Champion 3400 watt dual fuel inverter-generator

[Milo1952]

Hello

Reaching out to the community for reviews/advice on champion 3400 watt
dual fuel inverter. If you have one, please chime in. Your experience and opinion does matter.
Like the dual fuel option should gas run out with no immediate access.
Harry

[twh731]

I am also looking at the 3100 or 3400 Champion dual fuel and will be watching for info. Having a choice of fuel gas vs LP, electric start, easily moved around (until you have to lift it into your truck), an actual 30A RV plug receptacle, very slightly louder than the revered Honda, many service vendors and actual help via phone should you need it, great reviews by many different actual users, price point...what's not to like. Con's: it is slightly louder than the 2000 watt Honda (duh), does not have the long term field testing that Yamaha or Honda have in the inverter/generator genre, they are heavy. The weight can be also an advantage I guess as someone's not going to lift it out of your truck and walk off with it. I have spent many days researching inverter/generators and am leaning very heavily toward this. The only other thing is whether it would make sense to purchase 2 2000 watt units with the piggyback assembly or purchase 1 larger 3000+watt unit. Pro's and Con's to both methods. Sorry, didn't mean to hijack this thread

[Dave-n-Janet]

I'm looking at these as well. Would like to see the 3400w inverter w/out the electric start. Think it would cut weight and not be too much issue to pull start.

[rmkrum]

Hm. Something else to watch and research...

[Vantair]

We purchased the slightly less wattage duel fuel Champion 2800 with elect start over a year + ago.Just before the 3100 watt version /same weight version was available for 100-150.00 more. (Obviously latter better option for same weight / noise specs. ).

Even so, the 2800 effortlessly starts and runs our 11k btu air conditioner from quiet eco mode. All other less power needs falls in line. Have to emagine two 2ks of any brand battling it out would be more racket/hassle.

Bottom line, very happy with Champion. Great build quality for us. Wouldn't consider 2 2k units for the same weight, toting gas and having no propane option. Electric start battery probably about 5lbs. more and easy push button start from outside truck bed is sweet.

Shurly Honda /Yamaha etc. 2ks make sense. Quieter always better however a single unit left in truck bed (safe under touneau), higher wattage capacity, propane and no gas tanks and fumes makes more sense for slight db or more when rarely using.

[Mollysdad]

Yes, If I didn't have a Honda already, I'd look closely at the Champion, but the 3500 dual fuel. More power is always good.

[jamtek]

Originally Posted by Milo1952

Hello

Reaching out to the community for reviews/advice on champion 3400 watt
dual fuel inverter. If you have one, please chime in. Your experience and opinion does matter.
Like the dual fuel option should gas run out with no immediate access.
Harry

I have the Champion 3200/3500 Watt Dual Fuel (Model #100264), that's available solely through Camping World, and love it. Very well made and so far has functioned flawlessly. I love the electric start and am able to power everything on my Bambi Sport 22. Instructions that came with it are very good. Does require a specific break-in procedure with conventional oil but it's easy to do. I give it 5 stars

[Vantair]

Surprisingly, The Champion 2800watt dual fuel printed model/labels rating is honest actual running watts. Rated Peak is 3100.
Nice inverter specs and pricing less than 100 lbs. fitting under truck bed height.

Strangely opposite to the model marketing height and weight to standards blue and red.

In contrast, Honda and Yamaha print 3000 watt on models but actual running watts are 2800. At less than 150lbs and taller than most truck beds.
Guess all this means is interesting comparison to same rated wattage outputs.
Further reasons why we felt Champion a smart choice for now.

[alphamale49]

I have one and it works great. I use propane, much cleaner.

[dmbecke]

I have the 3100 but it's not dual fuel, and I'm very happy with it.
Quiet, starts easily, runs everything in our 25 ft if we use AC and micro at different times
I can still lift it into truck but nice to have help. around 80 lbs.

[cwf]

Buy similar at Northern Tool.. they have good support across the USA

[twh731]

After spending many hours on the internet researching reviews and videos of the various inverter / generators we purchased the 3400 dual fuel Champion. Got it thru Overstock.com using a 12% coupon for $975.03 free shipping and no tax. Just as a side bit of info...the 3500 sold thru Camping World and Cabelas is exactly the same as the 3400 sold elsewhere with different stickers on it. This information is supposedly directly from the Champion support line. The purpose for different stickers according to Champion is so that Cabelas and Camping World can sell it without going thru the price match problems. Champion said that the 3400 is actually rated at 3500 but is conservatively labelled at 3400 watts on gasoline. This is second hand information found in my various rambling searchs for information on the web. FWIW. We will be getting ours this Thursday. Tom

[Captnkirk54]

I'm new to rv camping and have just purchased a 2013 25fb. Based on what I have read I purchased a Champion3400 thru amazon one of their refurbished units for about $800 with shipping. I've done a good bit of tent and backpacking so I hope to do some boondocking and figured the generator would be needed/helpful as the wife can't take the heat as well do to some health issues. I'm aware of the noise and neighbors issues so I plan to be selective in its use. She use to go with me all the time but the last couple of years has been too much for her during the heat of the day. I may add solar also but I need the a/c more right now. Anyway thanks for all the info on this site it has helped with a lot of the decisions.

[Milo1952]

Thanks to everyone that responded to my post. Tremendous help in making my decision. This Forum is my GOTO place for all things Airstreaming,
I purchased the champion 3400 w dual fuel at Overstock.com for under a $1000 delivered. A special thanks to TWH 731 for the lead to Overstock.com

[twh731]

You're very welcome, Milo. We can't wait to get ours. Tom

[twh731]

I just wanted to add something for everyone's benefit regarding the decision to buying a Champion generator. I am going to try to attach the response that I got from Champion's customer service representative regarding the dual fuel 3400 vs the dual fuel 3500 as the price difference can sometimes be significant.

Hello Tom,

There is actually no difference whatsoever. You will find that I have written this same response in a number of places across the web, but sometimes it gets buried under more recent questions. I only say this so you can rest assured this is our official response to this inquiry. The reason there is a 100 watt difference posted is purely marketing. All of these inverters with this engine size can achieve the 3,500 watt rating. We typically rate the machines slightly below 100% of its true output. More conservative ratings give the customer a lower expectation and more room for error, ultimately resulting in higher satisfaction. However, Cabela’s and Camping World wanted to drive interest in the models they stock compared to the models available elsewhere and they requested the maximum allowable rating. My advice… purchase the better priced unit. If you open both manuals and compare the part lists in the back, they are identical… line for line.

Thank you,
Brian J. Downs | Champion Power Equipment, Inc.s

I hope this helps relieve some of the stress with the decision on which to purchase as this is a major expense for us Airstreamers Tom

[pt.reyesfan]

Has anyone started a 15k AC with this generator (without a soft start device added)?

[dmbecke]

I have easily started my 15k AC on a 25ft with the Champion 3100 inverter without the easy start device
It will not power AC and microwave at the same time

[Sains]

Thinking of purchasing a 3400 DF, has anyone had any problems with this unit and will it start a 1500btu AC without a soft start?

[Dave-n-Janet]

Ran my 15k A/C w/out Easy Start.
Only 2 problems I've had:
Vapor lock running on gasoline. Had to shade unit. Not a problem on propane.
Battery died - terminal corroded. Found replacement at BigTimeBattery.