Portable Generator In Place of Onan Built In Generator

My first truck camper did not have an on board generator, so I had to use a portable. The second camper and third camper (my current Arctic Fox) both have built in generators. There is NO WAY I would ever give up the convenience of a built in. I can crawl out of bed in the morning when it is 20 degrees outside, and fire up the generator with the press of a button above the sink. I can fire it up at a rest area, or a parking lot and use the microwave pop a bag of popcorn, or nuke a bowl of oatmeal or whatever. No going out in the rain and snow to hook up a portable, no loading and unloading, no stringing cords, no theft worries.
The only change I would consider is if I was running the air a lot more, I might switch it over to gasoline, and mount a tank in the truck with a marine style quick connect fuel line. Because gas is cheaper and easier to get than propane.
On my second camper, a Real Lite, it was a bit too noisy inside when the gen was running. I added a layer of heavy jute insulation to the walls of the generator compartment, and that made it plenty quiet enough for me.

One of the reasons I like the built in generator is that I can run it on the road. In hot climates it is very nice when traveling to make a brief stop before you get to your destination and turn on the generator and AC. When you arrive a bit later the camper is nice and cool.

Hmm... let's see.

Hook up the gennie, flip the remote start switch, turn the ignition to on.

Go inside, fire up gennie by hitting button on dongle. Note - generator is too quiet, have to open window/door to hear it (It's a Powerhouse 2100 watt gennerator)

Because I also have a boosting inverter (Outback gfx1300), note that current load can be more than gennie is handling, and watch inverter boost using the batteries (4 ea, Costco 6v batteries in 2s2p star configuration)..

Inverter/Charger puts power back into batteries, keeping generator at max load, but never allowing it overload.. If desired, I can also run microwave without needing to run a generator and the 320watts of solar on the roof will recharge the batteries if there is enough sun light.

805gregg wrote:
Let's see go outside, get the portable out and fill with gas, start it, plug it in go back in side and use it, then when you are done reverse the whole procedure, or from inside push a button to start the built in, use it and then push a button to stop it, I'll stick with my built in

Yup, with all the cantankerousness that is typical of Onan generators. I've never seen one that started easily and when they do, they sound like a cheap contractor's generator hammering away. A friend of mine has a brand new one in a brand new Class C. Takes a ton of cranking to get it running. His old one was the same way. The techs just shrug their shoulders when asked to fix it.

You do get a nice foot massage while walking around inside, at least. The ear muffs do get uncomfortable after a while, though.

Have a honda 2000. NOt that much of a problem to go outside, turn a switch, and pull the cord. Go back inside. Can run the a/c and stay cool in the florida heat. Never hear it running at night. Rides on a hitch haul on the back of the t/c, or on the front of the truck.

My Honda 2000 fits in the space where the built in would go. When I place it in front of the truck, I don't hear it run when I'm inside. Yes it's more hassle than a built in but I heard lots of complaints about noise and high propane consumption from the factory built in. Don't have air but if I wanted it I would opt for the low profile Coleman gen. that the Honda will run.

805gregg wrote:
Let's see go outside, get the portable out and fill with gas, start it, plug it in go back in side and use it, then when you are done reverse the whole procedure...

More realistically;
Go outside, pull a little handle attached to a rope exactly one time (hey, it's a Honda), go back inside and turn on an MP3 of Berlioz' Symphonie Fantastique (it's nice to have background music) and then have a conversation with my wife about the lunch menu... in a normal speaking voice, of course. Flip on the switch for the battery charger and watch as the TriMetric indicates 80A of charge current, marvel at the clarity of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's string section, then turn on the convection/microwave to roast some chicken breasts, quick glance again at the trimetric and notice that the charge current has automatically reduced itself to 15A, Light cooktop to make hot water for tea (I had coffee w/breakfast), take the chicken out of the oven, get the salad & dressing out of the fridge (left-overs from last night) and notice that the charge current is now back up to 65A. Stop to realize that the piccolos are just as amazing as the string section. Get ready to take an afternoon nap, but pause to answer wife's question; "Hey honey, did you leave the generator on?". Realize that the generator IS still running and flip switch inside the camper to turn it off. Marvel in the fact that I had spent just $0.27 on gasoline... and glad that I was able to choose which fuel to use since I happened low on LPG.

I had an Onan once... It was noisy, smelly, unreliable, fuel hungry, expensive, ugh!... There's no way in heaven that I'll ever go back to one!

805gregg wrote:
Let's see go outside, get the portable out and fill with gas, start it, plug it in go back in side and use it, then when you are done reverse the whole procedure, or from inside push a button to start the built in, use it and then push a button to stop it, I'll stick with my built in

^^^^^ yep..

Actually, we have both, carry both. The Honda is quieter for sure, and in the winter on longer stays, we often use it to run our heater. I carry about 5 gallons in the same box with the generator, plus usually have another 40-80 in the trailer. Park that baby back behind the trailer and I never hear it. Plug in the external tank and it'll run 12hrs easy.

But in the morning, getting going, there's nothing quite as good as hitting the switch on the gen, turning the coffee pot back on and laying in bed while the camper warms up.

Yep.. love the built in.

Let's see go outside, get the portable out and fill with gas, start it, plug it in go back in side and use it, then when you are done reverse the whole procedure, or from inside push a button to start the built in, use it and then push a button to stop it, I'll stick with my built in

I'd put my money is a super solar system and batteries.