How often do you use your portable generator?

Per HMS Beagle, if there is one item at all that pushes you into needing a generator, you don't need solar

I think that is twisting the logic a tad too far. "Wanting" an aircon for a week a year doesn't mean you should be content with "having" to run the generator for two hours a day every day just to provide relatively modest amounts of power for routine use. Costs of solar panels are below a dollar a watt and costs of running a generator are high and increasing every year, so the payback time for even quite a large solar system is quite short. Add the improved lifestyle aspect and the payback period can be zero. My desert vehicle has no generator (and not even any mains supply facility) and does have compressor refrigerators, electric kettle, breadmaker, microwave, satellite TV and internet and electric blankets and apart from topping up with water and food every couple of weeks, we can enjoy all the comforts of home almost indefinitely. With diesel cooktop and diesel HWS and space heating, even finding propane supplies isn't a problem.
Only wish I could replicate the system in my BigFoot.

Anyway, I camp out in the forest/desert to get away from the sounds of civilisation and the noise and stink of my generator is one such. Add the noise and stink of everyone else's generators and it isn't uncommon to have to put up with them from 15 minutes before end of quiet hours to an hour after start of quiet hours

Per HMS Beagle, if there is one item at all that pushes you into needing a generator, you don't need solar. Both are equally expensive and solar has more constraints to meeting ones needs in ALL conditions. When I bought my camper I was prepared to go all bells and whistles with both generator and solar. Bought the generator first with good intentions of getting solar but have never needed it with the generator. Part of outfitting ones camper requires real time field testing your camping style before going out and spending a lot of money. Camp first and see what you feel like you need to match your style.

We purchased a Honda eu2000i to have a backup plan in case the batteries all went flat while boondocking. It has largely gone unused on the road, but Jeanie appreciates the security of having a way to start the truck with no auto club in sight. We have no appliances that need a generator.
On the other hand, I have used the Honda a lot around Rancho de jefe. Mostly it gets dropped onto a drop-side wagon and with a 50 foot, 12ga. cord and gets pulled around using my 1600 watt leaf blower to clear my 150 foot driveway. This is a good way to keep the seals lubed in the machine.
We have a 7KW backup, stationary propane generator on the property and during heavy snow years have used it for weeks at a time. With a 550 gallon propane tank there is little worry about running out. A full tank lasts us 26 months.
During one noxious snow year, it was so cold I had to run the Honda 2K every night for a week feeding a 200 Watt heat lamp in the pump house as the wellhead kept freezing. The pump house now has R-60 insulation so that problem may be solved.
Power usage while TC-ing is the determining factor on whether to take a generator at all. Mostly we don't. We are tre stingy when it comes to power use while boondocking, using a battery operated lamp at the table in the evenings while playing backgammon or reading.
jefe

If you are going to run AC off grid you need the generator. For most other uses, solar and an inverter will be quieter (for you and your neighbors), more reliable, and require less maintenance. A microwave or even a hair dryer, unless used to excess, can easily be powered by an inverter. The current draw is high but short duration, the actual energy requirements modest. Now those who want to run a hair dryer for 30 minutes, or convection bake a pizza for 40 minutes are going to need a generator. Or if you routinely camp in an area with little or no sun.

To the OP,

This is a little off the subject that you asked about but thought I would throw it out anyway.

When you have the AC installed make sure you get the mount for a NL to put under the AC. Because of the curvature of the roof you can't just put the AC flat on the roof If you do you can cause a lot of problems down the road on your NL. I have heard of people doing it and then later on the roof flattens out under the AC and then water starts to run into the camper and at that time you have a big repair job.

Now on to the original question, I carry our Honda 2000i but have only used it one time so far. When we were in Alaska at a forest service campground I got it out and hooked it up to top up the batteries as we were using the Fantastic fan all the time because it was so hot out. I usually don't run the air off from it as I feel the body adjusts better when you get use to the heat instead of being in AC and then go outside and it is hot. For Alaska it was hot. We were just a ways out of Fairbanks and it was running 95 to 97 degrees out but we survived in the heat and sat outside and enjoyed the breeze that came through once in a while.

I don't. After I installed a 240 watt solar power system and two Lifeline AGMs I had no need for my Honda EU2000i, so I sold it. Haven't missed it once. Of course, I live and boondock here in the Southwest where there's lots of sun. During the summer I camp in the mountains where it's cooler, and during the winter we camp in the desert where the temps are perfect, so I don't ever need to run the A/C.

Whether you need to carry a generator or not is going to depend on a number of things.

If you need to use high-power appliances like aircon while dry camping then you'll need a generator. If you don't need aircon while dry camping then think about the 120v things you do need and whether you actually need them when camping or whether there are propane powered alternatives. E.g. we don't carry an electric coffee maker and instead use the gas stove to make coffee. Will you be microwaving food when camping?

The next question is how long you are going to camp in one place without hook-up? We rarely camp for more than 2 nights in one place. We then move on and the alternator charges the camper battery on our way to our next location. But if you are staying a week in one place and don't have a load of solar panels (or it isn't sunny) then you'll need some way of charging your battery.

I seriously considered buying a generator; I really wanted one (I admit I do like tools and gadgets), but when I thought about it calmly (asking the above questions) I couldn't justify it. In the end Sally's hair drier was the only appliance that would need one, and I wasn't spending that sort of money just so she can dry here hair when camping (it's going to get messed up when hiking / climbing / 4-wheeling during the day anyway, so she can dry it in the air instead). For me the other problem was space to carry it and having to carry gasoline as well to run it. My truck and camper are tiny so these are major considerations. Another consideration was that we often camp in campgrounds where we don't have hook-up, but where there are other people camping so we either wouldn't be allowed to or wouldn't want to run a generator because of the noise (someone else's 'silent' generator is never actually silent and even a quiet generator thrumming away in the background is annoying in a location where otherwise only the sounds of nature are present).

When considering a generator I also thought about other uses for it at home. I couldn't think of any uses myself, but if it would be useful to operate tools at corners of your property where you can't get 120v power or in other locations then that adds weight to the argument to buy one. Plus if you are concerned about the reliability of your home 120v supply, you could plug your freezer etc. into one during a major power outage.

When I was looking I decided it needed to be a good quality electronic inverter generator - one that provides a nice clean alternating current waveform that won't harm equipment you plug into it. Plus you need to work out the wattage of the heaviest duty device you might run off it (and add a fair percentage on top for safety in case that device draws higher current at start-up). When I started looking I was drawn in by adverts for really cheap generators, but soon found they were the type that ran at constant RPM even under no load, were noisy, used lots of fuel and weren't great for running certain types of appliances. Once I started looking at what I really needed the price went up by a factor of 10 compared to the cheap ones you are lured in with, so I gave up on the idea.

Steve.

Twice a year we spend a full week without hookups. I may run 2 tanks (6.5 gal total) through the Yamaha. For a just a couple of days I don't even take it. It has seen extended use during power outages, once for a week.

You can run a compressor style refrigerator on battery/solar power pretty easily.

x2 on korbe; solar will make the need for the genset go away except when one needs a microwave ( and that can go away with enough batteries & inverter )