Portable Generator Solutions

SoundGuy wrote:
If by "4x4" you mean your truck then no it's not the same ... your truck, whether 4x4 or not is just "there" regardless but portable gensets have to be loaded into the truck for each trip, along with a sufficient quantity of fuel, which can be substantial when we're talking about running A/C all day long, day after day.

valhalla360 wrote:
Generator lives with the RV unless I need it for something else, so yeah, it's no extra effort. I have a 5 gal jug of gas for various purposes also.

Correction - YOUR genset "lives with the RV" ... the OP says he wants something small and light enough he can put in his small camper for travel and hopefully not smell up the interior with gas & oil odours - lots of luck with that. :W If your method works for you, great - but that's not what the OP is describing so as I said only he can make the decision whether dragging along a genset is a workable solution for him, not you.

valhalla360 wrote:
If you don't want to use a generator to show how tough you are more power to you but don't expect everyone else to follow you plan. Certainly not those using their precious vacation time.

TomG2 wrote:
Who said anything about being tough, or trying to tell you how to enjoy the RV lifestyle?

X2, who said anything about being "tough" :h ... talk about a Drama Queen response. :S

valhalla360 wrote:

If you don't want to use a generator to show how tough you are more power to you but don't expect everyone else to follow you plan. Certainly not those using their precious vacation time.

Who said anything about being tough, or trying to tell you how to enjoy the RV lifestyle?

Some of us are lucky enough to camp in less than one hundred degree temperatures. Some of us like to spend most of our time outside our RV's. I do the Winter Texan thing to enjoy milder winters and cooler summers. If you can't, or don't choose to, definitely your choice. Personally, I am not going to sit around a campground with a bunch of "quiet" generators howling night and day. I am not going to be confined inside by heat or cold either. Spend your time and money any way your little heart desires. Enjoy RVing.

SoundGuy wrote:

If by "4x4" you mean your truck then no it's not the same ... your truck, whether 4x4 or not is just "there" regardless but portable gensets have to be loaded into the truck for each trip, along with a sufficient quantity of fuel, which can be substantial when we're talking about running A/C all day long, day after day. Gensets are noisy, they stink, won't run without fuel that has to be brought along with you, whether gas or propane, require maintenance, require a safe place to store them when not in use, and the cost to buy one or two could instead be used to buy a couple of good sized batteries and a solar system that isn't noisy, doesn't stink, and for which "fuel" is already provided by the sun. In a pinch batteries can also be load supported by an idling tow vehicle, just as I do with my single G31 AGM when running my 1000 watt inverter. The only thing I really give up is not being able to run the A/C, otherwise no longer dragging along a genset makes little difference at all to our ability to camp without one. The OP's question really shouldn't be which genset to buy but whether he really even needs one at all - a question only he can answer. ;)

Generator lives with the RV unless I need it for something else, so yeah, it's no extra effort. I have a 5 gal jug of gas for various purposes also. It it does happen to be empty, a lot quicker to run to a nearby gas station than pack up and go home.

SoundGuy wrote:

valhalla360 wrote:
Where we've found a generator really nice to have is actually at a campground during a heat wave.

It's absolutely miserable without it but you either have power outages or low voltage because every site is full and they are all trying to run the air/con overloading the system.

Sure BUT ... is having an air conditioned camper really that necessary, considering RVs are intended for short term recreation and not full timing living? For those who nonetheless do full time or live in their units for extended periods of time, especially in southern climates during the hot summer months, and those with health issues one might reasonably argue A/C is a "necessity" but then one might also argue the most reasonable solution is to camp where shore power is available. And before anyone gets on the attack bandwagon - yes, we've camped extensively in hot, humid 100+F temps many, many times, and yes we'd normally seek out electric campsites so we could use A/C HOWEVER we've also camped in these conditions without A/C and shocking as it may seem we didn't die because of it, no different than our parents, grandparents, great grandparents didn't either. Uncomfortable? - sure, but so what? Go to the beach, take a drive in your air conditioned vehicle, go shopping in the local malls, go for a swim, head for the mountains for some sightseeing, heck even run a fan. Hard to believe but one can survive without A/C and therefore without a generator ... it's not the end of the world. :W

I have an RV because I enjoy the lifestyle...not because I'm out to prove how tough I am by surviving in a hot box when it's 100F.

Staying with shore power tends to fail when it's the hottest and you need the air/con the most.

When you are sweating in the sheets going down to the local mall, doesn't replace a good nights sleep.

If you don't want to use a generator to show how tough you are more power to you but don't expect everyone else to follow you plan. Certainly not those using their precious vacation time.

Can't live without air conditioning in Texas? That is why God created Colorado.

I love the concept of freedom that generators suggest, but I go where I can plug in or don't need air conditioning in the first place. I also enjoy the freedom from generators and can cook, heat water, take a shower, go to the bathroom, listen to the radio, read, stay warm, and have refrigerated food with a couple of batteries and a tank of propane. If I have to have air conditioning 24/7, I stay home.

Atlee wrote:
If you travel with pets, it's definitely necessary.

Sure, but the OP hasn't indicated this is an issue for him, not to mention that many campgrounds insist that pets not ever be left in a camper unattended regardless of whether the camper is air conditioned or not. As for pets in general the same applies to them as applies to humans - they've gotten along just fine without A/C for thousands of years, there's no reason they suddenly have to have it for survival any more than we humans as long you don't trap them inside a hot camper all day long. ;)

Atlee wrote:
And while they are a pain to deploy sometimes, I will continue to carry my generators. I'd rather have them, and not need them, than to need them and not have them. Same as my 4x4.

If by "4x4" you mean your truck then no it's not the same ... your truck, whether 4x4 or not is just "there" regardless but portable gensets have to be loaded into the truck for each trip, along with a sufficient quantity of fuel, which can be substantial when we're talking about running A/C all day long, day after day. Gensets are noisy, they stink, won't run without fuel that has to be brought along with you, whether gas or propane, require maintenance, require a safe place to store them when not in use, and the cost to buy one or two could instead be used to buy a couple of good sized batteries and a solar system that isn't noisy, doesn't stink, and for which "fuel" is already provided by the sun. In a pinch batteries can also be load supported by an idling tow vehicle, just as I do with my single G31 AGM when running my 1000 watt inverter. The only thing I really give up is not being able to run the A/C, otherwise no longer dragging along a genset makes little difference at all to our ability to camp without one. The OP's question really shouldn't be which genset to buy but whether he really even needs one at all - a question only he can answer. ;)

If you travel with pets, it's definitely necessary. I preferred to have a live pup when we got back from the game itself.

Having said that, due to 1) hot weather not seeming quite as bad as some years, and 2) the fact our pup was no longer with us, after traveling with us for 13 years, we did not use the AC nearly as much.

And while they are a pain to deploy sometimes, I will continue to carry my generators. I'd rather have them, and not need them, than to need them and not have them. Same as my 4x4.

SoundGuy wrote:

valhalla360 wrote:
Where we've found a generator really nice to have is actually at a campground during a heat wave.

It's absolutely miserable without it but you either have power outages or low voltage because every site is full and they are all trying to run the air/con overloading the system.

Sure BUT ... is having an air conditioned camper really that necessary, considering RVs are intended for short term recreation and not full timing living? For those who nonetheless do full time or live in their units for extended periods of time, especially in southern climates during the hot summer months, and those with health issues one might reasonably argue A/C is a "necessity" but then one might also argue the most reasonable solution is to camp where shore power is available. And before anyone gets on the attack bandwagon - yes, we've camped extensively in hot, humid 100+F temps many, many times, and yes we'd normally seek out electric campsites so we could use A/C HOWEVER we've also camped in these conditions without A/C and shocking as it may seem we didn't die because of it, no different than our parents, grandparents, great grandparents didn't either. Uncomfortable? - sure, but so what? Go to the beach, take a drive in your air conditioned vehicle, go shopping in the local malls, go for a swim, head for the mountains for some sightseeing, heck even run a fan. Hard to believe but one can survive without A/C and therefore without a generator ... it's not the end of the world. :W

valhalla360 wrote:
Where we've found a generator really nice to have is actually at a campground during a heat wave.

It's absolutely miserable without it but you either have power outages or low voltage because every site is full and they are all trying to run the air/con overloading the system.

Sure BUT ... is having an air conditioned camper really that necessary, considering RVs are intended for short term recreation and not full timing living? For those who nonetheless do full time or live in their units for extended periods of time, especially in southern climates during the hot summer months, and those with health issues one might reasonably argue A/C is a "necessity" but then one might also argue the most reasonable solution is to camp where shore power is available. And before anyone gets on the attack bandwagon - yes, we've camped extensively in hot, humid 100+F temps many, many times, and yes we'd normally seek out electric campsites so we could use A/C HOWEVER we've also camped in these conditions without A/C and shocking as it may seem we didn't die because of it, no different than our parents, grandparents, great grandparents didn't either. Uncomfortable? - sure, but so what? Go to the beach, take a drive in your air conditioned vehicle, go shopping in the local malls, go for a swim, head for the mountains for some sightseeing, heck even run a fan. Hard to believe but one can survive without A/C and therefore without a generator ... it's not the end of the world. :W

Where we've found a generator really nice to have is actually at a campground during a heat wave.

It's absolutely miserable without it but you either have power outages or low voltage because every site is full and they are all trying to run the air/con overloading the system.

Never had anyone question our use of the generator when the power is out. If they ever did, I would tell them that I will turn it off as soon as they fix the power supply that was part of the site fee.