Generators

[Flatfive]

We just finished a nine-month cross-country trip with our 20-foot Prowler. Great fun and very few issues. We used a 110-watt solar suitcase (Renogy) which worked well and we rarely needed a generator. We sometimes had shore power but were able to go 3 days or so with just the collectors. Of course, it depends on the weather (clouds) and the location (trees). We need a lomger cable on the collector to enable us to pick a sunny spot even if we're in the trees. We started in early February and got home on Halloween, so we missed the days with little sun.
But this month, we went to the Anza-Borrego desert park in San Diego county. It was sunny but the sun angle was low and the batteries went dead after 3 days. Now, we're looking for a generator. (We had borrowed a Honda 2000 for our big trip. They're great, but expensive)
We see Harbor Freight has an inexpensive generator but I read where people had bad experiences with them. Walmart has a "Sportsman" for a little more dough. Anyone used one of these?

[JimInMich]

What about a Harbor Freight inverter gen? $500 not on sale and has good reviews.
http://www.harborfreight.com/2000-peak1600-running-watts-28-hp-797cc-portable-inverter-generator-car...

[Homer1]

Interesting post will follow.

[SoundGuy]

Flatfive wrote:
Now, we're looking for a generator. (We had borrowed a Honda 2000 for our big trip. They're great, but expensive)
We see Harbor Freight has an inexpensive generator but I read where people had bad experiences with them. Walmart has a "Sportsman" for a little more dough. Anyone used one of these?

Why abuse yourselves? ... if you consider the price of a Honda EU2000i excessive then consider a Champion 2000 watt inverter genset ... Supergen even sells refurbished ones for $369! :B

[Sam_Spade]

Flatfive wrote:

We see Harbor Freight has an inexpensive generator but I read where people had bad experiences with them. Walmart has a "Sportsman" for a little more dough. Anyone used one of these?

I think this is a case of you get pretty much what you pay for.
A portable generator needs to be reliable and relatively quiet.
For that you must pay.

Or spend half as much and then have to be constantly screwing with it because it doesn't run good or has electrical faults. Your choice.