generators in PUPs

[terryo]

I have been surfing around looking at PUPs (new) and reading a lot of specs.  I have not seen any that have generators or even notes that say they are generator ready.  Is this a safety issue, or just something done to help keep the weight/cost down?  I will be grateful for your input.

[wavery]

I have been surfing around looking at PUPs (new) and reading a lot of specs.  I have not seen any that have generators or even notes that say they are generator ready.  Is this a safety issue, or just something done to help keep the weight/cost down?  I will be grateful for your input.

If a generator is needed, most of us carry portables. I have this one. It is light, quiet, small and does a good job for me:
http://www.hondapowerequipment.com/ModelDetail.asp?ModelName=eu2000i

PUs are all about light weight, aerodynamic and cost effective. Built-in generators are heavy expensive and take up a substantial amount of room. That's a completely different mind-set to the PU world.

With the portable, you just set it on the ground, plug your PUs power cord into it (with an adapter) and start it up. When not in use, we put ours in the TV.

Hope that helps.... :sombraro:

BTW

WELCOME TO PUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[mbopp]

You really need to get into a motorhome before on-board generators are offered. Even 5ers & TTs don't offer them. You can use a generator with a PU, all you need is an inexpensive  30amp to 20amp adapter.

[wavery]

You really need to get into a motorhome before on-board generators are offered. Even 5ers & TTs don't offer them. You can use a generator with a PU, all you need is an inexpensive  30amp to 20amp adapter.

Actually, built-in gen-sets are pretty common in 5ers and toy-haulers (TTs).

[austinado16]

I stumbled across what turned out to be a Honda EM600 about a year ago.  It was missing all it's sheetmetal and gas tank, and someone had set it out on the sidewalk for trash pickup.  A junk one (dang I missed out on it) just sold on ebay and I'm hoping to get all the exterior panels off it from the guy who bought it.  If I can put it back together, it'll be a cool little PUP sized generator.  Perfect for freshening the battery as needed.

[D-mo]

Im thinkin' too of getting a generator, but for some different reasons.  I plan to move my PUP up to a piece of lakefront that i was lucky to inherit, to gage the workability of making a home in a few yrs.
i dont want to have any permanent hydro hookups because ... well ...I dont even know if I am one of those types that can sit in the same spot for any length of time.
So here is my question: Would 2000 watts of generator power be enough to suit my needs?   I plan to run the genie to recharge my battries, run a miter saw (10 amp) the odd time, and some other smallish power tools.
I am looking at a Kipor IG2000 at the present time, as they are half the price of a Honda, have the same build and options ... and are quiet-This is a must as I do not want to disturb others.

d-mo
2000 AWD Astro
2005 Coachman Clipper 1057

[ScouterMom]

Because of having nothing to compare it to, and no experience with generators - I wonder....

how 'quiet' is 'quiet' on a scale of , say - 1 - 5, with 5 being loud and 1 being unnoticable?


A lawnmower? (5)

the sound of a well tuned car? (I'd rate as a 4)

the hum of my sewing machine? (3)

an electric fan? (2)

the sound of my home kitchen refridgerator running? (I'd rate as a 1)


--------------

I would think that's why you don't see much mention of generators - most PUPpers would consider them to be 'noise pollution' and disturbing to the peacefullness of camping.  Even if they use 'electronic' equipment - like appliances and TV's / DVD's for the kids, (many of which are battery or rechargable) the bulk of their time they want to feel they are away from 'civilization'.

However, I do like to have power for things like lights ( I like the soft glow of string lights over, say, a spotlight or even a very bright propane lantern)  and the dimmer lights give you plenty of light to see by and don't attract the bugs nearly as much.   In the daytime, I could see myself going on a calming weekend trip and working on some minor repairs or mods to the camper while at the campsite.... it would be nice to have power for some of the hand tools, or even to take my sewing machine along.  (Which I haven't done -   yet.)  

There's many things I could see it would be useful to have a generator, if it weren't too expensive or noisy.  

Laura

[dee106]

all you need is an inexpensive  30amp to 20amp adapter.

You don't need an adapter if your generator has a 30 amp plug.  It all depends on the generator.

[wavery]

Im thinkin' too of getting a generator, but for some different reasons.  I plan to move my PUP up to a piece of lakefront that i was lucky to inherit, to gage the workability of making a home in a few yrs.
i dont want to have any permanent hydro hookups because ... well ...I dont even know if I am one of those types that can sit in the same spot for any length of time.
So here is my question: Would 2000 watts of generator power be enough to suit my needs?   I plan to run the genie to recharge my battries, run a miter saw (10 amp) the odd time, and some other smallish power tools.
I am looking at a Kipor IG2000 at the present time, as they are half the price of a Honda, have the same build and options ... and are quiet-This is a must as I do not want to disturb others.

d-mo
2000 AWD Astro
2005 Coachman Clipper 1057

2000W should be plenty for what you are talking about.

I would caution you to read the db ratings on any generator that you might be considering. The Honda EU2000i is rated at 59db @ rated load. That's important. 59db can be heard for some distance in a campground, like maybe the next campsite. However, in the environment that you are talking about, it may not be noticed by any neighbor. However, if you are talking about a "quiet" generator that is rated at 64db @ rated load, that could be heard for a long distance in a quiet, lake-side environment.

I have seen several gens advertised as "quiet" and have a rating of 64db or higher. I know that the Kipor IG2000 is rated at 59db but it costs about the same (maybe $100 less) as the Honda EU2000i, from what I have seen.

There are several 2000w (or higher) 64db gen sets available for under $400.

[AustinBoston]

59db...64db

I think you'd find the difference is smaller than it seems.  Although 5 db (64-59=5) represents a power differential of 3 (three times as much power in the 64db noise as in the 59 db noise), it's really not much louder.  A change of 1 db is considered "barely detectible" under controlled conditions.  3 db is twice the power, but most people would consider it just noticable under lab conditions.  10 db is about 10 times the power, but most poeple would qualify it as about "twice as loud."  5 db is closer in behavior to 3 db than 10 db.

Side-by-side, you could clearly hear a 5 db difference.  But if you ran just one generator, drove away and came back five minutes later, most people would not be able to tell whether the generators had been swapped strictly by the difference in volume.

Austin

[wavery]

I think you'd find the difference is smaller than it seems.  Although 5 db (64-59=5) represents a power differential of 3 (three times as much poer in the 64db noise ans in the 59 db noise), it's really not much louder.  A change of 1 db is considered "barely detectible" uder controlled conditions.  3 db is twice the power, but most people would just notice the change.  10 db is about 10 times the power, but most poeple would qualify it as about "twice as loud."

Side-by-side, you could clearly hear a 5 db difference, but if you drove away and came back five minutes later, most people would not be able to tell whether the generators had been swapped strictly by the difference in volume.

Austin

This may be true but I think what the OP is concerned about is the distance that the gen-set can be heard in a normally quiet environment. It has been my experience that our 59db gen can not be detected from 2 campsites away. However, a 64+db gen-set can be quite disturbing to and entire campground. Especially in remote areas as the OP is describing.

The real problem in remote areas like the OP is talking about is initial detection of a gen-set. Once a neighbor detects this noise, it could be very irritating to some, especially if it is running for hours. I'm happy that the OP is concerned about the impact on his neighbors. Some people wouldn't even care.

[kimrb266]

After hearing Waverly's generator on a camping trip, we chose the Honda 2000 because of the noise factor.  I was extremely suprised how quiet it is, and I'll say it's a little louder than  my sewing machine.  We purchased it for our trip to Yosemite to help re-charge our battery but used it for the microwave instead.  

The Honda 2000 has been highly recommended to us from a wide variety of friends and was also told that we could use it at home in an emergency situation.  It will do double duty.

[austinado16]

Agreed about the noise levels of the Hondas, they are fantastic.  Cracks me up how all generators hold their value, especially Hondas.   I can't think of any other appliance, tool or piece of equipment that remains so expensive to buy used.  

I've got a Kawasaki 1,000 generator (basically a rebadged Colman) from probably 25 years ago.  I would definately not bring that camping for any reason. It's louder than the cheapest lawnmower you've ever heard.  When the power goes out here, I set it out in the back yard and run in a 100' extension cord!

There have always been some cool little 2 stroke generators, even from Honda.  Super tiny and very quiet.  Of course the output is only something like 400watts, but if used as intended, they do great.

[AustinBoston]

This may be true but I think what the OP is concerned about is the distance that the gen-set can be heard in a normally quiet environment. It has been my experience that our 59db gen can not be detected from 2 campsites away. However, a 64+db gen-set can be quite disturbing to and entire campground. Especially in remote areas as the OP is describing.

The real problem in remote areas like the OP is talking about is initial detection of a gen-set. Once a neighbor detects this noise, it could be very irritating to some, especially if it is running for hours. I'm happy that the OP is concerned about the impact on his neighbors. Some people wouldn't even care.

I think you'll find that it's not the actual db rating that is the problem, but the frequency content that is the bother.  Although the noise ratings take frequency into account, 64 db at 2500 Hz is ear-piercing, while 64 db at 40 Hz is not nearly as bothersome.  OTOH, the 40 Hz wil carry a lot farther in the woods (and a little farther on a lake).

For the record, if you can detect 59 db from two campsites away, then you would detect 64 db at 3-1/2 campsites away (assuming the same waveform/frequency content, and no obstructions).  If we assume the sites are on a square grid, then 59 db would bother an area equivalent to about 12.5 campsites, while 64 db would bother an area equivalent to about 38 campsites.  So your main point is correct - it doesn't need to be a lot louder to bother a lot more people.

Austin

[wynot]

I have been surfing around looking at PUPs (new) and reading a lot of specs. I have not seen any that have generators or even notes that say they are generator ready. Is this a safety issue, or just something done to help keep the weight/cost down? I will be grateful for your input.

Couple of other factors as well.  Built-in generators almost always use the fuel readily available to them.  On a motorhome, that could be gasoline or diesel - very few propane-run motorhome generators.  On a 5er, it is propane - no gasoline that I'm aware of.  A built-in must be able to run in place, have a constant source of fresh air, and a source of cooling air.  It also must be able to exhaust away from a living area, especially any intakes into the living area.
 
Because of sound deadening, vibration damping and cooling rqmts, you'd probably never have a popup with enough space or an overage of available CCC (cargo carrying capacity) to have a built in.
 
Gensets are rare on TTs and less rare on 5ers - 5ers often have enough spare space to mount a genset.