Portable Generator transport

[2airishuman]

hi campadk

most of the back hatches are tall enough to fit a generator...

and given that the most jiggling anywhere in the trailer is a the aft position, i wouldn't want mine there.

the honda gas gens have a gas cap that allows closing of the vent. infact IF you run the gen with the cap in 'closed position' it will stop after a few minutes and create a vacumn in the fuel line.

i've carried mine in a zip lock bag and inside a big rubbermaid. it doesn't really give off fumes that way.

IF i were carrying it inside the trailer, i'd do what jglabrown has done...container it and place just inside the door, on a non skid matt...last thing in and first thing out..this would result in virtually no fumes imo.

i've had mine inside the house contained and couldn't smell it....

as for size the 2000 will run everything in the trailer expect the a/c. the 1000 will not run microwave, water heater, convection oven, heat pumps, large blow dryers or bigger vacumns....or combos of these things...lights yes, battery charge yes but 900 watts isn't much juice these days...

in terms of space, price and utility the 2000s is at least twice the value of a 1000 for 20% more money.

another consideration is home backup use. i've used the 2000 for power outages and to run tools remotely and a variety of non airstream applications...

yes lpgas is cleaner and cool. but carrying an extra 20lbs of lp just to use the genset....isn't ideal. if you opt to run it from the a/s tanks the genset will always need to be near the front of the trailer. i can put mine anywhere...front, rear, side, behind a tree, the firewood and so on...

IF you are gonna get one buy a 2000...for 900$ after a season of use you will know IF you really want or need the lpg conversion. the honda 2000s are very easy to sell used...if you opt for a different model.

btw, i was inside several 75ths being built...all stages. yours may have be a shell then. i've got some observations about the unit for ya...i'll put them in your thread...

cheers
2air'

[Pick]

I converted my Honda EU200i to run on propane. On a long 4 day weekend I run it off the 33 gallon tank in the bed of my pickup. I also run it off of one of the 30# bottles on the Airstream. For storage, I place it inside the A/S. No worries with gas fumes. A friend has a gasoline powered EU2000i if we need to run the A/C. I have a home made cord set for running 2.

[jglabrown]

I agree with 2air. Also, since the aft hatch on the 16' is only a little over 11" in height and the 2000 Honda is 17+" high, the aft storage space is out for us. As I mentioned, no problems (so far) storing just inside the entrance door while traveling (and also when away from the camp site).

Pick, I really liked your post last year on the conversion. Tell me about the noise level before and after. (I hate to harp on it, but noise really concerns me when camping around others - don't want to be a bad neighbor)

Larry
"so far, so good"

[2airishuman]

Originally Posted by 2airishuman

most of the back hatches are tall enough to fit a generator...2air'

of course this is supposed to read...
"most of the back hatches are NOT tall enough to fit a generator"

sorry for the poor proof read.....

larry...
keep in mind pick has propane tanks for fumigation of his diesel truck. so he's commited to propane for other reasons...

i've posted elsewhere on noise levels of the common generators....

have you read somewhere that noise levels change for converted units?

i don't understand how that would happen unless rpms are modified somehow.
the combustion chamber hasn't changed...

since lpg contains slightly less energy than gasoline,
i've read conversions reduce kwatts 5% or so...
i don't know if that is really true or if converted units run at a higher rpm for a given load...
which would increase noise but still be within the measured levels...

my understanding is that honda under rates their units true output...
so again conversion shouldn't limit generator capacity....

conversion is easy with the kits...i use mine so much away from tanks that carry the lp stuff would be a bother....

picnics, hiking, biking...the genset is just there ready to provide juice. a full tank of gasoline lasts 6-12 hours for me....

cheers
2air'

[campadk]

I'm leaning towards a Honda EU2000i. If I store it inside the door of our Bambi as suggested, I'd be worried about it being knocked over... possibly. Shouldn't it somehow be secured in its place? Or is its 46lbs of weight going to do the job on a none slip mat?

[rickandsandi]

Welcome!
Yes you see lots of Hondas and some Yamahas out there and they sure do come in handy. We went through the normal discussions of what brand and how big and finally decided all we really needed was something to top off the batteries when Boondocking. When we are out far away, we don't need TV, A/C or anything else other than a few lights, a fan or two and of course water and dump. Just when we were going to pick up our Honda 1000 from the local dealer before heading out to Yellowstone for thre weeks he raised his price. Well we ended up purchasing a Kipor. A little known brand used mostly by Fire Departments and EMT's. Saved several hundred dollars and very happy. Now the reason for this horribly long story is that we keep ours in the back of our Tahoe in a boot tray. It has a wonderful feature which I would imagine the Honda and Yamaha also have. There is a vent cap which when closed eliminates and evaporation or fumes coming from the gas tank. I took a turn a little sharp one morning (without the AS) and the Kipor fell over and no spill or smell. So when on the road we feel quite comfortable with it in the back! Of course we never carry fuel cans in the truck and we have found that we get plenty of run time with the fuel tank it has.

[campadk]

Hmmm.. well considering we don't have a microwave, not worried about a/c since we are camping almost exclusively in the north, and the water heater runs on LP... maybe a 1000W genset will do. I'd anticipate we only need it to top up batteries mainly.

So I quess the question is what will a 2000W unit do for our situation that won't be satisfied with a 1000W unit?

[dmac]

Dave - I have the same situation as you and decided on the 2000 because:

- My wife likes to use an electric coffeemaker and electric hairdryer.
- It can power our furnace at home when we have a winter power outage.
- It can be used for power tools when too far from an outlet.
- I have the option of buying another 2000 and the paralleling kit to run the A/C.

When I use the gen to recharge the trailer battery, I simultaniously plug-in all other rechargable devices - razor, AA battery charger, laptop computer,etc. I don't know the total wattage, but it may be worth calculating before you decide.

The advantages of the 1000 are lighter weight and lower cost.

[ticki2]

Just FYI , there is a yahoo group devoted entirely to the honda 2000 , great information .

one advantage of the 2000 vs 1000 is that you can run most heavy duty power tool with it , if you have a need for that

I carry my 2000 in the back of the pick-up , and also run it back there with the hatch open , seems to be fine.

I also carry a clean and empty 1 gal gas container that I can use to get more fuel if the I need to .

[grizzy]

Check out the following link: http://www.airforums.com/forum...mbi-13142.html

We have used this setup now for a couple of years and over 20,000 miles of towing -- it has worked great. Others have been somewhat concerned about reducing turning radius but we have'nt had any problems.