how big of a generator is needed

[sneakygroundbuz]

so the wife and i are going to bite the bullet and get our first travel trailer.

i am curious as to how big of a generator we will need to buy for when we are not hooked up to elec power.

i have searched on the forum,and have found some info about generators.but nothing that really answers the question about how big i would need to run the elec system properly.

the trailer has a 30 amp service.
the fridge is a residential style that we were told does not run off of the propane. so it will need elec power. cant say that we will always be able to plug into electric.so a generator will be required

we would like to be able to also use the a/c,t.v.,coffee maker etc.

i have never owned a generator before so i am curious at to how big of one would be needed to run the electric system of the trailer when not plugged in.

i am leaning towards the Honda brand as i have read lots of great things about them as far a reliability etc.

any insight is greatly appreciated,thanks in advance

[Butch50]

TomG2 wrote:
Dometic makes some portable refrigerator/freezers that can be run off 12 volt or 120 volt service. Not a cheap little cooler, but real refrigerators $400-$800. Could be used when boondocking. With a good deep cycle battery and 200 watts of solar, it should work all the time.

One extreme answer to your original question came from my cowboy buddy when someone else asked about a generator. "That is the dumbest thing I ever heard. Just go where you don't need air conditioning", he said.

I have 3 of those Dometic compressor fridges. 2 CF35 and one CF18. One of the newer 35's will freeze to -8*. The older 35 only goes to about 0*. They work great and are low power draws. They are great. I had all of them in our MH but now in our 5er I just use one 35 in the back seat of the truck for drinks

[enblethen]

Yes, I missed stating that the companion has 30 twist lock

[SoundGuy]

enblethen wrote:
The Honda EU200I has a 30 amp twist lock receptacle.

Incorrect ... only the EU2000i Companion has a 30 amp twist lock receptacle, the standard EU2000i has a duplex 20 amp receptacle.

[RSD559]

The big Champions have the 30a plug. If you go for 2 of the smaller Champions, the 30a plug is on the parallel adapter. Don't know about the adapters for the small Hondas and other brands. If you are looking at multiple day events of generator running, with the extended run kit for the Champion, you can use as large a tank as you want. You can also keep the generator running when you refill the tank by switching the fuel switch to run from the internal tank when you disconnect the external tank for filling. I just have a 3 gallon boat tank on my kit. So I can get about 6 hours from the internal tank, and another 12 hours from the external tank. With a 6 gallon tank, you can get about 24 hours.
Whatever you get, invest in a good locking mechanism of some sort to keep stuff from walking away.
If we had the option for the larger residential refrigerator, we would have gotten it. As it is, when we camp for longer than a few days, we take another mini-fridge that we plug into the trailer. If we had the residential, we would cool it good before leaving. The more you have in it, the cooler it will stay. A couple of jugs of ice wouldn't hurt either. Then just plug in before you start opening it. Our last trailer had a small fridge that wouldn't run while driving. Also wasn't insulated very well. So we got in the habit of waiting to buy milk and perishables until we got to our destination.

[enblethen]

The Honda EU200I has a 30 amp twist lock receptacle.

[theoldwizard1]

Regardless of what you choose, make sure it has the correct outlet for your cord or that you have an adapter. Dual 2000W generators will not have the correct outlet and trying to pull 30A through only 1 receptacle (they are rated for 15a) is not a good idea.

The Honda 3000W generator has a 30A outlet, but it is not compatible with a 30A RV cord. You would need an adapter.

[pianotuna]

Hi,


The 3400 watt Champion inverter/generator with remote electric start is well below you price point.

https://www.nationwidegenerators.com/champion-100261-3400w-gasoline-inverter-generator-electric-remo...

sneakygroundbuzzard wrote:
well thanks for the input everyone,i appreciate it

as far as how much i am willing to spend. i would go up to about &2500-$3000 tops.

we dont plan on doing a lot of off grid camping,but some of the events we go to dont have enough elec hook ups for everyone that attends them.

i know the trailer has one deep cycle battery and a power invertor.

[pianotuna]

Hi,

Further that 1600 number is VA not watts.

[enblethen]

Read the specs carefully!
The model number doesn't always relate to the actual continuous load of genset.
For example a Honda EU200I has a rating of 1600 watts. A max of 2000 watts.

[kerrlakeRoo]

I second the others on 3000 to 3500 watts. But dont think that you cant run the refrigerator and AC at the same time. Most Residential friges are operated off an inverter so they can still run when you are towing or not connecteed to a 120 vac source.
Make sure you put as much battery power as possible. (2 GC2's are preferable) and then your frige can run for a couple days off those batteries, and you can either run a smaller genny 1000-2000 watt just for recharging and occasional tv. Or a 3000 and be able to run your ac and a couple of other small uses in the trailer while connected.

Edit add on, just saw your second post about a couple of events. If you are looking at this for attending fairs, sports events etc as your main use. You are talking only 2-3 days on average. Get the two Golf cart batteries, and let a resi fridge run on them with an inverter. You can recharge when needed using any generator.
If the trailer is used, instead of tearing out and adding the resi fridge, you may have room to simply add a second "dorm" style fridge,(many sizes available less than $200), inside or out for beverages, and with that, make plenty of extra space in the main one for food to keep dw happy.

[ulvik]

In my opinion I would never buy a unit if I planned to boondock much at all. Sucks up too much juice! Stick with a gas/electric. As far as generators go we have run our Champion 3100 for years and absolutely love it and the best customer service hands down! Plus another plus is you can plug your 30amp plug directly into the Champion most other brands require an adapter.

[TomG2]

Dometic makes some portable refrigerator/freezers that can be run off 12 volt or 120 volt service. Not a cheap little cooler, but real refrigerators $400-$800. Could be used when boondocking. With a good deep cycle battery and 200 watts of solar, it should work all the time.

One extreme answer to your original question came from my cowboy buddy when someone else asked about a generator. "That is the dumbest thing I ever heard. Just go where you don't need air conditioning", he said.

[sneakygroundbuz]

well thanks for the input everyone,i appreciate it

as far as how much i am willing to spend. i would go up to about &2500-$3000 tops.

we dont plan on doing a lot of off grid camping,but some of the events we go to dont have enough elec hook ups for everyone that attends them.

i know the trailer has one deep cycle battery and a power invertor.

the wife wanted the res frig because of its size.i dont argue, i just try and keep her happy 😉

[KD4UPL]

Just because you have a TT doesn't mean you need a generator. Most things in the TT will operate fine off the battery: gas furnace, gas water heater, water pump, lights, radio, etc.
If you get a 12v TV then it will run from the battery just fine. Or, a small inexpensive inverter will run a 120v AC TV from the battery bank for many hours.
A residential fridge isn't a good choice if you intend to camp without a hook up very often. I would power it with an inverter and possibly some solar panels. That way it will be powered when in motion too. There's no way to power the ref. while traveling with a gen. unless you have the gen. running in the bed of the truck or something.
A large inverter and a good battery bank will easily handle a coffee maker or a toaster since these items are used only briefly.
That just leaves air conditioning. So, the question is are you going to spend lots of time just sitting inside the TT all day with the AC going? If so, why not just stay home? There are very few places that you can run a generator all night to have AC while sleeping. So, the gen. is really only useful for AC during the day. Places complete out in the middle of nowhere, NASCAR races, and truck stops being the likely exceptions.
My TC does have a built in generator because it came that way. In 9 years of camping, including often without hookups, we've only put about 60 hours on the generator. Most of those hours were just running it occasionally per the manual for maintenance and powering my house during power outages. I'd guess actual camping useage to be less than 3 hours a year.