A/C generator requirement

[purple haze]

I’m taking a 2 week road trip in a few weeks towing the camper. In the 10 years that I’ve owned the camper we used the A/C I think 2 times. Once we were plugged in and the other I used my huge and very loud Coleman generator, which IIRC is 5000 running watts. It’s old. It was old in 2008 when I got it, but it still runs. I mainly keep it for power outages at home. On our road trip we may need the A/C we may not. Anyway what does a generator output need to be to run the A/C? My toy hauler is small at 19’ so I’m pretty sure it has the smaller A/C unit. I seen a couple of used Cummins 4500i units for sale, but dang, they’re 104 lbs.

Thanks for any input!!

 

[Laura & Charles]

5 kw will run your A/C with power left over for coffee.

 

[tlmgcamp]

From my Generac owners manual. This is 12 years old and likely refers to window units rather than RV unit. I would like to think that the AC's are a little more efficient now. IMPORTANT: The asterisk means to allow 3x the listed watts for start up. That would be a surge of 5100 watts for the 12k AC listed.

 

[SuwanneeDave]

If you want quieter, consider an inverter generator. 3500 watts should be sufficient.

 

[Bearcatrp]

If a generator has a 30 amp plug in, it will run 1 AC unit. Now if you get the lowest and cheapest generator, more than likely you won’t be able to run much more. I purchased a Honda 3200 suit case style generator. Can run both AC and microwave at the same time. It’s a bit expensive compared to others similar set up. Have a larger Honda generator for home use. Get one you’re comfortable with and easy to move around. I think the suit case style generators are great for campers on the go. Don’t take up much room and easy to move without taking out your back moving it.

 

[Isaac-1]

Keep in mind generators like all gas engines loose power at elevation, if you are going to be camping at high elevation this can be an issue. My Onan 4000 had trouble just running the microwave or the air conditioner (not both at once) when camping at around 8,000 ft elevation a few years ago.

 

[purple haze]

What does your Honda weigh? I really like the Cummins/Onan that I saw on marketplace but when one of them told me it was 104 lbs…yikes. I’m getting a bit long in the tooth to be picking that up.
Your 3200 is running watts I assume? What is the peak?

If a generator has a 30 amp plug in, it will run 1 AC unit. Now if you get the lowest and cheapest generator, more than likely you won’t be able to run much more. I purchased a Honda 3200 suit case style generator. Can run both AC and microwave at the same time. It’s a bit expensive compared to others similar set up. Have a larger Honda generator for home use. Get one you’re comfortable with and easy to move around. I think the suit case style generators are great for campers on the go. Don’t take up much room and easy to move without taking out your back moving it.

 

[outofhere2]

WEN just put out a new 3600 dule fule inverter generator for $500 on Amazon it it will run up to 14 hours on 50% load on propan
There are many videos on YouTube already I like Jhonny weekends vids he has several on small inverted generators

 

[CharlesinGA]

What does your Honda weigh? I really like the Cummins/Onan that I saw on marketplace but when one of them told me it was 104 lbs…yikes. I’m getting a bit long in the tooth to be picking that up.
Your 3200 is running watts I assume? What is the peak?

I'm having a hard time thinking that your 5000 watt open frame Coleman weighs less than a 100 lbs. The Cummins/Onan 4500i can be bought in either straight gas or LP/gasoline versions, and is much more expensive than the identical Westinghouse branded models. In any case, please don't be a bad neighbor and run your loud Coleman around other campers. Be a good neighbor. Federal campgrounds have noise limits for generators, and Federal lands also have spark arrestor muffler requirements which the Coleman may not meet.

Watch this until at least 3:50 I started it a little before that.

Charles

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

If your mini-toyhauler uses 30A shore power (3-prong plug), then the Onan P4500i will run everything in the RV all day long without breaking a sweat. At around 100 lbs, that's relatively light for the wattage. And yes, it is an inverter generator so able to throttle back when the watt load is less than 100%. Much quieter that way. But there are many competitive models that would do equally well.

But for occasional single a/c use you can easily get by with something smaller & lighter. One with 2200-2400 running watts and maybe 2800-3000 peak watts. Generators that size weigh around 65-70 lbs.

A dual fuel model is also handy - run on propane or gas. It' a lot easier & safer to tote along a 20# gas bottle than 5 gallons of gasoline.

 

[John From Detroit]

Small A/C with soft start a Yahama or honda "I" type in the 2000 to 2500 watt range (Suggest higher wattage) Most all of them 2 of the above in parallel or a 3500 or larger

As someone else said 5000 you can make coffee or run two of 'em

I no longer RV and just put Emergency power system in my kitchen for the Fridge and Microwave This is a battery/inverter/charger with some nice features (Echoflow Delta Max) and a "Nice" (not) price tag (About 700 at my door) Should give me about 2 days of Power Fail protection.

 

[Knobs]

...I’m getting a bit long in the tooth to be picking that up.
...

Me, too, which is the reason I went with two small inverter-generators (Champion brand) rated at 2500W each and a parallel kit. They each weigh ~38 pounds. This allows me to easily lift them into and out of the truck bed, move them around, etc. I bought a gasoline model, but you can also get dual fuel models in that class as well.

They were quite quiet when not running at full power. OK on noise when fully loaded.

They also performed very well @ ~7000-7500 feet on a recent trip to the Grand Canyon.

 

[1stimerver]

We currently use an Onan 4500i to run our entire Aspen trail 1900RB TT. With the 6 gallon gas tank it can run for about 9 hours at half load on a fill and the remote start stop key fob is great.

We deliberately purchased this size unit after our experience with 2 champion 2000 watt inverters in parallel with small gas tanks (only ran for a couple of hours when using ac etc.). A single Champion 2000 would not run our 13,500 btu AC unit.

I would suggest, for occasional use, the 3500 watt suitcase type units sold by Harbor freight.
Reasonably priced, relatively small, light and reasonably quiet, as a good alternative, when occasionally boondocking. Friends we camp with use them on a regular basis and they seem to be pretty reliable.

Just my $.02 FWIW
Safe travels and all the best.

 

[purple haze]

LOL no that Coleman is a tank! The last time I used was at least 8 years ago when we were at a barrel race in the Sacramento valley on July 4th weekend and it was really hot! I brought it along knowing we needed it and there were many other loud gennies going too, so the noise wasn't a problem. And I moved it in/out and around with a hand truck. I want to put the gennie on the front of the trailer where there is a spot for it. That's why I wanna stick to one. And I don't if I should be concerned about the extra tongue weight but I really don't wanna lifting on/off a 100lb +

I'm having a hard time thinking that your 5000 watt open frame Coleman weighs less than a 100 lbs. The Cummins/Onan 4500i can be bought in either straight gas or LP/gasoline versions, and is much more expensive than the identical Westinghouse branded models. In any case, please don't be a bad neighbor and run your loud Coleman around other campers. Be a good neighbor. Federal campgrounds have noise limits for generators, and Federal lands also have spark arrestor muffler requirements which the Coleman may not meet.

Watch this until at least 3:50 I started it a little before that.

Charles

 

[purple haze]

I have a Harbor Freight little 700w 2 stroke gennie that I bought for like $125 new years ago. It still works, but it's not "clean" power. It makes a little interference with the TV/DVD player. We dry camp %75 of the time and I really only use it at night if we wanna watch a movie. Or occasionally if I need to charge the batteries and that depends how many are in our party.

We currently use an Onan 4500i to run our entire Aspen trail 1900RB TT. With the 6 gallon gas tank it can run for about 9 hours at half load on a fill and the remote start stop key fob is great.

We deliberately purchased this size unit after our experience with 2 champion 2000 watt inverters in parallel with small gas tanks (only ran for a couple of hours when using ac etc.). A single Champion 2000 would not run our 13,500 btu AC unit.

I would suggest, for occasional use, the 3500 watt suitcase type units sold by Harbor freight.
Reasonably priced, relatively small, light and reasonably quiet, as a good alternative, when occasionally boondocking. Friends we camp with use them on a regular basis and they seem to be pretty reliable.

Just my $.02 FWIW
Safe travels and all the best.

 

[grashley]

Keep in mind generators like all gas engines loose power at elevation, if you are going to be camping at high elevation this can be an issue. My Onan 4000 had trouble just running the microwave or the air conditioner (not both at once) when camping at around 8,000 ft elevation a few years ago.

I bought a Westinghouse 2550 Dual Fuel genny mid trip this summer. The first time I tried to use it was in the Big Horn Mountains at 8600 ft. Reading the manual, page 12, it says for use above 5000 ft, an altitude kit is required. Different kit for each fuel. It would not start over 6000 ft. It did fine at 3500 ft.

I love the genny, but beware!

 

[Bearcatrp]

What does your Honda weigh? I really like the Cummins/Onan that I saw on marketplace but when one of them told me it was 104 lbs…yikes. I’m getting a bit long in the tooth to be picking that up.
Your 3200 is running watts I assume? What is the peak?

Here is a link that has all the information you need. You can find them cheaper than what’s listed on Honda’s web site.

https://powerequipment.honda.com/generators/models/eu3200i

 

[purple haze]

I just found a Westinghouse like that but it’s a 5000 watt. Guy says it’s brand new, but the box looks old, for $475 I think they are around 900 new

I bought a Westinghouse 2550 Dual Fuel genny mid trip this summer. The first time I tried to use it was in the Big Horn Mountains at 8600 ft. Reading the manual, page 12, it says for use above 5000 ft, an altitude kit is required. Different kit for each fuel. It would not start over 6000 ft. It did fine at 3500 ft.

I love the genny, but beware!

 

[purple haze]

So I picked up the Westinghouse. Dang it’s nice. It’s 104lbs…. but oh well it’ll get the job done. It runs the A/C at %25 power. It’s supposed to run 18 hours at %25. The remote start is awesome!

$475 is a steal I think.

 

[IBTripping]

Good choice, nice price, and has a good reputation. Congrats.