Carlos

Or even just flown hard, with zero damage. Just exceeded the load rating accidentally.

And most people seem to be Surprised.

I'm never surprised by idiocy in Surprise. People there in general just seem to be awful. I made the mistake of going there a couple weeks ago for a vehicle title change. The wait time shown on the ADOT site was nine minutes, turned out to be 50. While I was paying, someone ran into my motorcycle and sent it flying across the space. On the way out someone called me an a-hole for going out the in door because she was blocking the out door--for no reason. Only about 17 people tried to kill me on my bike while I rode what was left of it home. And this makes the post office there look like a good time.

They are standard Lipos for RC planes and helicopters. I didn't mean to suggest that I'd use them for an RV. Just commenting that I have many years of research and usage on standard Lipos, and know their problems and requirements very well. I have a bunch of chargers, controllers, testers, and the like. So here I'm learning just how different LiFePO4 is from those.

Well, I hate generators too. That part is just about available amp-hours. I'm interested in the info you guys gave on the LiFeP04s in this application. I have 100-some Lipos on hand, and a lot of experience with those, but minimal with LiFeP04 and none in large applications.

Ok, so you are saying that the 100-rated Lithium is 100aH of USABLE power? Then yeah, that cuts the cost a lot. I was comparing to $100 for a usable 55aH per GC2 battery. I'm not an expert on LiFeP04, but straight LiPo batteries are very picky about not being fully charged. That's part of what I wasn't aware of with LiFeP04 also. I have used LiFeP04 in motorcycles, with obvious benefits there too.

Those are the types of rational answers I was looking for, thanks.

As much as I love newer technology, I can't understand the use of these batteries in RVs. The cost per amp-hour is so ridiculously high that you would have to account for 30+ years' worth of battery replacement to pay for it. And by then, we'll have much better and cheaper batteries. So what's the perceived benefit? 220aH of lead-acids (110 usable) costs $200. The Lithium batteries go for between 10 and 20 times as much.

Thanks. I've owned and worked on a lot of boats. They all have those folding mounts for the VHF radio, so it's something I was used to using. The clamp idea just sort of came together as I looked at some things on Amazon. I keep a small two-step folding ladder/stool in the basement, and use that to release the clamp and put it up/fold it down. The roof height on my trailer is 9'. There are some crank-up antenna mast options, but they tend to be expensive. Look at things meant for ham radios or professional radios. The FM antennas on cars were extremely light-duty and wouldn't be able to hold up a radio like this.

They have a two year warranty. I glanced at them briefly while shopping recently, but bought what I think is a better value. These are heavy compared to others with more power, and are slightly louder than many others. Some reviews said it actually couldn't put out the rated power.

A far as mounting, here is what I did. It's a marine mount ($8) and a piece from a dead VHF antenna (free). You can use a marine antenna extender ($30), I just happened to have a dead antenna to cut up. The holder is a piece of HDPE (Starboard) that was laying around, and a QuickFist clamp ($4).

We have an old system from Wilson that just does 800/1900, so it will need to be replaced. But it has done a great job. Both separation and direction matter. The internal antenna is large, and covers about 180 degrees. The external antenna is a Wilson "trucker" with its own ground plane. That is attached to a small piece of EMT (electrical conduit), which I can strap to the top of the ladder, OR put it on another piece of EMT to get it really high. EMT is cheap and easy to deal with, and there are connectors to quickly attach two pieces by hand. The radio unit has manual power adjustments to fine tune it for the area. We move the inside antenna around as needed. Sometimes pointed out into camp when we're outdoors, or pointed inside when needed. Never pointed towards the outside antenna. This has worked exceptionally well. Unfortunately those frequencies aren't always the best choice or even available, so we'll need to buy a new system. Also we're selling the motorhome and have a new TT to outfit. But the high EMT mount will probably be my method again.

The "powersports" dealers here do. Those are the ones that sell side by sides and other stuff besides bikes. But they all sell at retail as far as I've seen. I used to own a Honda generator and had found the best price here: http://apdpowercenter.com/gen_honda.html

We don't use it that way at all. We use our phones as hotspots and to make posts/texts and yes, calls. We run a business while traveling and sometimes customers want to call us.

Attach the antenna to a TV antenna mount. I replaced my existing TV antenna with a cell antenna, since obviously, TV is useless these days. So it raises the same way the TV antenna did, from inside the rig.

I went with one that had nearly as many service centers as Honda. I paid less, got peace of mind, a more powerful generator, and it weighs less.

And for thieves, you just need to have a lesser opportunity/reward ratio than the rest of the campground. My friend with a junky open-frame generator doesn't have to worry about theft if he puts a string on it and there are unlocked good generators.

Wow. Your definition of "honest" really scares me. I certainly hope you are not right, and I know know that for my close friends, nothing like that is true. That theory is much like the hoodlums I mentioned from school.

Agreed, even the lightest little cable lock is a deterrent to casual theft. There are different levels of dishonest. Growing up, I knew a couple of people in my school who literally thought that "if it's not locked, it's not stealing if I take it."

Motorcycle cable locks are a good option for this. That's what I'm using, because I have one that I never use on the motorcycle. Someone gave it to me, and I'm simply not at all in fear of my motorcycle being stolen. So it became a lock for "stuff." The advantage of this one (and many motorcycle locks) is a built-in motion alarm. So in any camping area, it would draw attention to a thief.

Running a pair has distinct advantages. I decided that the disadvantages were too many for my needs and expectations, but it's worth looking at. Good: Can carry just a single during winter (no AC). Have a backup if one fails. Weighs less in combination than one larger one. Bad: Double the maintenance and chance of failure. Slightly louder (measured it myself). No electric/remote start. A little more setup and parts (not a huge thing). More expensive.

That's a super efficient/well running AC. I used to have a Honda 2k that would rarely start the 7k AC in our boat. On most attempts it would fail.

For that size you will need a minimum of 3,000 watts starting power, and more if you have multiple things running. Note that your converter/charger is one of the loads you have to count on, and it's normally on all the time. For a full timer you will want to be able to run the AC along with other things. The microwave is another big power user (1500-ish watts input for a 1000 watt rated oven). I just got a new generator today, and really like it. I bought one larger than the minimum so we wouldn't have to worry about it. And I wanted dual fuel because propane is just so much cleaner and less smelly. I just posted about it here:

I wish I'd had a TPMS on my motorhome when an inside tire got a leak while driving. That put all the pressure on the outside tire, which then threw a belt. Filled the inside, swapped the outside, and back on the road. I would have saved a tire if I had TPMS. Very similar thing happened on my dual-axle boat trailer.

I wasn't saying I'm against TPMS, I've been shopping. I added it to my motorcycle, and my vehicles both have it built in. But I guess I'm surprised that someone would say "unless you check every day." I don't stop for gas without a walk-around and check.