Generator need ? for a 2000 Rockwood Roo 21'

[kansasroo21]

Hi Everybody,

I have enjoyed reading some past posts and a newbie here. We have purchased a 2000 Roo 21 footer that has pop out beds on the front and the back. No Owner's Manual with it, and I have called the Rockwood "specialist" at Forest River but haven't heard back from them. We plan on using the trailer quite a bit, and need to size a generator for it. Can anyone help or I am even posting in the correct place?

2000 Rockwood Roo 21' with mid sized refrigerator, microwave, stereo, and built in lights are the details of the trailer. Thanks in advance for any assistance provided.

[donn]

first welcome.
now, what exactly do you want to run with a generator? See all the ligts,refer,water heater all require 12vdc. So the only things that actually require 120vac are thhe micro and AC. Please be a bit more specific on your idea of camping and we will be more than willing to offer suggestions.

[kansasroo21]

Donn, Thank you for the welcome and the follow up questions. Our usage of the TT will be mostly independent. We have acreage in SE KS and BBQ competitions where we won't be able to run anything AC or the others mentioned without a generator. IMHO, I am not sure it will ever see an RV park. The previous owner said he ran the whole trailer with a 4500 watt generator, but he didn't know if that was over sized or not. Again, I appreciate your patience and asking questions.

I imagine we will run a generator for just a few hours around meal times possibly or cooling things down in the evening and what have you.

[donn]

If you plan to be on no hookups for most of your trips and want to run the AC then you need to size a generator for that. Personally I do not recommend using the microwave with a generator. So, if your AC is a 13.5K BTU unit then a Yamaha 2400 watt or twin Honda 2000 watts are your best choice. While I do like the Yamaha's personally the Honda twins offer a lot of advantages. One for battery charging, two for running the AC. Disadvantage, two of them to store, two of them to possible grow legs and walk away.

[bikendan]

well, you have an older Roo with a older a/c. i can run my '07 Roo's a/c with a Honda 2000.
but older units need more generator power to start.

i would say that the minimum would be a Yamaha 2400.
if you're not around other campers, i'd recommend a Champion 3500 that can be bought for around $300.

it much louder than the inverter gennies but if noise isn't an issue, there's no better generator for the money.

and forget the owner's manual, it's a waste of time and money and has been discussed here ad nauseum.

you'll do better buying a RV owner's book.

[onetonford]

Just take the trailer amps 30 for mine times the voltage will give you wattage in my case 3600 watts so the honda 2000i companions 2 of them will handle the load.

If you go over 30 amps Main would trip as far as running Microwave the inverter type generators are best.

[MtnGuy]

Check out this parallel discussion: http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...buy-10007.html

[kansasroo21]

Wow, thanks for the hints, I will check out all the above and take into consideration the points made.....and thanks mtnguy for the parallel thread posting, that was a very good read. I have to say I am impressed and thankful. I joined a discussion board for my motorcycle last year and didn't think I would enjoy learning about anything as much as I did there, but this has been great, and wonderful info available in several discussions I have seen. Any thing else would be helpful as I continue to research the options. Thanks again.

[SaskCampers]

We run our 34' V-Lite on a Honda EU3000is no issues.

[kansasroo21]

Just an update for everyone. It appears we are still going through some discussion and looking around. No problem really as we still have a few months to decide. The previous owner of the trailer has everything put together so that is basically a 220 plug coming off the trailer, something that looks like you could plug it into a wall outlet for your electric dryer. I am learning more about electrical thanks to this situation. We are strongly considering the Honda and Yamaha, but in several situations the Champion would work as we wouldn't be around other campers. I have looked at some of the ratings on the ETQ's as well, and trying to find some decibel ratings as well, but not sure that will be workable in our situation.

[MtnGuy]

Originally Posted by kansasroo21

The previous owner of the trailer has everything put together so that is basically a 220 plug coming off the trailer, something that looks like you could plug it into a wall outlet for your electric dryer.

DON'T THINK ABOUT DOING THAT !!!!

Bigger rigs are set up 50 amp service, where there are 2 110 volt legs, not 220 volts !! I don't know why the previous owner would rig a 50 amp setup for a smaller camper. If you are not familiar with electricity, then you might want to get an electrician to check out your system.

On another note, a standard 30 amp camper plug could be mistaken for something different. Before messing with the electricity, why don't you post a picture with the plug here, for some advice on exactly what you have......but not by me, as I am electrical illiterate.

[kansasroo21]

mtnguy, good point and thank you. I am 75% sure it is 30 amp, but I will heed the advice and get some pics and post them. We park the TT at a friends house, and at my age I will have to take several pics just to remember what options we have for future discussions and postings. LOL