My Colorado neighbours seem to be gone for good 🙁 and have been replaced with tent campers who have been running a very loud and smelly generator for several hours! It’s going to drive me to drink!
The class A on the other side of me also runs a generator for several hours a night, but it is a small portable Honda model that you only hear when you’re right next to the rig. I really should get rid of mine and get one of those little portable models as a backup. This is not the first time I’ve seen them in action and they could change the reputation of generators as obnoxious peace destroyers.
We just got a generator for our upcoming trip to Quartzite. It is a Boliy and a lot of reviews were up there with the well known names. This trip will tell us if we made a wise buy or not.
Let me know how it works!
I’ll let you know how it does. We got the big one with 4 way remote start and external fuel tank for less than a just a big Honda. We hooked it to the RV and tested it and it ran everything just fine, even the AC. Part of buying the Boliy is we got it here in Austin 20 minutes from home so any parts and service needed will be no problem.
Is it as quiet the Honda models?
***Is it as quiet the Honda models?***
Yes. You tube has videos about it and it’s sound.
Caroline, I’ll take your word for it. A Youtube video doesn’t give me nearly as a good idea of the sound level as does a testimonial. 🙂
Rae, I do sympathize with you over the generator noise. I even dislike the noise level of our Honda 2000 watt generator. If I had it to do all over I would have gone with a full- time solar installation. Then again,we boondock all year round these days, so the cost and convenience of such a system could be justified.
Just remember, everything has a downside. Stay warm…
Wil, keeping cool is a bigger worry than keeping warm, LOL Every night I’ve been here, I’ve told myself, “Shorts, not flannel pants!” and I’ve worn the flannel and woken up and regretted not listening to myself. 🙂
Maybe the rain will drive the noisy neighbors away.
A cost analysis would have to be done between repairing your built in generator and replacing it with a Honda. The old compartment could be modified to carry the new one by putting in a plywood floor, but because of the exhaust, it would have to be taken out for use.
Yes, the new ones are very efficient and extremely quiet. They do however have their own gas tank and would require carrying at least a couple of gallons of extra gas. Very handy for charging the batteries on a cloudy day.
Croft if I pull my current genny out, it’s going to be a costly project because I would have a floor added to that compartment and move my battery bank there! So at this point, it’s a big dream that may not be achievable financially.
I need more than just a couple of cloudy days to need a genset. It’s probably cheaper for me to put gas in the motorhome home and move to a sunny spot. 🙂
Carrying extra gas is no hard ship. It’s easier to fill the jerry can than it is to fill the motorhome tank from a jerry can!
As for the tenters, they seems set up for the long haul. At least, they’re cute!
The old generator is repairable and has value so you “might” be able to find someone willing to do the labor of removing the old one and installing a floor for the new battery compartment in exchange for the old generator. I am envisioning a length of angle iron lag bolted to the motorhome and a piece of marine grade 3/4 or 7/8 inch plywood for a floor with maybe a couple of metal cross braces welded in place. It would have to be very strong. Are you thinking two 6 volt batteries or four?
A couple of runs of large cable perhaps run inside conduit would also have to be put in with proper connectors/splices to connect to the old location. And then there is the relocating/re-installing of your inverter, battery monitor, etc. Not a project for the faint of heart but then no one ever accused you of being that!
I guess what I am saying is that it might not end up costing you as much as you think.
I can’t find anyone willing to work on the genset and I ask anyone who tells me they are handy with small motors! I’m just sick of the damn thing. 🙂
I would want a metal floor like my other compartments with plywood over top.
Just my two batteries. I would have had to buy four at the same time. You can’t add mismatched batteries to a bank.
I could leave the inverter and monitor where they are and reconnect with longer 1-gauge cable. The inverter is rated for 4-gauge wire over a 10′ fun and I’d be at an 8′ run with 1-gauge, so the voltage drop would be negligible.
There is an inside route from the genset to the battery bank that I could follow, so the wire routing would be easy.
This is one of those projects I’ve talked about for ages, will probably keep talking about, and will likely never do. 🙂
Generators scare repairmen off because they have mechanical (motor) as well as electrical components. A distributorship for your generator would charge too much per hour.
One of your commenters once thought he could get it going. There must be someone out there.
That was Carl. Very nice guy. He sent me tons of instructions for troubleshooting it myself that I may try one day when I’m bored and not being lazy.