Generator Decision

[Montana_3184]

I have been looking at the Sinemaster 3500Ti. It's Chinese made but has been getting very popular. You can get the 3500 for under $1000.

http://www.generatoroutlet.com/kipor...er.series.html

[Montana_2753]

Patty:

In the latest issue (June 2005) of Trailer Life magazine, there is an ad, on page 33, for:The all new Yamaha EF2400iS", a "super quiet and super compact inverter generator". No weight given, but it says "it runs over 8.5 hours on a single tank of gas. You can also connect two generators to double your power". Seems to be placed right in the middle of the Honda 2000 and Honda 3000. HMMMM, wonder if it was planned that way? You might want to take a "trip" over to the Yamaha website www.yamaha-motor.com and see what info is there. Besides, it's BLUE!

[jrgwdenner]

That's sounds like the perfect solution for anyone looking for a color coordinated generator or two.

[315RLS]

quote:
In the latest issue (June 2005) of Trailer Life magazine, there is an ad, on page 33, for:The all new Yamaha EF2400iS", No weight given, Seems to be placed right in the middle of the Honda 2000 and Honda 3000. HMMMM, wonder if it was planned that way? [/blue]!

Dry weight is 80lbs the Hondas are 43lbs. The output on the Yamaha is
still only 2000w. http://www.steadypower.com/catalog/yamaha_EF2400is.php
At this point I wouldn't see the advantage of a generator at twice the
weight and no additional ouput.

[jrgwdenner]

Don't forget....it's color coordinated!

[jrgwdenner]

Glen spent the morning getting our Yamaha SEB 3000 secured in the truck bed. First, he made a custom made pallet to keep it from rolling around. It is heavy (150# +/-) but it really rolls easily. He put it in the truck bed on ramps made of 2x6's, by himself, which I wouldn't recommend but I wasn't outside at the time. Then he wrapped a 15 foot kryptonite cable around the handles of the generator, the generator, and the pallet. It is padlocked to the hitch rails. We'll cover it with a Rubbermaid tub, upside down it fits perfectly. The bad guys might be able to get it off the truck bed, but it won't be easy. We'll just run it from there.

Yes, yes, pictures will be coming.

[Sue]

quote:Originally posted by RC and Samantha

We are tossing around the idea of getting a generator. We have narrowed it down between Honda and Yamaha, we think? Wondering if any of you could share your personal experiences with either brand?

You know my opionion Sis, mine is just right for one person to lug around and does the job. Runs everything, even the AC!

Any TIME you want to borrow it for a test run just let me know. I won't be showing in Chicago at all this year and that is the only show we needed it for. LOVE YA!

[sreigle]

Sue, what brand and model do you have?
Thanks.

[Sue]

quote:Originally posted by sreigle

Sue, what brand and model do you have?
Thanks.

Honda 3000 http://www.ronnies.com/store/product1069.html I think it's this one, but I swear it doesn't feel 70 lbs. I can lift it in the bed of the truck myself.

[sreigle]

Thanks. We're not currently contemplating a generator but it's always a possibility for the future so I'm "storing" information. Thanks.

[Sunshine]

Hubby finally fulfilled his wish for a new generator yesterday. We already have a large generator, but it is very heavy and veeeeeery noisy. He has been talking Honda 2000 for so long. He spent yesterday morning calling some of the generator advertisers in the Highways magazine. Most of them were $100+ less than what we would pay locally, and no shipping - so he ordered one. He plans on putting it in the Montana, and our first real test will be the Good Sam rally in Redmond. It's so nice when big boys get their new toys, then they are content!

[ols1932]

We have the Honda 2000i which we find very satisfactory. Yes, it is expensive but it is very portable. It won't run our AC -- at least we haven't tried it since it's output is only 13.3 amps. But it does charge our batteries so that we can run our inverter. When we've been dry camping and the weather is overcast, we run the generator a couple hours in the evening and that takes care of our power requirements.

[RC and Samantha]

Hello everyone!

I'd like to thank everyone who replied to my question. It helped so much in our making a decision. Well, we struggled with it some too. We ended up with the Yamaha 3000 with the extra boost. The decision finally rested with Dick and I think he choose because of the wheels and handles. For me I got to have the color I wanted to match. LOL I know, I know it seems very silly. The Yamaha looked better especially to me in general..again silly. The Yamaha also came with more things that were options with the Hondas.

This is a first for Dick as everything has always been a Honda...way back to his Moto Cross days as a teen and our Honda VTX 1800 we used to have. He loved them all and even carried a bit of a grudge against Yamaha because of the few times they beat him in the Moto Cross races.

I'm concerned about him lifting it but he feels it will be no big deal. I did remind him that we are getting older every day. Hopefully he'll be right and not have a problem.

We ordered it this week from Mayberrys and are hoping it arrives tomorrow so we'll have it this weekend as we are boon docking on our daughter's boyfriend's Uncles property. Boy that was a mouthful. They are calling for rain though.

Everyone have a great Holiday Weekend and be Safe!

Patty

[D and M On The Road]

We have the Onan 3600 propane powered generator installed in our Montana. It's on/off switch is located inside on the wall near the stairs. We didn't want a generator in the back of the tow vehicle because of the times one of us would have the tow vehicle away from the Montana and the person left behind in the Montana might want generator power.

We also have one Honda EU2000 that we use with a "4-Wheel Camper" we put on the truck when we either can't take the Montana due to the location of where we are going or for a "boys quick fishing weekend". It works great.

When we ever get a new Montana, we'll probably go with two of the Honda EU2000s because they are so reliable and versatile.

[jrgwdenner]

Good choice, Patty. We have our Yamaha 3000 SEB with us on this trip. It is riding in the forward left side of the truck and cabled to the rails of the hitch. We covered it with a blue (color coordinated = he-he) plastic bin secured with a bungee cord. This keeps it nice and dry. Glen also put it on a wooden platform that he designed by using the box it came in. If we want to get it on or off the truck, he uses ramps made from 2x6's with metal lips on the end that he purchased. The generator rolls very easily so he doesn't have to pick it up. He got it in the truck all by himself and he's not young. Sure hope he doesn't read this! We haven't used it a lot yet but it will get a good workout when we go to Alaska. I believe we also got ours from Mayberry. Congrats on your new purchase.

[Random Line]

[quote]Originally posted by RC and Samantha

We are tossing around the idea of getting a generator. We have narrowed it down between Honda and Yamaha, we think? Wondering if any of you could share your personal experiences with either brand? There are four models actually in the arena of choice. They are Yamaha Inverter EF3000iSE, Honda EU3000, Honda Honda EU2000 and Yamaha Inverter EF1000iS .
-------------------------------------------


There may be no best answer to your question. But here is some food for thought:


Some like to put their generator in the bed of their truck. The Honda EU3000si was too tall to do that with our F350 PSD CC and 5er. We like that generator but it required some basement modifications to get it on board.
If you boondock a generator really adds convenience, comfort and safety to your camping experience. If you do a lot of boondocking I guess solar power and extra battery capacity would be the next upgrade after the generator. Talk to Gypsy she will soon have a year of solar experience.

If you use campgrounds with power wherever you go the generator isn't going to get much or any use and carrying the weight around doesn't make much sense.

Using an RV generator for emergency house power can be done but may be a little dangerouse if you are not aware of the regulations or implications as the line power is restored. For a few bucks a proper emergency hook up which disconnects the public power at the same time can probably be installed by your local electrical contractor if local regulations allow. The 2000 or 3000 watt units are a little on the small side I suspect.
This is an arrangement that we have contemplated also as we remember storms that caused 2 or 3 day power outages in our area in the past.

We'll be watching here for other information. Good Luck.

[RC and Samantha]

I'd like to thank everyone who contributed to this thread as it helped us come to a decision.

We ended up choosing the Yamaha 3000 with the extra boost. We were able to use it on Memorial weekend and it was great. Very quiet, which was a real plus. It came with more gadgets than the Honda and although heavy Dick was able to get it into the bed of the truck. It road up behind the cab very nicely.

He's made a ramp to get it in and out but it needs some modifications still.

Judy we need to get a cover. Which brand and size of plastic bin did you use?

Jim and Fredrica, so nice to see you! Thanks for the sound advise. I think if we have a power failure we will just stay in the Montana. That should take care of us for a while. We do have those storms and a summer or two ago we were part of that great big huge Eastern blackout in July.

Margee, we wanted to get that one too originally but in the two years we have had this we have only needed a generator this past May and the dollar out put is so big. Still it would be nice to always have one on board and ready.

Dick really likes the idea of Solar Power and as soon as we can hook up with Gypsy we'll be picking her brain.

Again THANK YOU to everyone for taking the time to reply, we sincerely appreciate it.

Patty

[jrgwdenner]

So glad to hear that your Yamaha performed well for you, Patty, especially since we do have the same model. We haven't used ours yet but probably will as we are planning to stay in a couple of parking lots as we high tail it out to Montana starting Friday morning. We figured out that the way people can sleep successfully in a Flying J is by running their generator to drown out the eighteen wheeler noise. So that's what we'll do.

Glen just climbed up in the truck and read the sticker on the "cover". It's a 35 gallon blue bin by Sterlite. It fits perfectly. He has a bungee cord over it to hold it in place. Seems to be a pretty good system. We have a kryptonite cable, 15 feet long, wrapped around the generator and padlocked to the hitch rails to keep it secure. It rides very well there. He also has a wooden platform under it so the wheels don't rest on the truck bed with 2 x 4's attached to the wooden base so it won't roll around. Hope this helps.

[contau lake]

We have a Honda 4500 which is hardwired to our stick house through a switch mechanism. We have lost power on a nnumber of occasions...once in the winter for over 50 hours at which point we went the generator path. We've also used the same generator mounted in the back of our truck. Unfortunately it is far to loud for our liking but handles everything in the RV but the downside is we have to do some playing around with the breakers when hooked up to the stick house. We have bought a Honda 2000 for use in the RV and only use the larger unit when I can park the truck a long way away from the RV and everyone else!!!!

[harleyrider]

Patty

I`am also in the market for a generater.Almost bought one until I asked if I could hear it running before I purchased.The guy refused but after some slick talk on my part(patting myself on the back)he gave in.started the generater up and it was WAY to loud for my liking.I asked if they sold ear plugs with this thing.

Regarding your Yahama generater was it powerful enough to kick over your air conditioning?I take it you have 15000 btu AC?And from your other post you said it was quiet,which is a must.I did a little measuring today and from the length-width-and height.It looks like it will fit in my front storage area of the Montana-a real plus for me.