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Sandman · 10-14-2011, 10:41 AM

I moved my spare to under the front, between the landing gear legs.. My gas bottles are there so I had a "no floor" section to hang the wench from a Toyota PU/4Runner under there..

bobinyelm · 10-14-2011, 11:51 AM

Didn't think of up front like that-good idea.

I guess I could also build a detachable "shelf" the spare would slide into (bolted to the trailer frame) with a front lid (hinged or removable) with a padlock.

I'll have to go look carefully at what's under there.

The front has the advantage that it's less likely to scrape the ground.

Bob

wayne-43 · 10-14-2011, 05:28 PM

I have a Honda 3000 that I plan on putting in the front storage compartment of my Cedar Creek 5er. It runs really quiet, even under load. It's 134 lbs so it is hard to move although i did put wheels on it.It's used primarily for charging batteries. At night it's turned off while we sleep as we don't need the AC. My inverters(2500 watts) runs 2 TVs and the Direct Tv box, plus hair dryer for the wife. Wayne -43

bobinyelm · 10-14-2011, 07:17 PM

A hair drier draws 1500 watts, which is about 135 amps off your batteries. I hope her hair dries FAST.

I sometimes run a 700watt microwave off my 2000w inverter, and even that is quite a draw (about 65 amps), but for warming a burrito for a minute or so, it's fine.

wayne-43 · 10-15-2011, 04:31 PM

I still like the idea of putting the generator in the front storage comp. I mounted my spare tire on the back bumper in order to compensate for the added wt in the front. Also I plan on attaching the heavy recliners to the rear ladder. this weight and balance should nor affect my pin weight, I am considering removing a portion of the flooring in the front compt. and putting in an expanded medal flooring to allow for more ventilation for cooling and exhaust. Wayne -43

ridahog · 10-16-2011, 07:49 AM

I am looking at the purchasing the Hapco generator box. They said it cost $895.00 not including shipping. My only concern is will it impede the 5th wheel because of its hieght. The box demensions are 34 1/2" wide 21.5" deep and 24" tall. I have an 8 foot bed and according to the 5th wheel dealer I can tow the 5th wheel with a 6' bed without a slider because of the design of the front end. Anyone have one of these boxes and using it without any problems.

ridahog · 10-16-2011, 09:46 AM

Wayne how are you planning on venting the honda 3000. I thought about putting mine in the front, but wasn't sure about the venting since it vents through a large fan blower at the top.

bobinyelm · 10-16-2011, 06:07 PM

Not Wayne, but I saw a picture of a fellow who used a rectangular furnace register that was about 4" X 10" that connected to a 6" round sheet metal stove pipe.

He mated the rectangular portion to the Honda 3000i grille area, and then transitioned to the 6" round piping.

You could easily do that with the Honda in a front compartment and vent out the side with a metal drier outlet type to keep rain and critters out. If you were to tilt the vent back from vertical-down, perhaps while under way, it would develop a negative pressure that would suck the heat/exhaust out to augment the normal Honda cooling, yet it would still keep weather out when stationary.

I saw another fellow who actually installed a 4000/3500w Champion up front in his 5er, and the noise level was pretty reasonable with the sound-proofing he put in the nose of his 5th.

ridahog · 10-23-2011, 08:26 AM

I tried putting my Honda 3000 in the front of my 5er, but it would not clear the bar that raises my front landing gears. I thought about removing it because once the generator is put in will clear it. Than I ran into a friend who said he can build me an aluminum box similar to the Hapco box. I'll just leave it permenately in the back of my truck. Just hoping that the front of the 5er will clear the box since it will be about 4" higher than the bed rails.

tvman44 · 10-23-2011, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ridahog

I tried putting my Honda 3000 in the front of my 5er, but it would not clear the bar that raises my front landing gears. I thought about removing it because once the generator is put in will clear it. Than I ran into a friend who said he can build me an aluminum box similar to the Hapco box. I'll just leave it permenately in the back of my truck. Just hoping that the front of the 5er will clear the box since it will be about 4" higher than the bed rails.

Good luck with that unless you can put it in front of the hitch.

ridahog · 10-23-2011, 01:07 PM

That's where I'm going to put it. I think it will clear the 5er. According to the 5er dealer the way the front end is desighed I could pull the 5er with a 6' bed w/o the need of a slider hitch. I have an 8' bed so I'm thinking it will clear the generator box.

tvman44 · 10-23-2011, 02:13 PM

Sounds like it will.

gcsprayjr · 01-24-2012, 10:17 PM

On my previous tow vehicle, a 1988 Chevy K-30 crewcab dually, I installed a Onan 6.5 Emerald series gen-set in a custom made steel cabinet that we placed behind the rear axle of the truck. I had the cabinet made by a welding shop to the specs of the generator, cut the bed of the pick-up with a saws all and bolted it into place. The cabinet nested between two cross members, and the frame without any cuts to the truck except for the floor of the bed. It sat directly behind the rear diff. The gen set had a remote switch in the cab of the truck and another inside of the camper a 32 foot Holiday TT. The genset pulled its fuel from the truck's 100 gallon aux tank and started off of the second battery located under the hood, but electrically isolated from the starting battery. The lid on the box was made from 1/8 plate steel, so that heavy items could be carried in the bed of the truck without fear that it would damage the lid. When we traded up to a 36 foot HRC 5th wheel I used the generator to power that camper as well. When we traded trucks for our F-350 Super Duty diesel, I removed the generator and left the cabinet which I placed a false floor in, and the new owner uses it as a tool box. I installed the genset in the stock location on the 5th wheel, converted it to propane and used it in that fashion until we sold th 5th wheel a few years later. Now the generator lives in a toy hauler, cargo trailer, is still runs on propane. The advantage of an RV generator is that the air cooling is forced by the engine fan, the unit is designed for long term running at 1800 RPM, and was so quiet in the truck that one could not hear it running in the RV.

oldbeek · 02-26-2012, 07:34 PM

I also thought of an onan unit, because they can be found for under 1000.00 removed from older rv's. Also, go to a rental yard and look at the sound deadning on commercial air compressors. They use louvers on an angle with foam on the inside of the louvers. They also have huge air flow requirements. A champion on the rear of the trailer is not only loud, it gives a good vibrating message.