Portable generator recommendations

[bassinrupp]

I have a 3791 montana and are planning a couple day trips to some dirt tracks and looking to purchase a portable generator not a honda. Probably only put 20 hours a year on it thats the biggest reason for steering away from the honda investment

[Ltrip]

DiskDoctr wrote:
I have a Champion. Go for the remote start/stop. I think it was extra $40 for the option, but who wants to go out just before bed and turn the genny off? Cold am to make coffee, charge batteries, run microwave, whatever (late mornings, after campground is well-awake).

We run long heavy extension to put the genny about 25ft from our camper and others. DISTANCE makes the quietest generator 😉

Good luck with your choice!

DiskDoctr, Question about using the remote start. Sounds awesome, but....
There is a choke knob. My experience with any motor with a choke, is that you generally need to use it! So, your description of starting the generator on a cold morning from the warmth of your trailer.....Really? No need to choke it? Gas or propane?
I am not being argumentative, just looking for real world use experience.
Cheers,

[RWjSIM2003]

I also use the Champion 3100 Inverter with remote start. Works great and have not had a problem in the 2.5 years we have had it. Run it on average of 75+ hours a year. Change oil every 30-35 hours of use or twice a year.

[Ltrip]

kevden wrote:
I bought a champion and it works great. It is a propane powered one. I wanted a propane unit because we tow with a suv and had nowhere to store gas. The carb never gums up, the fuel never goes bad, and the engine oil looks new when I change it annualy.

Kevden, what is your experience running the AC unit with your generator? I am looking to buy a generator as well, and running on propane generates less power. I have heard mixed responses on this issue.
Thanks!

[time2roll]

bassinrupp wrote:
I have a 3791 montana and are planning a couple day trips to some dirt tracks and looking to purchase a portable generator not a honda. Probably only put 20 hours a year on it thats the biggest reason for steering away from the honda investment

Day trips? You need to run the A/C all day? or what else? Two air conditioners? 50 amp trailer?

Most everything else can run on battery and propane for the day. Maybe just a second battery is needed.

[kerrlakeRoo]

MFL My point was that no matter what you have, someone will object to it. I used the Harley example because I had a friend that rode one, and his was loud, be it modified or not, But he would complain about the noise when at my place for a BBQ or whatever because of the kids out back cutting up on Dirtbikes. (I had 30 acres behind the house with trails for them.)

There are some on here that seem to feel their Genny is a Stradivarius, and any other brand is a 747 taking off.
To somebody, they all make noise. The best you can do is get something as quiet as you feel you can afford, and then use it in whatever manner best minimizes its nuisance factor.

[DiskDoctr]

I have a Champion. Go for the remote start/stop. I think it was extra $40 for the option, but who wants to go out just before bed and turn the genny off? Cold am to make coffee, charge batteries, run microwave, whatever (late mornings, after campground is well-awake).

We run long heavy extension to put the genny about 25ft from our camper and others. DISTANCE makes the quietest generator 😉

This spring we had a solar powered rig beside us. He made a point of asking what kind of generator we had because it was VERY quiet. I apologized if it disturbed him. He said unless he was outside and walked to the back of his site and listened for it, he didn't even notice it was on, and even then it was very soft and distant 😉

It's more of a puff-puff than a clankity-clank. IMHO, it's often the harshness as much as the sound level that negatively impacts the peace around camps.

Good luck with your choice!

[MFL]

kerrlakeRoo wrote:
Champions, Predators and most other cheaper brands use Chinese engines which are clones of Honda designs. Most internal parts are readily available.
They generally seem to give good service, not to the same degree as the original, but at 1/2 to 1/3 the cost they are economical choices.
As to noise, the difference from 57 to 58 Db is not within my range to differentiate.
Then again I always thought it funny to hear someone that spends a lot of time riding a harley complain about the noise from a dirtbike.
No matter the brand, to someone, they are all noisy.

If you are looking at it for charging the batteries only though, why that large when a 2000 will do the job and be much easier to store and handle?

Just for sake of argument, 1 Db is a lot, if you are right at your point of tolerance. Also, newer Harleys did not come from the factory, loud/noisy, the owner made/had it made that way. All dirt bikes, even off road only dirt bikes may not be noisy. Mine is not noisy, but just kind of loud.:)

Oh, to answer OP, I would choose one of the many Champion quiet generators, due the the reputation, price, and Champion support.

Jerry

[kevden]

I bought a champion and it works great. It is a propane powered one. I wanted a propane unit because we tow with a suv and had nowhere to store gas. The carb never gums up, the fuel never goes bad, and the engine oil looks new when I change it annualy.

[The_Owl]

I bought one of the Champion 3100’s from Costco for the same reason. I didn’t want to spend Honda money for something that I wasn’t going to use a lot. Seems to be a decent unit and pretty quiet.

[kerrlakeRoo]

Champions, Predators and most other cheaper brands use Chinese engines which are clones of Honda designs. Most internal parts are readily available.
They generally seem to give good service, not to the same degree as the original, but at 1/2 to 1/3 the cost they are economical choices.
As to noise, the difference from 57 to 58 Db is not within my range to differentiate.
Then again I always thought it funny to hear someone that spends a lot of time riding a harley complain about the noise from a dirtbike.
No matter the brand, to someone, they are all noisy.

If you are looking at it for charging the batteries only though, why that large when a 2000 will do the job and be much easier to store and handle?

[djousma]

whatever you buy, make it the inverter technology. they are a lot quieter, and you and your neighbors will appreciate it. I personally run a Champion 3100 inverter, that I modified with a extended run kit, and run it continuous for weekend football tailgate outings. It will run 1 AC and pretty much anything else, as long as you switch you water heater to gas.

[DennisVR]

austinjenna wrote:
I have a Honda but that was bought before others had come out. According to these forums a lot of folks have had good luck with the Champion brand. I would not discount the Harbor Freight Predator inverter generators and in fact my buddy just bought the 3500 and I was impressed with it. It also gets very good reviews if you look them up.

I bought the 3500 predator from harbor freight and am impressed with it. Its as quit as the Honda 3000 and has everything it has except the fuel shut off. I got it for $649 on sale and have 300 hrs on it. I bought it to save my built in Onan 5.5K unit. I hate to run the big unit just to charge the batteries.

[lee_worsdell]

Just think of the people beside you before you go buy one of those loud things. I have almost tossed a few over the trailer when they fire it up beside me.

[prfssr]

I have 2 3500W Champion Inverter that I parrellel so I can run both AC's, tv, micro, etc. when we dry camp at races.
I used to have 2 Honda EU2000 parrelleled but those were not enough juice for the new camper with 3 AC's. Those Hondas lasted me 10 years and I got back 80% of my money once I sold them. Good luck and enjoy.

[austinjenna]

I have a Honda but that was bought before others had come out. According to these forums a lot of folks have had good luck with the Champion brand. I would not discount the Harbor Freight Predator inverter generators and in fact my buddy just bought the 3500 and I was impressed with it. It also gets very good reviews if you look them up.