Generators for late cold season hunting

fainthopeacres · #1 10-27-2022, 07:24 PM

Hubby and I are looking to purchase a generator for our RV this hunting season. Mainly need it to run the furnace in our trailer. We would like to know from those of you who use them - what are the best ones for cold weather when it dips down into the -20's C? They can get pretty pricey and we just don't want to waste our money on something that is going to conk out due to the cold weather. Thanks for your help!

Neo · #2 10-27-2022, 10:14 PM

Honda gets my vote every time. I've had mine for years, and it still runs without issue.

Drewski Canuck · #3 10-27-2022, 10:26 PM

Having hunted out of a holiday down to - 30 C you have two issues. First, will it run. Second, how much fuel will it burn?

You are kind of stuck with the 3000 watt models to run a toaster, or coffee maker and a furnace. Newer larger ones have a 20 amp 110 volt plug which helps alot with the power draw issue and tripping out the breaker.

I have a 2800 watt Yamaha inverter model which is wise for modern electronics on newer furnaces to avoid a power spike. Trouble is it has a 3 gallon tank. You will fill up every day and if run all night it might not run to the morning. If you can find something with 5 + gallon capacity, you will make the night.

Yamahas are very good for cold weather, but to keep ANY Generator running, use fresh premium gas, and use Isopropyl gas line antifreeze.

We have actually had a 5 gallon jerry can with a layer of ice in the bottom in - 20 C. Handy part was that we knew all the water was out of the fuel!

Drewski

moniaw24 · #4 10-28-2022, 04:08 AM

Another vote for the Honda 3000... been using one for the last 20 years up hunting... 15+ hours on a tank of fuel with minimal load , electric or command start is nice, one of the quietest genny's out there IMO

Ackleyman · #5 10-28-2022, 05:03 AM

Got a Cummins / Onan 3750 watt inverter model. Will run all night and rpm is relative to load so they are good on fuel. Also has 30 amp outlet so you can just plug RV cable into it and avoid nickle ext cords. The remote start is handy.

fainthopeacres · #6 10-28-2022, 05:26 AM

Hey thanks a lot for the responses! We have a 2004 small 18ft Thor Wanderer toyhauler. It's in right now getting solar panels on the roof. We have a heater buddy for back up as well. We just want to ensure our hunting trip is not cut short due to furnace issues. Because as you know - the time we have to hunt is so short and very precious!

spoiledsaskhunter · #7 10-28-2022, 05:58 AM

you've probably thought about this already but if you haven't....take lots of propane.

35 whelen · #8 10-28-2022, 06:59 AM

I have a Honda 3000 with a remote start can't beat it don't even got to get out of bed to start it

jcrayford · #9 10-28-2022, 07:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spoiledsaskhunter

you've probably thought about this already but if you haven't....take lots of propane.

^Yep, and/or supplement with an electric radiant space heater if you're already running the genny. The space heater will draw a lot of power though - test to see if heater and furnace can run at the same time without killing the genny.

A couple of years ago, went hunting with the trailer. We were plugged into shore power and my buddy had a small ceramic space heater (6" x 10") and that thing kept the trailer to a survivable 12-14*.... Didn't use the propane except for cooking.

Mind you, we weren't camping in November either

J.

stubblejumper01 · #10 10-28-2022, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neo

Honda gets my vote every time. I've had mine for years, and it still runs without issue.

The Honda’s are great. The Yamaha come with the wheel kit which was an extra purchase for the Honda, at the time we purchased ours

crwhite · #11 10-28-2022, 10:59 AM

We do lots of winter camping in our 25' travel trailer and we have had great success with our 3550-4450 Champion generator. It's not the quietest unit out there, but we rarely use it during the summer (solar panels) and run it mostly in the winter.

It starts awesome, even in the really cold weather (we have stayed in the trailer at -35) and we will run it through the night to keep things toasty. I have had it run 16 hours on one tank which is plenty for overnight. As mentioned above by others, we also run an electric heater to save on propane which works great.

marky_mark · #12 10-28-2022, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fainthopeacres

Hey thanks a lot for the responses! We have a 2004 small 18ft Thor Wanderer toyhauler. It's in right now getting solar panels on the roof. We have a heater buddy for back up as well. We just want to ensure our hunting trip is not cut short due to furnace issues. Because as you know - the time we have to hunt is so short and very precious!

I don’t think you want to have a propane buddy heater running inside your trailer

vic1 · #13 10-28-2022, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fainthopeacres

Hey thanks a lot for the responses! We have a 2004 small 18ft Thor Wanderer toyhauler. It's in right now getting solar panels on the roof. We have a heater buddy for back up as well. We just want to ensure our hunting trip is not cut short due to furnace issues. Because as you know - the time we have to hunt is so short and very precious!

I wouldn't count on solar panels during winter months. Days are very short and snows quite often.

Noring1 · #14 10-28-2022, 08:38 PM

Your propane furnace is 12 volts, all your generator needs to do is keep your batteries charged

A Honda 2000 is great, unless you’re running air conditioning lol
I use a heat blanket in the winter so it runs a little warmer when it’s really cold out.
We run a keureg and toaster at the same time, no issues at all

Fuel burn is 4-5 litres every 24 hours

fainthopeacres · #15 10-28-2022, 08:53 PM

Wow, some great information and tips here - thanks so much! I should mention with the heater buddy, we bought one just to use to warm up the trailer for a few hours. We would never use it for overnight/sleeping. We were out last week and tried the heater buddy and it worked great. We're no strangers to solar panels either. They work amazing but as mentioned above, there is not enough sun to keep the battery charged this time of year (that is why we want to try the generator). Our trailer is in right now getting the panels put on the roof - will head out next week to check out some generators! Thanks again for all your help!

EZM · #16 10-28-2022, 09:34 PM

Another vote for team HONDA. No trouble starting in cold weather, runs all night with fuel to spare and bullet proof reliability. Mine is 20 years old and still runs great and is very quiet.

fordtruckin · #17 10-28-2022, 09:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcrayford

^Yep, and/or supplement with an electric radiant space heater if you're already running the genny. The space heater will draw a lot of power though - test to see if heater and furnace can run at the same time without killing the genny.

A couple of years ago, went hunting with the trailer. We were plugged into shore power and my buddy had a small ceramic space heater (6" x 10") and that thing kept the trailer to a survivable 12-14*.... Didn't use the propane except for cooking.

Mind you, we weren't camping in November either

J.

Spent a couple summers living in my camper at 8000’ in Yellowstone and did exactly this. Ceramic heater kept my RPod 178 quite warm. Started in may and it was still snowing and freezing at night through June.

aragor764 · #18 10-29-2022, 09:01 AM

anyone on here run a generator and a diesel heater (12V) curious what that setup could be...

Blockcaver · #19 10-29-2022, 07:36 PM

I like my Honda EU1000i for powering the Northern Light truck camper in the late fall and winter. 30# or so and handles the refrigerator/freezer, lights and furnace plus keeps the dual 6 volt batteries (12 volt system) charged up. Won't run a small microwave or AC though. Going to the Honda EU2000i (50#s) we can run all the above plus the microwave, but still not large enough to run AC (which we don't have). Both of my Honda generators are early 2000's models and still run great....annual oil changes and a bit of Sea Foam in the tank, plus draining/cleaning the carburetor bowl once in a while.

Note that the EU1000i will run our 6 cu ft chest freezer or our 12 cu ft chest freezer. Very handy to take hunting if you are a long way from home.

daveyn · #20 10-30-2022, 10:43 AM

You can also purchase supplemental fuel tanks for the Honda generators (they may be universal, I'm not sure) that work just like an outboard motor gas tank. with 25 liters of fuel they will run literally for days between refueling.