I'm a fulltimer in an RV park, so I generally don't have to worry about power, but I also live in southern Florida and I'm told we will lose power quite often in the wake of a bad storm or hurricane.I just picked up a new Open Range 5th wheel, with 2 A/C units (one 15KBTU and 1 13.5KBTU) plus a washer/ dryer unit. I'd like to have some assurance that I could keep power going when I need to.To this end, I'm looking for something small (space is at a premium), fairly low-maintenance, and powerful enough to power my RV like I was plugged in, but not cost a boatload.I originally looked at the LP generator option available for the Open Range, but the dealer was quoting me $7500-$8500. I suppose that would make sense if I wanted the cadillac of bivouacking, where noise and vibration and convenience were a big deal, but that's not what I'm looking for.Any recommendations?

I have a Honda 6500isA which was just checked out by my electrician for output. With both 15,000BTU AC,s running had plenty of power to run micro. Washing machine shouldn't be a problem not sure about dryer (don't have one). Plus it's quiet 53-60dB. C.B.

Since you're full-time / permanent, I would suggest a small manual transfer switch. It is wired to allow only CG or Generator power at one time. This prevents you back feeding the gen. power to the "CG" grid. A few hundred dollars to be safe and for others that think their power is off.Shold be under $500 maybe a litte more if you have an electrician do it.

No need for a transfer switch. Get a Yamaha or Honda 6000 watt unit. Plug the shore power cord in to the generator. Start the generator. Done.Yamaha does make a 4500 watt unit as well which might be a better fit.

Yeah I don't imagine I would normally have it wired up; just when the power goes out and doesn't look like it's coming back anytime soon, so I probably wouldn't care too much about a transfer switch. I'd just plug in the genset and start it up.That being said, the size of the unit is a concern for me. I want to fit it into my fifth wheel basement without giving myself a hernia when it's not in use; if that is not an option, it should go in the bed of my truck and not interfere with the hitch. Naturally, not giving myself a hernia getting it in and out of the truck bed is important too. I have a strict no-hernia policy.I guess the first question is, what capacity (in watts) does a 50A "shore power" duplicate? All my previous RV's have been travel trailers with 30A service, so I'm kinda out of my element here. There's an added complication in that I believe the 50A is two-phase 240V, whereas the 30A is single-phase 120V, so I'm not clear on the minimum specs my genset needs to support.

Generator options | Good Sam Community

24 Replies

jholovacs
Explorer
Aug 23, 2016
Yeah I don't imagine I would normally have it wired up; just when the power goes out and doesn't look like it's coming back anytime soon, so I probably wouldn't care too much about a transfer switch. I'd just plug in the genset and start it up.

That being said, the size of the unit is a concern for me. I want to fit it into my fifth wheel basement without giving myself a hernia when it's not in use; if that is not an option, it should go in the bed of my truck and not interfere with the hitch. Naturally, not giving myself a hernia getting it in and out of the truck bed is important too. I have a strict no-hernia policy.

I guess the first question is, what capacity (in watts) does a 50A "shore power" duplicate? All my previous RV's have been travel trailers with 30A service, so I'm kinda out of my element here. There's an added complication in that I believe the 50A is two-phase 240V, whereas the 30A is single-phase 120V, so I'm not clear on the minimum specs my genset needs to support.
pianotuna
Nomad III
Aug 23, 2016
No need for a transfer switch. Get a Yamaha or Honda 6000 watt unit. Plug the shore power cord in to the generator. Start the generator. Done.

Yamaha does make a 4500 watt unit as well which might be a better fit.
WNYBob
Explorer
Aug 23, 2016
Since you're full-time / permanent, I would suggest a small manual transfer switch. It is wired to allow only CG or Generator power at one time. This prevents you back feeding the gen. power to the "CG" grid. A few hundred dollars to be safe and for others that think their power is off.

Shold be under $500 maybe a litte more if you have an electrician do it.
C_B_
Explorer
Aug 23, 2016
I have a Honda 6500isA which was just checked out by my electrician for output. With both 15,000BTU AC,s running had plenty of power to run micro. Washing machine shouldn't be a problem not sure about dryer (don't have one). Plus it's quiet 53-60dB.

C.B.

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