What size generator?

fishinrvr

Member
We are looking to get a generator and not sure which one to purchase. We have been looking at the Honda 2000 & 3000 watt units. Basically we want enough power to run the slides, a few lights and of course the coffee pot.

Any suggestions would be great?
 

RubiconAg

Active Member
You can actually get by easily with just running a single Honda 2000 for what you want to do, but...... I would highly suggest this unit (be it one or two of them). Our reasoning behind purchasing two EU2000i's was the weight factor. Purchasing two of them is almost the same cost compared to the EU3000 but they combined have more watts and weigh much less. The DW wanted something that if she had to move, store or start she could take of. The 3000 is not loadable in the back of the truck by one person. The kids can easily load the 2000's.<O:p</O:p
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We purchased two of the eu2000i units two years ago with the Reliance 30AMP RV parallel kit. I would love to trade one of our 2000's for the new built in 30amp generator. With both of ours running they will rarely come off idle which means maximum run time. We could get by for most everything we do with one generator but it runs at half to 3/4 throttle under normal load (inverter for batteries, TV, lights, laptop charger, etc.) but that means about 7 hours run time on the gallon of fuel. With both generators running under the same load they will rarely come off idle which means about 15 hours run time. We usually dry camp in the forest/national campsites in the Tahoe region during the week. We are usually at an elevation of 5500'-7000'. We will start the generators in the morning to charge the batteries, make coffee and run a blow-dryer before we go to work. Both of them together can easily handle this load. When we head to the coast and are at sea level both of the generators have the ability to run the inverter and the air conditioner if the eco-throttle is turned off (which means running at full throttle).

<O:p</O:pIn the end, these things are a fantastic investment and I would highly recommend them to anyone but that’s just my .02

This sounds like one of the Honda commercials but I promise I in no way benifit from this......The picture below is from a tailgating party for a college game. Everything you see including the christmas lights, another two flat screens in the trailer, 4 sattalite dish boxes, the inverter in the trailer and a very large sound system were all running off of two eu2000's that weren't even running above an idle.


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Riverman

Well-known member
We have a Honda EU2000 which we used with our last tt. It works great. It can handle one of the following at a time (coffee pot - microwave - blow dryer) but not two together. It was a real struggle for it to run the A/C. They don't give the Canadian versions the option of hooking 2 of them together (something to do with safety)....but that would be my suggestion if you need to run everything at one time.
 
We also have two Honda EU2000i's and love them, they are certainly more portable than the 3000 and work nicely for anything we need, including the air conditioner.
 

rjr6150

Well-known member
Would have to vote with the others. We have two of the Honda's 2000 and are able to run everything needed. Big plus is they are quiet.
 

fishinrvr

Member
Thank you all very much for the info. I think I'm going to buy two of the 2000 watt units with an external 6 gallon tank.
 

porthole

Retired
Although the 2000 is certainly a good genny, if you have the room and ability to move it easily, the 3000 has a much bigger fuel tank and is quieter then the 2000, especially under a load.
 
I have to go along with everyone else. I have 2 honda 2000 and when we go Elk hunting we hook the 2 together and ran 5 5th wheels. Of course it was mainly for the heaters and coffee makers and tv's. They are easy to move around and when I just need power for the 1 5ver without the A/C, 1 honda 2000 works just fine.
 

Paul_in_MN

Active Member
Honda 3000 u

Last year I dealt with this same question, and actually bought 2 of the Honda 2000 iu with the linkage kit. After doing more reading, especially on the Honda website, I returned both of them unopened and traded for the Honda 3000. I liked the idea of total portability of the smaller units at about 49 lbs each. Both of my brothers have the 2000 units and they gave me a heads up. Because of the portability, the Honda 2000 is the most often stolen generator there is, and that was confirmed by the dealer.

The 2000 is considerably noisier than the 3000 when under load (dB is a logrithmic scale, +3 dB is actually 5X as loud), and then you have 2 such machines making noise. The gasoline capacity of the 3000 gives a nearly full load run time longer than all night (AC at night?). I gave a high priority to the sound level. I solved the portability issue by carrying the 3000 in the truck bed, chained to a tie down in the L front corner of the 8 ft box, and then run the elect cord to the input port on the trailer. The 3000 also has its own battery and key start. I do not have to move it to use it. I tried to find out the expected hour life of both the 2000 and 3000, but that was not available. The engine of the 3000 does look considerably more robust, and thus I expect it will have considerably longer life.

I feel comfortable with the choice I made. Good luck with your decision and choice.

Paul_in_MN
 

jnbhobe

Well-known member
I use the Honda 3000 along with 4 of my buddys. I have mine mounted on rubber motor mounts from Grainger and is bolted and chained to a rack on the back of the trailer. I can't hear it run and I have to try hard to feel it run when I'm sitting in the recliner. It will also run the AC all night long. :DWhen not in use I have a camoflage Gortex cover my SIL made for it so you can't see it:D LOL....JON;););)
 
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