Special needs and camping

Clever this is!

 

There's no beer here what are you doing here lol

 

Here’s a battery system example, my off grid camper rig. No generator needed. You could make a simpler version but you’d need to put a battery box and some contoller gear, fuse, etc in the back of your truck. Would be a fun project!!!

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/off-grid-engineering-dual-battery-system-q-a.468553/

Above is a thread on dual car batteries. I think I cut/pasted it right. I don’t know the ins/outs of the forum very well yet. Might be worth looking into but I’m not sure how many amps you can fit in under the hood. If it worked, You’d need to hook an inverter up right to the car batteries, and make sure you used thick cable to avoid voltage drop.

 

An inverter + properly sized wiring and fuse (or circuit breaker) is hardly any more risk than any other electrical stuff in the truck, but there's some truth to the peace of mind of not having messed with anything.

Someone suggested a fridge to keep pre-made meals cold longer, and that's a good option, but one that also requires quite a bit of electrical work to be setup properly. And will cost more than a quality generator.

Which brings me to: generator. Will +1 the earlier recommendations on this. You can get a quality, new Honda 2000W portable generator for under a grand - cheaper than fridge + electrical. And it'll be way more flexible in terms of adding value to its user. You can find off-brand 2000W models for 2/3s, if not 1/2 of the Honda's price.

It should be very possible to run a generator and a powerful blender.

 

Here’s a portable inverter I rigged up onto a piece of plywood with a rope handle. Rigged up soldered connectors with 00 welding cable. Just one example.Just need the amps to run it!

 

Agree with here4cake, running high watts off batteries, a bit of a project, and weight! +1 more for the Honda generator.

 

I’ve heard the harbor freight generators are pretty good, and will also guard your campsite!

 

This

 

How about one of these:

 

2700 watts doesn't sound right. You stated the label shows 11.5A, thats 1380 watts. I watched this video of a guy with an ammeter hooked up to his Vitamix, at startup it's only about 4A, then he turns it up to 10 in 'variable' mode and gets to 7.7A. I don't think he turned it to the 'High' setting, doing so would probably show 11.5A. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhyzdzPJXcg

So seems to me that 11.5A is the maximum the Vitamix will ever draw. Therefore a 2kW generator will handle it. 2kW generator will be 2kW peak, and ~1.5kW continuous.

For inverters, you may need a PSW inverter to run the motor properly and they are a lot more expensive than a MSW inverter. 1500W PSW inverter is about $335.

I had a Champion 2kW I think was $700 new, Honda or Yamaha apx $900 new. I bought a Yamaha 2kW converted to tri-fuel (gasoline, propane, or natural gas) for $1200. USCarburetion makes kits. Honda or Yamaha you can get service&parts at any dealership, Champion and other brands not so easy.

Best of luck and happy travels!

 

It sounds like a properly sized generator for your vita mix would be a good emergency backup at home as well as for camping. Seems like a win-win there.

Don't forget to post your camping photos in the truck camping thread!
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/truck-camping-photo-thread.407866/

 

You gotta throw inefficiencies in there but 1500 is about right. 2K would be perfect.

 

Op, what about this one? Small and fairly inexpensive.

 

KISS is an acronym for "Keep it simple, stupid" as a design principle noted by the U.S. Navy in 1960. The KISS principle states that most systems work best if they are kept simple rather than made complicated; therefore simplicity should be a key goal in design and unnecessary complexity should be avoided.

 

someone said coolers and ice so I thought there was

 

Portable generator would be your best bet.

 

OP keep in mind if you do portable generator and your blender over powers it, it will shut down. Which in turn means no blended food.

No need to carry a generator, extra fuel, all the blending crap, plus all the food itself. That’s quite the amount of things to pack on top of what I’m sure your kiddo already requires.

If you are concerned with making noise like you already mentioned I would avoid it.

Plus, with a fridge the food is ready to go at all times. No need to get everything out, set up, wait on blend etc. You can avoid the “well it’s too hot and now this is ruined and we can’t blend it” situation.

Also can keep extra cold supplies needed for your kiddo IE: Some Meds need to be kept cold, other food/drinks for you and wife etc

This is the most simple way to go about it. You will have already blended food at all times, period. Nothing more simple than that.