Recent change of direction.

[dexters]

Originally Posted by Dasmoeturhead

Congrats on the new setup. If your going to run the A/C , your going to need 2 of those Small Honda or other brand Genny's. I like the idea of 2 generators.

I have a travel trailer myself and a 15,000 BTU A/C, and the Honda 2000 won't run it. If I don t need the A/C it works great.

Add a soft start for a/c and understand that temperature and altitude affect gen output.

[tizzyfit]

Originally Posted by BigDBright

My wife and I have had a 36' Class A diesel pusher for several years now. Last weekend, after much discussion, we sold the MH and bought a 2019 Forest River Cherokee travel trailer and a 2016 GMC Sierra SLT 4x4 to pull it with. I drive a truck for a living, so the size of the coach isn't an issue for me, but my wife is a bit out of her comfort level driving the bus. Then when you add the inconvenience of hooking and unhooking the toad, well, we decided to downsize.
We're in for a whole new set of rules. LOL. We obviously are going to have to downsize on what we carry, as the trailer has only a fraction of the storage that the motorhome had. But my biggest question is about a generator. The MH has a 7.5k diesel generator, the trailer comes with nothing. So, I'm looking for advice.
What do you all use, and what size? The trailer has one rooftop a/c unit, along with the normal power usage from lights, TV, etc.
I've considered two options;
1) Buy one larger generator, say around 3,500 watts and just run with it.
2) Buy two smaller, 2,000-watt generators and parallel them together for running the A/C, and just running one to power lights, etc. if the A/C isn't needed. That would require less gas, run nearly silently, and have easier replaceability should one unit fail.

I'm really curious if you all think it's less hassle to just run one larger generator and deal with the slightly noisier engine, or go with the smaller sets. I imagine there isn't much difference in sound level if you're running two smaller engines or one larger engine, but what do I know?

Any advice and/or suggestions?

TIA,
Duane

Years ago I had an Arctic Fox 5er with one A/C. Bought a Yamaha 2800i would run the A/C fine. I don't think you could start the A/C with the microwave already going but that was never an issue. At around 68 pounds, it was easy to deal with. Not as quiet as the Honda 2000 but it sure wasn't as loud as a contractor style gen set. Cost way less than buying 2 Hondas.

[dexters]

Originally Posted by Canyonglampr

Hear you on the hassle but on most TT's there is no where to permanently mount a genny except on the rear which has it's own issues as well like all the bouncing around that goes on at the rear of a trailer while going down the road, exposure to the elements unless you make a cover of some kind for it and it is still in danger of walking off.

If and when we decide to go back to boondocking I will probably get a toyhauler that has the genny built in, guess it could still walk off but all the other problems are address.

I leave mine in the back of the PU and run the power cable to it ... no worries.

[Papa_Jim]

Originally Posted by Rickho

How did you reinforce the bumper to hold the added weight if a generator? Those bumpers are more for show as opposed to holding things. Hopefully you reinforced the mount or I’d be afraid the bumper would tear away and you’d be seeing the gennie in the rear view one day as your heading down the road.
Very curious as to how you allowed for that much weight? I would love to do something similar and need some ideas on how others handled it.

Very observant!


I built a trailer hitch and then made a table for the generator that went into that trailer hitch. As per the drawing. It looks like the generator is sitting on the bumper, but it's not. I do have it clamped to the bumper, but that's just for solidity. You know how trailer hitch receivers have a little 'wiggle'.


Our trailer is very, very, very front end heavy before adding any water. Our 60 gallon water tank is up front of the axles, so like I said, our trailer is very heavy on the hitch.



Jim

[Rickho]

That’s an awesome idea. Thank you for sharing.

[mike5511]

Originally Posted by Papa_Jim

Very observant!


I built a trailer hitch and then made a table for the generator that went into that trailer hitch. As per the drawing. It looks like the generator is sitting on the bumper, but it's not. I do have it clamped to the bumper, but that's just for solidity. You know how trailer hitch receivers have a little 'wiggle'.


Our trailer is very, very, very front end heavy before adding any water. Our 60 gallon water tank is up front of the axles, so like I said, our trailer is very heavy on the hitch.



Jim

That's what I'm planning to do. I've got two ACs, but probably won't be without power to run them except when stopping for one nighters at non-campgrounds. I figure if I can run at least one of them at night, I should be fine. I need to learn more about making the AC easier to start. Why don't they just do that from the factory?

[JM0278]

We bought our first TT, a Winnebago Minnie, this past summer and I chose a single Honda 2200i because it fits under our trucks bed cover. I was surprised to discover the 2200i is able to run our air conditioner...but probably just barely.



I use a vinyl covered steel bike lock cable to secure the generator to the truck and a ratcheting nylon strap to secure it while moving.


I, and my lower back, are very pleased with this arrangement.

[Hardroad]

Originally Posted by Old Scout

...oh, now I see--you live in California---sorry, you have more to worry about than moving to a TT....May God bless your little heart.....be safe out there....

I was just getting ready to say the same thing. Sorry ya'll live where you do - Be safe also.

[brialin]

I use two honda 2000 generators paralleled together. They run the ac just fine. The only problem is that I have a built in surge protector and if the generators are in eco mode the surge protector chatters when the a/c is starting. I have to keep the generators off eco mode and everything is fine.

[Bobthegod]

So I've recently did a thorough research of the most reasonable generator to get for a friend of mine. Hands down the Honda's and Yamaha's are the BEST, although expensive. I've found the Champion 75537i | 3100W Portable Inverter Generator is solid working unit. It'll run your AC and every other 110 volt thing you own. Maybe not at all the same time, but who does that anyway. So this Champion has some nice features. It has a dedicated 30 amp RV receptacle, and, you can use the rope pull start, or, the push button electric start, or, best of all it has a wireless key fob starter good from 80' away. So you need not even get out to start it. These gennys are reasonably priced at $800 +- and you can add a 3 yr warranty for $20 (Amazon). Check'em out.

[BikesAndGuns]

Originally Posted by BigDBright

My wife and I have had a 36' Class A diesel pusher for several years now. Last weekend, after much discussion, we sold the MH and bought a 2019 Forest River Cherokee travel trailer and a 2016 GMC Sierra SLT 4x4 to pull it with. I drive a truck for a living, so the size of the coach isn't an issue for me, but my wife is a bit out of her comfort level driving the bus. Then when you add the inconvenience of hooking and unhooking the toad, well, we decided to downsize.
We're in for a whole new set of rules. LOL. We obviously are going to have to downsize on what we carry, as the trailer has only a fraction of the storage that the motorhome had. But my biggest question is about a generator. The MH has a 7.5k diesel generator, the trailer comes with nothing. So, I'm looking for advice.
What do you all use, and what size? The trailer has one rooftop a/c unit, along with the normal power usage from lights, TV, etc.
I've considered two options;
1) Buy one larger generator, say around 3,500 watts and just run with it.
2) Buy two smaller, 2,000-watt generators and parallel them together for running the A/C, and just running one to power lights, etc. if the A/C isn't needed. That would require less gas, run nearly silently, and have easier replaceability should one unit fail.

I'm really curious if you all think it's less hassle to just run one larger generator and deal with the slightly noisier engine, or go with the smaller sets. I imagine there isn't much difference in sound level if you're running two smaller engines or one larger engine, but what do I know?

Any advice and/or suggestions?

TIA,
Duane

I am intrigued by your decision to go to the TT. Did you consider a 5th wheel?

[BigDBright]

There weee several reasons, mostly related to costs. We wanted to stay with a 1/2 ton pickup. First of all, they’re considerably cheaper than a 3/4 ton, are easier for my wife to drive, get better mileage when not towing, we didn’t need bigger for the trailer size we wanted, and ride considerably better. We chose a TT over a 5th wheel because we’re not retired yet and the empty bed is an advantage for hauling the things you do as a homeowner. It’s our plan to retire debt free, and given that we have just 4 more years to pull it off, we didn’t want to spend the $. Just seemed like the best thing to do for us.

[BigDBright]

I decided to buy two 2000w Yamaha generators and a parallel cord. Given the limited storage in the trailer, two smaller units made it easier to get in and out of storage. Also, for those times we don’t expect to need A/C, one will do the job to keep the batteries charged and run the lights. They’re interchangeable where I can keep the hours balanced and the wear even. I bought an induction hour meter for each one to keep track of oil change intervals. They have a fuel shutoff that is separate from the ignition, so when they’ll be in storage for any length of time i can shut the gas off and run it out of fuel to keep the carb from getting gummed up. I’m pretty impressed with the one I unboxed today and got ready to go. I filled it with gas and oil, pulled the choke out a smidge, pulled once on the cord, and it was running. I let it idle a few minutes, then plugged a ceramic heater in to load it. I ran just the fan a while, then kicked it up to low, repeated the wait, then onto high to really load the engine. I shut it down after a few minutes, let the engine totally cool off for a few hours then repeated the whole thing. I figured that should seat the rings pretty well. I’ll unbox the other one tomorrow and do the same.
I installed an inverter and two group 27 deep cycle batteries to power my cpap and TV in the unlikely event we decide to boondock. LOL. 300-400w solar is planned for the future, but we’ve incurred enough damage to the budget for this month. 😊

[Bob_C]

Honda 2000i generators have a crew on the bottom of the carb fuel bowl that you can open to drain the carb......yesterday I finished up with my remote shut off for both my Honda's....will be nice to not have to go out to shut them down.....long range fobs also....