Honda generators vs on board Onan gas generator.

[Band47]

We just bought a (new to us) Tiffin 34TGA motorhome to replace our 5th wheel. We are planning to take about two weeks to travel from Northwest Florida to Martinsville VA for a NASCAR race.....now comes the question. While boon docking, at the race track, will using my two Eu2000 honda generators linked together be more fuel efficient than running my on board generator? My DW says leave the Hondas at home, but I am just wondering...........

[DryCamper11]

I love my Onan. Actually, I love my Onans - I bought one for my home -$100 plus some TLC. My RV Onan is now 40 years old and runs as well now as the day it was purchased. I doubt many portable gens will still be running 40 years after they were purchased. An Onan is simple, reliable, rugged, easily fixed and runs great on ethanol 10% fuel. It produces great sine wave power that your charger will love.
That's the good.

On the bad side: It's heavy, uses more fuel and makes more noise than the portable inverter gens. The amount of extra fuel use is minor when compared to the cost of camping, and I'll carry the weight to avoid the inconvenience of portable gens. The only complaint I really have is the noise is more than I want to inflict on others for long. I deal with that by using a large battery bank and inverter, a really fast charging system and running the gen only in the middle of the day for just long enough to charge the batteries.

[Pauljdav]

I have a honda 3000 gen and I would leave it home and run the ONAN.

[JayGee]

Got Genturi? You may have already answered this, I have not read the entire thread. But in close quarters you and your neighbors will probably want you to have a Genturi or eqivalent. Just a suggestion.

[Lantley]

Band47 wrote:
Hey everyone....thanks for all of the responses to my original post. There are a lot of good suggestions......now the verdict. The two Honda generators will stay home and the on board Onan generator will do what it is intended to do.....run the stuff on the motorhome. See all of you down the road......

Exactly. There is no point in having the Onan if you don't want to use it.

[Band47]

Hey everyone....thanks for all of the responses to my original post. There are a lot of good suggestions......now the verdict. The two Honda generators will stay home and the on board Onan generator will do what it is intended to do.....run the stuff on the motorhome. See all of you down the road......

[timmac]

wildmanbaker wrote:

timmac wrote:

smkettner wrote:
Trade the Hondas for some solar panels. :B
Still need the ONAN to run the air all day but the solar can run everything else through an inverter or 12v direct.

Best post yet, that's what I would do, sell the Hondas and buy solar panels and a inverter.

Let us know how this works out, especially at dusk. We have a 2000 watt we take boon-docking, just because we don't always need the 5500. At half load, or less the 2000 if very quite, but at full load it is pretty load. A neighbor has a new one that was even louder at full load than ours. To tell you the truth, the ONAN is really quite even when loaded. We use the little one because it runs 4 hours or more on a gallon of gas. Big difference from .8 gallons per hour for the ONAN. As others have said, it is real easy to push the start button on the dash, and have all the power you need. At 10 feet from the ONAN, the only noise we can here is the cooling air flow. It is one of the reasons we bought a MH. In the end, if you have to bring 2, 2000 watt units to supply your needs, it is not worth it.

Why drag another generator and gas can when the onboard Onan does just fine, your not saving that much in gas, the solar panels and inverter works great even after dark, the batteries will last the night, my 5.5 Onan is also quite.

Keep it simple and stupid..

[wildmanbaker]

timmac wrote:

smkettner wrote:
Trade the Hondas for some solar panels. :B
Still need the ONAN to run the air all day but the solar can run everything else through an inverter or 12v direct.

Best post yet, that's what I would do, sell the Hondas and buy solar panels and a inverter.

Let us know how this works out, especially at dusk. We have a 2000 watt we take boon-docking, just because we don't always need the 5500. At half load, or less the 2000 if very quite, but at full load it is pretty load. A neighbor has a new one that was even louder at full load than ours. To tell you the truth, the ONAN is really quite even when loaded. We use the little one because it runs 4 hours or more on a gallon of gas. Big difference from .8 gallons per hour for the ONAN. As others have said, it is real easy to push the start button on the dash, and have all the power you need. At 10 feet from the ONAN, the only noise we can here is the cooling air flow. It is one of the reasons we bought a MH. In the end, if you have to bring 2, 2000 watt units to supply your needs, it is not worth it.

[timmac]

smkettner wrote:
Trade the Hondas for some solar panels. :B
Still need the ONAN to run the air all day but the solar can run everything else through an inverter or 12v direct.

Best post yet, that's what I would do, sell the Hondas and buy solar panels and a inverter.

[cjoseph]

I vote for selling the Hondas and buying a solar set up.

Of course, you probably can't make that happen by your trip, so just leave them home. One of the reasons we moved to a Class A sooner than we planned was the hassle of lugging the generator around. It sure is nice to push that button. My genn is on the rear driver's side and the noise isn't all that bad.

[mowermech]

Let me understand this...
You are going to a NASCAR race, where you will listen to 30 or 40 large, powerful, unmuffled engines running all out for hours, but you have concerns about a "noisy generator"??
I would sell the Hondas and use the on-board generator.

[bluwtr49]

I guess I don't get it....you buy a MH with a gen set so you can enjoy the comforts while not plugged in, than you buy one or more portable gennys so you don't have to use it.

If you're in cramped spaces and are concerned about the exhaust smoke bothering neighbors it would seem a $120.00 genturi would solve that problem.

Like I said, I don't get it but that's just me. I like pushing the button and running anything I want. 2 hours in the morning and 3 hours in the evening is all it takes unless we need both AC units than it just runs.

[MotorPro]

Why do you want to make things difficult? One way you have to haul out 2 gens,chain them down,wire them up,remember to fill them,then unchain them lug them and store them. The other you push a button. Seems like a no brainer.

[Community Alumni]

frankdamp wrote:


I have a stong suspicion that the problems are related to gasoline containing ethanol. Onan is very speific about not using it. Get real, guys. The generator draws from the vehicle's tank. I get about 8 mpg. Am I going to drive many extra miles trying to find gas stations with ethanol free fuel that costs 50 to 75 cents more a gallon? No way!

.........

I don't think that is the issue, mine runs on ethanol included gas all the time without a problem. Actually I ran it about 6 hours a day for 4 days last week at the NH NASCAR race without and problems.

[wny_pat1]

Only place I ever had anything stolen camping was at a Nascar race. You better take lots chains, cables, and heavy duty locks! And check your theft insurance!!