how big of a generator is needed
so the wife and i are going to bite the bullet and get our first travel trailer. i am curious as to how big of a generator we will need to buy for when we are not hooked up to elec power. i have...
Forum Discussion
1320Fastback wrote:
Plan on at least 4,000 watts for a residential fridge and AC.
A/C perhaps, fridge not so much
A/C is the big draw at 13.5A-15A, fridge 1.2A-6.5A depending on size and features.
The OPs rig has a 30A 120V shore cord, that is 3,600W, not 4,000W.
OP most likely could get away with 3,000W inverter gen for lower noise levels or two 2,000W Honda inverter gens paired or a open frame Chinese 3,500W import gen for low cost at a higher noise level.
The big thing is the OP WILL need to load manage, no way will they be able to run coffee maker AND A/C plus charge batteries.
So, they will need to figure out how to manage high wattage load priorities.
The 120V residential fridge issue can be easily managed by adding some solar panels (200W-400W) and making sure they have at least one pair of 6V GC batteries although two pairs might be closer to ideal..
For example, I run a residential fridge and have no problem running it for 24 hrs and I am able to run a furnace overnight and a few hrs of lighting before charging off of only one pair of 6V GC2 batteries. For the record, I do not have any solar.
