Predator 3500 or 4200 for a Quieter RV Generator

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Original Member Title: Predator 3500
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The RVer has a Cabela's 5000 Sportsman generator that works well but is much louder than nearby inverter generators, especially the commonly seen Predator 3500. They wanted reasons not to buy a Predator for occasional RV use in transit or at rest stops, while keeping the louder generator at home for hurricane season.

Members generally said inverter generators such as Predator, Champion, WEN, Craftsman, Honda, and GenMax are much quieter than contractor-style units, but they get louder as...
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Ex-Calif

Ex-Calif

Senior Member
Joined
May 15, 2020
Posts
6,163
Location
NorthCentral Florida
So my Cabellas 5000 Sportsman is great but it's loud. The track has a quiet time from 11pm to 7am but it doesn't apper to be enforced. I shut down because I am the loudest in my 'hood.

But walking by the predator 3500 you can barely tell it's running. Also my casual survey is that 50% of rigs are using it. There's westingouse and some other brands but surprisingly few Honda 2200s. The honda was quieter even than the "whispering" Predator. There was another big frame genny but its logo was facing inboard and I couldn't get the name. It was loud like mine.

I personally think this is because 99% of the time a 30amp trailer wants 30 amps. Why carry 2 generators for the times you want to piggy back them?

So my plan is to dedicate my Cabellas to the house. Hurricane season is brutal. I had also planned to buy a doghouse and let it live outside my back porch. So that's what I'll do.

I am a bit impulsive so tell me why I shouldn't buy a Predator when I get back?

I don't plan to boondock much. Taking a generator will be for in transit use at rest stops and such. That worked out well for this trip so far. We parked in the semi spots where noise wasn't an issue but the Predator would solve even that minor issue.
 
Thanks for your update. My lil red Honda 2000i continues to run and power our boondocking . On a sad note my old Coleman 13.5 AC has run it's last race. (only 18 years old, should still be under warranty) This weekend should see a fancy Furrion Chill Cube installed it it's place. I will let you know how it works with the Honda. For the $$$, "whispering" Predator" seems to be a good choice.
Cheers
 
I've been noodling the Predator 4200. I've spent the morning noodling reviews.

I like the extra power headroom and it's dual fuel. Somehow it's also 40 pounds lighter at 65lbs important because I had to load my Cabellas with ramps. I might have lifted it but it would be max effort for me.I dont't think I could lift it as high as the tailgate. It also has a dedicated 30a RV plug. The 3500 has an adapter.

The downside in the reviews is apparently it is a newer model so they are only giving a 30 day warranty but this may not be true. One guy is reporting a drop out / shut down failure but I think it might be operator error. He's running too much start up peak loads.

When I get back from my trip I will go to HF and fondle both units before deciding.
 
I have a champion 4650 watt that I bought from HD I used for a couple of summers while we still had a TT and that was quiet running most things in the camper. It barked a little bit when my wife plugged in the hair dryer but most of the time if the sites were spread out you could not hear it from other sites. I still shut it down during quiet hours.
 
FWIW, I had a Champion 30-something. Remote start which worked very well. I gave it to a friend a few years ago and, AFAIK, it’s still working. Loved the remote start!
 
So far our 3500 has performed well and certainly quiet enough to store under the TT while running without any related noise annoyances. I will say that they is a WEN 3600 at 46 lbs, IIRC which weighs less than my 3500.

While my unit has a battery start, after it sits for a while the battery goes dead. But its a peace of case to hand start it. I did change the battery out, but dealt with the same issue of the new one going dead.

If you go that direction make sure you follow the break in guidelines by running it and changing the oil at 10 hours, IIRC. You may find some metal shavings in the original oil, which can be fairly common from the factory manufacturing.

In the up and coming labor day, as with other holiday sales you may find discounts listed on all the inverter generators at HF.
 

​

When I first bought my pop-up camper, it had an A/C unit on the roof, so I needed a generator that could power it. That rooftop A/C took a lot of power. I bought a 3,500-watt Predator generator and even purchased an extended warranty for another ~$200. Fortunately, I never needed to use the warranty, so that turned out to be money I didn't need to spend.

I used the Predator for two seasons. The only drawback was that it was pretty heavy, especially for this 80-year-old. Fortunately, I made a small ramp that allowed me to roll it up into my camper rather than having to lift it.

That worked well, but eventually I outgrew the pop-up. In November 2024, I bought a Sunray 149 camper trailer with a window-mounted A/C unit. The new A/C draws much less power—only about 475 watts when running—so I no longer needed the power of the Predator 3,500.

My youngest son has a larger camper trailer with a roof-mounted A/C unit. He had purchased a Predator 2,000-watt generator without realizing that it wasn't powerful enough to run his A/C without adding a Soft-Start modification.

He needed a bigger generator, and I needed a smaller one, so we made a trade.

Now he can run his A/C and microwave without worrying about having enough generator capacity, and I don't have to lug around the extra weight of the 3,500.

When he's boondocking, he can roll the 3,500 out into the trees and plug it into a 75-foot heavy-duty power cord. From that distance, you can barely hear it running at the campsite. The generator could use bigger wheels, but there is a modification available that allows you to install larger wheels.

He uses the pull-start cord to start it because the battery is now four years old and no longer holds a charge. That's not a big problem since the pull-start still works.

I see a lot more Predator 3,500 generators than Hondas at construction sites these days. Honda makes a great generator, but in my opinion, it's not worth paying the extra big bucks for one when the Predator does the job so well.

In the end, the trade worked out perfectly. My son got the generator he needed, and I got the lighter generator that better fits my current camper. Sometimes the best equipment isn't the biggest or most expensive—it's simply the equipment that matches the job.
 
Ex-Calif said:
I've decided it needs electric start.

I see a good reason for remote start. Fire it up in the morning to make coffee without getting rained on.
Click to expand...
Yep. The Champion would do three start cycles with auto choke. It would start on the 3rd cycle with the temperature in the teens. Nice way to start the day at 4am in the camp. Wyoming Range in October.
I’d run it for a total of 2-3 hours a day to keep the camper batteries and internal start battery charged up. When not in use, stored, I could shut off the start battery power. Never had a problem with it.
 
Boonie Buster2 said:

​

When I first bought my pop-up camper, it had an A/C unit on the roof, so I needed a generator that could power it. That rooftop A/C took a lot of power. I bought a 3,500-watt Predator generator and even purchased an extended warranty for another ~$200. Fortunately, I never needed to use the warranty, so that turned out to be money I didn't need to spend.

I used the Predator for two seasons. The only drawback was that it was pretty heavy, especially for this 80-year-old. Fortunately, I made a small ramp that allowed me to roll it up into my camper rather than having to lift it.

That worked well, but eventually I outgrew the pop-up. In November 2024, I bought a Sunray 149 camper trailer with a window-mounted A/C unit. The new A/C draws much less power—only about 475 watts when running—so I no longer needed the power of the Predator 3,500.

My youngest son has a larger camper trailer with a roof-mounted A/C unit. He had purchased a Predator 2,000-watt generator without realizing that it wasn't powerful enough to run his A/C without adding a Soft-Start modification.

He needed a bigger generator, and I needed a smaller one, so we made a trade.

Now he can run his A/C and microwave without worrying about having enough generator capacity, and I don't have to lug around the extra weight of the 3,500.

When he's boondocking, he can roll the 3,500 out into the trees and plug it into a 75-foot heavy-duty power cord. From that distance, you can barely hear it running at the campsite. The generator could use bigger wheels, but there is a modification available that allows you to install larger wheels.

He uses the pull-start cord to start it because the battery is now four years old and no longer holds a charge. That's not a big problem since the pull-start still works.

I see a lot more Predator 3,500 generators than Hondas at construction sites these days. Honda makes a great generator, but in my opinion, it's not worth paying the extra big bucks for one when the Predator does the job so well.

In the end, the trade worked out perfectly. My son got the generator he needed, and I got the lighter generator that better fits my current camper. Sometimes the best equipment isn't the biggest or most expensive—it's simply the equipment that matursches the job.
Click to expand...
Many reviews state the small battery doesn't hold a charge but even older Predators start easy on pull cord.

I was amaed at this Cabella one. It sat in my garden shed for a year. I pulled it out. hit start and it fired immediatley. It only has 30 total hours and I've done 20 of opportunity.
 
Have had our Honda 2000i for 18 years. It's been a great genny for light use while RVing. If we need the AC or microwave, we crank up the big Onan. The Honda has been a wonderful trouble free genny. That said, if I buy another, it won't a Honda. The name on the side of the box adds more $$$ than I'm willing to pay.

I've looked at the Predator 3500 and like everything but the weight. If I ever replace the Honda, it will be with something under 55 lbs that will fit in the bay of the Pace and run one AC. For me, the limiting factor is how much I can lift with one hand. And that amount, for reasons I can't explain, seems to be going downhill. :(
 
garyb1st said:
Have had our Honda 2000i for 18 years. It's been a great genny for light use while RVing. If we need the AC or microwave, we crank up the big Onan. The Honda has been a wonderful trouble free genny. That said, if I buy another, it won't a Honda. The name on the side of the box adds more $$$ than I'm willing to pay.

I've looked at the Predator 3500 and like everything but the weight. If I ever replace the Honda, it will be with something under 55 lbs that will fit in the bay of the Pace and run one AC. For me, the limiting factor is how much I can lift with one hand. And that amount, for reasons I can't explain, seems to be going downhill. :(
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We camp along long side of a friend that has one in the same class as the 3500 predator. Its a one hand job to truck it. Its surely quiet too.

 
I’ve never been a fan of craftsman gas products but I bought the craftsman 3300i generator and it’s worked great. It’s a suitcase like the Honda but just a little more power so it will run one AC. I could buy another one and one of them in parallel if needed but I haven’t ever needed it. Yea it’s quiet too.
About 60 lbs and no remote start.
 
I run one of these when needed. We were camping last month and a couple was standing in the road looking at us. I asked if I could help them and the asked what generator I was running because it was so quite. I have been very happy with it. My son also has 2 of the same brand but 2300 w he hooks together. Always starts right up like they should.

Amazon.com: Pulsar Products GD400BN, 4000W Portable super-quiet Dual Fuel & Parallel Capability, RV-Ready, CARB Compliant : Industrial & Scientific

Amazon.com: Pulsar Products GD400BN, 4000W Portable super-quiet Dual Fuel & Parallel Capability, RV-Ready, CARB Compliant : Industrial & Scientific
www.amazon.com
 
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