hey guys!  i got a really nice xmas present in a walmart gift card and since i have just purchased a trailer with a weekender package i thought it might be nice to have a generator.  i found this one at walmart and was wondering if anybody had one?  any input would be greatly appreciated and i cant wait till spring to hit the road!!!!!!!

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=2018659&dept=5428&path=0%3A5428%3A4091%3A4338#Shipping+%26+Delivery 

It will be loud as hell but power what you need.
Have fun!

I hope you intend on camping far away from everyone else, especially me. LOL

It is a fairly loud unit @ Comparative Noise Level (dBA): 75.9.  This is the same loudness as the average push type lawn mower.  My other concern is the weight @ 179 Lbs.  How are you going to load and unload that much weight? 

Turfa

That type of generator is great for construction Job sites but is not real handy to haul around. As mentioned above it's heavy and bulky besides being noisy.

A better choice, but a lot more money are the invertor type of generators. Not as powerful, but more than adequet for what you will have inside your weekender. Also the inverter type of generators are better for high tech equipement, i.e  laptop computers, DVD players, TV's etc. They have a purer electrical signal. Not so many spikes in the power. They are much lighter, and a lot quieter.

Honda and Yamaha really dominate this market.  Honda makes a EU1000  EU2000 and a EU3000 unit. The 1000 will not run an A/C unit. But will charge your battery and power small appliances.  The EU2000 is marginal on A/C units, weighs around 40lbs, has a 53 decibel noise level and runs 4 hours on a tank of fuel. The EU3000 will handle just about anything you put in a LQ, but it's $3000 and 130lbs, which is more than I want to lift in and out of the truck.

I bought the Yamaha EF2400  It puts out 2400 peak watts, cost around $1149 and weighs 70lbs. It is 54-59 decibels loud and runs 8.5 hours on a tank of fuel. It will run my A/C or my Microwave (not at the same time).  It's compact and easy to store. And at 70 lbs I can still lift it in and out of the truck bed or tack room.

Both the Honda and Yamaha offer models that can be connected together to offer twice the power. That is you buy 2 Yamaha EF2400. Hook them together and you get 4800 watts. Or two honda 1000, hook them together to get 2000 watts.

Are Honda and Yamaha inverted generators equal??  I'm looking at the mid-size range, want to power the fan, coffee pot and such, no AC unit.  Which one gives the best bang for the buck??  Online I see $1,100 for the Honda EU2000, is that about standard retail price??

Kansas,

Both the Honda & Yamaha generators are close. The Honda EU1000 and EU2000 are consumer products and have more plastic parts. The Honda EU3000 and the Yamaha are more comercial units with more metal parts. Call me old fashion but I think the metal parts will last longer. Thats the big difference why you go from 50lbs for the EU2000 to 130lbs for the EU3000.  There was quite a lengthy discussion on the RV.net website last summer about this. One fellow claiming to be an authorized service repairman listed the various parts of the Honda engine, telling which where plastic and which were metal. These were internal parts of the engine, not gas tanks or cowlings.

The Yamaha EF2400is offered me enough power for the trailer while weighing in at 70lbs. It's has 20% more power than the Honda EU2000 for $1150 vs the Honda's $1000-$1100 price. ( although I've seen the Honda EU2000 on sale at $998 several times)

Here's one source.

http://www.auroragenerators.com/Kipor-p-1-c-5.html

Turfa

I took a look at the specs and don't feel that these are in the same league as the Honda and especially the Yamaha generators. The Kipor are significantly louder, and lack specs for 220 volt outlets (none?). Maybe these features aren't important to everyone, but I would also think seriously about part availability as well.

I'm with Dearinger on this one...Yamaha looks best on paper. I don't own one, but I'm watching the prices at Nothern Tool....maybe it's because my power has been out for seven days today!

Pete

www.BCHC.com/red

Last summer I bought a "home depot" generator. Ran it 2 hours. then the fuel tank leaked, so I shut it off, (It took 3 days before I could hear again.) Took it back to HD, and they didnt have another to replace it, they sent ME to another location who had one. I took it home, and the carb float was stuck, and it flowed fuel out of the air cleaner.so I returned that one, and the service guy hit on the carb, said maybe it will start to work. (I was a mechanic, which I tried to lightly "tap" the carb at home, still leaked. Thought for the $$$ spent, I shouldn't have to repair before it worked,so I took it back and asked a refund. Take the advise. save a few bucks more. I am, and will get Honda or yamaha.

FYI:I purchased with cash. So a return with a defect, leaking fuel, reciept in hand, willing for a exchange, HD said they were out, then I ask refund. since I paid cash, store can only give $300 cash back and  the balance a store credit.very nice, $900 store credit??? ONLY WAY TO GET REFUND >$300 ,I had to wait 20 days for Home Depot to mail me a check. I will NEVER pay cash at Home Depot. C-card only. I talked to a few upper managers, I asked if a certian time of day would be better to get the cash.(I would return then), same story. I understand thats a lot to give out in the customer service line, but think about it, there are ALOT of items well over 1000 dollars.

Had another issue later at Home depot. I paid 300 for something which was defective. Upon returning the item, Home Depot said since I paid with a check, it would be 10 days before they could refund. OK,fine. Then I thought, why do we stand there, and wait for a verification check when you write a check out, Home Depot calls a "check verification" they get a confirmation number the check is good. The money electronicly is immeaditly is drawn out your account, but a refund is still the "old" 10 day return policy, then you can return the item, only to be told it will be 20 more days for Home depot to mail you a check???

Its sorry to say cash is no good there...wally

Thanks for the links, tips and experiences w/ the Honda and Yamaha.  New question- can the Yamaha be piggy-backed like the Honda??  I was thinking of starting out w/ the 2000 series because that is all I need now.  However, the Honda option of connecting two 2000 to make one large system is a very nice option for down the road. 

What a bite at Home Depot and thanks for sharing the problem here.  That is definitely going in my mental roledex of things to remember.  We tend to make our big ticket purchases w/ them or Tractor Supply. 

I made the call to Wise today and have a EU2000i on it's way.  I wonder if a newer model is coming out because total cost was $869 complete.  The folks were first class so two thumbs up for Wise.

As the t.v. commercial goes "We'll leave the light on for you."