class C generators
- Thread starter trx680
- Start date
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Stephen S.
Well-known member
The Class C RVs I've looked at tend to have factory installed generators.
My RV has 30 amp system. The 4000 watt generator runs everything. It takes gasoline from the RV tank. The fuel line to the gen is at the 1/4 level of the tank. I have run the gen to the point where it could not pull any more fuel. I then had 1/4 tank to drive to the gas station.
My RV has 30 amp system. The 4000 watt generator runs everything. It takes gasoline from the RV tank. The fuel line to the gen is at the 1/4 level of the tank. I have run the gen to the point where it could not pull any more fuel. I then had 1/4 tank to drive to the gas station.
GaryA
Well-known member
Stephen S. said:
Ditto, exactly.
Alfa38User
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 4, 2007
- Posts
- 6,678
I think the usual reason for propane fueled generators on smaller RV's, such as those Sprinter based diesels, is to avoid carrying a third fuel source whereas propane is already available. They are small enough that a diesel powered generator is not justified (cost) or needed.
JudyJB
Well-known member
The factory-installed generator on my Class C also pulls gas from the gas tank, but it does not seem to use very much gas at all. I have run it several hours a couple of times and barely noticed. It powers my AC, TV, 120 plugs, and microwave with no problems. And obviously, it charges the coach batteries if I have been dry camping and using them heavily.
And to start it, you just push a button near the side door or at the driver's seat. So, if I am at a rest area or someplace, and it is hot out, and I don't want to get out of my vehicle, it is very convenient to just push that button. Nothing to get out or put away, and i can stay safely locked inside wherever I am.
I don't know about other Cs, but my generator also acts like jumper cables. If my engine battery is dead, I just turn on the generator, let it run for a few minutes, and then push the emergency start button near the steering column while I turn the key, and it will start the engine and charge the battery enough for me to drive.
I think the built-in generator is a good reason for getting a C or an A over a trailer. Most of the external generators you buy for trailers are not powerful enough to run the AC. All they do is charge the coach batteries.
And to start it, you just push a button near the side door or at the driver's seat. So, if I am at a rest area or someplace, and it is hot out, and I don't want to get out of my vehicle, it is very convenient to just push that button. Nothing to get out or put away, and i can stay safely locked inside wherever I am.
I don't know about other Cs, but my generator also acts like jumper cables. If my engine battery is dead, I just turn on the generator, let it run for a few minutes, and then push the emergency start button near the steering column while I turn the key, and it will start the engine and charge the battery enough for me to drive.
I think the built-in generator is a good reason for getting a C or an A over a trailer. Most of the external generators you buy for trailers are not powerful enough to run the AC. All they do is charge the coach batteries.
Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
Yes. Even Class B's usually have one.
Typically from the main fuel tank. Gensets consume a lot of propane so smaller rigs typically do not have the LP capacity for an adequate-size genset. Propane produces less energy than gasoline or diesel, so LP genset consume a greater volume of LP than other fuels.
Fuel consumption rates depend on the amount of power (watts) being produced. A big genset still uses relatively little fuel if the actual output (consumption) is low. Inverter-type gensets are the most fuel efficient since they can throttle back more than the more common mechanical alternator types. A "rule of thumb" is that a genset consumes a half gallon of fuel per hour at 50% of its rated load, e.g. a 4 KW rated generator will use about 0.5 gal/hour of gas when generating a constant 2 KW of power for use. Propane is a bit more, diesel a bit less, and inverter gensets are also a bit less.
