So, what do you use?

Myself, I have a Champion 2000 watt inverter that fits quite nicely inside the camper when I'm travelling and provides quiet pure sine wave power for the camper when I need it.

In as much as I do not have roof AC, the 2K watt unit is plenty to keep the house batteries charged and power my microwave / convection oven.

People like Honda's but I feel they are overpriced. Typically a 2000 watt Honda will set you back close to a grand. The Chanp can be had for less than 500 bucks.

I had but sold a 10 year old Yamaha 2800I, I sold it because of it's age and weight. The Chanp weighs 52 pounds full of fuel, the Yamaha weighed 80.

At my age, 52 is a lot easier to deal with than 80, getting it into and out of the camper.

Most campground will not allow you to use anything but an inverter generator as a conventional 2 pole, 3600 rpm genny makes too much noise in operation.

Inverters are really miserly on fuel as well. my Champ will run at rated load for 4.5 hours on a tank (1.5 gallons) or all weekend in economy mode.

So, what do you use and why?

I have the Honda 2000.

It appears that both Champion and Honda have exact same specs from load to noise, all the way down to how much oil they hold. accept the Champion is 80cc engine and Honda is 100cc.

I do know my Honda will also run my campers Coleman 9200btu AC, even on eco mode.

I also use mine to backup my computerized home heating system during winter outages (and use old 3600 rpm generator to power the reset of the house during outage

I own and operate a large livestock operation so I need reliable standby power 24/7 and living in a very remote area at the end of the power line necessitates a diesel powered genset to power everything, including the house heating system which is high efficiency and I presume computer controlled.

I run a 25KW John Deere powered standby that runs from my 1000 gallon bulk tank with an automatic transfer switch, best 10 grand investment I ever made, especially when it's below 0 outside.

Consequently, all I need is a tiny inverter to run the camper.

Looked at the Honda, like I said, I owned and sold a Yamaha, Yamaha holds the patent on the multi pole head (that is used in every inverter generator, Honda included. After some hard looking and comparing specs and price, bought the Champ.

Hard to pass up similar specs and an equal warranty for half price, plus, I've had some issues with Honda small engines in the past. One on a tiller threw a rod and one on a lawnmower has a defective carb so all is not rosy for me with a Honda.

I like the Champ better anyway. It's rectangular and stows easy whereas the Honda is like a 12 pack with bulging sides, not that easy to stow. Feature to feature, they compare side by side, both parallel if you want to (I don't) but the price was the deciding factor at least for me.

The Champ has a Lifan motor (same motor Harbor Freight sells as a Predator), I only hear good things about Predator motors and the electronics (which is the real heart of any inverter) is/are all oriental in both so to me, price is the deciding factor and I'm colorblind anyway.

I never camp in a campground, I have my TC for camping on my remote property in northern Michigan so I could run a 3600 rpm screamer as there is no one else around anyway but I sure like the inverter quiet. I stick my unit under the truck, right behind the front tire and plug the shore power cord in and you cannot hear it inside the camper at all. The only way I know it's running is I look at the Seelevel monitor.

I use 2 x 120W soft 4lb solar panels with each a 30' extension as I like to park in the shade and stake them on the ground. It is not much with one 140 amp/h battery and 300W pure sinewave inverter but my needs [all LED] are not much. They are when once a week I fire up my laptop to edit photos and videos and for that purpose I use a Honda 2000. I carry extra fuel in a slim Rotopax which fits in the empty space of the bed of the truck between the camper wall and bed wall. We never do campgrounds and it is pretty quiet. With the 9.6 Northern Lite the only design flaw is that the space where the Genset is stored is at shoulder height! Having had spine surgery 11 months ago and now a new hip 4 weeks ago it is kind of a problem... 50lbs! All Gensets having their own personality mine has also as far as knowing how much choke, how many pulls.... The upside is that it runs the air conditioner when needed which is rare as we are full time and travel with the weather trying to never be in an area where it is over 80 degrees... Hope this helps.
Stay well.
Ara and Spirit

I also have a Champion Power Equipment 73540i 2000watt portable inverter generator that I bought two years ago for the same reason as you. It cost me under $500 also and I've had nothing but good luck with her. I did a comparison like you did between the Champion and a Honda and found that both were similar in many ways but the Champion was a helluva lot cheaper. I have my generator sitting on a Torklift Lock and Load Maximum Security Cargo Tray attached to the front hitch receiver of my truck. When I'm out in the boonies somewhere all I have to do is attach the service cord from the camper and plug it into the generator without having to take it out of the cargo tray which makes it very convenient. It will not run the air conditioner but it runs everything else from my wife's curling iron and hair dryer when she needs it to the microwave to cook something in a hurry and watching TV when we want to.

They are pretty hard to beat not only price wise but performance wise as well. In fact, I don't think you can beat the price versus features.

My spare tire is on the front of my F350 in a hitch (receiver) mounted carrier, reason being is the factory (Ford) under rear bed mount of the spare becomes an exercise in busted knuckles and swearing if you need the spare (I have) so I canned the OEM mount and put it on the front. Lots easier to deal with.

Besides, the 2000 watt Champ fits inside the camper very nicely. When the time comes that I cannot lift 50 pounds (Champion) from the back of the TC, I'll stay home.

I'm going to check out the Rotapak fuel container. Seems like a good idea for carrying fuel for the chainsaws without the vapor issue. I'll just use the chainsaw premix (50-1) in the Champ as well and consolidate my fuel containers and I like the outside mount system. I'll mount one on the backside of the camper.

Good to know about the Champion Gensets. Strangely enough I had never heard of them and while browsing the specs it seems just about as quiet as the Honda. My Honda is over 10 years old, you never know when it will bite the dust!

As far as the Rotopax I don't use their holder. I just slide it [nozzle up] between the camper and truck bed walls on the side.

You have me a bit confused when I read that you would use 50:1 premixed in the Genset also? Is that right?

And do you actually store the Genset inside the TC? I have thought about it as right now it would be easier to take it down then from its space at shoulder height due to my surgeries but if so doesn't the inside of the TC smells of fuel? Just curious...

Thanks...

Sure do, no smell whatsoever. The Champ has a double fuel shutoff. One to the carb and another on the top of the filler cap. Basically the same as your Rotopax container. I had a Yamaha 2800I Inverter that was about 10 years old and I sold it. Like you, I was concerned about how much longer it would go.

I ordered the 2 gallon and the 1 gallon containers as well as the extended hold down from their website this afternoon btw. The 2 gallon for gasoline (premixed) and the gallon for bar oil and I'll mount them on the back of the camper next to my farm jack.

No issue running premix in the generator. I run 50-1 in my saws, premium synthetic Stihl oil and it has no ash content, so no carbon and the Stihl oil has stabilizer already in it. That (Rotopax) setup will eliminate the need for me to carry fuel for the chainsaw. I seldom fuel the Champ. One fill lasts all weekend, very miserly on fuel.

Not cheap but usually stuff like that isn't....

I set the Champ inside the camper door as my last to do thing before breaking camp.

Well, I appreciate the info and good to know as we are taking off in about a week after Dr's release [!!!]. I think I will do the same. Will try it anyhow as I can still get in and out of the camper even with the generator lengthwise by the door. I can then take it down or up one step at the time until I get stronger again to store it in its space at shoulder height. I don't know what they were thinking designing it as such!

You will enjoy the Rotopax. They do not leak at all and very easy to pour. None of that needing four hands like the many other containers. When we tow the sidecar BTW I carry 5G "racing can" which are also easy to pour. They are vertical cans with two handles. I meant to ask you considering your handle on this forum if you ride a sidecar! I don't know how to post photos here [do you?] or I would have of our set up. 7 years full time in a tent! Spoiled now with this camper...

Thanks again.

We use a honda 1000, it works for keeping battery charged and its light weight and easy to handle

Pictures on this site allude me too. never figured out how to post them.

SidecarFlip is just that. I own a .com site where I sell custom bike parts made in my machine and fabrication shop and I collect British bikes. Have a 1968 Norton P11A Scrambler (Norton-Villers 750) in pristine condition a Triumph 2300 Rocket 3 Classic and a Centennial Edition Triumph Bonneville with a Motorvation Engineering sidecar. I've won a lot of first place trophies with the hack and I ride it regularly and no, I don't belong to the ASCA. either. I own the only one in existence here in the states. Fun bike, always draws a crowd anytime I stop....that can be a pita as everyone wants to 'touch' it and I'm anal about people putting their hands on it. I spent 3 years building it. Was fun.

www.flipmeisters.com is my website.

Probably cost as much as the 2000 watt Champ, maybe more. Inside, Inverters are all the same, the component capacity changes with the output, nothing more.

In a regular 2 pole 3600 rpm generator, cps is dependent on armature rotation, it must spin at 3600 rpm to develop 60cps and the speed of rotation is mechanically controlled by the throttle, so, if you load a conventional genny, the speed drops and so does the cps.. besides, they are noise makers... A lawnmower engine cranking 3600 rpm makes quite a bit of noise.

Conversely, an inverter genny produces DC current via a multi pole head (usually 6 or more poles) and the DC current is electronically converted to AC, reduced to 110 volts and the cps is electronically created. Thats why inverters have an economy setting. The rotational speed of the generation head has no impact on voltage produced or cps. Thats all done electronically. So long as the head spins fast enough to produce DC current, all is well at the output end and why inverters use multi-pole heads. The more poles, the slower the armature can turn and still produce DC current.

Inverters usually produce around 200-250 VDC so it's important not to get your fingers in there, you might get bit and bit hard.

Yamaha came up with the very first inverter genny and holds the patent rights on the head so no matter what you buy, Honda, Yamaha, Champion, Generac, Ryobi or even a Harbor Freight inverter, the head is a Yamaha design and everyone pays royalties to them for the use of the technology.

You cannot beat an inverter for lightweight, clean (PSW) power at a very stable 60 hertz.

Knowing what I know about them, it all came down to price when I replaced the Yamaha and Champion had the specs and price (and warranty), so it was an only choice for me.

When I bought my 2800I Yamaha 11 years ago, it was almost 1500 bucks. The technology was new and the price was high but it was (and is) a good unit and it held it's resale value. I sold it for more than the Champ cost me new. I was happy and got a new unit without any monetary outlay and I'm sure the buyer of my old unit is happy too. Pretty hard to kill a Yamaha.

Sure, I dropped 800 watts but I don't have an ac unit on my TC so I really don't need the extra power and the newest high efficiency roof mounts will start and run with a 2000 watt unit. Back in the day, that was an impossibility.

Sorry for the long post. Just want to explain the mechanics of an inverter compared to a conventional 2 pole box store generator.

I use mine for a bit more than powering the converter to keep my house batteries charged. I use it to power a microwave and /or my toaster ( I like toast with my bacon and eggs in the morning) and because I camp in the deep woods, I run my bug zapper as well. keeps the skeeters from ruining an evening in the woods.

Lots of mechanical knowledge! Not much here as all I did is cook all my Life and believe it or not have never used a microwave!!!

Nice bikes for sure...

You can see ours here

www.theoasisofmysoul.com

Bought the bike in 95, added the sidecar 11 years ago and with 320K still going strong! Washed it once in 96... Too much off road to keep it clean.

Thanks for the info.

Very nice. Beemers lend themselves to hacks. Mine is strictly a pavement bike and it never gets dirty and if it does, it gets cleaned and waxed. I have an ADV bike (Kawasaki) that stays perpetually muddy and a quad that isn't much better.

I spent many a night and day remote camping, I was an Eagle Scout so at my ripe old age of 66, I like comfort, at least somewhat.

Myself, I have no desire to re-experince the joys of numb butt from riding bikes long distance, did that, been all over the country on 2 wheels, except Alaska and Hawaii, though I have ridden bikes in Hawaii (rental bike).Nice website / blog btw.

For me the light weight, easy to handle, small footprint and reliability meant way more thank having any thing else.

Sure I could have bought a champion 2000 or any number of other generators but I didn't want one, I wanted what I bought.

No issue there. Just pointing out various pro's and cons and.... It's your money, not mine. Spend it how you want to.

Always heard the 'You meet the nicest people 'on' a Honda. Do they (Honda Generators) make a good seat?....lol

Thank you.
Funny I just realized that since we have the camper I have never set up our tent!!! Maybe at 68 I am done with that? This Northern Lite is just too comfy... a great tiny home I must say.

Have a great day.

I still sleep in a tent when out hunting. Usually a Hillerberg but a TC is always better and a motel room is even better than that.

Problem is, most hunts I go on are very remote so no motels and/or TC's. Usually on horseback in the mountains.

Horseback has always been my dream! Too late for that too as the land I own is in Big Bend [Texas] where it is too hot in the summer and nothing for them to eat!!! I actually have it up for sale....

We have always used Hillsboro tents! Best ever made 4 season...

Have a great day.