whole house is a big cash outlay, but is so nice... especially if you have a large battery bank behind it. I wired my Magnum 2800 watt as a whole house. The magnum transfer switch handles connecting / disconnecting shore power - the outdoor cord runs straight to the inverter and then inverter connects to the breaker box. stop for lunch, etc, I can fire up anything I want, including the air conditioner and run for several hours if need be, before having to start up generators.
if you want more details on this route, I'm happy to share.