rvcityblog posted on March 23, 2011 17:19
A family trip – camping with today’s technology and electronic conveniences. How to do this while dry camping? 
Camping off the grid. In our travels we have found that many dry campsites (no hookups) offer a more traditional camping experience. We enjoy having our teenagers join us for our family camping excursions. We take pleasure in visiting around and cooking over the campfire; hard to beat a campfire hotdogs, banana boats, smore’s and cast iron campfire pies. We also enjoy exploring and admiring our natural surroundings. This past summer our travels took us to destinations in Alberta as well as locations farther away in Montana and Idaho; for a total of 4 weeks travelling. We visited Cross Lake Provincial Park (Alberta), Pembina River Provincial Park (Alberta), Bow River’s Edge Campground(Alberta), Rexford Bench Campground (Montana), Farragut State Park (Idaho) and Black Well Island RV Park (Idaho). For 3 1/2 weeks of our travels we selected dry campsites. My childhood memories of these types of trip did not include all the “electronics” that seem to be a necessity in today’s world. Additionally, I recall Dad being frustrated with the lack of battery power and having to run the vehicle to recharge batteries. As I recall solar panel technology was not yet mainstream and a portable generator was not as readily available as today.
Lack of available power and the necessity to conserve power does not seem to match today’s lifestyle. The question is - Can a family still enjoying today’s electronic necessities and conveniences? 
Today many campers enjoy watching a movie 
as much as being engaged in a 
good book. Many younger campers insist their PSP, cell phone, I-pod, I-pad, DVD player, lap top and on board TV (satellite is equipped)satellite) are crucial to their enjoyment and lifestyle. 
Our teenage (son 15, daughter 12) campers desire to remain connected with their friendship group even when they are essentially away. Facebook, Skype and texting their friends is very important to our kids.
Additionally, our daughter insisted that her 
hair dryer, 
curling iron, and hair straightener are a must for her 
camping enjoyment.
How can these modern day necessities be powered when dry camping?
All of these “nowadays” necessities can be recharged/operated via 
Deep Cycle RV Batteries with a matched inverter.
The main question now is “how to” replenish the charge in the batteries when shore power is not available.
Traditional methods include 
generators and/or solar panels arrays.
Generators are great for recharging batteries but are limited for usage time in many campgrounds and national/provincial parks as it relates to noise reduction policies. In National Parks (both in Canada and the US; where we travelled) portable and onboard generators could only run between 8:00am to 10:00am and 4:00pm to 6:00pm. Unfortunately, this limited usage time does not allow for the batteries to adequately recover. A further inconvenience, results if you are not back to your campsite in time to recharge after your adventures for the day.
Solar arrays are not limited by noise reduction policies. 
Solar arrays do provide a viable source to replenish batteries and can be 
regulated to ensure the charge being received does not damage your batteries. However, without direct sunlight or if you find yourself in a campsite with a noticeable overhead canopy of foliage (Scotch Creek, BC for example) solar array recharging will not be as effective.
So what is the answer? Does another solution exist?
To test this question we installed SFC’s – 
Efoy 2200 Series Fuel Cell into our 2010 23B Jay Feather EXP Travel Trailer. The Efoy (Energy for You) fuel cell operates off of 
methanol fuel that through a chemical reaction produces a charge that replenishes batteries. The power is modulated through a regulator to ensure maximum charge without harming your batteries.
The amazing thing is that the emissions are only water (for our 
testing of the fuel cell the emission tube emitting the water was vented out of a compartment into a small cup).
The sound was minimal, similar to the hum of a laptop cooling fan and the heat produced by the fuel cell was negligible; easily vented by the compartment the fuel cell and fuel cartridge 
were stored in. I found that I the fuel cell is compact it did not dominate my storage compartment and I could stow items in front of the fuel cell/methanol cartridge with no effect to it’s operation. The unit ran for a total of 60 operational hours during our trips and we used an estimated 5 liters of the 10 liters fuel cartridge. We enjoyed unlimited power to recharge our batteries and recharge all the “electronics” we brought along. My daughter and my wife were able to style her hair as they desired. This is a wonderful product.
We will enjoy the freedom to travel to wilderness type sites and have no power worries!
On future holidays the Efoy Fuel Cell has become one of my “necessities” for my enjoyment and relaxation.
(Photos courtesy of SFC, Sony, Apple, Motorola, XPC, Panasonic, Facebook, Skype, Go Power, Coast, East Penn)
(Links courtesy of Alberta Parks, Bow River’s Edge Campground, Black Well Island RV Park, Montana & Idaho State Parks)