What size of generator do you have?

[NavyVetBullet28]

Greetings all,
I'm researching generators and there is a ton of info out there about appliances and power draw. It's enough to make your head explode!

With that being said, are there any 18' TT owners that bought generators? If so, what size and how is it working, or not, for you? Thanks and have a great day. ~rs

[jaycocreek]

I just have a hard time getting rid of generators..I have a 1200 Watt 2 cycle/2000 watt Honda/3000 watt Honda/4000 watt Generac XL and a 4000 Watt Onan.

If I had to have just one,the 3K Honda would get the nod because it does it all and is the quietest by far.I usually take the 2K Honda during the part of the year it is not boiling hot out because it does everything but the air and it's light weight and easy to put in/out or where-ever I want it.

The Generac 4K is super noisy (68db) but very reliable and the 4K Onan is also pretty loud compared to either Honda and temperamental compared to any of the others but a good gen set if you follow the rules to the tee.

Quiet is important to me even though I never camp by others and almost always am boondocking..

[2oldman]

tragusa3 wrote:
...I've used it to run the A/C (once), it has not been worth the extra weight I lug on every trip.

That's usually what happens.

[Passin_Thru]

7.5K Onan diesel. Sits in pickup on 5 th wheel and will handle AC. Hooks into 100 gal Aux tank and can run my house for 8 days in an emergency. Can't hear it run.

[tragusa3]

I have a Yamaha 2400 Doing it again, I would buy a Honda 2000. For the number of times I've used it to run the A/C (once), it has not been worth the extra weight I lug on every trip. Come to think of it, since getting a nice set of 6v batteries, we've only "needed" the generator a small handful of times.

[TheWB]

I use a champion 4000 w when I plan on using air conditioning. Other than that I carry a WEN 2000w inverter genny. Mostly I rely on solar panels. When no air conditioning is needed.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

🙂 Hi, I bought a Yamaha 2400 because it was the smallest, lightest, single generator that would run my air conditioner.

[wanderingbob]

The OP has a small trailer some of which have ' window unit ' air conditioners . If so he may be able to run air on a 2,000 . I run a 6,000 btu window unit on a Honda 2,000 in my sailboat .
When I bought the air conditioner the salesman ask me how many BTU did I want ? I replied ," I want enough BTU to cool a B U T T as big as a T U B !

[kearlms]

We have one of each of these. Depending if we need the A/C when we go out depends on which we take.

Champion 1200/1500

Champion 3500/4000

We also camp out in no man's land away from everyone we can get away from.

[drumming102]

I just bought this guy last season for my Passpost 2920BH and it runs everything in the trailer like a champ. I am in LOVE with the remote start as well on days when the brown bottle flu from the night before makes me not wanna roll outta bet to fire things up for the AC.

http://www.championpowerequipment.com/products/inverters/75537i-3100w-inverter/

[2oldman]

RvingSailor wrote:
.. the Champion unit from Costco that's rated at 3500wt running/4375wt peak. I think this should be plenty to run my A/C. Cheers! ~rs

And plenty of racket to drive you and the neighbors crazy.

[Tvov]

Similar to rpbru, I assumed we would "need" a generator, but a friend suggested I wait until after a few camping trips before buying one. That was 13 years ago, and I've never bought a "camping" generator. When we rustic, or no hookup, camp we have found that with careful use the battery on the TT can easily last a long weekend, and if needed we bring an extra battery to make sure we are set for a whole week.

Certainly get a generator if you need one. Just try to get the quietest one you can (even a very small difference in dba rating is noticeable), and be considerate of other campers as to the times that you run it.

[SoundGuy]

RvingSailor wrote:
I know that anticipated load is what should be driving my decision but I'm figuring rv'ers with an 18' TT 'should' have the same size AC that I do. I've been looking at the Champion unit from Costco that's rated at 3500wt running/4375wt peak. I think this should be plenty to run my A/C. Cheers! ~rs

Believe it - NO ONE will be saying Cheers to you when you start up that racket maker where there's anyone within a 1/2 mile. :M. If you plan to use a genset anywhere there may be others do both yourself and everyone else a favour by investing in an inverter genset that while not "quiet" (no genset truly is despite manufacturer claims) will at least mitigate the racket to some extent.

[Baja937]

RvingSailor wrote:
Thank you everyone for your replies. I know that anticipated load is what should be driving my decision but I'm figuring rv'ers with an 18' TT 'should' have the same size AC that I do. I've been looking at the Champion unit from Costco that's rated at 3500wt running/4375wt peak. I think this should be plenty to run my A/C. Cheers! ~rs

That's alot of generator and at 68dba you're going to get those "Looks" if anyone else is around you. That's not crazy loud, but some people live to complain.

NO generator that is not an Inverter is going to produce the "Clean" output that an Inverter/Generator will.

If you don't want to spend the bucks for the Honda or Yamaha, look at this one from Champion.

http://www.costco.com/Champion-2%2c800W-Running--3%2c100W-Peak-Digital-Inverter-Gas-Generator-%28CARB-50-State-compliant%29.product.100139466.html

Some claim it will run the A/C and Microwave. Some say it won't. The obvious is shut off the A/C for a minute to run the Microwave. No big deal.

And it's 58dba which is a big difference with others around. And for YOU if you want to sleep. I've been around both units and I'll be getting the Inverter/Generator before fall this year. And my trailer is 38 foot, not that length matters, it's all in what you want to run.

I'm also in the East, so my A/C will never be run off this unit in November thru March which is what I need it for. Campground shuts down at that time.

[rbpru]

I looked at a small unit "just in case" and decided the chances of a power failure were small and an extended outage even less. In 23 weeks of camping over the last two years we lost power once for 11 hours. Also, for extended off grid camping, running one appliance at a time would get old quick.

So, we decided a minimum 2000 watts would handle our needs.

That said we are not off grid or boondock campers and I certainly don't need another maintenance item when I camp. So we opt for no generator.

When we do go into the wilderness it usually involves a canoe and tent.