fixyourdns
Sweet Home OR
New Member
Joined: 08/19/2012
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
 Offline
|
Stupid question... This is our first RV and was wondering if it is possible or a bad idea to run the generator while driving?
Thanks in advance.
Rich <
|
pianotuna
Regina, SK, Canada
Senior Member
Joined: 12/18/2004
View Profile
Offline
|
Hi,
Lots of folks do run the genny while driving. What do you wish to power?
Regards, Don
Kustom Koach Class C 28'5" 256 watts Unisolar, 875 amp hours in two battery banks 12 volt batteries, 2500 MSW watt inverter.
|
Old-Biscuit
Across the USA
Senior Member
Joined: 06/20/2009
View Profile
|
Motorhome, trailer, toyhauler.....what rig do you have and where/how is your generator set up?
Running them is what they are for.
2007 RAM 3500 QC LB SRW 5.9L CTD 48re 4:10 4K in bed 'quiet genny'
2007 HitchHiker II 32.5 UKTG 2000W Xantex Inverter
Hit the Road Free & Clear April '07
|
craig7h
Marion, Iowa
Senior Member
Joined: 03/23/2002
View Profile
Offline
|
If you have a MH, I would run the gen.. When I had MH I ran mine all the time while driving. I used gen power to run the coach AC units. I found it keep the coach cooler. Also ran the refg on gen power instead of propane.
Craig
06 RAM 3500 diesel power
08 35' Cardinal
|
fixyourdns
Sweet Home OR
New Member
Joined: 08/19/2012
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
Thanks for the quick reply..
New to the forum and our first RV Motor Home older 1984 southwind. The old girl held her shape 27,300 miles. The generator is factory installed at the back.
Just powering icebox maybe roof top AC... but not sure it that should be done...
Thanks again for the quick response
|
|
|
harold1946
Surprise Arizona
Senior Member
Joined: 06/20/2009
View Profile
Offline
|
Many of us do it quite often. The dash ac will really struggle to keep whole house cooled. Most gennys will use about 5-8/10 of a gallon per hr.
Harold and Linda
2009 CT Coachworks siena 35V
W-22 Workhorse 8.1L
Explorer toad
|
RoyB
King George, VA
Senior Member
Joined: 04/13/2008
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
|
Having a motorhome with a gen built-in is one thing with everything out-of-sight. With the towed RV trailer the generator is sitting in the back of the truck bed in my case at least. My generator permanently sits in the tail gate corner of the truck bed secured to the inside truck bed and can be totally out-of-site when the tail gate is closed and the folding hard plastic bed covers are closed and locked.
I have done it a couple of times with my OFF-ROAD POPUP when I was carrying a desk-height fridge sitting in the front deck of the POPUP. Worked great keep the fridge with freezer cold. These were relative short 2-3 hour trips to the close-by mountains here. Other times I just run my fridge on electric before the trip and then switch to 12VDC during the trip. Always cold and ready to use when we get to the camp grounds...
My Posts are IMHO based on my experiences - PM me
Roy and Carolyn
RETIRED DOAF/DON/DOD/CONTR RADIO TECH (42yrs)
K9PHT (Since 1957) 146.52M
2010 F150, 5.4,3:73 Gears,SCab
2008 Starcraft 14RT EU2000i GEN
2005 Flagstaff 8528RESS
POPUP PHOTOs-Pg52-Pg56
.JPG)
|
accsys
Green Cove Springs, FL
Senior Member
Joined: 07/09/2006
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
No problem to run it while going down the road. Just one thing to keep in mind: it gets its fuel from the MH gas tank and to prevent you from running the MH out of gas when using the generator, the gas feed from the tank is usually positioned at about the 1/4 full mark. That means when you get below a 1/4 tank of gas the generator will lose its fuel supply.
John & Doris
Doris and Robbies Blogs
2007 Tiffin Phaeton QDH 40 w/Cat 7 350
2004 Liberty Renegade 4x4 Toad
Roadmaster Falcon 2 tow bar
Air Force One toad braking system
FMCA F380583, PA, Good Sams
|
PackerBacker
Montreal (Qc) Adirondacks (NY) Myrtle Beach (SC)
Moderator
Joined: 08/22/2002
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
|
I run our's for the roof ac's to work in hot weather, also to run the microwave while we're rolling.
Eric
2009 Holiday Rambler Admiral 33SFS (34' 3")
2008 Jeep Liberty - North Edition (4x4 auto)
FQCC/Camping Quebec, KOA, Good Sam, Coach-Net
|
Matt_Colie
Southeast Michigan
Senior Member
Joined: 10/09/2011
View Profile
Offline
|
An Important Point has been omitted!
If you do not have a CO monitor that is less than 7 years old, go get one. The biggest danger with running the genset (APU) is CO poisoning caused by the different airflow around the moving coach.
We run our APU anytime we need the roof A/C or the microwave even when underway.
Matt
Matt & Mary Colie
A sailor, his bride and their black dog going to see some dry places that have Geocaches in a coach made the year we married.
|
|
|
