Generator Questions

[KathiS]

We bought a Cougar 318SAB 5th wheel last year and are taking it on our first long road trip. Since we are new to this we are a little nervous about where to park on our way down to our destination to rest which will take three days to get there. If we park in a rest area or other place without electricity do we need a generator? How long can we expect our battery to last if we need to run the heat, take a shower, etc?

If we do go with a generator, any recommendations on where to mount it? We were thinking the bike rack on the back of the Cougar but would like something secure. Are there any prebuilt lock boxes made for these generators? Any recommendations on quiet generators that will run the 13,500 BTU A/C unit and furnace?

Thanks!

[Festus2]

If you are just making one overnight stop for 3 nights, your battery should last you long enough to operate the things you spoke of ----- furnace, water pump, lights, etc. Not sure how many or what type of batteries you have, but 1 good battery should be good for at least one overnighter.
A word of advice----- when you are putting your slides out, stay hooked up to your tow vehicle and leave the engine running while you are operating your slides. They require a fully-charged battery and use a lot of "juice" as well.
Your battery will be charged up again the next day while you are travelling.
Personally, I would not mount a generator on your bike rack at the back of the Cougar. It will be subject to more "bouncing around" and also exposed and open to theft - even if it is locked or chained.
I would have it in a truck box if at all possible or in the truck bed.
You can do a search on the forum with respect to makes and models of generators. Just type in "generator" and you will find numerous posts.
There are about 3-4 makes that seem popular with our members.
Hope this helps.

[KathiS]

We actually didn't realize that the trailer battery would charge when connected to our pickup (newbies - what can I say). Is that standard for Cougar trailers? We will be staying overnight without power for 3 nights in a row. Will the battery be fully charged after a full 8-10 hours of driving (I'm guessing not)? We just have the standard 12 Volt battery.

[bdaniel]

I would not mount a generator on the bumper because of the bounce factor unless the 5th wheel came from the factory with a receiver. That is a lot of weight hanging far past the axles and personally I think it would just lead to problems.

But..... I will never go camping without my Honda EU3000i generator. I like to run the A/C while traveling so the camper is always cool. We also stay at Wal-Marts and truck stops when just trying to put some miles behind us when getting someplace.

I will be getting a new Copper Canyon by the end of the month and I am going to install a transfer switch so I won't need all the wiring you will see in the following links, but they might give you some ideas.

The forum moderator said these kinds of links would be ok, but if not, just remove them. If they get removed you can find the information on my website under RV -> outside tweaks -> generator wiring and RV -> other stuff -> Honda Generator cover

Thanks,
Bobby

Generator Cover (http://www.bobbystuff.com/RV/index.php?blog=HondaGeneratorCover)

Generator Wiring (http://www.bobbystuff.com/RV/index.php?blog=GeneratorWiring)

[antiqfreq]

We have our two gens mounted in our tool box in bed of truck and they are paralelled together. We have had it this way 3 years now.

jo

[JReinhart]

Will the battery be fully charged after a full 8-10 hours of driving (I'm guessing not)? We just have the standard 12 Volt battery.

Absolutely