# Portable Generator



## tom taylor

My wife and I are buying a new travel trailer after the start of the new year.  I also want to purchase a portable generator to carry with us.  Any suggestions as which make/model works best for camping would be greatly appreciated.

TAT


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## H2H1

Morning TOM, I suggest you call Ken at Grand view trailers sales. I know he has some great trailers for sell and also has generators also. I bought a generator from him back in Sept. It has a key start, a remote  and pull start features. I also have a generator on my MH. but got this one as a back up to the house. You can find him here on the forum, just look for GTS. Good luck, and happy camping next year.


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## try2findus

Welcome Tom!  Hollis is right, if you want an honest person to buy from, if it is RV related, Ken is your guy.  We have bought several things from Grandview Trailer Sales and have been happy with every purchase!


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## Grandview Trailer Sa

Well, Honda is always a good choice, but you can save money with the Kipor or Powerhouse generators.  A 3,000 will power your camper and all three makers have quiet models.


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## tom taylor

Thanks to all of you who responded to my inquiry regarding the most efficient portable generator for our new travel trailer.  I will follow up on your suggestions.
Thanks,

TAT


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## Grandview Trailer Sa

Geon, your nothing but a SPAMMER!


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## H2H1

Tom if you really wanting a generator then as Ken said, Honda make a good one but it will take alot of your money. I bought a powerhouse 3000 from Ken and I love it. I also have a genset on my motor home also, but the powerhouse is so much quieter. I also like the starting features, remote, key or pull. I suggest you contact Ken and see what kind of a deal you can get.


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## krsmitty

Yep. Champion is highly recommended.


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## Grandview Trailer Sa

Champion generators make power, but they dont do it quietly....


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## LEN

Yup you can always tell the guy with the Champion in a camping area. He has the 100' cord so he can get it away from his own rig. Get a QUIET gen or get a contractors license. Yamaha Kipor Honda or a few others.

LEN


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## dontexas

Ken, you are not quite correct on you statement that CPI generators are not quiet.   I have the CPI 2000 inverter/generator and it is as quiet as any around....


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## Grandview Trailer Sa

Don, 
Send me a link as to what you are talking about.  I did not even know that Champion made inverter style generators...(always want to learn something new.)   I went to Champion Power Equipments website and they don't show a 2,000.  They show a 1,700 and a 1,600.  They say a 1,700 has a db of 53.  That is the same as a Honda 2,000.  IN MY OPINION, the Honda 2,000 is very quiet when at idle... but when it kicks up to really run...it is not quite at all.  We camp with several folks who use them and dang those things can make some noise.


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## dontexas

Ken, here is the one I bought at Sam's...........   http://www.championpowerequipment.com/generators/73536i/


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## Grandview Trailer Sa

OK, that is the one I saw.


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## LEN

But PLEASE park at the other end of the camp ground with the Champion they are noisy.

LEN


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## bigboss

Like other people said, the noise on a Champion is almost unbearable. Especially those who use them at night, really no consideration for the neighbors. Best to use a GEN during the day and a Power Inverter at night. I use a 5000watt gen during the day, and a 5000 watt Royal Power inverter at night on some 8ds.


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## krsmitty

I would not say ALL Champions are unbearable.


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## C Nash

Well I will have to say that a camper is right next to me and he has just bought a 3500 champion from Lowes.  He has it mounted in a c class.  Not loud at all.  Dont think it's any louder than my 5500 Onan but dont know that Onan is very quit LOL


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## H2H1

well my 5500 Onan isn't that quite, that why I bought a power house from ken to take to the races. iT IS BETTER ON GAS ALSO


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## bamaRVservice

bama rv service has moved to a new location. We are now located at 204 Vulcan Way Dothan Alabama 36303.


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## Grandview Trailer Sa

That is not the way to get started around here......


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## akjimny

Reported as spam advertising.


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## Wolfpack Fan

Here's my 2 cents worth on this.  We've got an onboard 7000 watt Onan that's plenty of power for everything, but it's a little hungry for fuel, being a 2 cylinder engine.  We wanted an auxiliary generator we could use that would be enough for running tv's and other light weight appliances.  We started out with a chinese made power house 1000 watt purchased off of craigslist. BIG mistake.  Would barely power anything.  Decided a 2000 would be enough to power electronics and microwave.  Not air conditioners though.  Started checking out all the manufacturers and reading any review I could find on them in printed form or on youtube.  It seemed that hardly any of the chinese generators made the power they stated.  Not the case with the Honda's and Yamaha's, which I believe are the best you can get.  We decided on a Yamaha 2000, over the Honda for these reasons.

Honda EPA certification period is 250 hours, Yamaha is 500 hours.  Chinese by the way are 125 hours.  This to me translates as better build quality.  Just my opinion there.
The Yamaha has a fuel gauge.  The Honda does not.  No need to take off the fuel cap and shine a light in to see fuel level.
Not a major issue, but the Yamaha is a couple pounds lighter and slightly quieter at 1/4 load, 2db.  Yamaha is slightly louder at rated load, 2db.  
The Yamaha has a separate shut off for ignition and fuel.  The Honda's is combined.  With the Yamaha I can shut off the fuel, leave the ignition on and run the carburetor empty, if I need to store it for a while.
The Yamaha and Honda both can be paralleled to each other to double the output, if a single 2000 isn't enough.
The Yamaha's air intake is on the side, instead of the bottom.  Less dust to get sucked in if it's sitting on the ground directly.
The Yamaha is blue.  My favorite color.

I don't think the Honda is a bad piece of equipment in any way.  I love anything made by Honda.  Incredible products!  I just prefer the Yamaha for the reasons stated.  With Honda/Acura and Toyota/Lexus being about the best cars on the road (we own both) I just wish Yamaha would start making cars.


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## H2H1

well I have a power house 3100 and it powers everything, even my 2 air conditions at the same time. The advanage is, it is remote start, key start, and old stand by the pull rope. It does have fuel gauge, and a economy switch to run things a little less RPMs. I have used this at race tracks and it was perfect. BTW, my motor home as a 3500 kw genset on broad. And like most on broad genset, it love fuels, so we take the powerhous with us for tailgateing. One more thing, I got it from Ken at GTS.


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## Guest

well i guess i am outta the realm ,, "on why" u need another genset ,, i have used mine for 4 days straight and only burnt 1/4 tank of fuel ,, so what ,, but why buy another genset when u have one already ,, u still have to put fuel in it ,, i guess i am thinking wrong ,, but oh well ,, i don;t know anything anyways ,, to me it is only money wasted ,, but JMO ,, i would think the money spent on the alt genset would over come the cost of fuel for the onboard set ,, but oh well ,, it does not matter to me ,, fuel is no problem


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## Wolfpack Fan

I like the idea of being able to generate electricity without having electricity.  If all the batteries to everything go out, I can still pull the starter rope.  One of those survivalist instincts I guess.


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## H2H1

I got mine for the house, but I found it to work better and quiter than the on board one when at the race track. I really perfer a CG with FHU.


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## saunD

Hey Tom,

A great suggestion would be checking out some sizing guides or wattage guides online as well to help you make a more strategic decision. Some grate places to start looking would be www.Norwall.com they have a great guide for sizing generators, and specifically portable generators. They let you know what to consider when choosing your generator, the sizing, what kind of load capacity you're looking at and more. When we were looking to buy our home standby generator this guide in particular came in very handy but there are also others out there that may help out. I believe I remember seeing a guide on honda.com as well.. Anyways hope this help's some


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