I have a Rockwood popup trailer and would like to get a small "quiet" type generator but am amazed at the price of the Honda EU2000I, EU3000I, etc.  Does anyone have a good alternative to this type of generator that they have first hand experience with?


Looking for one this size, not the whole home system.
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But once cry once.

That is where I am leaning but was just wondering if there was another quality alternative.

I got a Harbor Freight ad the other day and they are selling an inverter series that they were comparing directly to Honda.

I don't have one and tend to be skeptical but they were half price or less.

All of that said I have a Honda 3000is and it is an awesome generator. The 2000 would be very nice and perfect for what you are wanting to do.

Yamaha?? But for cheaper price and quiet, not sure there really is much others that compare. You can get cheaper that will be great compressors but not as quiet or even close.


ETA: I have a champion and it has been good. For the price, can't complain at all. Of course Hondas build great small engines that are very quiet so they are hard to beat.

Go with the Honda... buy once, cry once!

I own an EU2000 and love it.  I also own a champion non inverter which is great and while not sub 60 db, it is 65.  The inverter champions are just as quiet as the hondas.  And Champions are solid.  If you want to save 30%, get the champion.  They have a loyal following and good support.

Another vote to check out the Champions.  I have a Champion 3500w non-inverter genny, it's probably 7-8 years old, been run, been neglected for years at a time, and yet it still cranks on 1st or 2nd pull, every time.

I wouldn't hesitate to drop coin on a Champion inverter genny.

My brother and I bought the Yamaha 2000 inverter generators.  We both experienced near identical catastrophic failures at ~ 1500 hrs.  Both generators were under factory warranty and even though the written warranty is strong; the dealer service network of Yamaha Motorsports USA sucks SO bad I take every opportunity to bad mouth them.  I spent 40 years dealing with Class 8 trucks and heavy equipment so warranty repairs are a well known fact of life for me.  Yamaha Motorsports USA was so abusive, condescending and uncaring that it still boggles my brain.

My only explanation for this horrid repair service is the concentration Yamaha puts on their bikes, ATVs and watercraft.  The generator line is like some sorta red headed stepchild.

Both of us bought the Honda 2000 inverter generators and after several hundred hours of use;  I will never ever go back to Yamaha nor recommend one of their generator products.

The Hondas are GTG and then some.

Take the advice - buy once;cry once.  The reason you very seldom see a used Honda gen for sale and when you do it is at a premium price is not lost on me.

Get the Honda for quiet and reliable. It's worth the money.

The Honda is the way to go. Yep, they're spendy but while worth it in my opinion.

What ever you buy, don't store it with pump gas in it. Ethanol oxidizes the shit out of the inside of the carb and plugs up the "slow" jet causing it to surge and/or die when put under a load.

The Honda has a drain on the bottom of the bowl you can open to drain the carb. You have to open the side cover to do that. I keep a gal of "true fuel" (non-ethanol) around and  if I can, I just run it dry (pump gas). After that, I put a little true fuel in it and run it for a few min. If I only need it for a few hours, I just run the non-ethanol. If I need to run multiple gal threw it, I use pump gas then flush it when I get home. Generator always starts with just a few pulls.

IM sent!

I wanted to add another option since you didn't specify what you wanted to run, many campers configure for boon-docking.  I've done it many times.  You can also install a solar setup which could run most things.  Size up for requirements - panels, 2 or more GC2 (golf cart batteries), charge controller, inverter.  I have a flexible 50W and a hard 100W panel that I use car camping and when boating.  Have a 110Ah and 35Ah battery capacity that I carry depending on requirement.  Normally, recharging USB gear and running my engel freezer.  I don't have capacity for AC or heaters, but you could with the right amount of panels and battery capacity (and I know folks who have).

Will a honda 1000 run what you need??

Im not sure, Ill have to look and see what the power/AC actually draws.

Thank you for this. I am planning on installing a second battery box and have been looking at solar panel and wind generator options for everything but the AC.

I have a Honda EU3000i. I've dry camped when we go to the NASCAR RACES in Dover,DE and let it run all night long in quiet mode without complaint while others are shutting theirs off and we're running our A/C.
It's a nice investment. Your power goes out it'll power your fridge and sump pumps.

You'll find most people move to the GC2 (best cost/aH).

Not sure how much roof space you have, or if you might have ground aux panels, but you'd need 600W of panels to basically keep up with draw for a running 5K BTU.  That'd be during the prime 5 hours of perfect sun that is available in most areas.  More panels if you need to charge batteries and run other gear.  2 batteries provide capacity for AC really for short period, but under relatively high draw which will diminish lifespan.  6 GC2 would provide a few hours of AC run in the off hours.  Keep in mind that you don't want to run down batteries below 50%.  Amp-hour capacity and usage are just number crunches once you figure your needs.

A EU2000 or equiv is the what you'd need start a 5-8K AC.  a EU1K would have enough to run but normally not to start a 5K (and definitely not an 8K).  You can put a starter CAP into many AC units to reduce startup current, although many RV units have this already.  Check on this, if so, a EU1K would start a 5K, but be marginal for a 8K.  But I'd sitll want the headroom on the 2K anyway.

Any love for the ryobi inverter gens from Homedepot?

Champion gens have excellent reputation and ratings. They are like 1 or 2 db higher but that's almost indistinguishable by the human ear.

I use a 2800W/3100W dual fuel inverter unit. FYI, you can get this unit at Costco right now for $850.00 shipped (plus tax). That's about $250 cheaper than any other place online and you get Costco zero bullshit warranty.

Always buy bigger than you think you'll need or be very realistic with your loads. 2000 watt or smaller is very limited to basic 110v stuff.

You need to tell us what size AC unit is on your trailer. An average roof unit is 13,400 BTU. You will need a 3000 Watt generator to run it.
Some trailers ave a window type AC on the wall. A Honda EU2000 will run one of those.

There is a way to run a larger AC with a Honda EU-2000. You will need to install a "soft start" unit into the AC. I believe it's called "Micro-start" and sells for around $3000.

With no AC modifications, a Champion 2800 W quiet genset from Costco will run a roof AC. I believe Costco sells it for around $650.

Obviously a Honda is a much better generator. It can handle high starting loads a lot better than a Yamaha of same size.
I would but two Honda EU-2000 instead of one EU-3000. Two Honda inverter generators can be run in parallel. Eu-2000 is a lot easier to handle and to lift than EU-3000.

I have a HF 2500 wat inverter type generator. I am actually pretty impressed with it. I see they only offer a 2K now.  I was skeptical going in but my EU has burned rings so using that one is out of the question. We are traveling back from Yellowstone where we used it a lot and got no complaints from either other campers or the host. It is not as quiet as the Honda but my Honda is only 1K.  Heavy son of bitch though.

I got the same ad.  Only 3dB louder.  The dB scale is logarithmic not mathematical.  That means it is TWICE AS LOUD!  

I own 2 Hondas and they sip fuel and are whisper quiet.  You can stand over them and hold a conversation in an inside voice.