Transporting Inverter Generator

[Medobson1]

Originally Posted by Nicksterrr

Hi All
New to the Forum and new to owning a Travel Trailer!

We have just purchased a 2020 Micro Minnie 1700BH and are looking to get an inverter generator for those times where we will not be hooked into the luxurys of an all amenity camp site!

Wondered if anyone had any thoughts on a couple of questions we have. Firstly, any recommendations for an invertor generator that would handle our AC / Microwave etc... I believe we would need something in the viscinity of 3000watts if we are wanting to use our AC whilst off grid.
Secondly, where do you store your inverter when you are travelling? I'm wary about storing it inside the camper or in the back of our SUV due to gas fumes. That would leave the front tongue or potentially a rack attached to the rear of the camper...

Appreciate any thoughts / answers you may have!

Many thanks in advance

Nick the newbie!

You can spend a fortune buying a small generator or you can find great deals for one if you learn a little about what type is best for RV usage and what size do you need.

Without modifying your AC unit with a soft starter you need a 30 amp inverter generator. You or others may say you can getaway with a 2000 watt unit or a 2200 watt unit. But that’s just not the case. Your system was designed to need a 3000 watt power supply. So you need a unit that can provide those watts. For all your loads on demand.

You could cheat and not run all those things, use adapter power connectors like others do but that is just inviting a failure condition the first time you throw something into the microwave with the AC blasting on a 95 degree day.

Honda makes one
Yamaha makes one
Craftsman makes one
Cumins makes one
Harbor Freight makes one

My choice was the Harbor Freight (Predator) 3500. It was the price and YouTube video tests that convinced me it was the correct unit for me. Two years later I am still satisfied with it. At $699 with a discount coupon it was clearly over $1000 less expensive than any other 3,000 watt inverter generator. Today there are other choices than I had in 2018. The Cumins is $400 more and the Craftsman is also a possibility. If I didn’t care about spending the extra $400 today, I would get the Cummins but I prefer to use my $400 for solar panels. Go on UTube and watch some tests then make your decision but you need a 3000 watt unit.

[SonofBert]

Originally Posted by RocknRoll

Bought my eu3000is used on craigslist 10 years ago for $750 and converted it to dual-fuel (kit was $200). Have had to use it numerous times for power outages. I have a wagon with large tires to transport, but lifting in and out of the truck single-handedly will definitely be a challenge.

Note that propane only gets 85% efficiency compared to gas, so a 3000W will only give you ~2500W.

I'm a big fan of LP gens. Yes, LP has 85% of the BTU's per gallon compared to gasoline and that has to be factored in. You lose a bit of peak efficiency but gain ease of transport since all you need is an extra LP tank. A twenty pound LP tank yields about the same runtime as four gallons of gasoline. You can still run gas in a conversion like yours, I haven't gone back to gas with my Honda and Yamaha dual fuel conversions.

I had a Champion gas only that was very reliable, put a LOT of hours on that gen. Decided to go with Honda and Yamaha because parts and service are easily available at any Honda/Yamaha dealer.

LP works better at high altitude, the load block on a conversion like yours can be easily adjusted to richen the LP/air mixture. A gas carb needs a re-jet to compensate for lack of oxygen. Soft start for the AC unit is a good idea so you can carry a smaller lightweight gen.

[Marine359]

After reading posts, I ordered a Champion 3400 dual fuel. The next morning I had a phone appointment with my cardiologist and she told me that my heart (which is damaged) couldn’t handle lifting 100lbs in and out of my truck bed. So, I cancelled the order, and will likely go with the Honda eu2200i companion. I’ll would want to install the lp conversion. But I am a bit confused. I’ve watched at least a half dozen you tube videos depicting a 13.5 roof air being run by eu2200 without a soft start. Is there a danger of damage to the ac or the generator by doing this? I can just turn my inverter and switch off most dc loads to lighten the load. Help me out here. I don’t want to waste $1200 on the Honda only to find out it won’t run the ac.

[Fred 2106DS]

Originally Posted by Marine359

After reading posts, I ordered a Champion 3400 dual fuel. The next morning I had a phone appointment with my cardiologist and she told me that my heart (which is damaged) couldn’t handle lifting 100lbs in and out of my truck bed. So, I cancelled the order, and will likely go with the Honda eu2200i companion. I’ll would want to install the lp conversion. But I am a bit confused. I’ve watched at least a half dozen you tube videos depicting a 13.5 roof air being run by eu2200 without a soft start. Is there a danger of damage to the ac or the generator by doing this? I can just turn my inverter and switch off most dc loads to lighten the load. Help me out here. I don’t want to waste $1200 on the Honda only to find out it won’t run the ac.

Jim, here are my thoughts and experience using our Honda EU2200i on gasoline.

At home, I was able to run our 13.5 AC without a soft start, though it was just for a couple of hours, not a long term test. I installed a soft start soon after to give us more of a start-up cushion. Also, we’re only at about 400’ in elevation. I’ve read, a generator loses about 3% of its rated power output for every 1000’ in elevation.

As for the possibly of doing damage if the voltage drops to low, I would suggest installing/using an EMS to guard against this. That was one of my very first mods to protect all the 120V mechanicals in the MM.

Also, I’ve read, if propane is used, the generator's rated power output will decrease by about 6-8% as compared to gasoline.

[Marine359]

Thanks Fred,
I’m at 2,400 ft, but I think the bigger output loss would be using propane at higher elevations. I guess the only thing left to do is to buy the Honda, install the propane kit and see what happens. I’m not sure, but think you can switch between lp and gasoline.

[SonofBert]

Originally Posted by Marine359

Thanks Fred,
I’m at 2,400 ft, but I think the bigger output loss would be using propane at higher elevations. I guess the only thing left to do is to buy the Honda, install the propane kit and see what happens. I’m not sure, but think you can switch between lp and gasoline.

I think the Honda companion dual fuel will work for you, and yes most conversion kits allow seamless switching lp/gasoline. The MotorSnorkel kits I've installed is a carb gasket with an LP tube attached to the Garretson regulator mounted externally. Turn the gen's fuel valve off, use it on LP. Turn the gen's fuel valve on, use it on gasoline. A soft start I think is a good idea for a single 2kW gen.

LP certainly has less BTU's per gallon than gasoline, but allows versatility, you can hook it to your trailer bbq outlet and run it off your trailer tanks. LP with the Garretson regulator is actually a bit easier to deal with at very high altitude, say 8k+. There's a load block that you can adjust easily to richen the fuel/air mixture to compensate for thin air. You may have to adjust the load block right away to get it starting and running after install, get the correct mixture, but it's easier than re-jetting a carb for high altitude. At 5440ft after installing I had to adjust the load block out a bit from the factory setting to richen the mixture, get it started and running properly at max efficiency.

Best of luck with your setup and happy travels . . . . .

[Old Navy]

Originally Posted by SonofBert

You may have to adjust the load block right away to get it starting and running after install, get the correct mixture, but it's easier than re-jetting a carb for high altitude. At 5440ft after installing I had to adjust the load block out a bit from the factory setting to richen the mixture, get it started and running properly at max efficiency.

Interesting. I have used my Champion 2K "suitcase" gasoline generators from sea level to 7700 feet and they didn't require any adjusting. I'm not sure I was getting maximum efficiency, but they started and ran just fine at altitude. I've seen other reports of them running fine at 8000+. Is propane more sensitive to altitude?

[Azmarlin39a]

I am going to purchase the champion 4650 inverter soon. $800.00. Weighs 95 lbs. plenty of power for my a/c, microwave, and tv. I’ll carry it in the bed of my pickup, chained, and covered. I’ll need to install the high altitude jet, as most of my boondocking will be over 4000 ft.

[Marine359]

Wish I had the youth and strength to get the gen you just bought. It’s the one I would have bought if I could handle the weight. Wondering if anybody has bought the Champion 2500 dual fuel? Perfect for me at only 37lbs, and you can buy two of them, run them parallel for less than a single Honda eu2200i. Trouble is, I can’t find a retailer that has this model in stock. Whaaa?

[BobC]

Whatever you buy, pairing is definitely the way to go.

[RocknRoll]

Jim, I found it in-stock at Camping World for $649.00

https://www.campingworld.com/champio...or-123244.html

This looks like a good addition to my RV also. Thanks for bringing it to my attention!

[hank857]

why not put it on the trailer bumper? That way if you can/do you can run it and the AC while in motion and there is no lifting anything other than the fuel can/bottle of your choice. We were in the south one year when a fellow pulled in to the rest stop behind us. Had his gen ON and also mounted to the bumper. Asked why and he said so the trailer would be cool to enter when they stopped! I know what he means and we now have an rv which has a on board gen bunt tis easy to start and cool things when stopped.


When I still had the TT I added an additional bumper and mounted the gen to it. A champion 3500 which had the 30 amp plug etc. Why that one, its because of the recommendation from the company, said they had them built with rv's in mind. Also it was Electric start so no need to get out of bed to start or stop! We had planned trip to alaska (never went) so we wanted to be sure of having power available. I put 2 of the receiver hitch mounts (kind that bolt to bumper) and bolted to the frame Got some thick wall tubing and made everything level Only welding was for the stop piece needed when I also put a receiver hit carrier on to hold the plastic bed box for the stuff need to be carried. Ran the system worked fine, never did hook up charge line for the gen battery. Only thing had to run the electric cord back to the gen. could have wired in another I guess just never did. Oh it was a 70db gen so not all that noisy!

[Marine359]

Thanks Rockn, I saw that too. However, Camping World is known, in my experience to have inaccurate online stock info. I’ve tried to order stuff from them online in the past and had a bad experience. The Champion web site says more are on the way in January. It also says the 2000w dual fuel has been discontinued. Curious why the 2500w at 37lbs is 10 lbs lighter than the 2000w. I think the 2500 dual fuel is the best one for my needs. I’ll wait another month to see if I can get it from Lowe’s or Home Depot where it will likely be cheaper, and I get a 10% retired military discount. Then I can buy two of them and a parallel kit. I really don’t like doing business with Camping World.

[Fasttimes]

Originally Posted by Marine359

Thanks Rockn, I saw that too. However, Camping World is known, in my experience to have inaccurate online stock info. I’ve tried to order stuff from them online in the past and had a bad experience. The Champion web site says more are on the way in January. It also says the 2000w dual fuel has been discontinued. Curious why the 2500w at 37lbs is 10 lbs lighter than the 2000w. I think the 2500 dual fuel is the best one for my needs. I’ll wait another month to see if I can get it from Lowe’s or Home Depot where it will likely be cheaper, and I get a 10% retired military discount. Then I can buy two of them and a parallel kit. I really don’t like doing business with Camping World.

Are you saying this model https://www.championpowerequipment.c...fuel-inverter/ has been discontinued? I can't find that on the site. I just bought this last year and was waiting for the price to come down to buy another. Then I see the new 2500w one that has come out, it's cheaper but also lacks the digital display from what I can tell. So far I've been happy with the generator. It took some time to learn the tricks to getting it started on propane, but once you figure it out it starts just about every time on one pull. I also have the Champion Dual Fuel 3400w model, but it's just too heavy to move by your self. . That's why I'm moving to the smaller models, will parallel them and sell this other larger model. With the smaller model I was able to load it under my dinette on the way to the Smokies last year and worked out great.

[johneed]

If the main concern is AC, there is a soft-start product that dramatically reduces the max wattage needed to use your AC. I do not have one, as we currently have the Predator 3500 and it can handle the startup load. We had an interlock kit and external plug installed on our house panel, for power outage backup purposes. If it weren't for that, I'd probably get a smaller and lighter lower wattage generator and soft-start device for camping purposes. I still might do that..

https://www.softstartusa.com/rvlifestyle/

[Marine359]

Scroll down the Champion model 100402 page to the Q&A section. I don’t know when it was posted, but the factory states “this unit will no longer be in stock”. I would interpret that to mean discontinued. Fortunately in a following answer, they state you can parallel the 100402 with any Champion that has matching plugs.

[Marine359]

Regarding soft start, my logic is that the cost including installation of a soft start approaches the cost of buying a second suitcase generator. With two gens totaling 4,000w or more when paralleled, I can run my whole household during a power outage by tapping into my home propane tank. So, soft start a great idea if you want only one generator.

[Fasttimes]

Originally Posted by Marine359

Scroll down the Champion model 100402 page to the Q&A section. I don’t know when it was posted, but the factory states “this unit will no longer be in stock”. I would interpret that to mean discontinued. Fortunately in a following answer, they state you can parallel the 100402 with any Champion that has matching plugs.

Interesting, yeah see the comments and seems clear to me its being discontinued. You can still get it off Amazon for $1k, which is way more than the $600 I paid for it last year. Looking at a price history website it said it has been as low as in the $500s so I was waiting but guess now I won't.



Wonder why they discontinued it and went top the 2500w version with no digital display? I know from reading comments that lots of people had issue getting them started in propane mode with the instructions given, turns out you had to dial the choke forward just a tad when starting. Hopefully the 2500w does not have that issue. The 3400w with electric start is a breeze to get going on propane, will miss that ease of starting when I get rid of it.

[Fasttimes]

Originally Posted by Marine359

Thanks Rockn, I saw that too. However, Camping World is known, in my experience to have inaccurate online stock info. I’ve tried to order stuff from them online in the past and had a bad experience. The Champion web site says more are on the way in January. It also says the 2000w dual fuel has been discontinued. Curious why the 2500w at 37lbs is 10 lbs lighter than the 2000w. I think the 2500 dual fuel is the best one for my needs. I’ll wait another month to see if I can get it from Lowe’s or Home Depot where it will likely be cheaper, and I get a 10% retired military discount. Then I can buy two of them and a parallel kit. I really don’t like doing business with Camping World.

I see in the Q&A for the 2500w that they claim to have them back in stores by beginning of April??? WTH?

[Marine359]

I presume Lowes will be among the retailers to first get the 2500. I put in a notification request with Lowe’s. Will post here when they tell me they have it.