Generator Advise

[ianmac23]

My wife and I are thinking about getting a 5th wheel this year and are trying to plan things out. We travel about 45 nights a year and like to go to races where we would use generator power for up to 4 days at a time. I was thinking about a Onan 5k or doing 3 Honda 2000's. We would use the generator twice a year when traveling to our vacation sites on breaks and at night. We would also use it once a year at a track. If you use your generator when traveling I would like to hear about your experiences and options.

[Lantley]

fulltime5er wrote:

Lantley wrote:
I currently have a built in Onan LP genset. Works very well.Simple push button convenience. No cords,cables, locks,no gas tanks etc. Perfect for quick breaks and spontaneous use. WE can eat at a restaurant while traveling and leave the dog inside RV with A./C on. We can eat in the trailer with A/C and microwave 5500 Onan will run entire trailer including both A/C units.
On my prior TT I had a Robin Subaru 4300is mounted on a rear platform. This set up was not quite as convenient or powerful but worked very well. Genset was semi permanently mounted. There were no security issues. I had to plug in trailer vs. current push button start. I also had to have gasoline for the genset vs. lp which is already on board.
In the end I prefer the genset to be attached to the trailer vs.the truck. If the truck leaves the power is still with the trailer. I prefer the genset to be mounted to avoid any set up or carrying of the genset. A mounted genset is more convenient to use . It requires no preparation to use it. It can be used spontaneously without a lot of thought or set up.As a result we use more often.

How long can you run those on a 30# propane tank?

My 5'er came factory with 4-20# tanks. My unscientific usage seems to be about 6-8 hours per tank.
If you need to run your genny constantly 24/7 for multiple days on a regular basis lp may not be the way to go from a consumption stand point.
However if your a weekend camper with periodic genset use or you don't use genset for long periods regularly, lp may meet your needs. lp is clean and doesn't create carburetor issues that often plague gensets. Lp gensets can also sit idle for longer periods without having to deal with stale gas issues.
lp is already present on most RV's and is readily available without using additional tanks.

[pianotuna]

This is slightly true but ONLY if the two generator types have similar outputs. i.e. compare a 5k inverter to a 5k traditional--and the inverter may not win on fuel economy.

laknox wrote:
If you want long run-time, then get an inverter-style generator as it will only run at the speed needed to supply the load demand. You'll burn a =lot= less fuel than with a straight genny, like the Onans.

Lyle

[dapperdan]

This is such a personal call, there are definately pros and cons to both onboard generators and portables. It's so handy to just push a button but on the other hand how often are you going to use the onboard? Onans aren't cheap.

We have on only a couple of occasions used our portable generator so for me it isn't worth it we pretty much travel shore power to shore power. But I can see where if you're going to boondock a lot an onboard would be the way to go. Your money, your call.

Dan

[laknox]

ianmac23 wrote:
My wife and I are thinking about getting a 5th wheel this year and are trying to plan things out. We travel about 45 nights a year and like to go to races where we would use generator power for up to 4 days at a time. I was thinking about a Onan 5k or doing 3 Honda 2000's. We would use the generator twice a year when traveling to our vacation sites on breaks and at night. We would also use it once a year at a track. If you use your generator when traveling I would like to hear about your experiences and options.

If you want long run-time, then get an inverter-style generator as it will only run at the speed needed to supply the load demand. You'll burn a =lot= less fuel than with a straight genny, like the Onans. Personally, I'd go with the Honda 3k (or similar), at minimum. Has electric start and optional remote start. Put on a cargo rack on the rear of your FW. Will run 1 A/C, but not much else, so power monitoring is a requirement. Personally, I'd go bigger and I'd go gas, rather than propane. Gas can be drained fairly easily; run dry to empty the carb.

Lyle

[ianmac23]

fulltime5er wrote:

Lantley wrote:
I currently have a built in Onan LP genset. Works very well.Simple push button convenience. No cords,cables, locks,no gas tanks etc. Perfect for quick breaks and spontaneous use. WE can eat at a restaurant while traveling and leave the dog inside RV with A./C on. We can eat in the trailer with A/C and microwave 5500 Onan will run entire trailer including both A/C units.
On my prior TT I had a Robin Subaru 4300is mounted on a rear platform. This set up was not quite as convenient or powerful but worked very well. Genset was semi permanently mounted. There were no security issues. I had to plug in trailer vs. current push button start. I also had to have gasoline for the genset vs. lp which is already on board.
In the end I prefer the genset to be attached to the trailer vs.the truck. If the truck leaves the power is still with the trailer. I prefer the genset to be mounted to avoid any set up or carrying of the genset. A mounted genset is more convenient to use . It requires no preparation to use it. It can be used spontaneously without a lot of thought or set up.As a result we use more often.

How long can you run those on a 30# propane tank?

I second that question. I have a 4000 watt champion and it runs around 12 hours on 4 gallons of gas

[ianmac23]

2oldman wrote:
I'll advise you, but first, why so much power?

You haven't read any of the hundreds of generator posts on here?

My Husky, wife and I do not like the heat. So if we stop for lunch, dinner, over night stay we like to have the A/C blasting.

[Poppy_s_5th_Whe]

Last few RVs I had the 2 - Honda 2000 units and I loved them for how quiet they were and I would only need 1 to just recharge batteries and run minor appliances. 2 if I needed A/C, microwave or hair dryer. What I did get tired of was handling them as I get older and worrying about locking them up. Also, if we were on the road it wasn't convenient to pull out the trailer's power cord and run it to the truck. I finally made this setup which worked better for those road stops but I found it shook the trailer too much to leave them there if we were camping so back to moving them.



This trailer I went with an on-board Onan. I can't tell you how much I love the convenience. They are a bit noisier but I'll take it. I think the rule of thumb is about 1 gallon of propane per hour is what I've heard. Not very fuel efficient. I only run mine a few hours a day to charge the batteries and run the evening chores like microwave, etc. When I go somehere fishing when I'm really off the grid for an extended period of time, I will take a couple extra propane bottles with me.

[justme]

For the usage that you will have a gas generator would be better. For intermittent use, LP would be better because the generator would not need to be exercised every month or so to keep the fuel fresh. The gas used today with alcohol corrodes the fuel system whereas propane does not.

[fulltime5er]

Lantley wrote:
I currently have a built in Onan LP genset. Works very well.Simple push button convenience. No cords,cables, locks,no gas tanks etc. Perfect for quick breaks and spontaneous use. WE can eat at a restaurant while traveling and leave the dog inside RV with A./C on. We can eat in the trailer with A/C and microwave 5500 Onan will run entire trailer including both A/C units.
On my prior TT I had a Robin Subaru 4300is mounted on a rear platform. This set up was not quite as convenient or powerful but worked very well. Genset was semi permanently mounted. There were no security issues. I had to plug in trailer vs. current push button start. I also had to have gasoline for the genset vs. lp which is already on board.
In the end I prefer the genset to be attached to the trailer vs.the truck. If the truck leaves the power is still with the trailer. I prefer the genset to be mounted to avoid any set up or carrying of the genset. A mounted genset is more convenient to use . It requires no preparation to use it. It can be used spontaneously without a lot of thought or set up.As a result we use more often.

How long can you run those on a 30# propane tank?

[Lantley]

I currently have a built in Onan LP genset. Works very well.Simple push button convenience. No cords,cables, locks,no gas tanks etc. Perfect for quick breaks and spontaneous use. WE can eat at a restaurant while traveling and leave the dog inside RV with A./C on. We can eat in the trailer with A/C and microwave 5500 Onan will run entire trailer including both A/C units.
On my prior TT I had a Robin Subaru 4300is mounted on a rear platform. This set up was not quite as convenient or powerful but worked very well. Genset was semi permanently mounted. There were no security issues. I had to plug in trailer vs. current push button start. I also had to have gasoline for the genset vs. lp which is already on board.
In the end I prefer the genset to be attached to the trailer vs.the truck. If the truck leaves the power is still with the trailer. I prefer the genset to be mounted to avoid any set up or carrying of the genset. A mounted genset is more convenient to use . It requires no preparation to use it. It can be used spontaneously without a lot of thought or set up.As a result we use more often.

[Gearitis]

ianmac23 wrote:
My wife and I are thinking about getting a 5th wheel this year and are trying to plan things out. We travel about 45 nights a year and like to go to races where we would use generator power for up to 4 days at a time. I was thinking about a Onan 5k or doing 3 Honda 2000's. We would use the generator twice a year when traveling to our vacation sites on breaks and at night. We would also use it once a year at a track. If you use your generator when traveling I would like to hear about your experiences and options.

For the past several years we have been doing close to what you for see. We do NASCAR races, mainly Texas, Talledaga, Kansas, Phoenix. We carry 2 generators actually to races. The first is a 3.5k Powermax, (EBAY special yikes) been using it for 8 years at races and it runs about 100 hours each race. Most everyone else runs those dang 7 or 8k Contractor genny's at NASCAR races...loud....loud..loud. The PowerMax (62db at 20ft) not real loud, runs 1 air conditioner and charges batteries and Champion gennys are comparable. Then I have a 2k Talon,(55db at 20 ft), inverter genny that I use during the quieter times and in State, National Parks and Forests and tailgating. I won this genny at one of the races at Texas. It is very portable and easy to situate. It will charge batteries, run electric skillet and other smaller things but will NOT run the Air Conditioner. I am looking to actually go with 2-2000 Hondas for portability...Parallel the 2 with the kit and you have 4K of power. Elevation is where you will lose power on any genny setup. Been there done that and got my t-shirt!

[lee_worsdell]

Buddy of mine has a 7000 Honda for his landmark. Was carrying it in the back of the truck and never took it out. He is now built a custom rack for the back of the trailer . stays in there all the time pretty slick.

[TGPILOT]

I'll throw in my two cents for what it's worth. This is my experience. I have an older Honda 3000 with inverter. It was nosier because it is about 15 years old, but only has a few hours on it. It just barely ran my 37' rig and a/c. But, it did work, Last Summer I got a wild hair in Montana, when the temps got up to a 100 plus degrees. So, I thought I would buy one of the newer, quiter Honda 3000 with electric start and figured it would have more power than the old one. WRONG!!

I no sooner got it fired up. and it would shut down. After several tries, took it to a Honda shop, they checked it out and said it was okay, Just not enough power for my 13K a/c. Old one at least worked somewhat.

So, I traded it in on a Honda 5000 electric start (I can put a remote on it if I want to) The thing ran more than 12 hours without refill and was quite in the back of my truck. Even used it here at home when the power went out for two days. Glad I now have the 5K with inverter and electric start.

[Jerrybo66]

We used a portable generator when we camped with our travel trailer and it did everything we needed it for. When we went to a toy hauler I was looking for one without a genny because I "didn't need no stinkin' built in generator". The length we wanted all had Onans. We don't use it that often but it's so nice to roll out of bed on a cold desert morning, hit the starter button and within minutes have coffee perking. I'm so glad I don't have to fight a portable or multiple generators. Resale might be another consideration. It may be hard to sell the trailer without a built in generator... In my opinion..

[2oldman]

I'll advise you, but first, why so much power?

You haven't read any of the hundreds of generator posts on here?