Boondocking Generator Questions

[HardAleeAdventures]

On 9/14/2022 at 6:51 PM, bbrault said:

I want to thank everyone for your contribution. 
Sales confirmed that a Honda 2200i would be able to operate the new Truma AC however, not a 1600W/2000 peak generator. 
Sales hinted that the 2000W inverter will probably won’t work on the Truma AC. 
That’s a real bummer because the 3000W isn’t available on the Legacy I. I was hoping to be able to run it for 45-60 minutes, enough to cool it down and cut the humidity without using the generator. 
So this is disappointing. 

One option may be to use this external soft start. 

[Link Deleted]

It acts much like the wired EasyStart you may be familiar with, but it plugs directly inline with your trailer’s 30-amp power cord. It has a capacitor to compensate for the start-up surge of the compressor, but also operates as an external surge protector and smart shunt that allows smartphone monitoring of incoming power (voltage and current). 
 

We currently use one with our Dometic Penguin IIs on our Airstream 30 and plan to use it on our Oliver, once we take delivery in April.  Currently we have two of the old Honda 2000s we can run in parallel with the SoftStartUp if both ACs are needed, or just one if we just need to take out a bit of heat/humidity. Since these generators take up ample bed space in our TV, we are hoping  to get our hands on the new Honda 3200i, which is plenty to run the OTT off grid when needed and will free up a bit more room to help us downsize (right size) from our Airstream. 

Edited September 30, 2022 by ScubaRx
No commercial links in first postings.

[Patriot]

Wanting to delete carrying any gasoline in our truck bed, we recently purchased an eu3000is and I installed this LP conversion kit by Hutch Mountain -https://www.hutchmountain.com/collections/propane-natural-gas-conversions/products/honda-eu3000is-propane-natural-gas-gasoline-tri-fuel-conversion-kit 

As soon as you install this retro fit LP conversion just know that it cancels the Honda factory warranty since it’s not a Honda endorsed product. Hutch Mountain customer service is excellent and assured me that they have never had issues with running LP, LNG or gas in this configuration. The reviews are pretty strong at 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟.
Per HM - Extended Runtimes on 30lb propane tank: Full load-10hrs, half load-20hrs, quarter load-30hrs

My wife (copilot) and I can both manage to lift this into the gen tray or our TV bed. We plan to carry this in in the bed and not in the gen tray as it weighs in at 130# dry. We could carry it in the gen tray as per a phone call to Oliver Service this morning the gen tray is rated for 150#. 
We conducted our first gen test the other day and the now LP eu3000is performed flawlessly. 

Not a bad lift onto our tail gate.💪🏻

It runs super quiet, fits in the gen tray with actually a little room to spare. Naturally if you are splitting hairs on cargo capacity with additional weight this size gen configuration may not be for you. 

[Cameron]

Just bought this one from Costco, it's on sale now for a couple weeks. It has good reviews and I found a good video on Youtube that shows break-in procedures.

https://www.costco.com/a-ipower-1800w-running2300peak--powered-by-yamaha-inverter-generator.product.100653776.html

Once I get it hooked up I'll post results.

[ScubaRx]

On 9/14/2022 at 6:51 PM, bbrault said:

I want to thank everyone for your contribution. 
Sales confirmed that a Honda 2200i would be able to operate the new Truma AC however, not a 1600W/2000 peak generator. 
Sales hinted that the 2000W inverter will probably won’t work on the Truma AC. 
That’s a real bummer because the 3000W isn’t available on the Legacy I. I was hoping to be able to run it for 45-60 minutes, enough to cool it down and cut the humidity without using the generator. 
So this is disappointing. 

Actually, if you ran the A/C for an hour off your batteries you'll pull out more than 100 amp hours. Realize those amps have to be replaced somehow. Solar would take most of a good sunny day at lower latitudes (think Southern Arizona rather than Northern New York) to do it. Running the generator is much faster but likely would still take a couple of hours. Why not just run the generator for an hour to power the A/C and get everything cooled down and call it done.

[HardAleeAdventures]

I apologize for the new-guy oops of posting a commercial link in my first post. To Steve’s point, it sounds like you currently have a Honda 2000, which can not support the momentary surge of the Truma AC compressor and adding the OTT installed EasyStart is not an option. Even installing one on your own, which is fairly simple, it appears it would possibly void the Truma warranty (this seems to be the case with many RV AC manufacturers).

A possible solution, specifically to bbrault’s concern of not wanting to upgrade to a new generator,  is the aforementioned external soft start. Without the link this time 😉, it is called a SoftStartUp. You can see my previous description.

I have no affiliation of any kind with the company, just trying to help someone out based on personal experience with the product and a similar solution based on a similar need. The cost isn’t cheap, but would allow continued use of the Honda 2000, which is what we currently use as well. 

[SeaDawg]

7 hours ago, HardAleeAdventures said:

The cost isn’t cheap,

No, it isn't.  $899, list, current offer, $599. Thats an expensive dogbone to leave out in the open.

In comparison,  my 9.5k Houghton ac was $995, two years ago, $100 more today, no soft start required, and super quiet.

. A companion genset might not be that much more, and provide extra power for other appliances.

It is a very interesting concept,  and might be the ticket for some folks. Thanks for the information,  and welcome to the forum.