Maybe a bit off topic, but since we are all Montana owners, we are all dealing with basically, the same designs. With that said,....
Our HC 375FL did not come with a generator and of course, our salesman said one could be added later. And I agree, it could. And since we do mostly state park camping and always have electric hook-up, we didn't see the need to push for a generator.
Fast forward another year. By now, we are seriously considering full timing in the next 2 years and now, seriously considering generators and the research began.
Of course we started with the Cummings built-in generators first (You know, those green square box looking ones that fit in the front bay of your fifth wheel).
Well, after lots and lots and lots of research, searching forums, and asking questions from sales men at multiple RV dealerships, here's my conclusions.
First: our Montana's (unless they are toy haulers), are simply not conveniently equipped to handle gasoline models. Why? Because you have to figure out somewhere to install a gas tank in the camper. And then, you have to carry gas cans with you, if you are a serious boomdocker.
Second, the propane Cumming's use an incredible amount of propane. This seems to be the biggest complaint about them. Many folks eventually swap out their 30 pound propane tanks and get 40 pounders, as they will still fit in the propane compartments in our Montana's. But even with that, the generator will still burn through 80 pounds of propane very fast.
Then, I read and heard too many bad things about these generators: breakdowns and repairs seemed to be a way of life with them. Too many negatives, not enough positives. Negatives won.
Still, wanting a generator, my search shifted to portable ones. Months of research and again, asking questions, and visiting dealerships for their thoughts, talking to fellow RVers in our travels and getting thoughts and opinions everywhere, we stumbled into a good solution for us.
Cummings Onan came out with a new portable inverter generator... actually 3 different models:
Click here.
We decided to get the middle size: the Onan P4500i Inverter Portable Generator. The price tag at my local RV dealership was $1050 originally, but they didn't have any in stock. So I put my name on their "list" when the next shipment came in.
About 2 weeks later, I got the call, went to pick it up and took the wife. They had it all ready, gassed up and did a walk-through PDI with me on it. Lots of questions with the understanding that only 1 air conditioner could be run at a time. AND that's when the wife spoke up! She wanted both air conditioners to run at the same time.
Well, what the wife wants, the wife gets, happy wife, happy life. We purchased two of them. The price went up slightly, and I had to get the connection cable to run them in parallel so both air conditioners would operate at the same time. Total cost $2400 complete with taxes.
Advantages over the one installed in the front bay? They are portable. They can be used anywhere and for anything, including power outages at home, and are not confined to just the camper usage.
Disadvantage, there are 2 of them, and they are 100 pounds each. Only 1 will fit in the front bay area, there is not enough room for 2 of them. Problem solved: I purchased a set of ramps (I cannot lift them up that high to get into the bed of my truck, but I can roll them up with little difficulty) ... and they fit very well in the bed of the pick-up and do not interfere with the king pin hitch on the trailer.
Disadvantage: If traveling, they are not usable, as my electric hook up is on the very back of my 41 foot fifth wheel and my electric cord is 35 feet. I'd have to unhitch and get one, or both out and hook it up. But in all our travels, so far, we've not had need for AC power when in transit.
Anyway, this is how we came to our decision, and the ultimate decision to not get the green one permanently affixed in the front bay.
FYI, we can run both air conditioners, micrwwave, electric water heater, residential refrigerator, both televisions, and a coffee pot on this set up. I think that's pretty good.
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