Newbie Looking for Generator Advice

[bpetroni]

I just bought a Hideout 27RBWS. I ahve only been able to take it on one trip but I found out it was probably the best purchase I've made for my family. Anyways, being new to the RV world I was wondering if I could get a little advise. I need to buy a generator for it and I don't want by one and find out I need a bigger unit. Being from AZ I will need to run my AC unit which has the 115V/30amp invertor so i was wondering what size generator you guys would suggest I buy?

Thank you

[fla-gypsy]

The Hideout which is the protege of the Hornet line is a great value priced TT. For your needs another great value priced item will be perfect. The Champion brand model 46540 3500w comes equipped with a 30 amp RV plug and will power your trailer just like it was hooked up in the CG and is quieter than any contractor type and only slightly louder than the much vaunted and 5x the price Honda/Yamaha generators. I love mine, cost was $300

[Little Guy]

4000watts will work great. CW(Camping World) has Champions for a great price.Generally under $500. The Champions are a bit louder (not annoyingly so) than a Honda or Yamaha, but they are so much less expensive and they seem to be reliable. I think they may be the best bang for the buck. You need a minimum of 3000watts to run an AC. You may not be able to run the microwave at the same time. Use one or the other, but not both. Those two units draw the most amperage in your TT. Have fun.
We are heading to Fort McDowell on Tues. for 5 weeks.

[bpetroni]

The Hideout which is the protege of the Hornet line is a great value priced TT. For your needs another great value priced item will be perfect. The Champion brand model 46540 3500w comes equipped with a 30 amp RV plug and will power your trailer just like it was hooked up in the CG and is quieter than any contractor type and only slightly louder than the much vaunted and 5x the price Honda/Yamaha generators. I love mine, cost was $300

Thanks for the advise, they don't sell the 3500w style anymore but they have a 4000w for 319.00 w/the Good Sam discount. By the way, I just bought a Ram to tow my RV around (good excuse for a bigger truck) and it's black so we call it the Black Pearl...

[bpetroni]

4000watts will work great. CW(Camping World) has Champions for a great price.Generally under $500. The Champions are a bit louder (not annoyingly so) than a Honda or Yamaha, but they are so much less expensive and they seem to be reliable. I think they may be the best bang for the buck. You need a minimum of 3000watts to run an AC. You may not be able to run the microwave at the same time. Use one or the other, but not both. Those two units draw the most amperage in your TT. Have fun.
We are heading to Fort McDowell on Tues. for 5 weeks.

Thanks for the advise, I think I will go for one of the Champions like you said. They are cheaper and get good reviews. You are coming down here at the right time, wheather is great. Are you going to camp out at a RV Campground? There is one right next to the Casino that looks nice..

[davidjsimons]

Congratulations on the new Ram!

[azlee56]

just bought the champion 2 weeks ago for nascar, and I really like it. Easy, easy start....like one or two pulls. We put two boards around it and it made it easy on the ears. Weighs 100lbs empty, and we didn't get the wheels. I can help him carry it. I am very please with it (and this one better not get stolen!).

edit: oh and we went into camping world and with the membership they knocked the generator down to 299.00. It was 319.00 on the web and out at nascar.

[Bushman512000]

3000is Honda or a Yamaha pay now or later the others do not last I had to learn as most do cheep is cheep junk is also junk did that been there Just lock down the Honda well they are known to grow legs and they run so smooth and You can't hear them a few feet away.That is a real seller in My book.Bushman :D

[fla-gypsy]

Thanks for the advise, they don't sell the 3500w style anymore but they have a 4000w for 319.00 w/the Good Sam discount. By the way, I just bought a Ram to tow my RV around (good excuse for a bigger truck) and it's black so we call it the Black Pearl...


I was referring to the 4000 peak/3500 running model 46540. Tractor Supply still runs them on sale for $ 299 on occasion. Good choice on truck names

[2011 keystone]

3000is Honda or a Yamaha pay now or later the others do not last I had to learn as most do cheep is cheep junk is also junk did that been there Just lock down the Honda well they are known to grow legs and they run so smooth and You can't hear them a few feet away.That is a real seller in My book.Bushman :D

I dont no if you meant for it to but this post sounds very rude.
Just because the champion is a LESS EXP. gernerator it does not mean that it is "cheep junk" I am happy with mine and if you read the reviews online it looks like a lot of others are also. I think we all no from reading hear that the madd scream the loudest so if the champion was realy that bad I am sure there would be alot of bad reviews.

[mhs4771]

All I know was at the Hershery show in 2011 there was someone running a Champion from the back of their TV and everyone Cheered at 10PM when Gennys had to be shut down. Maybe they had modified the exhaust, but it was LOUD and they were several down from us and I had to put my hand on our Hondas to tell if they were running.

[Bluewater]

I agree with Bushman on the Honda/Yamaha. You will not be disappointed and surely make a lot more friends in the quiet campgrounds.

[azlee56]

If they weren't so darn expensive!!! That is our dream for some day, but that some day just isn't here yet. :-(

[fla-gypsy]

I dont no if you meant for it to but this post sounds very rude.
Just because the champion is a LESS EXP. gernerator it does not mean that it is "cheep junk" I am happy with mine and if you read the reviews online it looks like a lot of others are also. I think we all no from reading hear that the madd scream the loudest so if the champion was realy that bad I am sure there would be alot of bad reviews.

He didn't mention that the Champion makes more power than both for a few more db's either. If I need to run a generator and my camping neighbor is close enough to hear it I am camping in the wrong place. When I need to camp off the grid I wouldn't want to see anyone. They meet the NFS sound requirements as well.

[JRTJH]

One of the biggest issues with Champion generators (well really with all generators) and noise that they make was suggested in an earlier post where comments were made regarding running one in the back of the tow vehicle. Anyone who runs a gasoline powered generator in a "tin box" is asking for amplified noise in all directions. Simply taking that generator out of the bed of the pickup would have removed the megaphone induced noise.

We use our Champion in remote areas, there's usually nobody camped within 500 ft of us. We put it on the back side of the RV about 20 ft away and I've got a "3 sided" 1" foam sheet (it makes into a C shape) that I place in front of the generator and on both sides. We can sit under the awning and it's no more intrusive than any other generator.

Ours cost $299 at Tractor Supply and we bought the 3 year extended warranty for $38. Thats 4 years of "guaranteed operation" for $337. At that price, I can get 16 years of operational generator (guaranteed by Tractor Supply's extended warranty) for the price of one Honda 2000.

I'm not downplaying Honda, they are fine generators. They do, however not fit into the budget considerations for my kind of camping. Champion provides a "value added" choice to the generator market for those who don't want to invest heavily in more expensive models.

Azlee, Buy one 4x8 sheet of 1" thick foam board (the pink stuff) cut it to 30" high and then cut that 30" x 8' sheet to fit around your generator on 3 sides. I used Gorilla Tape to make hinges at the bends and I put small holes in mine so I can use tie wraps to fasten it to the generator tubular frame. You'll be amazed at how quiet it gets.

I've considered adding another muffler to the existing one, but so far with the foam in place, I've not felt the need. Now, if I were camped on the "open side" I may feel differently, however there's nobody within a "city block" or more in that direction.

Others may want more expensive generators and I've nothing against that, they are truly "fine pieces of equipment" but they are not the "only equipment" that fits camping needs.

Just my somewhat biased opinion

[JRTJH]

He didn't mention that the Champion makes more power than both for a few more db's either. If I need to run a generator and my camping neighbor is close enough to hear it I am camping in the wrong place. When I need to camp off the grid I wouldn't want to see anyone. They meet the NFS sound requirements as well.

You are correct that the Champion 4000 makes more power than the Honda 3000i with little additional noise. To be specific, here is the comparison:

Honda 3000i 2600 watts continuous 65dB @ 23 feet
Champion 4000 3500 watts continuous 68dB @ 23 feet

[Bushman512000]

I dont no if you meant for it to but this post sounds very rude.
Just because the champion is a LESS EXP. gernerator it does not mean that it is "cheep junk" I am happy with mine and if you read the reviews online it looks like a lot of others are also. I think we all no from reading hear that the madd scream the loudest so if the champion was realy that bad I am sure there would be alot of bad reviews.

Come on I went the same way years ago and never had a happy thing to say about the time and money spent on the Gernerators I first bought...But I am called madd for free speech...good luck I will stay with name brands No more said madd very rude think not. Have a great day Bushmans Honda all the way.:D

[bpetroni]

I was referring to the 4000 peak/3500 running model 46540. Tractor Supply still runs them on sale for $ 299 on occasion. Good choice on truck names

Got it, there is also a 1500 Watt Champion on sale at Camping World near me for $200.00. I know this unit will not power my AC but do you think it will power my refridgerator? My wife is in love with Johny Dep so she chose the Black Pearl. I also have a white Silverado that I call Might Whitey. (tx)

[JRTJH]

Got it, there is also a 1500 Watt Champion on sale at Camping World near me for $200.00. I know this unit will not power my AC but do you think it will power my refridgerator? My wife is in love with Johny Dep so she chose the Black Pearl. I also have a white Silverado that I call Might Whitey. (tx)

I would be concerned with a generator that small running the converter AND the refrigerator. In reality, the refrigerator uses so little propane it would cost more to try to run it on a generator.

The problem with a "very small" generator is that power converters/battery chargers have become so large that they draw a significant amount of power. Most are on a 15 amp breaker and if your batteries are pretty well discharged, the converter will draw upwards of 10 amps with no other load on the generator (refrigerator, lights, TV, etc) That 10 amps is 1150 watts. So you'd be very close to maxing out your generator just by plugging it in (once the battery charger kicked in).

I bought one of the Harbor Freight 2cycle 900 watt generators (on sale for $59) to recharge the batteries on my boat. When we first got the trailer, I plugged it in just to see if it would recharge the batteries. It loaded the generator so much it wouldn't run at all. The only thing I had on in the RV was the converter, all the other 115VAC circuit breakers were off.

So, the moral to this story is: Consider what you're looking to power and make sure your generator is strong enough to power it. It's kind of self defeating to want to recharge batteries when boondocking only to find that the generator is too small to do the job.

That being said, don't go "overbuying" either. The biggest generator you'll need with a 30Amp trailer is around 4000 watts peak (3500 watts continuous)

The Champion generator you're asking about, the Champion 1500 watt, is 1500 watts peak, 1100 watts continuous. It produces that power at 65dB, the same noise level as the 4000 watt generator which is only $100 more. So for value, noise and adaptability of use, there's not much gain by trying to save the $100.

[Festus2]

Several years ago, I purchased a Yamaha 1000 - not for our Cougar, but for our boat. When we sold that, I thought the generator might be sufficient for the RV - wrong assumption. It is light, small and quiet but not very practical for an RV. It is far too small to do much of anything - other than battery charging, running a few lights and other small stuff.

If I were in your position, I would look at something around 3000w IF the weight and size are something you can handle - especially the weight factor. This size will provide you with much more flexibility and will be far less restrictive than a 1500w. As JRTJH pointed out, the cost and noise levels are not that much more.

[SAABDOCTOR]

I too agree that a 4000w peak 3500watt continus gen will be perfect for what you want. the honda is quiet but the moaning from the pain of forking over the cash will sway you to the champion.. i have heard them both run the honda i$ quieter but if you move away from the champion it will not sound that much louder. and from your post you do not sound like the type of person that will run into the wee hours ticking of everyone near you! go honda if you can swing it but the champion is also a good unit too. "bouncey: camp on!:D

[bpetroni]

Thanks for all of the great advise. I will go will the Champion since my preference is to camp as far away as I can from anybody else. I stated at the beginning of the Thread that I did not want to buy a generator only to find out I need something bigger for my needs (I already did that with my Tow vehicle) so I will go for the 3000W minimal per your advise.....(tx)