How often do you use your generator?

[Darnjoe]

We are looking at 2 of the Honda EU2000i with the parallel kit. The best price I could find is around $2000.00. The wife wants to be able to watch tv and have the AC on if needed. And we want to be courteous to anybody that happen to be around. Does this sound like the right set up? Or what else would or do you use.
We're going fultime in april, so this is one of things that needs to get done!

Thanks,
Joe

[awarnes]

This year I used my generator only 2 times without hookups. If you are going to be at hookups you won't use it that often, but they are nice to have when needed. Both together should do the trick.

[The House]

I have friend that used that set-up for years for the same reasons you want to. I worked flawlessly for him & they are quiet as far as generators go.

[rf4]

we boondock alot and have many friends with the same genny set. Works great. Most of our friends buy used gennys for a fraction of the new cost. Going rate around here for that same unit on craigslist is $800-900

[TXiceman]

I have a pair of EU2000i's with the parallel kit and a 6 gallon extended run tank. They are super generators. Check Wise Equipment for a good price. The were doing a Companion, RV adapter, parallel cable and standard generator par for about $2000, including shipping earlier this year.

We do not use ours a lot, most of the time on them is ham radio related. One thing that is a must is to keep fuel conditioner in the fuel, run it every month and drain the carburetor after you have run them.

Ken

[chaunclm]

Last year we used our generator for 29 over night stays. 22 of which were stays at Walmart. We used 79 gallons of gasoline which cost $279.00. The generator ran for 406 hours. We run the generator pretty much any time we will be stopped for more than a couple of hours.

Our generator is a very quiet Yamaha 6500 watt pure sine wave with remote starting. It is mounted on a platform welded to the a-frame over the propane tanks. Our generator will provide enough electricity to supply the standard 50 amp service.

http://www.yamahagenerators.com/EF63...ef6300isde.htm

We couldn't get along without it.

[chaunclm]

Our generator setup, and a wonderful camp site in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

[njs42]

The set up you have chosen is a really good one.

If you are full timing and boondocking a lot then it is a valuable tool. If your tendency is to stay at improved sites with electric/cable etc;---then the "need" goes down proportionately but they are relatively quiet and valuable to the RV experience and would give you many more options on where to stay and for how long.

In our situation (Class A) we use it seldom but it gets run to keep it "exercised" and in good condition. The two times we "had" to have it nothing else would do.

You are expressing two valuable sentiments; concern for others around you and maintaining a harmonious relationship with your wife. Good luck on your choice and your travels.

[jlyon69]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darnjoe And we want to be courteous to anybody that happen to be around. Joe

It sounds like your setup will work just fine. We've been planning on a lot of boondocking this year so have been making some changes regarding what I quoted you above. My goal was to run on battery power as much as possible. Then only run the genny at the best time as to not bother anyone during charging.

When I replaced the 2 old TVs, I used LED TVs which use much less energy and are also 12volt. Rigged the DWs CPAP for 12 volt. Replaced all lights with LEDs.

Now we only need the genny to run microwave and AC (if necessary, usually don't need it in Feb-Apr in FL)). I'm figuring 2-3 days before needing to charge the batteries. So that narrows it's down to an average of 1/2 to 1 hour per day running the genny while boondocking....less fuel and less noise. Just throwing some ideas your way.

[ralper]

Whenever the sun shines my generator works like a charm and the fuel is free.

[frankdamp]

In two seasons, the only hours we've put on our rig's Onan 5500 have been the 30-minute mothly "let it breathe" exercises. We've always camped at places with electrical hook-ups. The original owners put just over 40 hours on it in 8 years of ownership.

If we go to the Abbotsford Airshow or the EAA show at Arlington this year, we'll probably increase our total by a factor of ten.

[62_inrightlane]

Last year we put about 40 hours on the generator. Most of it was when we boon-docked for 10 day's last summer.

[lv2bgoing]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darnjoe We are looking at 2 of the Honda EU2000i with the parallel kit. The best price I could find is around $2000.00. The wife wants to be able to watch tv and have the AC on if needed. And we want to be courteous to anybody that happen to be around. Does this sound like the right set up? Or what else would or do you use. We're going fultime in april, so this is one of things that needs to get done! Thanks, Joe

Hi Darnjoe,
we just bought this set up from www.wisesales.com/Generators and it was free shipping and no sales tax. It was $1,900.00. We think we will use it for TV and air when we get to the south this summer. I wanted to have it so we could camp anywhere. good luck. we are just starting to do RV and plan on being gone 8mo.

[Happy Prospector]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darnjoe How often do you use your generator? We are looking at 2 of the Honda EU2000i with the parallel kit. The best price I could find is around $2000.00. The wife wants to be able to watch tv and have the AC on if needed. And we want to be courteous to anybody that happen to be around. Does this sound like the right set up? Or what else would or do you use. We're going fultime in april, so this is one of things that needs to get done! Thanks, Joe

I boondock most of the year and with my solar panel setup and inverter I basicly do not run my gennie. I stay where there is plenty of sunshine and move up in altitude as the weather gets warmer. I figure that when it does get hot outside, that when I do turn on the AC and I am forced to run the gennie, that I am exercising the gennie.

I do like having solar, it will run everything in the trailer- TV, satellite tv and internet , microwave, coffeemaker, etc. It is quiet, the trailer batteries (6-6 volt) are completely charged up when I get back to the trailer in the late afternoon after ATVing all day and the sun light is free.

The setup you are looking a will work fine as if not running the AC you can run just one gennie. Install the extended run fuel tank and you should be good to go.

Kevin