in detail as it just takes too much time but I've got some stuff I'd like to do overview rather than how too vids on. I've added front reco points, helper airbags, trans-cooler, replaced UCA's and LCA's and added an CarPlay camera system for the trailer/off-road all since the first of the year so I've been busy.

 

[rav8]

Does anyone have experience with DC-DC charging setups on a GX? I ran my rv lithium flat while out in Death Valley last weekend and found out my system needs mains power or alternator charger to recover. No soalr until it has 20%. Great timing with a 10year old and wife dragged out to Tea Kettle junction. Fun! : )

Setting up 6awg with realy back to trailer and it has a dc to dc. Wondering how much amperage I should expect at idle with all my lights and electrical in the truck off. I have the larger 150amp alternator they put in the dual AC models.

Anyone tried to charge a trailer using the truck as a generator? I realize output is much lower at idle and yes, I realize there are larger aftermarket alternators available but I just replaced mine with the 150A denso so not an option right now.

I have a two week nor cal beach vaca planned and worried that we’ll need a genie with the expected marine layer for most days. Really don’t want to carry a gennie.

Westinghouse | iGen2500 Inverter Generator

The Westinghouse iGen2500 Portable Inverter Generator produces up to 2,500 peak watts and 2,200 running watts, making it perfect for emergency home backup during a power outage or for recreational uses such as camping and tailgating.

westinghouse.com

I know you don't want to carry a genny...but you are going to spend far more trying to avoid it. I run Battleborn cells and they work great...if you are frugal in your energy use. You should have a 3-way fridge. Propane will keep it cool for almost a year with a 20lbs tank. Your camper should be independent of tow vehicle in terms of energy production and storage. I've done well using that model.

 

[Acrad]

I’m was looking and some pics and first thought was to pull out the solder ironing station or get to work crimping


I couldn’t recall the last thing I had to make that many terminal connections on

 

[Acrad]

I know most don’t want to carry a generator but for those not following thread I have this “DC only” gas generator /LifePo option but here is another one when solar generation isn’t there and vehicle DC has broke down over in 200 series forum

I have a couple Honda EU2000i with marine and propane coversion tanks but this option intrigued me keeping a battery station charged automatically.

Overland Power

Looks nice. Hopefully the MsRP is just the launching point for a normally discounted price. $1/watt is a big ask in the current market. Also sounds like it’s only slightly smaller than a Delta 2 Max with 1/3rd less capacity. Of course unfair to compare pricing on a box that’s been on the market...

forum.ih8mud.com

This is a DC only generator that will auto fire & stop for a LIfePo4 station from OUPES.

 

[Rednexus]

Agree on the Honda EU2000i option. They are very light, vastly quieter than a "normal" generator, easy-starting, reliable, and well-made. Typical Honda build quality. They are also known for producing a very "clean" power for a generator that is friendly for sensitive electronics. While I don't own one, they are used often in my line of work, usually as a portable power source for running picky and expensive electronics in remote areas, and they're usually hauled to the area inside an enclosed vehicle (not in the back up a pickup truck). The last time I hauled one, it was inside a SUV on a warm day and there were no noticeable fumes.

I personally went through this evaluation for our camper setup, in order to see what's really needed to easily boondock it, since a lot of the full-hookup campgrounds for our WY-MT-SD trip this year are $$$$. We ultimately decided to just pony up for full hookup campgrounds for this particular trip. All of our normal home campground here are full-hookup, and we'd have no other use for the Honda EU2000i (it's just too small to act as a backup generator in the event of a power outage).

For your use - you could pick up the generator tomorrow and be up-and-running for your next trip without having to mess with the GX at all. If you ever upgraded to a better battery system or something else in the future, the little Honda should be easy to sell used.

 

[Acrad]

Respectfully…disagree… I’ve had (2) EU2000i’s since 2009.. great backup home generators. You can even parallel two together to double up the power.

https://cdn.powerequipment.honda.com/pe/pdf/misc/EU2200i-EU2000i-Parallel-Operation.pdf

No.. you aren’t going to run a large heat pump or AC but will gladly run a natural gas furnace, refrigerator, freezer, etc

Add in a marine tank fuel setup and it will run days and days.

I’ve converted mine to run on propane as well.

 

[Rednexus]

Respectfully…disagree… I’ve had (2) EU2000i’s since 2009.. great backup home generators. You can even parallel two together to double up the power.

https://cdn.powerequipment.honda.com/pe/pdf/misc/EU2200i-EU2000i-Parallel-Operation.pdf

No.. you aren’t going to run a large heat pump or AC but will gladly run a natural gas furnace, refrigerator, freezer, etc


View attachment 3873614

I have a 240V AC well pump set at 500 ft below grade. While I agree that an EU2200i would definitely power a fridge, it would leave me with no water .

Instead, I'll get a PTO-powered generator as a backup, like this 10,000 watt Winco, as it should be able to run almost pretty much the whole house, and my 25 hp diesel tractor is quite a bit more fuel-efficient than a portable gas generator of the same size would be.

 

[Acrad]

Good point… I don’t have any wells to deal with

My outages I generally plan to run the essentials and not the whole house.

For longer outages I’d seriously look at larger solar and battery. It’s actually pretty cheap these days. I run all of it for flexibility.

The other day when testing that OUPES generator I thought.. it worked great but probably burned 1/4 gallon of gas.. yeah not much.. but my solar array would have charged it for free in the same time.

I think this new Pecron unit does 240V with some 2x adapter between 2.. more expensive than a generator though

PECRON E3600LFP Portable Power Station 3600W 3072Wh

E3600LFP 2+3 Years Warranty! 2*E3600LFP+ 240V series connection kit=7200W 240V outputLiFePo4 Battery with 3,500+ Life Cycles to 80%3600W Bidirectional PSW Inverter(Surge 7000W); AC 30A Output;3072Wh Large Capacity; Expandable 4*EP3000-48V Up to 15,360WhUPS; Wifi Control; XT60 30A(12V) Output...

www.pecron.com

 

[rav8]

I have a 240V AC well pump set at 500 ft below grade. While I agree that an EU2200i would definitely power a fridge, it would leave me with no water .

Instead, I'll get a PTO-powered generator as a backup, like this 10,000 watt Winco, as it should be able to run almost pretty much the whole house, and my 25 hp diesel tractor is quite a bit more fuel-efficient than a portable gas generator of the same size would be.

Good point… I don’t have any wells to deal with

My outages I generally plan to run the essentials and not the whole house.

For longer outages I’d seriously look at larger solar and battery. It’s actually pretty cheap these days. I run all of it for flexibility.

The other day when testing that OUPES generator I thought.. it worked great but probably burned 1/4 gallon of gas.. yeah not much.. but my solar array would have charged it for free in the same time.

I think this new Pecron unit does 240V with some 2x adapter between 2.. more expensive than a generator though

PECRON E3600LFP Portable Power Station 3600W 3072Wh

E3600LFP 2+3 Years Warranty! 2*E3600LFP+ 240V series connection kit=7200W 240V outputLiFePo4 Battery with 3,500+ Life Cycles to 80%3600W Bidirectional PSW Inverter(Surge 7000W); AC 30A Output;3072Wh Large Capacity; Expandable 4*EP3000-48V Up to 15,360WhUPS; Wifi Control; XT60 30A(12V) Output...

www.pecron.com

The little Westinghouse is for camping (<50 lbs and <50 dB under normal load) and I have a much larger Predator unit to power the well (900' down). We don't lose power often enough but when we do...I fill up the camper with water first, then emergency storage. After break-in ten years ago, the Predator sees little more than an hour of run time yearly. The Westinghouse gets ~100 hours yearly. Between them I spent about $1300 and haven't had any problems.

I've chased down most parasitic drain sources in my camper and can get 2-3 days with just solar and good habits(which took time to form). The little generator is mostly used to run the microwave or crank the A/C before bed. Campers are so much fun!

 

[Rednexus]

For longer outages I’d seriously look at larger solar and battery. It’s actually pretty cheap these days. I run all of it for flexibility.

We have a pretty crazy climate here. If we lose power it's usually due to an ice storm or tornado/large straight-line winds dropping trees or limbs on the lines. A few weeks ago we had 2-3 hours of sustained 50 mph winds with gusts that were 60+ mph. Pretty nuts! While I'd certainly like to put some panels on my house and my shop and go nearly 100% off-grid (as the the roofs are well positioned for solar relative to the sun), I'd still keep a backup ICE generator as the power-killing weather might also trash the panels, or they might be covered by ice.

 

[BigSwede]

I am working on an install of a Bluetti Charger One in my GX, but haven't tried it yet. IIRC it will draw around 30 amps, which I would think the alternator could handle even at idle. But we'll see.

 

[r2m]

Does anyone have experience with DC-DC charging setups on a GX? I ran my rv lithium flat while out in Death Valley last weekend and found out my system needs mains power or alternator charger to recover. No soalr until it has 20%. Great timing with a 10year old and wife dragged out to Tea Kettle junction. Fun! : )

Setting up 6awg with realy back to trailer and it has a dc to dc. Wondering how much amperage I should expect at idle with all my lights and electrical in the truck off. I have the larger 150amp alternator they put in the dual AC models.

Anyone tried to charge a trailer using the truck as a generator? I realize output is much lower at idle and yes, I realize there are larger aftermarket alternators available but I just replaced mine with the 150A denso so not an option right now.

I have a two week nor cal beach vaca planned and worried that we’ll need a genie with the expected marine layer for most days. Really don’t want to carry a gennie.

Won't an inverter, maybe 1k or 2k watt inverter work?