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Guysakar wrote:

tatest wrote:
Don't expect to find a more "modern" gasoline RV generator with "Eco" mode and reduced idle speeds. Even Honda's RV generators (as opposed to portable) are constant speed.

There is a reason for this, RV onboard generators are primarily used to power air conditioning, and a "constant" speed generator uses rotational energy to handle the surge of A/C compressor startup, slowing slightly to give the engine time to power up for the load. An inverter genset running reduced idle simply has no energy source to supply that surge of power (which might be 3X to 6X the rated output), which is why Honda tells you not to use Eco for air conditioning.

Some high-end RV/Marine gensets, all diesel that I know of, have inverters, but the inverters are rated for the A/C starting loads, and some are part of a hybrid system that stores electrical energy in a battery bank to provide the surge of power that the engine cannot supply until it spins up.

So you have essentially given yourself a set of rules that say you will not use the on-board genset in a low-cost motorhome.

I disagree. If a Honda EU2000i can start most 8K BTU AC units on Eco mode (and even some 10K units) I highly doubt that a 4K W genset will have trouble starting a 1350 BTU on an eco mode type setting.

What's more, all an RV company has to do is put a hard start capacitor on the AC and it is a near guarantee that it will run the AC in eco mode.



Plus, you can take one of these portable generators and place them on the dining room table during dinner and (other than the carbon dioxide poisoning) not really be bothered by it.

Why can't they put this tech in an RV gen?

I just cannot make since of it. The tech has been there for a quiet, fuel efficient generator for sometime, yet you have to buy the most expensive of rigs to get it?


I'm going to go down to the dealership and listen to gens tomorrow, but I have been listening to them on videos just now and, coming from the Honda EU series, I don't think I am going to be very happy.

My Honda 2000 Generator running an air conditioner is a roaring little beast. So is yours
IF you had one on your living room table it would drive you out of the room in 30 seconds. Powering laptops idled down to a few hundred watts sure - but at full output- go try it.


I put a supco SUPP6 hard start capacitor on the 13.5 AC on my toy hauler and a single honda 2K will start it with eco OFF the second the compressor when to start it instantly killed it capacitor or not.

There are variable RPM gensets but you have to go to a diesel to get it my RVQD 8000 is variable RPM and inverted just like a 2K, but has the rotational mass and torque to kick over a 15K domestic from "idle."

Oddly even with the variable RPM feature it is not really more efficient than my power tech single speed 1800RPM diesel - and both are far quieter when running an ac unit than a one or even two hondas by a large amount.

Hi All.

My second post here on this subject. For the "Price Range", that your going to have you really only have two choices. The "1800 RPM or the "3600 RPM" Our Motorhome has the "3600 RMP Generator" in ours.

Like I said, add a "Ven-Turi System" to your Generator, it does help by quite a bit. Plus it keeps the "Exhaust" up and above your Motorhomes roof line, so you don't get any of your own "Carbon Monixide".

We like the idea of having both types of Generators, a Built-In "3600" RMP.

And then our Twin Sets of Honda EU2000's, and the Parallla Kit and the Extended Run Tank. The Honda's you just can't beat for Boon-Docking at all, not when you can run one of the Honda's for just about a perfect 10 1/2 Hours of run time on 1.1 Gallons of Gas. Connect them both up and your set for the night while Boon-Docking. We have been asked many, many times if we wanted to sell our Honda's. Just no way that will ever happen. Its nice to be able to run just one Honda when we feel like it.

As far as getting the Motorhome Industry, and the Generator Manufactors to build and put in better and quieter gaenerators, its not going to happen until everyone stops buying what they are selling. The same thing with all types of Motorhomes getting better MPH our of their "Gas Tanks".

ourselves, we pretty happy with what we already have.. Did the inside Make-Over, and that turned out nice, and we get pretty fair MPG< not to bad for a Gasser. Really can't complain as we have seen some on here, and how they only get 4-5 MPG. Now we sure wouldn't own one of them, that's for sure.

Live Live and enjoy it the best you can. Good Luck. Dan & Jill & our two small "YORKIE KIDS, who love to travel as much as we do.

Dutch_12078 wrote:
Customer demand drives what equipment is offered on RV's at what cost. If there was enough demand for so called "eco-mode" generators in RV's they would be offered, at least as an option. For me personally, I find it much more annoying to listen to a generator throttling up from idle every time the load changes than listening to the low rumble of my 7KW Onan's near constant 1800 RPM.

There is also the issue of being able to put the wattage out. If a generator is on Eco-Throttle and a compressor starts up, it won't be able to "spin up" enough to handle the load, thus causing low voltages and shortening the life of the compressor.

What would be interesting to see is a generator made similar to a Yamaha 3000iSEB, except with more "boost" potential. It would be a variable speed model, but with the ability to pull off a set of AGM batteries for a few seconds. That way, a genset running at 800 or so RPM would be able to "catch" the load of a microwave or A/C at full head pressure, while it spins up to a RPM that can handle the electrical load.

I do agree with you about a constant RPM. One can get used to the 1800-3600 RPM of a genset, but the engine spinning up and down can get distracting.

JMHO, the best engineering compromise would be going back to four pole generators. That way, it can run at a relatively low speed of 1800 RPM.

Customer demand drives what equipment is offered on RV's at what cost. If there was enough demand for so called "eco-mode" generators in RV's they would be offered, at least as an option. For me personally, I find it much more annoying to listen to a generator throttling up from idle every time the load changes than listening to the low rumble of my 7KW Onan's near constant 1800 RPM.

Guysakar wrote:

tatest wrote:
Don't expect to find a more "modern" gasoline RV generator with "Eco" mode and reduced idle speeds. Even Honda's RV generators (as opposed to portable) are constant speed.

There is a reason for this, RV onboard generators are primarily used to power air conditioning, and a "constant" speed generator uses rotational energy to handle the surge of A/C compressor startup, slowing slightly to give the engine time to power up for the load. An inverter genset running reduced idle simply has no energy source to supply that surge of power (which might be 3X to 6X the rated output), which is why Honda tells you not to use Eco for air conditioning.

Some high-end RV/Marine gensets, all diesel that I know of, have inverters, but the inverters are rated for the A/C starting loads, and some are part of a hybrid system that stores electrical energy in a battery bank to provide the surge of power that the engine cannot supply until it spins up.

So you have essentially given yourself a set of rules that say you will not use the on-board genset in a low-cost motorhome.

I disagree. If a Honda EU2000i can start most 8K BTU AC units on Eco mode (and even some 10K units) I highly doubt that a 4K W genset will have trouble starting a 1350 BTU on an eco mode type setting.

What's more, all an RV company has to do is put a hard start capacitor on the AC and it is a near guarantee that it will run the AC in eco mode.



Plus, you can take one of these portable generators and place them on the dining room table during dinner and (other than the carbon dioxide poisoning) not really be bothered by it.

Why can't they put this tech in an RV gen?

I just cannot make since of it. The tech has been there for a quiet, fuel efficient generator for sometime, yet you have to buy the most expensive of rigs to get it?


I'm going to go down to the dealership and listen to gens tomorrow, but I have been listening to them on videos just now and, coming from the Honda EU series, I don't think I am going to be very happy.

Anyone have a response to this?

tatest wrote:
Don't expect to find a more "modern" gasoline RV generator with "Eco" mode and reduced idle speeds. Even Honda's RV generators (as opposed to portable) are constant speed.

There is a reason for this, RV onboard generators are primarily used to power air conditioning, and a "constant" speed generator uses rotational energy to handle the surge of A/C compressor startup, slowing slightly to give the engine time to power up for the load. An inverter genset running reduced idle simply has no energy source to supply that surge of power (which might be 3X to 6X the rated output), which is why Honda tells you not to use Eco for air conditioning.

Some high-end RV/Marine gensets, all diesel that I know of, have inverters, but the inverters are rated for the A/C starting loads, and some are part of a hybrid system that stores electrical energy in a battery bank to provide the surge of power that the engine cannot supply until it spins up.

So you have essentially given yourself a set of rules that say you will not use the on-board genset in a low-cost motorhome.

I disagree. If a Honda EU2000i can start most 8K BTU AC units on Eco mode (and even some 10K units) I highly doubt that a 4K W genset will have trouble starting a 1350 BTU on an eco mode type setting.

What's more, all an RV company has to do is put a hard start capacitor on the AC and it is a near guarantee that it will run the AC in eco mode.



Plus, you can take one of these portable generators and place them on the dining room table during dinner and (other than the carbon dioxide poisoning) not really be bothered by it.

Why can't they put this tech in an RV gen?

I just cannot make since of it. The tech has been there for a quiet, fuel efficient generator for sometime, yet you have to buy the most expensive of rigs to get it?


I'm going to go down to the dealership and listen to gens tomorrow, but I have been listening to them on videos just now and, coming from the Honda EU series, I don't think I am going to be very happy.

You need to be careful with an Onan on a unit of that age. They didn't switch from carburetors to EFI until about 2005. If the unit hasn't been cycled under load regularly during the off-season, you could have significant problems.

My '02 rig has an Onan 5.5 Kva generator, which is probably an '01 build at Onan. It only had 49 hours on the Hobbs meter when we bought it and it started instantaneously and ran just fine. In our second winter season, I needed cardiac surgery, and my downtime meant that I didn't get out the the rig to do the regular exercising for about 12 weeks. That was in early spring 2012, and the generator hasn't run since.

I suspect the carburetor is toast. I'll replace it, and if still doesn't run, it's time for professional help. It's a nuisance, because we're FHU campers. The only time we needed the generator was to run the second a/c on a very hot day in eastern Washington. Unfortunately trying to sell the rig with a non-functional generator will be a struggle.

Don't expect to find a more "modern" gasoline RV generator with "Eco" mode and reduced idle speeds. Even Honda's RV generators (as opposed to portable) are constant speed.

There is a reason for this, RV onboard generators are primarily used to power air conditioning, and a "constant" speed generator uses rotational energy to handle the surge of A/C compressor startup, slowing slightly to give the engine time to power up for the load. An inverter genset running reduced idle simply has no energy source to supply that surge of power (which might be 3X to 6X the rated output), which is why Honda tells you not to use Eco for air conditioning.

Some high-end RV/Marine gensets, all diesel that I know of, have inverters, but the inverters are rated for the A/C starting loads, and some are part of a hybrid system that stores electrical energy in a battery bank to provide the surge of power that the engine cannot supply until it spins up.

So you have essentially given yourself a set of rules that say you will not use the on-board genset in a low-cost motorhome.