Looking at Generator for small camper

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dogz

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My better half and I have a small (15') R-Pod camper, in need of a generator. Would like it to be as light as possible and yet still have enough juice for 4-5 day trips. Would like it to be 30-40 pounds at most.

Thoughts oh wise one's?

PS-I've tented all my life so this is new territory for me.
 
What do you need to power? Looking for a gas generator I'm guessing? I'd recommend a Honda EU2200 if looking for a small gas generator. I've switched mostly to solar unless needing microwave or AC. I like the quiet and peacefulness of solar. You can power microwave on EU2200 and AC you might need a soft start added to AC. I'd recommend getting a solar "generator", a panel to charge, and a EU2200. That setup works amazing for small campers.
 
I've got the Predator 5000 Dual Fuel from Harbor Freight and have been very happy with it. It'll run one of the two ACs + everything else on my 33' 5th wheel. This is more than we generally need because the only time we utilize the 5th wheel without power available is during hunting season, which is cooler weather.

I'm not sure how much juice you need, but the Predator 2000 (49 pounds) or the Predator 2500 (46 pounds) may be worth a look. I'd plan to look into an auxillary fuel tank if you're going to run them 24/7 for several days. Hauling gas to feed the small factory tanks on most all gasoline gens can be a PITA if you're running them all day and night. This is why I went with the dual fuel model.

Honda is the cream of the crop, no doubt, but you can buy two of the Predators for the price of a comparable Honda.
 
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dogz said:
My better half and I have a small (15') R-Pod camper, in need of a generator. Would like it to be as light as possible and yet still have enough juice for 4-5 day trips. Would like it to be 30-40 pounds at most.

Thoughts oh wise one's?

PS-I've tented all my life so this is new territory for me.
Click to expand...

Some (several) solar panels, and an additional battery or two if possible could power an inverter for short time use for microwaves, ect. Having, as mentioned, a small generator (the Honda mentioned) is almost a necessity……as a few overcast days or excessive use of the batteries can leave you without.

Observe my "signature" or avatar photo! We winter camp, often below 0 at times, for lengthy periods (2+ weeks) in a large (40 ft) 5th wheel with water in the RV system. In those conditions, having forced air heat is a must to keep tanks and water lines warm. The forced-air plus other creature comforts we enjoy, consume a lot of energy. We have 6 batteries and 800+ watts of panels…..but in continuous cold or overcast weather the panels can't keep up.

We have a little Honda EU 2000 for supplemental power as a means of keeping our batteries above 50 % charge. memtb
 
In my motorhome I have a 4000W onan rock crusher. Have to have, but I found a Renogy suitcase solar setup keeps my single deep cycle rv battery charged well enough. The rock crusher is for heavy loads or backup charging. A small 2kw gen would be nice. I like it quiet around camp, curse the rock crusher.
 
I bought a couple of Westinghouse IGen 2500s for our third travel trailer. If I had to do it over again, I'd go with one Honda EU 2200. We had 800W of solar and 400 Ah of batteries on the fourth trailer, but I'd purchased the IGen for our third travel trailer, not the fourth.
 
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We have the Honda 2000 which I don't believe they make any more. Think they are 2200 now. Any way we have 2 6v heavy duty batteries and we run the generator about 4-5 hours a day, my wife loves her TV. We can run 2 days on little less than 1 gallon of gas. This keeps our batteries charged. If you are going to run your air conditioner you would need 2 of the Honda generators and hook them together. One of the generations needs to have a 30 amp breaker. The other one doesn't need the 30 amp breaker. The one with 30 amp breaker will cost more, if memory serves me correctly about $100 more. My experience with running the air conditioner is you will burn approximately 2 gallons every 5-6 hours. They make a lot of options in generators but if you don't have a 30 amp breaker you will not be able to run your air conditioner. I may be wrong and it sure won't be the first time. But this is how I understand it. Best of luck with your search and your new way of enjoying the outdoors.
 
dogz said:
My better half and I have a small (15') R-Pod camper, in need of a generator. Would like it to be as light as possible and yet still have enough juice for 4-5 day trips. Would like it to be 30-40 pounds at most.

Thoughts oh wise one's?

PS-I've tented all my life so this is new territory for me.
Click to expand...
If you don't need to power an air conditioner then a 1000 watt predator from HF should be fine . I ran my entire cabin on 2000 watt, they have a bigger gas tank also and will run for 8 hrs or more
 
The old adage "buy once cry once" applies equally or more so to generators. Have had a Honda 2000 for 20 years or so and it cranks up even after sitting for a year or two. The Harbor Freight models seem to be good and I own a larger capacity for hurricane duty, but the Honda has never disappointed. The one thing you never want to cheap out on is fuel. Run the ethanol-free gas only! Finding out you need the carb cleaned and fuel lines replaced the day before a trip sucks.
 

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