When you travel in your RV, do you have a generator with you? If so, is it a built-in or portable generator?
Most RVs come with built-in generators, which provide power to your RV. These built-in ones usually do the job since they’re set to work with the appliances in your RV already. But, perhaps you need more power and an additional generator, or maybe your RV did not come with a built-in generator.
Will you respond in the poll below and tell us which one, if either, you have with you? Thank you!
MOST RV’s come with a built-in generator??????? Maybe motorhomes but not TT’s or 5ers.
The problem with the description “RV” makes most people think of Motorhomes. Travel trailers are also RV’s. Very few trailers come equipped with generator’s since it would involve having a fuel source inside the trailer.
When looking for a toy hauler, I only saw one that that had a generator, but it also had a fuel station built in for the toys.
A travel trailer an RV also.
Waiting for the MH owners to disagree.
We’ve been full-timing for almost 4 years without a generator and boondock a lot. We installed enough solar and battery to provide for all our electrical needs when we were only 3 months into our full-time life and have not regretted it in the least! Our trailer has “lived” in all lower 48 states thus far! It is quiet and we never bother our neighbors (when we have them).
Have Genset, will travel. Also have 3.2 kW inverter generator for home use.
I used to have a Honda unit, until it was stolen at our storage facility! I now use a RedArc 50 amp DC/DC charger that is way better. It still stings that a fellow RVer would do this. And to think my parents never had a key to their house for forty years! Oh, how times have changed!
We have a DP with a 7kw diesel on board, but also carry 2 Honda 2000’s for emergency use- only takes one event to do this. We also use the Honda’s for the venues we attend as they are RV boondocking only.
We have solar panels that can be mounted on the roof or if in the shade we can set them up to 30 feet away to catch the sun.
We always carry a portable. Can’t say we use it often but it’s always at the ready.
We have a built in 3.6KW Generator but we only use it when we’re touring. That is to say when we’re covering lots of miles and moving every day or two. It’s fairly loud and gulps propane. When we’re in camping mode we carry a Honda 2200 to charge our batteries and run our air conditioner.
We do the same thing …would have marked that one if it had been a choice..safe travels
I own a 5th wheel with no built in generator. When we started full-timing we brought the big generator we owned with us. A few months later decided it was dead weight and gave it to our son. Fast forward to the winter of 2020, we go through Oklahoma City right when they have a freezing rain storm. Power goes out, our RV batteries drained fast, we were cold! Our neighbor was nice enough to let us plug into his generator to recharge so we could turn on the heater. Unfortunately we were below trees that were completely iced over and were scared a branch would fall on us so we moved spots. With the move we lost the ability to plug into his generator which sucked. There and then we decided we needed a generator so we bought two small ones. Have we had to use them since? You bet! We were, unfortunately, in Texas last winter when the power grid froze. RV parks had no electricity, ours also had no water. Our generator allowed us to be comfortable.
I find the daily polls fascinating. I find it odd that people criticize so many of them. Similarly, I find the reviews of previous polls quite interesting. I usually vote without paying much, if any, attention to the overall results. Thank you for your daily gathering of information and subsequent summarization of it. At the very least you do a service to us, the readers/subscribers, and more generally to industry as a whole (at least the part that pays attention and has both ears AND hears). Thank you!
We have a portable solar panel that charges our house batteries when we don’t have a hookup. My husband installed a soft start on the AC and we got a smallish generator but we only bring it when traveling in hot weather when we might not have electric and need AC. I never thought about times of prolonged power outages like L Beal…
Bought my Lance slide in camper 13 years ago. They were running a special at the time that included a free generator. Why not
After 13 years I have 40 hours on it and all I do is boondock.
I semi permanently mounted a semi portable(105#)4500W generator on a cargo carrier on the reinforced bumper of the trailer to provide A/C, coffee, etc. while e route to our destination. We lived in TN at the time and traveled to FL so we would overnight along the way. Being octogenarians we like our comfort.
You needed another response. My F150 hybrid has the pro on board generator built into the truck.
We bought a generator to recharge batteries due to the 12 volt fridge included with our Rockwood trailer. A gas fridge would be much quieter to run and more economical. But mine came with the notorious GE 12 volt power hog fridge. We have lots of solar power now and a 200 amp Lifepo4 lithium battery, all extra expenses due solely to the fridge; but we still need to run the generator about every 3 days during our usual camping season. Expensive lesson.
We’ve camped for forty-five years with no problems and no use for a generator until the GE fridge, Medusa, came into our lives…
I have a generator to back up my solar. I was traveling a few winters ago and a couple of days of rain left me dead, even the truck since I was still plugged in it drained that battery also. Bought the generator to back up in case that happened again. Then that summer I was in SE Montana and it was HOT! I tried to use the generator to run the AC but it kept overheating, when it was 8pm and the temp in the rv was in the 90s I gave up and grabbed the last spot at a campground. My other option was to jump in the truck and continue to drive down the road, maybe napping in the seat at a rest area with the AC running.
720 AH of lithium battery & 760 Watts of solar in our Host Yukon truck camper.
No. I have full timed for 8 years and have never needed one.
We carry a small portable 2000 watt gen in our 5th wheel generator compartment to use when we are out with the truck and we carry a 6500 watt gen on the back of our HDT for hot areas for the AC and other high wattage items, also we assisted a couple charge their batteries from our generators as well, always willing to help someone.