need advice

[justawfulgamer]

so to make a long story short, I'm recently separated from my wife and i moved into a camper. I plan on putting the camper at the bock of my 2 acre property and i need to come up with a way to power it. ( i want to stay on the property so i can see my son everyday, and its more convenient for the both of us. It would have its own road access and everything, it would basically be like a separate property )

so as of right now, the fridge works in it, its electric and propane. i could live without a/c if i had to, but would rather not. 

id like to have a battery bank in the camper,but the spot i'm going to put the camper is in the woods and gets almost no direct sunlight. so solar really isn't an option.

I could either run a really long extension cord to a battery charger to keep the batteries full. or i could use my gas generator to recharge the batteries and use the a/c as needed. 

also worried about pipes freezing and etc. 

any ideas are welcome

 

[lenny flank]

Be sure to check local laws--in many areas, you may run into zoning regs and/or building codes.

 

[WanderingRose]

Portable solar panels, if sunlight is close enough to be feasible?

 

[MrNoodly]

A "really long extension cord" would probably be better if it was Romex wired in at the house's fuse panel and run through conduit to a junction box at the camper.

 

[Gypsy Freedom]

from what you have shared i think tying into the main house electricity is probably the cheapest and easiest solution.

running a generator constantly is not cheap. both in fuel and maintenance. and it can just be a pain,logistically

solar to run ac is doable, but take a sizeable array of panels, and a decent inverter. sounds like you are in the shade so would need extension cords to get the panels out in the sun. which can be doable if the sun is not too far away

i think a proper line extension or a quality custom extension cord could be the best approach. based on what you have shared. with the caveat that not knowing what "really long" means could change it all. although anless your 2 acres is a real funky long skiny shape. you should be able to reach most of the property with 500feet of cord. a 2.5 acre square is only 330 feet on a side and less than 500 feet across the diagonal

be mindful that with a "really long extension cord" you have to deal with voltage drop. even as is wisely recommended above you use proper wire and basically install an outlet out by your spot. the problem with voltage drop is when running a larger load, especially a motor. like in an AC or fridge. the lower volts will cause the unit to draw more amps and that can be damaging to the motor if it will even run. voltage drop is less of an issue with things like lights.

there are lots of online tools and calculators to help figure voltage drop. i like and use this one https://www.calculator.net/voltage-drop-calculator.html

depending on how far "really long" is for you. it should not be too cost prohibitive.

i would make sure that under load i still had 110 volts at the appliance. a small window AC draws about 5 amps and a big window unit that still plugs into a regular wall outlet draws around 10 amps. if your house voltage actually measures 120 volts (it varies from place to place) you could run a 500 foot extension with 10 gauge wire and still have 110 volts with a big ac pulling 10 amps.

some one mentioned codes and laws, so i will add, most states require permits to install an electric line. it would not be a bad idea, but if you are trying to avoid being noticed so you dont have to deal with code inspectors and such. pulling a permit might be a can of worms. you could use the right size wire based on calculated voltage drop. MAKE SURE you use outdoor rated wire it will have a thicker tougher outer coating to prevent wearing through and exposing live wires and it will resit moister and UV light. light will degrade cheap romex (indoor) wire insulation in time. and water will slowly soak in through the insulatsion and cause moister problems inside the indoor rated wire as well. but then wire it up as an extension cord with plugs on both ends. that way you could roll it up and take it with you it would not be the "right" way to do it. but it would be a lot better than buying several cords at home depot and stringing them out.

even if you run the wire in conduit, you dont want to use the indoor rated "romex" almost all the code books now prohibit using indoor rated wire in conduit as moister will get in the conduit and if the wire is nt rated to handle it you have the same problems with moisture

 

[justawfulgamer]

yeah i would definitely not want to draw attention. that being said. I'm making look like a place to "store" the camper. as far as anyone seeing me install the wire, I'm blessed to have only one neighbor on one side of my far end of the property, and he doesn't bother me. i don't know the exact distance i would need to run it. but its definitely a few hundred feet. A/C electric I'm very familiar with actually, so I'm not too worried about that. its d/c i still have a lot to learn.

 

[jimindenver]

You have access to grid power so use it. It is by far the most dependable, least expensive solution. Solar and generators are for those that have no access to grid power.

 

[lenny flank]

 if you are trying to avoid being noticed so you dont have to deal with code inspectors and such

That sounds like a great recipe for trouble.

 

[B and C]

If your camper came equipped with a battery it already has a converter in it. The converter does double duty in that it charges the camper battery and supplies 12V DC to your lights and such. Grid tie power seems to be the best all around answer.

 

[Gypsy Freedom]

That sounds like a great recipe for trouble.

everyone has to make their own decisions. but trying to not be noticed to avoid dealing with code enforcement in regards to living in a camper is not that different than stealth camping in the city where you dont want to play by the rules of the "normal" folk

 

[lenny flank]

Yeh, it's different.

But good luck with it. What's the Plan B if you ARE noticed?

 

[justawfulgamer]

well i don't think the government should be able to tell me what i can or cant do on my own property, so long as i'm not affecting anyone else.
that being said. they would have to prove that I'm living in it full time to really do anything. are they going to sit outside my property everyday and watch? maybe my son and i are just using it as a "man cave" when we aren't taking it camping. The burden of proof is on them really. I'm not overly worried about it, especially considering i basically have no neighbors.

 

[Gypsy Freedom]

while i agree with much of your sentiment. unfortunately in many places it does not work that way. firstly, the government does tell us what we can and cant do on our own property. also sometime home or property owners associations have the power to enforce even more restrictive covenants.

if the local code enforcement officer feels you are living there beyond what ever is allowed in that jurisdiction they will just send you a notification and then it is on you to deal with it. if you dont deal with it to their satisfaction they they start fining you and it can get pretty ugly. you never know how the code enforcement office will find out. maybe they happen to be on the forum, maybe they are driving by, maybe they hear a friend of yours talking about it at a local bar. heck, maybe even an exwife that doesnt want you there but wont confront you face to face could turn you in. vary rarely these days will you be able to figure out who and why someone turned you in. maybe they got busted for the same thing and feel if they cant do it then you shouldnt either. maybe the ups guy that delivers your next xbox turns you in. nobody is likely to fess up and say hey dude, you cant do that so i turned you in.

there are ways to play the game and work around with loop holes. but once you are on code enforcement's radar they dont go away.

so it is a real wise idea to not share with anyone where or how you live and keep a low profile, and be really nice to those that do know you are there.

 

[lenny flank]

well i don't think the government should be able to tell me what i can or cant do on my own property

But they can. And they will. And it doesn't matter a rat's patootie what anyone's political opinion is about it.

So if anyone is planning to use this argument as a defense in court (after intentionally trying to evade the regulations) ... well .. good luck with that.

 

[Joe Dirt]

Just a thought, but it probably wouldn't hurt to check with your electrical provider and see what it'd cost to have an additional service drop installed. Might be your best and safest option.........  I have a neighbor who recently had an additional drop installed. The power company installed 2 poles and about 250' of wire, and he only had to pay a $250 deposit which is refunded after a year of service . He also had to purchase and install his own service entrance pole with the meter box and breaker box attached, which probably cost him an additional $250

 

[Gypsy Freedom]

when checking the price of an extra service drop, rememmber to calculate in any extra monthly fees that they charge for the drop. often times on an electric bill, the charge for the actual watts used is only a small portion of the bill.

if you end up paying even just an extra 20-30 dollars a month for the extra drop, it can add up and surpass any perceived savings.

not to mention drawing attention to your activities

 

[Natgreen]

well i don't think the government should be able to tell me what i can or cant do on my own property, so long as i'm not affecting anyone else.
that being said. they would have to prove that I'm living in it full time to really do anything. are they going to sit outside my property everyday and watch? maybe my son and i are just using it as a "man cave" when we aren't taking it camping. The burden of proof is on them really. I'm not overly worried about it, especially considering i basically have no neighbors.

Yes. The government will. They will also tap into your phone, camera, microphone, and gps to find your weakness.

If you run the conduit that far, which seems your best choice, make sure you calculate for a larger gauge wire because you will lose power transferring that far a distance

 

[RoamerRV428]

We ran power from the house to the pool for a plug on short pole so we had power at the pump easily.

We ran power down to each horse barn ourselves. One barn kinda close, the other barn at least, heck I can't judge distance truly LOL and we installed about 25 yrs ago, maybe, hmm, 200-300 ft to that one barn?

get onto house power, get a witch ditch and run a line and set it up for yourself. I would only do this if I was planning on staying for a while. bit of work of course but if you are staying grid power is best. AC on batteries etc is not gonna run long at all and ya need a lot of solar panels for AC and all that.

set up your little backwoods home to suit ya easiest. you got this, all will be good for ya I hope