Generator, Honda vs Champion and Predator

[RandyNH]

Originally Posted by Boxite

If your idea of Airstreaming is being in a campground with a bunch of other campers... then get in a campground with electricity....or plan to listen to generators.

If your idea of Airstreaming is being waay out yonder all by yourself somewhere... then it matters not what kind of generator you chose for yourself, as long as you are happy with it.

This last summer my wife and I spent 3 months in NM,CO,WY,MT,ID,UT,AZ. While in Canyonlands, we drove a dirt road for 20 miles to camp all alone in the wilderness amongst cottonwoods in a dry creek. It was HOT. We started up our little generator (an off-brand cheapie) and moved it away from our AS about 75', placing it down in a gully and connected to the AS by LONG extension cord. We could barely hear it outside our AS and it was completely unnoticeable INside. We slept soundly all night, except when some Volvo showed up in our little selected remote spot, with it's headlights flashing thru our windows as it turned around repeatedly while attempting to settle-down in a level area. (I'm talking about a REMOTE place surrounded by many hundreds of square miles of abandoned canyonland at least 45 minutes down a dirt road that never was intended for Volvos.)
Next morning the Volvo was gone, but a nasty note was on my windshield scolding me for using a generator that disturbed the peace.
I'd have preferred the coward to have confronted me personally with his/her complaint as I would have an interesting conversation with them I'm certain.

No matter how close you are to the being in the same spot, the view from your window is always different than someone else's.

Being in a Volvo and more than likely not dragging a trailer around, my guess might be that the "coward" may have already been there, completely enjoying the utter remoteness of the location, relaxing and preparing to sleep under the stars with nothing but a thin piece of cloth between them and the wonderful tranquility of being in the middle of 100s of square miles of nothingness 45 minutes up a dirt road, where surely no idiot would drag a trailer just to sit in the middle of compete tranquility to stay inside and run an air conditioner and possibly watch a DVD or something. She probably said to him, why don't you go and talk to him and see if he might shut that thing off so we can go back to enjoying the perfectness that WAS this location, so he gets in the car drives over to where all the noise is coming from, not hard to find, not wanting to be completely confrontational and pounding on your door, and because he's read enough stories about people in remote locations being paranoid about Mexicans that they come out shooting and then claim they were obviously trying to break in when they shoot them, he makes sure that you are aware he there by plastering the inside of your trailer with his headlights (all in the hope that you might come out to "chat" about the noise level) when no one comes out he figures you must be "busy" and doesn't want to disturb or that your completely self absorbed and actually left the trailer with the lights on and the generator running. At this point there are two options, disabling the generator himself or being the only one in the situation to be respectful of everyone and everything and take the high road and simply leave a note, so that next time more consideration may be taken by the person who is unaware of anything past their own bumpers.

Been there, done that, from the other side.

[Mattirs]

Thanks for the Paul Harvey

[ROBERT CROSS]

...a lot of folks spend the BIG $$$'s on the AS and then look for the cheep stuff to fill it with.
We went with the Honda 2000i it cost...$83.25 per year. Next year it will be even less.😂

Bob
🇺🇸

Our generator makes no noise...out of sight out of mind 👍

[Boxite]

Originally Posted by RandyNH

No matter how close you are to the being in the same spot, the view from your window is always different than someone else's.

Being in a Volvo and more than likely not dragging a trailer around, my guess might be that the "coward" may have already been there, completely enjoying the utter remoteness of the location, relaxing and preparing to sleep under the stars with nothing but a thin piece of cloth between them and the wonderful tranquility of being in the middle of 100s of square miles of nothingness 45 minutes up a dirt road, where surely no idiot would drag a trailer just to sit in the middle of compete tranquility to stay inside and run an air conditioner and possibly watch a DVD or something. She probably said to him, why don't you go and talk to him and see if he might shut that thing off so we can go back to enjoying the perfectness that WAS this location, so he gets in the car drives over to where all the noise is coming from, not hard to find, not wanting to be completely confrontational and pounding on your door, and because he's read enough stories about people in remote locations being paranoid about Mexicans that they come out shooting and then claim they were obviously trying to break in when they shoot them, he makes sure that you are aware he there by plastering the inside of your trailer with his headlights (all in the hope that you might come out to "chat" about the noise level) when no one comes out he figures you must be "busy" and doesn't want to disturb or that your completely self absorbed and actually left the trailer with the lights on and the generator running. At this point there are two options, disabling the generator himself or being the only one in the situation to be respectful of everyone and everything and take the high road and simply leave a note, so that next time more consideration may be taken by the person who is unaware of anything past their own bumpers.

Been there, done that, from the other side.

You've got quite an imagination. But like the Volvo occupant... you're just wrong. If he'd knocked on my door he'd have likely been offered a beverage, a snack, and a nice conversation if he was civil about it.
If he'd messed with my generator without talking to me he'd have had a very difficult evening, especially being so far from an emergency room.

[2bkidfree]

So Home Depot has a Champion 2000 watt inverter on sale for $399 for black Friday. For that price you could have 2 plus the parallel kit for under a grand. Interesting. 3200 running watts.

[Countryboy59]

You can pick up a Honda 3000 inverter starting at $800 locally here. There are dozens of them for sale online so if you are intent on that brand, they are cheap and plentiful.

[Kanusport]

I’m going to buy the Honda knock off at Costco with the Yamaha engine.

[2bkidfree]

Countryboy59 - I have a 3000 in my work truck, bolted to the bed but it's not the nice version. It starts like a dream every time though and we don't treat it well at all. That's why it's bolted down. I just wonder if having 2 lighter units would be easier to move around since the vehicle we tow with has to be unloaded every time. Luckily I've got a little time to decide.

Kanusport - I saw that one at Costco tonight, but the line for free food was blocking the isle. "people, it's just free snack food. Geeze!". Best thing about that unit would be the great Costco return policy.

[gypsydad]

Originally Posted by 2bkidfree

Countryboy59 - I have a 3000 in my work truck, bolted to the bed but it's not the nice version. It starts like a dream every time though and we don't treat it well at all. That's why it's bolted down. I just wonder if having 2 lighter units would be easier to move around since the vehicle we tow with has to be unloaded every time. Luckily I've got a little time to decide.

Kanusport - I saw that one at Costco tonight, but the line for free food was blocking the isle. "people, it's just free snack food. Geeze!". Best thing about that unit would be the great Costco return policy.

If your like many of us, you might consider getting the 2 lighter generators since you can move them around as needed at the campsite on longer stays. In summer, we don't typically need the AC, so one 2000W is fine when we need a generator, like in most National/State Parks or boondocking up in the NorthWest. Sometimes the trailer is in an area where noise can be an issue if left close to the AS, so we can move it off into the brush. Easy to move the 45lb' single unit; the 95lb Dual Fuel moves fairly easy too, with the wheels and handle, but I need to be careful moving it in/out of the bed of the truck since it is pretty heavy lifting these days... If I leave it in the truck to run, sometimes the noise seems magnified, depending on where we are camped, so I usually end up taking it out and moving it around back of the AS, with exhaust pointing into the brush...or at my neighbor! Just kidding.

[Mollysdad]

Originally Posted by Kanusport

I’m going to buy the Honda knock off at Costco with the Yamaha engine.

Wouldn't that make it a Yamaha knock off?

[Julie-Bob]

I have used two Honda 2000 for about 12 years with no problems. Of course I store them the right way each winter. I have modified to fuel tanks caps so they both suck fuel from a five gallon can, I have ran one generator for over 33 hours straight. We have two so if we are going to make coffee and use the microwave I start both. Yes we have used the AC with both but over the years you could count the times on one hand. I have them in the pickup bed with a shell on the truck with the top closed and the tailgate partly open the generator can not be heard a few feet from the truck. I enjoy the Honda for more than the quietness the light weight I can pick up one and walk with it if needed.