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Old 08-28-2006, 10:34 AM   #1
barbarat
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Question New member with generator question

We picked up our brand new 2720SL on Saturday and drove 250 miles on and off the interstate to bring it home. My husband was happy that there was no learning curve for pulling it if you have any experience trailering a boat. We are very excited about our purchase and our first question is about a generator. What size/make/model does anyone recommend? We have enjoyed Mike & Kelly's User Manual which helped steer us in the right direction as new users. Thanks!

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Old 08-28-2006, 12:05 PM   #2
Leslie & Nick
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Quote:
Originally Posted by barbarat
We picked up our brand new 2720SL on Saturday and drove 250 miles on and off the interstate to bring it home. My husband was happy that there was no learning curve for pulling it if you have any experience trailering a boat. We are very excited about our purchase and our first question is about a generator. What size/make/model does anyone recommend? We have enjoyed Mike & Kelly's User Manual which helped steer us in the right direction as new users. Thanks!

barbarat
I bought a Honda EU2000i last fall. It has been a great little machine -starts on the first pull, it's reasonably quiet, and is not too heavy. It provides enough power to run all of our electric needs except one. It will not start the TM's air conditioner! I know that some people have had some success with running their AC with one of these units, but my AC will not startup, even at an elevation of <1000 feet. We have a Fedders side mount unit.

I know you can connect two 2000i's together with a cable Honda sells, and this would provide more than enough power to run the AC. But at $900 a pop this is too expensive a proposition for me Besides most of the place we go, supply power. Thus we only use the generator when camping in the "wilds"

If you plan on doing a lot of boondocking and think you need AC, I would look at the Honda 3000 (quite a bit heavier as I recall), or some of the other brands like Yamaha which a lot of people swear by.

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Old 08-30-2006, 09:00 PM   #3
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I paid $350 for a 3000 Watt ELIM generator works good and runs the AC but louder than a Honda or Yamaha... but it was $350.
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Old 08-30-2006, 09:54 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by barbarat
What size/make/model does anyone recommend?
Depends on what you want out of the generator. We use a Honda eu1000 solely to charge the batteries as needed, and are frugal on power when dry camping w/2 x 12v batts. You will need more if you want to run the A/C etc. Lot's of info if you do a forum search.

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Old 08-30-2006, 10:50 PM   #5
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I bought a single Honda 2000 with the intent of adding a second one in the future if I ever wanted to run the a/c. A single Honda 2000 will run the a/c at home at 200 feet elevation. At 6000 feet I assure you it won't work.

I am still trying to determine at what elevation the Yamaha 2400 will be inadequate. If it becomes inadequate at 2,000 feet that won't do me any good either. But if it would work up to maybe 5000 feet then I might sell my Honda and get the Yamaha. Otherwise I'll add the second Honda, one of these days.

As others have said, if all you want to do is charge the batteries then a single Honda 1000 is more than enough.

I don't like the Honda 3000 because in a few more years I might not be abel to get in on and off of my truck. The Honda 2000 is light enough that I expect to be able to lift it for a good many more years.
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Old 08-30-2006, 11:00 PM   #6
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I would vote for buying one of the Honda generators; they are a fairly quiet, and will keep your campground neighbors happier than using one of the less expensive ones. For me, having to endure hours on end of loud generator noise ruins my camping experience. I'd rather be home; at least it's quiet here. Some have recommended the Yahamas; I've never heard one, but have heard many of the Honda 2000's running in campgrounds we've been in (you can definitely hear them a few campsites away, but they aren't that offensive) and a couple of the Honda 1000's (you can barely hear them, even in the campsite next to you) but they may not power what you need.

We have yet to buy one. I'd really like to buy a solar panel, but we take our aging kitty with us when we camp, and we always have to camp in the shade when we camp in the summer to keep her cool during the day when we're out exploring. In the winter, we just stay at full-hookup parks. We dry-camped for six nights this past month without having to charge up the batteries, and they didn't go under 12.4V (but this was an AM reading when they were cold; in the afternoon they warmed up and read 12.5V).

As was stated in the earlier posts, the generator you should buy depends entirely upon what you expect to run with it, and how much you care about your camping neighbors. I've even thought about buying a Honda 2000 just so that I could lend it to people who have loud generators who are camped next to us.
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Old 08-31-2006, 05:34 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by barbarat
We picked up our brand new 2720SL on Saturday and drove 250 miles on and off the interstate to bring it home. My husband was happy that there was no learning curve for pulling it if you have any experience trailering a boat. We are very excited about our purchase and our first question is about a generator. What size/make/model does anyone recommend? We have enjoyed Mike & Kelly's User Manual which helped steer us in the right direction as new users. Thanks!

barbarat
http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ead.php?t=3657

Here is additonal volumes on the generator subject.
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Old 09-08-2006, 09:45 AM   #8
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I appreciate your input. Living in South Carolina in very hot temps pretty much makes it mandatory to have a generator to run AC when needed. I will look into the Hondas and do a forum search. Lots to learn about Trailmanors. Thank you. BarbaraT
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Old 09-08-2006, 01:03 PM   #9
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If you want to run the AC, you should look first at the Yamaha 2400. The Honda 2000 is very marginal running the AC if it can do it at all, the Honda 3000 is heavy, and two Honda 2000s along with the gear to couple them is expensive. The Yamahas and the Hondas are both equally quiet and of equal quality imho.

-Paul
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Old 09-08-2006, 05:38 PM   #10
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I have a single Honda 2000 and it will run my a/c at elevation 200 feet. In the mountains at 6,200 feet it will not run the a/c. Somewhere in between is the upper elevation limit for the Honda 2000.

I am looking around TMO and RV.net forums trying to determine the highest elevation where the Yamaha 2400 would run the a/c. If that is acceptable I will sell my single Honda 2000 and get a Yamaha 2400. Otherwise I will get a second Honda 2000.

I don't want a Honda 3000. Too big and too heavy. Though I could get it on and off my truck today, I ain't getting any younger.
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