Generator on a $1000 budget

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I bought the extended warranty which put me a little over budget but I think it will be worth it.

I bounced back and forth with a few options of generators locally that were cheaper but my biggest concern was what store was I going to find the most access to on the road if there is an issue with my unit. That of course would be a Home Depot or Lowe?s. Two other units I looked at were unfortunately too tall for my tonneau cover.

I really didn?t need that wireless start but I made the mistake of watching a YouTube video about it and I was sold.

I?m thinking I will still invest in a soft start unit for the AC in a few months when money allows.
 
Just got the generator! Haven?t started it yet. I notice there?s some directions on ground the generator.

When should the generator be grounded? What if you?re out in the woods?
 
Gizmo100 said:
I never leave it out in the weather and I'm planning on having a welder fabricate a mounting plate with a locking cover so I don't have to remove it from the RV.

Gizmo, if you had the locking cover/plate made, I'd be curious to see the design if you can post a photo.
Thanks, Larry
 
Henry J Fate said:
Yes. The 5w30 synthetic has been good to my car so far and 125 k. I buy it at wally world for $25 a gallon.

Buying a gallon at a time is overkill for an engine that holds 0.6 quarts.  Wally World's house brand oil meets or exceeds the same standards as the name brands and costs less. It was good to my Nissan Sentra - it lasted over 250k without any engine repairs and ran fine when I sold it.

Jey said:
Just got the generator! Haven?t started it yet. I notice there?s some directions on ground the generator.

When should the generator be grounded? What if you?re out in the woods?

There's no need to ground the generator.  That's just lawyer's CYA language in case some fool tries to sue after the generator goes underwater during a flood.
 
Telemark46 said:
Gizmo, if you had the locking cover/plate made, I'd be curious to see the design if you can post a photo.
Thanks, Larry

It didn't pan out....I was hoping to mount it to the back of the TT on the bumper. But the build of the frame of the TT looks questionable to support the weight. And the person I saw that had tray with the generator mounted on the back bumper is now having problems with the back of his TT pulling apart.
So for now the idea is on hold.
 
Gizmo100 said:
I have this one and it runs everything. Yes it's a little heavy but it's a good reliable generator.

I did/do the following to help it last
10 hours - changed oil
25 hours - changed oil
50 hours - change oil to synthetic (Will use synthetic from now on)
100 hours -changed oil
Next oil change 200 hours

I never leave it out in the weather and I'm planning on having a welder fabricate a mounting plate with a locking cover so I don't have to remove it from the RV.

I recommend following this schedule or something like it.  Defiantly use dino oil for the break in period - synthetic is a bit too slippery and the rings will have trouble seating.  As for the grounding you don't need to unless you have an EMS (voltage regulator) then you will need a neutral bonded plug
 
Gizmo100 said:
It didn't pan out....I was hoping to mount it to the back of the TT on the bumper. But the build of the frame of the TT looks questionable to support the weight. And the person I saw that had tray with the generator mounted on the back bumper is now having problems with the back of his TT pulling apart.
So for now the idea is on hold.

I am not an engineer and don't play one in the internet. But I too have been going in the direction of a tray mounted on the sewer bumper. I do not like weight hanging way away from the sewer tube on the add on hitch receiver. Well I looked at all the metal thicknesses of the main frame and the metal on the tube and found both to be the same thickness measured with a micrometer. Of course I don't know if there is a difference in the quality of metals.  But the springs and the axles are mounted directly to the main frame, which is not boxed and the weight of the upper structure is targeted in isolated areas of the open channel frame.

And of course my bumper is fastened to the ends of the main frame with two fasteners, which I feel has its own issues of weakness along with the welds from the offsets and the four inch tubes.  So I actually ran a one inch plus channel into the main frame and extended the one inch tube out to the end of the sewer tube and under it. I figured that I would not be any worse off attempting to carry 100 lbs and carry it right up next to the four inch tube than the stress applied to the main frame in targeted locations for the axles and springs.

I did however order another add on 2 inch hitch receiver and will install the two receivers offset to the centerline and with the second receiver mounted at the curb side main frame . I will cut a four foot 2 inch channel into two pieces and use both pieces under a custom built wood tray right against the sewer tube.

I personally feel that there will be little chance of flexing away from the sewer tube this way and the advantage of the double receivers and the two 2 inch channels under the tray will transfer the load, with one area being back onto the main frame and away from the offset fasteners and the four inch tube. When I get my parts installed I will post pictures and my observation of my experiment.
 
By the way I purchased the Predator 3500 even though it was a compromise generator from a selection of many brands. I can at least take it back in the warranty period if something goes crazy. I will say that if you purchase one and it has a solid  door at the oil dip stick I highly recommend that update that door to a vented door. That's where the majority of air comes from for the carb. When the generator is running, the door will stay closed without even fastening it when its running. If you need a picture of that I can post it. I just got a vent from west marine and drilled a hole with a hole saw and installed it on the face of the door.
 
Larry N. said:
Yes, but that's pretty loud, 65 dB. It's a logarithmic scale, with a 3 dB change being twice or half as loud, though not quite THAT obvious to the ear, but still a big difference compared to the 53-57 dB range of some others.

I know this is an old thread but....nope, 3dB is twice the power, not twice the volume.  10dB is twice the volume to the human ear.  2db is barely noticeable.
 
Boat Addict said:
I will say that if you purchase one and it has a solid  door at the oil dip stick I highly recommend that update that door to a vented door. That's where the majority of air comes from for the carb. When the generator is running, the door will stay closed without even fastening it when its running. If you need a picture of that I can post it. I just got a vent from west marine and drilled a hole with a hole saw and installed it on the face of the door.

That solid door may be intentional to force the incoming air to cool another area as it passes...
 
NY_Dutch said:
That solid door may be intentional to force the incoming air to cool another area as it passes...

Well there has been repeated comments about the generator starving for air for several years on the net. Amazon sells new printed doors that goes on the generator. So that's all I know. I just made mine from drilling out the center and added a premade vent on the face of the door and saved about 15 bucks from ordering one. I shall see . I did notice a slight difference in the sound when running in the full load mode.
 
coyoterick said:
I know this is an old thread but....nope, 3dB is twice the power, not twice the volume.  10dB is twice the volume to the human ear.  2db is barely noticeable.
You forget that the ear hears "volume" on a logarithmic scale, so while 10 dB does, indeed, sound only twice as loud, and 3 dB is a small change to the ear, that "twice the power" is also twice as loud if you're using a linear measure. A sound meter, of course, uses a log scale to roughly match the ear. And that 65 dB vs 53-57 dB is, indeed, much louder.

I stand by my statement.
 
Gizmo100 said:
It didn't pan out....I was hoping to mount it to the back of the TT on the bumper. But the build of the frame of the TT looks questionable to support the weight. And the person I saw that had tray with the generator mounted on the back bumper is now having problems with the back of his TT pulling apart.
So for now the idea is on hold.
You're wise to worry about that.  My cousin had a rear tray welded on to his 5er for a heavy generator.  Going over some rough highway, it gave way and started dragging.  Fortunately, two CHP officers stopped and put the generator in the trailer and flexed the tray off and put it in the truck.  My cousin and his wife never would have been able to do either.
 
Gizmo100 said:
It didn't pan out....I was hoping to mount it to the back of the TT on the bumper. But the build of the frame of the TT looks questionable to support the weight. And the person I saw that had tray with the generator mounted on the back bumper is now having problems with the back of his TT pulling apart.
So for now the idea is on hold.

Another reason not to mount a heavy generator (or anything else) on the rear of a TT is it will affect the balance of the trailer and remove weight from the hitch.

The trailer can dangerously fishtail if the hitch weight is too low.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mW_gzdh6to

 

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