Generators, what would you change with your setup?

I know there are a lot of discussions on generators, hopefully this is a different twist.  I have a fifth wheel, with two ACs, a refrigerator and a microwave.  Ideally, (I think) I would have 50 amps, but I have never been without 50 amps.  I do not know what 30 amps ?feels like?.  Maybe I am trying to throw in the kitchen sink, and really do not need it.

I am rarely without power but may do more unplugged camping soon.  Even my latest 4-day stint at a concert campground, I could have used a generator and saved the $100 a night I paid for a 50-amp electric hookup.

I was going to buy two 2200-watt generators that could be hooked up in parallel.  That is just over 30 amps.  I would think you would almost always need more than 2200-watts or 15 amps, and using both 2200 W generators together would be the norm.  Lightweight, and easy to carry.  Ideally, it would be nice to connect a third generator if I really needed it.

I see you can buy a 3000+ generator that can also be hooked up in parallel.  Champion makes a 3400-watt parallel generator, Honda makes a 3000-watt parallel generator.  I could get one unit, and if I needed more power later, buy another generator with a parallel setup. 

With two 3400-watt generators, I would have 50 amps.  A heavier setup, but all the power I need.  Maybe that is overkill, as I would have to maintain and fill them with gas too.  I do not want to have to bring 20+ gallons of gas along on a trip either.

Getting 30 amps from a generator(s) is relatively easy, and 30-amps would power only one AC.  Maybe there is a better strategy to using the ACs and other electrical power when I am hooked up to a generator.  I know I probably could use one AC during the day, and the bedroom AC during the evening, if I closed up the bedroom.

I am wondering what size in watts of the generators that you use, vs. what you would change if you did it over again.  Assume cost is not really a factor, but weight  and noise is.

Can I just get a platform for my 2? receiver hitch and put a generator there when I am on the road?  I hate to use up my front compartment.

With two 3400-watt generators, I would have 50 amps.

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That a common misconception and not true.  An RV 50A power source provides 12,000 watts of power, whereas a 30A provides only 3600 watts. That's because the 50A service is actually a pair of 50A wires vs only one on the 30A connection.  Most 50A-capable RVs don't use anywhere near the 12,000W max, but it's not difficult to hit 6500-8000 watts at peak times.

How much power (watts) you need greatly depends on YOU, so the answers are not simple. Many people have no notion of how much power they use simply because there has always been a nearly unlimited amount available to them.
If two a/c units are running and you pop something in the microwave, and Bingo! You are at about 4000 watts right there and haven't accounted for the fridge, water heater and a myriad of small demand items. Many items run on thermostats, so they cycle on/off unpredictably.  You can be sure, though, that sooner or later everything with a thermostat is going to go "on" at the same time and hit a high level of demand. 

On the other hand, people can learn to adjust there power consumption habits and stay within some limit. The question is whether you have the inclination and will-power to do that, or would you prefer to jut have enough for the max and not worry about it?

Our 5W is much like yours, we have a residential fridge and we do quite a bit of boondocking. But we rely mostly on solar. When we do need to run generator we have 2 Champion 2000 inverter units we can run in parallel that we keep in the back of the truck. We just run one AC at a time as if we were on a 30 amp hookup.

Vicki

Gary RV_Wizard said:

That a common misconception and not true.  An RV 50A power source provides 12,000 watts of power, whereas a 30A provides only 3600 watts. That's because the 50A service is actually a pair of 50A wires vs only one on the 30A connection.  Most 50A-capable RVs don't use anywhere near the 12,000W max, but it's not difficult to hit 6500-8000 watts at peak times.

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Great point about 50A vs. 30A.  I had not even thought about the two hot wires vs. one wire.

When we were hooked up at the dealer waiting on a fix, using a 40 AMP breaker, and we blew a circuit breaker twice during the Missouri heat.  I turned off the water heater and we were fine after that even with two A/Cs.  It takes a bit of learning I guess.

I am leaning towards a Honda 2200i and 2200ic, maybe running on ECO mode.  I saw videos that I could hook up to at least four generators together if I wanted/needed to.  I may never need more than two, but the option is there.  There is also an "EasyStart" that can be used to help reduce initial amperage surge with the A/C, I think it is just a different capacitor set up.

I did not want to get into a situation where I if I had two smaller/quieter generators, and needed more power, I would need to start from scratch.  I also do not want more power than I need and have to carry 20+ gallons of gas, or be in a situation that if I spent just a smaller amount more, I would be 100% better off.  I do not want more noise than I need either.  I wanted to learn from others beginners mistakes...

We can run one A/C at a time, and deal with the hot water heater as we need it, or use propane for heating water.  The microwave is only used for a minute or two at a time, only a couple of times a day, for the most part.  The refrigerator is pretty efficient, and likely able to run with the AC if I have two generators running.  All my main lights are 12V LED.

shorts said:

Our 5W is much like yours, we have a residential fridge and we do quite a bit of boondocking. But we rely mostly on solar. When we do need to run generator we have 2 Champion 2000 inverter units we can run in parallel that we keep in the back of the truck. We just run one AC at a time as if we were on a 30 amp hookup.

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How much solar power do you have?  Are you able to keep the refrigerator running 24x7 with just the solar, battery and inverter?  I am very curious about being self-sufficient while camping, and want to do a bit more boondocking on trips.  Not cave man style, but at least be able to live decently for a few days at a time.

only thing I would change is for our 7.5 to have a separate battery. One that can be switched into the other systems and would be on its own solar charger. 

We have invested quite a bit in our solar as we are wanting to do a lot of boondocking this year. We have 12 165 watt panels and just put in 10 lithium 100 amp batteries. We can?t run roof A/C off of this but we do have 2 small window A/Cs we can run for several hours to stay cool off of the solar. Before the solar we had no problem with the fridge on 4 T-105 Trojan batteries and 1000 watt inverter.

Vicki