Latest extended use of the PPOB generator feature on my F-150 PowerBoost

Atlee · Jun 1, 2023

Over Memorial Day weekend we traveled down to Stuart, VA from the Richmond. VA area. Our friend always has a big get together that weekend. Those of us from out of town stay in a field close to his house. He lives at the foot of the mountain where the Blue Ridge Parkway is located.

It's 214.9 miles from my house to the Exxon station just east of Stuart. We got a hand calculated 10.353 mpg. We had a strong (for VA, anyway) tailwind going out. It a further 12.9 miles to Stan's.

Plugged the trailer to the truck at 2:30 pm on Friday. Ended up staying an extra day due to expected rain back in Richmond on Monday afternoon. So the truck ran until it stopped due to low fuel at 3:30 am Tuesday, a total of 85 hours. The dash read 44 miles to empty when the truck shut down.

When I filled the truck at the same Exxon on the way out of town, I put in 26.752 gallons, which meant there was 3.75 gallons left in the tank when I refueled. Subtracting for the gas used towing the 25.8 mile round trip to the Exxon, I used 24.252 gallons for the generator during those 85 hours. There was no A/C use, but we did occasionally use an electric heater since the temperatures were mostly in the mid to low 60's.

Going home was a hand calculated 10.011 mpg. Lesson learned is this. If I'm going to be boondocking longer than 4 days, I should refuel on the 4th day.

Davexxxx · Jun 1, 2023

Great to know, thanks for the details.

The TT we're planning on, comes with a small solar system, which I plan to significantly upsize.

I anticipate only needing the PPOB for extended air conditioning, electric space heating, or topping off the batts, after multiple, consecutive, cloudy days.

UGADawg96 · Jun 1, 2023

Sounds like a lot of fun and great weather too.

If you brought along a 5 gal can, you'd get almost another day of use with only a 30 lb payload hit.

Atlee · Jun 1, 2023

UGADawg96 said:
Sounds like a lot of fun and great weather too.

If you brought along a 5 gal can, you'd get almost another day of use with only a 30 lb payload hit.

We had a lot of fun, but the weather wasn't really great. Colder than normal temperatures, and a ton of rain. Had to spend most of the time indoors, but as I said, we still had a great time.

Yes a can of gas would have extended my time there. However, one reason for the PW was to get away from carrying extra gas, along with the attendant smell.

UGADawg96 · Jun 1, 2023

I just saw mid 60s and that sounds amazing compared to what we have in FL this time of year. Even with rain, I'm jealous. If only 13 miles to get refueled, yeah, that's a no brainer compared to hauling a gas can.

Kodiak · Jun 1, 2023

You can get something like this too.

Building a 3000W Portable Solar Power Station, Great for Power Outages! - YouTube

This would give you 5000 total watts of additional power and with a 400 watt solar panel you can keep this charged or somewhat charged for use.

Davexxxx · Jun 1, 2023

Kodiak said:
You can get something like this too.

Building a 3000W Portable Solar Power Station, Great for Power Outages! - YouTube

This would give you 5000 total watts of additional power and with a 400 watt solar panel you can keep this charged or somewhat charged for use.

That would be fine for at home I guess, if you didn't have a PB but for a TT, better to build it into the trailer. And you can still carnibalize that power for home use, if needed.

This is the trailer we plan.

https://forestriverinc.com/rvs/travel-trailers/surveyor-legend/252RBLE/4853

There is a lrg storage area under the bed, that will amply accommodate the LiFePO4 batts, charge controller, inverter/charger, switches, fuses, etc. I anticipate a minimum of 400 amp hrs. but probably closer to 540.

Until we actually get the camper, I won't know the ultimate max of the solar panels but a min of 800W, with a possible max of 1,200, wired in series parallel.

The biggest hassle I see, will be the routing of the shore power to the inverter/charger and back to the distribution panel.

One is under the pantry, the other is under the fridge, so quite a bit of underbelly to remove and replace. While there, I'll be adding a circuit for a fireplace/ space heater, that will go just forward of the pantry, under the TV.

Samson16 · Jun 1, 2023

Atlee said:
I should refuel on the 4th day.

That's pretty impressive and thanks for the real life results you found. Running into town after 4 days for fuel and other items like food and water etc. when your trailer has full 30A service in a field?! Wow

HammaMan · Jun 1, 2023

Kodiak said:
You can get something like this too.

Building a 3000W Portable Solar Power Station, Great for Power Outages! - YouTube

This would give you 5000 total watts of additional power and with a 400 watt solar panel you can keep this charged or somewhat charged for use.

I'll be putting 14kWh worth of batts into mine w/ an inverter setup that can supplement w/ solar. The goal is to basically only run the truck to refill the batts in a continuous stretch instead of leaving on the additional parasitic stuff as well as to have a silent night.

Davexxxx · Jun 2, 2023

HammaMan said:
I'll be putting 14kWh worth of batts into mine w/ an inverter setup that can supplement w/ solar. The goal is to basically only run the truck to refill the batts in a continuous stretch instead of leaving on the additional parasitic stuff as well as to have a silent night.

That is a significant battery bank.

In the neighborhood of 350lbs, just for the batts?

Will you assemble it or do you have ready mades you like?

Samson16 · Jun 2, 2023

Davexxxx said:
Will you assemble it or do you have ready mades you like?

Cell by cell would be my guess, unless he's mastered metallurgy since we last discussed the topic

Plate by plate in that case...

Samson16 · Jun 2, 2023

I intend to augment and maximize the PB's 7.2kW PPoB.

200Ahr LFP chassis bank replacing the 100Ahr AGM and then I will repurpose the battery vent port to run a 120V/30A circuit with several outlets throughout the trailer for electric heaters and dehumidifiers etc.

The additional circuit can be powered by the second leg of the PPoB or the shore power convenience outlet. This will take stress off of the Progressive Dynamics PD4000 30A power control center of the InTech Terra giving me 60A of 120V that can be powered by my truck or via shore power.

The 200Ahr LFP will run the fridge, fans, and security system while we're away in the truck if boondocking.

RickBullotta · Jun 2, 2023

Atlee said:
Over Memorial Day weekend we traveled down to Stuart, VA from the Richmond. VA area. Our friend always has a big get together that weekend. Those of us from out of town stay in a field close to his house. He lives at the foot of the mountain where the Blue Ridge Parkway is located.

It's 214.9 miles from my house to the Exxon station just east of Stuart. We got a hand calculated 10.353 mpg. We had a strong (for VA, anyway) tailwind going out. It a further 12.9 miles to Stan's.

Plugged the trailer to the truck at 2:30 pm on Friday. Ended up staying an extra day due to expected rain back in Richmond on Monday afternoon. So the truck ran until it stopped due to low fuel at 3:30 am Tuesday, a total of 85 hours. The dash read 44 miles to empty when the truck shut down.

When I filled the truck at the same Exxon on the way out of town, I put in 26.752 gallons, which meant there was 3.75 gallons left in the tank when I refueled. Subtracting for the gas used towing the 25.8 mile round trip to the Exxon, I used 24.252 gallons for the generator during those 85 hours. There was no A/C use, but we did occasionally use an electric heater since the temperatures were mostly in the mid to low 60's.

Going home was a hand calculated 10.011 mpg. Lesson learned is this. If I'm going to be boondocking longer than 4 days, I should refuel on the 4th day.

I've gotten a bit better than that even with the A/C running on the trailer, but even with that, I carry a Wavian 20 liter jerry can of fuel "just in case".

HammaMan · Jun 2, 2023

Davexxxx said:
That is a significant battery bank.

In the neighborhood of 350lbs, just for the batts?

Will you assemble it or do you have ready mades you like?

200lbs while also losing the 12v deep cycle. A worthy trade

Davexxxx · Jun 2, 2023

Yeah, the 540 I'm sorta planning on, will only about dbl. the stock LA weight that I'll ditch, have 10x the usable energy, charge faster, last longer, able to be placed inside, several feet rear of the tongue, making it a near wash on tongue weight.

Up front cost, is the only hurdle.

Latest extended use of the PPOB generator feature on my F-150 PowerBoost

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