Full Hook-ups take the gen??

[VTR]

We will be staying at a park with full hook ups, do some of you take the genny and why?

I can see using it on the road if I have a flat, using compressor for airing tires etc.
Maybe trouble with campground electric, must be rare. Or just some emergency! Anyone?

[DutchmenSport]

Never have taken my generator with us. Always had electric hook-up camp sites. Sometimes no water on site, but always electric.

One campground we were at a few years ago had full hook-ups. Well, their water system was on a well maintained at their campground. As you guessed, when the electricity went out due to a storm, so did the water. It was at that point I learned when first arriving at our campsite, even if there are full hook-ups, to always fill my fresh water tank in the event of power failures. (I travel with empty tanks).

And a couple years ago we pulled into a (new to us State Park in Indiana) and discovered the shore power pole plug was defective. We ran an extension and plugged into the next pole over. Everything was fine then. Park DNR came out, fixed the plug, plugged in to our post and about that same time, the neighbor camper came in were we were previously plugged in ... we got fixed just in a nick of time!

In 30 years of camping with my wife, from tents to travel trailers, these are the only two times we had electrical problems. Sill, not enough reason to carry a generator all the time. Generator stays home. We have power outages at home in the summer quite often. It's more beneficial to use it at home than camping for us.

[time2roll]

No generator hookups or not. Often I don't even plug in with FHU.
Generally only to run the air or an electric space heater.

I only keep the generator now to run a driveway sump pump during a power outage.
Not much use as it has barely even rained in CA for 10+ years.

[Gdetrailer]

We take our 4K gen every trip even when campgrounds have hookups.

Having the gen with us is nice to have so when we stop for lunch or dinner we can simply warm up our food in the microwave.. Additionally we sometimes will use the gen to run the A/C just long enough to cool the trailer down when overnighting (aka wal docking)..

[wrenchbender]

If the TT goes the genny goes.I can not count the times that I needed it when FULL HOOKUPS were listed.

[BubbaChris]

I almost always leave my little Honda home for FHU camping. Especially since most of that is 2 nights long and less than 2 hours drive from home.

Now if I was to revisit Jacob Lake CG I'd probably bring it, since their power was running at about 105V and kept tripping my surge protector.

Since our TV is a SUV, the genny's camping home is the slide-out rear tray for our TT. It sometimes takes up more campsite space and always is one more thing to secure.

I've been told to expect FHU at a friend's family property we'll visit this year. But since that's an unknown entity I'll bring the Honda so I'm guaranteed the ability to charge the TT's batteries.

The genny will come along for all of our planned dry camping trips this year.

[SoundGuy]

Over the winter I bought another Honda EU2000i and am thinking I will just throw it in the back of our Avalanche anytime we're camping, whether I plan to use it or not. Normally we ask for an electric site but during the busy summer months here in Ontario they're hard to get if not reserved months in advance. Since we're increasingly doing more last minute, non reserved camping having the genset along will really open up our options. Unlike some we have also run into situations, at least once each season, where power we expected to have either wasn't available or was intermittent because of problems with the park's electrical system OR because the electric site we did have was flooded and the only alternative was a non-electric site. Even with furnace use I can usually get through 2 nts of dry camping with just one battery but any longer than that and I need to recharge, which my EU2000i will handle nicely. I've just finished building a noise reduction box that when placed in the back of my Avalanche further dampens genset noise, enough that I suspect most walking by our site would hardly notice, so yeah I think I will take our EU2000i along whether I plan to use it or not. :B

[jjj]

I always take my honda 2000 with us any time we go. I was at our thousand trails in acton Ca. A couple years ago and a main transformer blew which took out the whole one area. It toasted my franks booster and if not for our genny would have had to pack up and move to another area for just another day.

[pira114]

I always have my little Honda 2000 no matter what. But honestly have never used it when at full hook ups.

The 4000 stays at home with full hook up trips. Saves the weight and space.

But when I go to full hook ups, I'm almost always on the coast in the summer. No AC needed and we never use the microwave.

[valhalla360]

In 40yrs of RV'ing (including as a kid). Power outages are relatively common and they typically occur when it's 90 and humid (basically everyone has thier air/con running full blast and it overloads the system). I don't sleep well in those conditions.

We have a generator anyway so we take it along. Generator rules usually are ignored during a power outage as you hear them cranking up.

[RoyB]

My 2KW Honda Generator lives secured in the tail gate corner of my covered and locked truck bed.

Can't add up the times it has helped me out as well as others in my travels...

It goes where we go...

Roy Ken

[intheburbs]

downtheroad wrote:
We are just lucky I guess.
Never had a power outage in an campground in 25 years of RVing...

But, you have a generator, bought and paid for so why not take it.

Same here, been camping for 10 years, never had an outage. I can't recall a single instance where I've said, "Gee, I wish I had the generator."

Only things that need it are the microwave and A/C. We can live without those. I have two batteries in my truck, plus the one in the trailer.

With a family of five, including three teenagers, and with an SUV as our TV, weight is at a premium. No need to add a 100-lb boat anchor that I'll likely never need. If something really bad happens, we'll just pack up and leave. It's not like we're stuck there.

[ScottG]

Same here, more than 25 years and only once did a park lose power and that was only for 30 minutes.
When I pay for a FHU site I use their power and their water.

[downtheroad]

We are just lucky I guess.
Never had a power outage in an campground in 25 years of RVing...

But, you have a generator, bought and paid for so why not take it.

[path1]

Don't get in any trouble. If wife says gen is part of camping gear, you better bring ALL of the camping gear, which includes the gen:B