Just bought our first TT. Now what generator do we buy?

[Tireman9]

Originally Posted by miagigirl

We just bought our first TT. What gender should we buy and why? Also when looking a campgrounds, they say 30 or 50 amp. What the heck does that mean?

Your dealer should have offered training. Shame on them. There is a lot to know and learn. Some just makes life easier. Some is SAFETY related and very important.

Take your time. Read some posts on RV threads and learn how to search for topics.

[Anders]

Originally Posted by miagigirl

We just bought our first TT. What gender should we buy and why? Also when looking a campgrounds, they say 30 or 50 amp. What the heck does that mean?

Congrats you your new RV.

Figure out what type of camping you will do before you go and buy a generator. How will you store it when not in use. Keep it safe. Small gensets has a tendency to grow legs and walk away.

We have a Yamaha EF2400ishc. We had a genbox custom made to fit the generator (exhaust and air intake doors). The generator can be run right in the box even if it is raining. You need proper ventilation/exhaust to run a generator in an enclosure. More info on a blog post I wrote.

[Too Tall]

Originally Posted by Anders

Congrats you your new RV.

Figure out what type of camping you will do before you go and buy a generator. How will you store it when not in use. Keep it safe. Small gensets has a tendency to grow legs and walk away.

We have a Yamaha EF2400ishc. We had a genbox custom made to fit the generator (exhaust and air intake doors). The generator can be run right in the box even if it is raining. You need proper ventilation/exhaust to run a generator in an enclosure. More info on a blog post I wrote.

That's a nice setup, I'm planning on doing something like that myself.

[NMWildcat]

[QUOTE=Anders;1273567]
We have a Yamaha EF2400ishc. We had a genbox custom made to fit the generator (exhaust and air intake doors). The generator can be run right in the box even if it is raining. You need proper ventilation/exhaust to run a generator in an enclosure. More info on a blog post I wrote.

Just curious if you added anything to prevent the vibration transfer into the trailer?

[SecurityRich]

Originally Posted by grumpyoldman

I haven't bought a generator yet but I like the idea of running it on propane. Was that an easy conversion and how much did it cost?

I believe the conversion cost me about $150.00. Because I purchased a used Honda, I had to remove the carburetor and send it to them. They drilled the throttle body and sent me parts to interconnect. It was very easy. The directions were easy to follow. Takes a second to adjust the fuel flow once all is connected. The biggest problem I had was buying quick connect gas fittings that mate properly. They may look the same and still not open the safety valve in the female end. I made the mistake of not tested my hoses before taking the to a state campground with no utilities. We survived and still had a great weekend.

[Too Tall]

[QUOTE=NMWildcat;1274267]

Originally Posted by Anders

We have a Yamaha EF2400ishc. We had a genbox custom made to fit the generator (exhaust and air intake doors). The generator can be run right in the box even if it is raining. You need proper ventilation/exhaust to run a generator in an enclosure. More info on a blog post I wrote.

Just curious if you added anything to prevent the vibration transfer into the trailer?

Most of them are sitting on rubber feet I had a Honda construction site generator sitting on the tongue and never had an issue

[Anders]

[QUOTE=NMWildcat;1274267]

Originally Posted by Anders

We have a Yamaha EF2400ishc. We had a genbox custom made to fit the generator (exhaust and air intake doors). The generator can be run right in the box even if it is raining. You need proper ventilation/exhaust to run a generator in an enclosure. More info on a blog post I wrote.

Just curious if you added anything to prevent the vibration transfer into the trailer?

Hi Scott and Liz...... good question. The generator has "rubber feet" on it and no issues at all, except you can hear the unit.

The good part of having it like this is that if i'm not around, my wife can just go out and unlock the door and run it. No need to carry it around.

Rain or shine (actually mostly on cloudy and rainy days) it runs inside the box. We do not use it as much any more since we added a solar system (Solar Elite with 4 deep cycle batteries) to our righ.

cheers,

[NMWildcat]

[QUOTE=Anders;1274913]

Originally Posted by NMWildcat

Hi Scott and Liz...... good question. The generator has "rubber feet" on it and no issues at all, except you can hear the unit.

The good part of having it like this is that if i'm not around, my wife can just go out and unlock the door and run it. No need to carry it around.

Rain or shine (actually mostly on cloudy and rainy days) it runs inside the box. We do not use it as much any more since we added a solar system (Solar Elite with 4 deep cycle batteries) to our righ.

cheers,

Thanks for the info and the pics!!! Very nice setup. Well done.

[ependydad]

Originally Posted by Anders

Congrats you your new RV.



Figure out what type of camping you will do before you go and buy a generator. How will you store it when not in use. Keep it safe. Small gensets has a tendency to grow legs and walk away.



We have a Yamaha EF2400ishc. We had a genbox custom made to fit the generator (exhaust and air intake doors). The generator can be run right in the box even if it is raining. You need proper ventilation/exhaust to run a generator in an enclosure. More info on a blog post I wrote.

That's almost exactly what I want to do! I saw some plans on RV.net's forums that someone had made a quiet box for their generator and I was thinking of introducing some of that into the same design concept of what you have here.

Your setup looks great, though.

[Aholguin01]

I bought two generac iq2000's with the parallel kit. Three days in to a 7 day camping trip, only running them for AC in the afternoon and for battery charging duty, the AC cycled and tripped the overload on both units. They would not reset. Called generac, and they said the generators needed to be replaced. I took them back to camping world thanks they gave me a full refund. I now have the Hondas eu2000's with the parallel kit. Don't make the same mistake I made. Go with the Hondas. Just my two cents.

[northstar1960]

Originally Posted by Aholguin01

I bought two generac iq2000's with the parallel kit. Three days in to a 7 day camping trip, only running them for AC in the afternoon and for battery charging duty, the AC cycled and tripped the overload on both units. They would not reset. Called generac, and they said the generators needed to be replaced. I took them back to camping world thanks they gave me a full refund. I now have the Hondas eu2000's with the parallel kit. Don't make the same mistake I made. Go with the Hondas. Just my two cents.

Just wait till thew same thing happens to the hondas . there are awesome units but still like any mechanical device you can have issues . I've seem honda blow their circuit boards and burn up . i've seem them not start . though most work very well just like the champions .

[NMWildcat]

Originally Posted by northstar1960

Just wait till thew same thing happens to the hondas . there are awesome units but still like any mechanical device you can have issues . I've seem honda blow their circuit boards and burn up . i've seem them not start . though most work very well just like the champions .

I'm still waiting for that on my Hondas.... For the last 10 years!!! 😁 Now my friends that have champions or other knockoffs replace theirs about every 2 years and are really good at cleaning and replacing their carbs.

[Too Tall]

IMO, add hard start and time delay. Regardless of your generator choice, it will start easier.

https://youtu.be/NVkCjPh7Nd8

[northstar1960]

Originally Posted by NMWildcat

I'm still waiting for that on my Hondas.... For the last 10 years!!! 😁 Now my friends that have champions or other knockoffs replace theirs about every 2 years and are really good at cleaning and replacing their carbs.

BS . had to replace a carb on my honda 1000 . funny my champions don't need replacement . and others i've known that have used them for over 5 yrs no trouble . keep you over priced honda you will be replacing or fixing them soon enough .

[Skyliner]

5+ years of going strong on my Boliy 3000 watt continuous generator which less less than 80 lbs.

Only issue I've had with it the mesh exhaust spark arrestor got clogged due to improper jetting for high altitude and that was fixed by removing the mesh and installing a high altitude jet.

Still runs like new but not used as much anymore cuz I got the Solar bug!

[NMWildcat]

Originally Posted by northstar1960

BS . had to replace a carb on my honda 1000 . funny my champions don't need replacement . and others i've known that have used them for over 5 yrs no trouble . keep you over priced honda you will be replacing or fixing them soon enough .

Nope, not BS. That is the reality of the group I run with. We probably run our generators more than most though. I'm glad you are having a better experience with yours and I certainly don't wish you any bad luck.

[Blackhat6mike]

I own three Champion 3500/4000 units and one 2000 watt Champion unit. The three 3500/4000 units cost $295 each at Tractors Supply. Any of the 4 will start on the first pull even after not being run for months. I add Seafoam to the gas if I don't plan on using them for any extended period of time.
Never had any problem with any of them. They are louder than the inverter gens, but only cost 1/3 what the inverter type cost. I would never use them in a campground around other campers unless I see this is the norm. Most people I've talked with on the subject, aren't that concerned with the "extra noise'' of the open gens. We had a camper that had to run their gens during a power outage at a state park and it didn't bother us at all. They asked us if we would mind before they cranked it up. I guess we just aren't that sensitive to the sound as our windows are generally closed anyway.

[OldBob]

Originally Posted by Aholguin01

I bought two generac iq2000's with the parallel kit. Three days in to a 7 day camping trip, only running them for AC in the afternoon and for battery charging duty, the AC cycled and tripped the overload on both units. They would not reset. Called generac, and they said the generators needed to be replaced. I took them back to camping world thanks they gave me a full refund. I now have the Hondas eu2000's with the parallel kit. Don't make the same mistake I made. Go with the Hondas. Just my two cents.

My brother had the same experience with the Generac. He bought it thinking it was made in the USA. I showed him it was made in China. After it failed within a week after purchase he bought a Yamaha. Honda or Yamaha are the way to go in my opinion.

[Aholguin01]

Originally Posted by OldBob

My brother had the same experience with the Generac. He bought it thinking it was made in the USA. I showed him it was made in China. After it failed within a week after purchase he bought a Yamaha. Honda or Yamaha are the way to go in my opinion.

Yeah mine lasted three days, they were brand new. I had started them at home and ran them for about 30 minutes, then we packed them up for the trip. Our camp host said the same thing happened to their relative with the iq2000's. When we spoke to the camping world folks to return them they had already received a call from generac, to expect a lot of generators coming back with that condition. It's really a shame. I really liked them. The fuel and running time left gauges were really a nice feature. I hope they get the overload problem worked out. If these Hondas fail, which I hope they don't, my next choice will be the champions.

[CraigBean7672]

X2 on post 113. Followed TooTalls install of the capacitor and delay. Worth it even if you have plenty of gen power.

Set the delay to ~10 seconds and now instead of the harsh startup of the compressor + fan at the same time it is soooo much smoother.