Running AC in camper on a generator?

[100Acre]

I guess you could say I'm getting old and need my comforts of home. That being said I've gone from sleeping in the back of my truck under the topper to pulling my old trailer with the roof top tent to the FWC Hawk. For really warm nights in the RTT I actually had a 12volt fan running off the battery bank in the trailer's tongue box. For the past two years I've been wandering across America in the Hawk using the two Fantastic Fans to keep the air circulated and they've been great until you're in places like Phoenix Az at summer temps of 120* or today in Thompson Falls Montana where it reached 107*. Temperatures like these are where the fans make it feel like you're a Turkey in a convection oven. So even though I've not yet bought a generator to run one, my dad and I are fabricating a window unit perch to mount inside the Hawk in the hopes that some of the places I'll be staying will have hookups. I'll more than likely end up getting a generator but Do I need at least a 3000 watt to run a 5000 BTU AC ? I'm just not willing to spend $2000 on an Generator/AC system just yet. I am planning on mounting it in the emergency escape window. This will only be for when I am static in camp mode. I'm not gonna drive down the road with his sticking out of the window. Dad is an awesome Cabinet/furniture maker and is constructing it nice and so there are no bolt holes or any redneck mods. It will be very professionally done. This won't be permanent either, it'll be fully removable. The AC unit will be stored in the big tool box on the trailer when in transit. Later when I do get a gen set, I may store and run it in the trailer box with proper ventilation, then run a cord from the box to the Hawk. This way if I'm wheeling with a friend and need to leave my dog in the camper, the generator would stay running and secure in the box. My main question here is can I run a 5000 BTU AC on a Honda 2000 generator? Or, do I need to buy a larger more $$$ one?
Thanks

 

[Admin]

 

[swsebek]

You need you wander north in summer and south in winter.....

 

[100Acre]

You need you wander north in summer and south in winter.....

Montana is pretty far north..and it was 107*.

 

[JACKAL]

Just asking, have you considered a roof top unit like in RV's. I believe a 2000 watt would run it just fine, especially the quiet Honda units, the AC running would drown out the generator running outside. The window unit design didifferntly may draw too many amps.

 

[lee]

Just asking, have you considered a roof top unit like in RV's. I believe a 2000 watt would run it just fine, especially the quiet Honda units, the AC running would drown out the generator running outside. The window unit design didifferntly may draw too many amps.

The window units are incredibly efficieit especially when compared to the Rv units.
looking at the image, 115 volts and 15 amps should be ~1800 watts.
I have no expertise to say it will or will not work, that is close to the Max load for the generator and I do not know what the starting load is.
But it would be worth renting a similar generator and trying it.

 

[100Acre]

Just asking, have you considered a roof top unit like in RV's. I believe a 2000 watt would run it just fine, especially the quiet Honda units, the AC running would drown out the generator running outside. The window unit design didifferntly may draw too many amps.

I have to manually lift the roof of my camper top with the assistance of gas shocks and piano hinges, and the use of body force my standing and lifting at my shoulder.. I just added the 20 lbs of Solar to the roof and surprisingly it is a bit more difficult to raise. Anything Else like an air conditioner and it would be just too much to lift.

 

[CumminsPusher]

Most Rv units are far less efficient and require larger gen at least when we looking at everything awhile back.
We got a freestanding 6k btu for the bus (only required a dryer style vent so cut piece of plexi for window) and hooked it to our 2000 watt Honda. Using on a 100+ deg day only requires 1.5 gal gas/day.
At 4$ day it is worth it to keep the little ones cool when needed but the adults only go in to sleep so we don't use it much.

 

[100Acre]

Most Rv units are far less efficient and require larger gen at least when we looking at everything awhile back.
We got a freestanding 6k btu for the bus (only required a dryer style vent so cut piece of plexi for window) and hooked it to our 2000 watt Honda. Using on a 100+ deg day only requires 1.5 gal gas/day.
At 4$ day it is worth it to keep the little ones cool when needed but the adults only go in to sleep so we don't use it much.

Do you know how many amps/watts the 6k AC uses?

 

[JTW]

This is good to know as I start looking for toy haulers!

 

[Tigermark]

This is good to know as I start looking for toy haulers!

My toy hauler has a 5500 watt Oman/ Cummins generator for the whole coach. It has 2, 15k btu air conditioners. Buy one that has it installed, much cheaper than adding it later.

 

[CumminsPusher]

Do you know how many amps/watts the 6k AC uses?

Not sure. The 2k stumbles for a split sec when that ac cycles but recovers quickly. That one ac cools the whole bus great and like I said 1.5 gallon a day and quiet! We couldn't afford our last gen in motorhome. That's why all the solar but sometimes you need a genny. 2000watt is underestimated a bit I think because we've plugged in two deep fryers (1500 and 2000watt) and it powered them ok.
Learned long ago when we don't bring our bus to bring a mini fridge instead of ice for the food portion. That damn gen only uses a tank a day to keep it cold so that's same price as a bag of ice a day. Wouldn't own a gen other then Honda. Love that little guy!!

 

[JTW]

My toy hauler has a 5500 watt Oman/ Cummins generator for the whole coach. It has 2, 15k btu air conditioners. Buy one that has it installed, much cheaper than adding it later.

Lol.. cheaper? Our budgets for haulers are on two different planes! I'll be lucky if I get to use mine 5 or 6 times a year. I can't justify more than 15-20k for one.

 

[CumminsPusher]

Well I just looked at the standup a/c we use and its much more then 6k btu!

Oops! Not bad for a 2000watt genny I guess but it works. Had to be accurate so I looked

 

[100Acre]

Well I just looked at the standup a/c we use and its much more then 6k btu!
View attachment 48429
Oops! Not bad for a 2000watt genny I guess but it works. Had to be accurate so I looked

Thanks bro, I'm definitely looking hard at the hondas. Of the two, 2000watts, which one is best?

 

[CumminsPusher]

Any of the hondas will be good but we went with the eu2000i because of its size and reputation. They are unbelievably efficient! Price sucks but they are worth it

 

[100Acre]

Any of the hondas will be good but we went with the eu2000i because of its size and reputation. They are unbelievably efficient! Price sucks but they are worth it

Aren't there two of the Honda 2000i variants? That's what I'm wondering, which of the two?

 

[swsebek]

Any of the hondas will be good but we went with the eu2000i because of its size and reputation. They are unbelievably efficient! Price sucks but they are worth it

I will back that... I have 2 of them.....worth every penny so far....e2000i and you can get camo

 

[ohanacreek]

Aren't there two of the Honda 2000i variants? That's what I'm wondering, which of the two?

One version is a stand alone

The other is a version that can be tied to another identical version to give 4000w

Kinda cool if you only need 2000w you can rotate the usage for wear, only use half the gas, and then use both when you need to.

Not for everyone but neat option.

 

[Plumber32]

I guess you could say I'm getting old and need my comforts of home. That being said I've gone from sleeping in the back of my truck under the topper to pulling my old trailer with the roof top tent to the FWC Hawk. For really warm nights in the RTT I actually had a 12volt fan running off the battery bank in the trailer's tongue box. For the past two years I've been wandering across America in the Hawk using the two Fantastic Fans to keep the air circulated and they've been great until you're in places like Phoenix Az at summer temps of 120* or today in Thompson Falls Montana where it reached 107*. Temperatures like these are where the fans make it feel like you're a Turkey in a convection oven. So even though I've not yet bought a generator to run one, my dad and I are fabricating a window unit perch to mount inside the Hawk in the hopes that some of the places I'll be staying will have hookups. I'll more than likely end up getting a generator but Do I need at least a 3000 watt to run a 5000 BTU AC ? I'm just not willing to spend $2000 on an Generator/AC system just yet. I am planning on mounting it in the emergency escape window. This will only be for when I am static in camp mode. I'm not gonna drive down the road with his sticking out of the window. Dad is an awesome Cabinet/furniture maker and is constructing it nice and so there are no bolt holes or any redneck mods. It will be very professionally done. This won't be permanent either, it'll be fully removable. The AC unit will be stored in the big tool box on the trailer when in transit. Later when I do get a gen set, I may store and run it in the trailer box with proper ventilation, then run a cord from the box to the Hawk. This way if I'm wheeling with a friend and need to leave my dog in the camper, the generator would stay running and secure in the box. My main question here is can I run a 5000 BTU AC on a Honda 2000 generator? Or, do I need to buy a larger more $$$ one?
Thanks
View attachment 48406 View attachment 48407 View attachment 48408 View attachment 48409

My honda 2000w runs my camper a.c. it shouldn't but it does. Start up is the big draw. I'd go 3000 to be safe.

 

[CumminsPusher]

My honda 2000w runs my camper a.c. it shouldn't but it does. Start up is the big draw. I'd go 3000 to be safe.

Rv ac isn't as efficient.nothing in an Rv is made to be efficient. A window unit from a house with its soft start and everything will run just fine on 2000w he was showing a 5000btu unit and I've ran our ac that's over 10000btu plugged into my eu2000i however it runs a little hard. Think for 5000btu that'll work good. The Eu3000 is a lot bigger and harder to deal with. If needed though it's a fine machine.
Also on either machine there is a 12v charger built in so a cord can be added to batteries for direct charge.
Hey also @100Acre change all those incandescent bulbs in the camper out to led for much better extended use. 1/4 the energy so it's 4 lights instead of 1. You can just change the bulb not the fixture.