I had planned to buy a 6000/5500watt gasoline Predator and put a tri-fuel conversion kit on it to run propane. It was the most economical way to get a propane generator. I do not have good luck with gasoline generators. They varnish up too quickly and too often. I've got a little (loud) Sportsman model that I need to get rid of CHEAP that is probably varnished. IT hasn't been run since David packed it into the food cart to keep it from walking off.
The generator I ended up with is a 6000 surge/5500 running watt propane generator from generatornow.com and the same as what I had been looking at via Sams Club but a tad cheaper. I hooked it up to see how loud it was sitting in front of the bus. It's loud but not horribly. Said it was rated at 71dba but at what distance???? These dba ratings are problematic (Nat Parks max is 65 - 68 dba @ 50 ft). I don't really care. I need a generator for traveling down the road and for a couple of hours per stop in parking lots. I tend to not boondock. I freedom park. If I'm in a campground, it usually has electrical hookups that I am plugged into. It's heavy (210 lb). Once I got the wheel kit on it, it was fairly easy to roll around to the back side of the bus (on a rough gravel pad). My daughter & I took the wheel kit off, jacked the rear of the bus up enough to slide the thing up under the skirting. Then we attached ratcheting cargo straps to the SuperStruts I had bolted to the floor framing and ratcheted the thing up to the bottom of the struts. It's hanging there on U bolts. I haven't run it under the bus because I need to cut an access door out to get to it. No time before I leave this weekend (heading 150 miles away to a free parking spot where I can finish up the bus for the trip back east). Once I get things set up, I will check the sound level with a (free) sound meter app. Sound apps are fun to play with.
I chose propane because it can be left sitting for months and years without starting up. Then it will crank right up (so I have been told by those who have them). And I run propane for cooking, heating and the dryer. So I already have it on board. I currently have a total of 6 20# tanks (4 are mine and 2 are tank swaps) and my daughter has two more.
This particular generator seems to be all over the internet. Also seems to have fairly decent reviews. The Gentron and All Power seem to be the same generator as well. Same prices too. Sam's did have it on sale but I missed the sale by a few days. Factoring shipping plus purchase price meant that generatornow had the best price when I bought. Tracking the shipment was almost non-existant. It was delivered to the park while I was at work (expecting it the next day when I was off) and left up at the office. I had to have a couple of the park workers bring it to my RV site. I was expecting it to be dumped in front of the bus. It was not something I could move (in the box) by myself.
I sized the generator to be double what I needed. My theory is it is better to run it at 1/2 load (for best fuel consumption) than maxed out. Plus it should be capable of powering all four compressors (2 refrigerators, 1 freezer, 1 air conditioner) if they should cycle on at the same time. I also have an electric water heater (2000W). Without the air tossed into the mix, it should power the water heater, along with everything else, to heat up a tank of water for really fast "rinse the road grime off" showers. I will be doing a few test runs next month to see what it runs and how loud it is under the bus.
https://generatornow.com/gentron-gg6000p-pro2-6000w-propane-powered-portable-generator
You may find this interesting:
http://www.newrver.com/publish/RV-generators.shtml
