New and looking for a generator
Hello everyone. I'm buying my first travel trailer, a Forest River Cherokee Wolf Pup 16BHS. I am planning to do a lot of boondocking, and I want a generator. I want a small portable generator, but I d...
Forum Discussion
Look for inverter generators. I've made several posts about why I chose Northern Tools PowerHorse inverter generator. Honda is considered the "gold" standard. Operative word being gold. Predator by Harbor Freight is basically the same generator as the PowerHorse, but without the in store service availability. Champion makes several models that have good reviews and choices between gas only and gas/propane. There are several other brands to choose from. Inverter generators should be quiet.
With respect to size, as others have already said, you will need around 3KW to start and run the A/C. This can be achieved in a couple of ways. The least expensive is a single 3KW inverter generator. Inverter generators of that size usually weigh somewhere between 100 and 130 pounds. You can also get 2 smaller generators that support parallel operation (most of the inverter models do). Most of the 1.6 - 2KW inverter generators weigh between 50 and 60 pounds. This has the benefits of not having to heft the single heavy generator around and only running one of them when you don't need the A/C. One of the smaller generators will be quieter and use less fuel than the larger one. The obvious downside is twice the maintenance, more stuff to keep up with, slightly more complicated to set up, and two smaller units will likely be (slightly?) more expensive than one larger one. The smaller units also tend not to have electric start while the larger ones do.
With respect to size, as others have already said, you will need around 3KW to start and run the A/C. This can be achieved in a couple of ways. The least expensive is a single 3KW inverter generator. Inverter generators of that size usually weigh somewhere between 100 and 130 pounds. You can also get 2 smaller generators that support parallel operation (most of the inverter models do). Most of the 1.6 - 2KW inverter generators weigh between 50 and 60 pounds. This has the benefits of not having to heft the single heavy generator around and only running one of them when you don't need the A/C. One of the smaller generators will be quieter and use less fuel than the larger one. The obvious downside is twice the maintenance, more stuff to keep up with, slightly more complicated to set up, and two smaller units will likely be (slightly?) more expensive than one larger one. The smaller units also tend not to have electric start while the larger ones do.
