This Spring and Summer, I'll be getting a new van with the Dodge/Chrysler 3.6L V6 Pentastar (gas) and plan to camp and travel with it.
It'll be modified lightly for camp duties (not fully converted to an RV).
Small battery bank (maybe 2 x 6V golf cart batteries) and an inverter to run laptop, charge phones, maybe light duty cooking/re-heating using a microwave or induction hotplate.
I'm NOT planning to put in solar panels at this time.
When I'm out in the country for a few days (not any longer than 3 days) I could find myself needing to recharge the house batteries, maybe on a daily basis, by running the engine and charging off of the 220 Amp alternator. I'm thinking this could take maybe 10-15 minutes, meaning I would fire up the engine from cold (overnight) and idle it for 10 or 15 minutes every morning to replenish the house batteries. (though if you guys with more experience think otherwise i.e. it'll take longer, let me know). During these charging times, I'm not planning to drive anywhere.
Questions: How hard is this on my engine? Should I maintain my van any differently?
My initial guess is "Idling from cold is not that hard on the engine; maintain it as normal (e.g. wait for engine computer to recommend an oil change and then do it at that time)". What do you guys think?
It'll be modified lightly for camp duties (not fully converted to an RV).
Small battery bank (maybe 2 x 6V golf cart batteries) and an inverter to run laptop, charge phones, maybe light duty cooking/re-heating using a microwave or induction hotplate.
I'm NOT planning to put in solar panels at this time.
When I'm out in the country for a few days (not any longer than 3 days) I could find myself needing to recharge the house batteries, maybe on a daily basis, by running the engine and charging off of the 220 Amp alternator. I'm thinking this could take maybe 10-15 minutes, meaning I would fire up the engine from cold (overnight) and idle it for 10 or 15 minutes every morning to replenish the house batteries. (though if you guys with more experience think otherwise i.e. it'll take longer, let me know). During these charging times, I'm not planning to drive anywhere.
Questions: How hard is this on my engine? Should I maintain my van any differently?
My initial guess is "Idling from cold is not that hard on the engine; maintain it as normal (e.g. wait for engine computer to recommend an oil change and then do it at that time)". What do you guys think?