I did this same comparison 5 years ago when I bought a new trailer after I ran my 12 volt battery dead over night and didn’t even have the juice to fire the pilot to get the heat going while my 8 month old was screaming. Not fun.
After going solar and noticing all the $2800 got me was no fear of any battery loss I started thinking about how to maximize the useage. I ended up swapping out every single light to single side LED, disconnected my solar and added 2 Trojan 6v batteries to see how 7 days would go. Had zero issues when it came to lights, pumps and music for 7 straight days just using better deep cycle batteries. I ended up selling my whole solar setup and turned that money into a Honda 2200 and then purchased a second 2200 so I could companion them if need be. The 2200 is so quiet that with music on no one even knows it’s going, the fire crackles even drown it out. It can run my ac, microwave and charge anything I need from my plugs. About 3 gas tanks (one gas jug worth) lasts an entire summer of camping and I have only broke out the companion once in the last 5 years (I used them to power an outdoor birthday party with 3 bouncy castles and a DJ booth). I did purchase them in the states so I wouldn’t be stuck with the plastic cam like the Canadian “cold weather” versions have. Each one weights 40lbs FYI and require no mixing being a 4 stroke, I bring everything in a rubber tote.
Personally I would say solar is not completely useless but the main benefit you gain is a topped up battery.....which you can get from about 15 minutes of running the generator. When you have kids and it’s pouring outside and you can run your generator so the tv works while making microwave popcorn for the kids and lattes for the adults.....all while having the freedom to camp anywhere and not just powered sites is priceless.
I suggest getting a good 2000w brand name generator like Honda or Yamaha and enjoy.
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