Wow - thanks for all the advice! We will go with the 1000 watt generator.
This forum has been so helpful to us, being complete rookies at this (we have only camped in a tent before)!
One other thing, the sales guy said we should also buy an external deep-cycle battery charger as the generator is not designed to charge deep-cycle batteries - is that right ?
So now for a really dumb question, how does a generator connect with teh trailer, do we just plug in the electric hookup plug to the generator - is it that easy ?
You will need a 15 amp to 30 amp dog bone adapter and then it just that easy. Then the trailer's converter should, depending on the model, automatically charge the trailer's battery.
He was right that the 12 volt side of the genset doesn't do a good job of charging. Not to mention the genset has to run full speed, the econothrottle has to be off, when using it's 12 volt connection.
Provided you don't plan to upgrade your trailer anytime soon, the 1000 should be a good reliable and quiet unit.
Canadian prices are signicantly higher then stateside so the difference between the 1000 and 2000 is steep. I went with the 2000 as I wanted the ability to occasionally run a microwave, hairdryer, coffee pot etc (obviously not at the same time).
Daryll
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Before you make your purchase, do some planning. How long will you need to run the furnace without access to charging, either by plugging into the grid or by plugging into the vehicle? You might be able to make do by getting larger or more batteries and a good 3 stage charger and skipping the generator. Generators can be difficult to live with because of gasoline fumes. 2 or 3 nights should be easily doable with a couple of strong batteries. If lights are a power issue, you can replace them with LED's, which use virtually no power. You can also get a propane heater for emergencies that can heat your camper with no electricity, should your battery wind up dead. If you move, your vehicle is capable of charging your batteries so they will be fully charged at your next stop. I bought my genset before I explored all my options, and now almost never use it.
One other thing, the sales guy said we should also buy an external deep-cycle battery charger as the generator is not designed to charge deep-cycle batteries - is that right ?
So now for a really dumb question, how does a generator connect with teh trailer, do we just plug in the electric hookup plug to the generator - is it that easy ?
The sales guy was right about the charger. You can charge a battery using the DC output of the Honda but it is slow and inefficient. Get an external charger with a capacity of 20 amps or more (preferably 30 amps or more but no larger than 45 amps).
The power cable from your trailer plugs into the Honda the same way you would plug in to the power pedestal at a camp site, If you have a 30 amp power cord you will need an adapter,
Don't bother with the 12 volt output of the generator. If you post the make and model of your converter you will get better info on how well it will charge. You just need a 15/30 adapter to plug in the trailer. If you do get a battery charger get 20 to 40 amps continuous. Some chargers have a higher boost or start rating, ignor that rating.
If your converter is inadequate I would recommend upgrading it instead of shlepping a charger around. Although it is a small project and a bit more money.
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After reading what you have described about your tent trailer useage I would choose the Honda 1000. I have a Honda 1000 for almost 3 years now,. I use it as you are intending to use it with my small class C MH. I use it every single day as I do not go to campgrounds with AC hookup very often. I run it for about 6 hours each day. I keep notes in regards to total time, oil change interval, and air filter cleaning intervals. It holds 5/8 of a gallon and will run about 7 hours on that amount and I rarely/never take it off the eco throttle setting. It is very quiet. If I need more juice to run the AC or microwave I will unplug from the Honda and plug into the Onan that is onboard. I would think that the 1000 would do well for you and weighs in under 30 pounds.
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mike4947 wrote: You will need a 15 amp to 30 amp dog bone adapter and then it just that easy. Then the trailer's converter should, depending on the model, automatically charge the trailer's battery.
He was right that the 12 volt side of the genset doesn't do a good job of charging. Not to mention the genset has to run full speed, the econothrottle has to be off, when using it's 12 volt connection.
Converters in most tent trailer (pop-ups) are at best trickle chargers and have very low output. I used my EU1000 with a 10/30 amp intelligent battery charger and it work great. Even when outputing 30 amps DC, the EU1000 barely came up off of it's idle rpm on econo mode. Highly recommended generator. At this point, I have a travel trailer and sometimes wish I had the 2000 so that I could run the microwave on occasion. Not enough of a motivation for me to sell my 1000 and buy the 2000.
I opted for the 2000 when we had the PU. I've used it for outside construction jobs and to power a few circuits in the house when the power's out. Now that we have the HTT it'll run the coffee pot, microwave, and even the AC on "low", just not all at once.
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