Generator for my RV Keystone 290BHS

[Miguel.Delgado89]

Hey everyone!

My name is Miguel, and after years of dreaming about it, I finally purchased my first RV about a month ago and couldn’t be more excited!

With that, I am looking to see how big of a generator I may need for when I stay off grid. It is a Keystone 2021 290BHS.

If anyone else has this model and has experience with a generator, please let me know what your recommendations are! I want to get a unit that can power the entire RV without a problem.

Thank you in advance and look forward to learning more about everyone and everything RV related!

 

[RangeMaggotBob]

All depends on what you want to do. First of all- do not buy an open-frame- or contractors generator. They are loud and noisy and everybody will hate you. The best by far- and the most expensive- are the Hondas. If you can afford it, you'll never have any problems pretty much for the life of the generator. We use 2 Honda i2200eu generators. The second one is paralleled with the first only if we need the AC. These units are super light- less than 50lbs. apiece. That's why we got these. Bigger gennies are too much to handle for us at our age. There are several larger gennies if you want to go that route. And there are several other models for about half the price of the Hondas. Horrible (Harbor) Freight has some that lots of people use and most are happy with. COSTCO and Sam's Club usually have decent prices on them. Decide how much power you need and then do lots of research in different forums. EVERYBODY who buys these cheaper gennies claim they're just as good and just as quiet as the Hondas. They are not. But that's alright. Bottom line- there's nothing wrong with these cheaper gennies, they're just not as good as the Hondas. And a lot less money! There's more details you have to familiarize yourself with, but that will come with the learning curve while operating your gennie.

 

[Bob K4TAX]

I'd say initially a 3,000 watt inverter generator minimum. Now with that said, if your family intends to run the AC, the microwave, a hairdryer, a toaster oven, and other stuff, all at the same time, you'll need a 5,000 inverter generator. If however you and your family can be mindful of energy consumption or energy management, then perhaps a 3,000-watt inverter will do. Or, as someone else suggested, a pair of 2200 watt Honda's with a linking kit to give 4400 watts of power. Agreed on the open frame generators. They are noisy and run full speed all of the time. The inverter generators will speed up and slow down automatically as the load demand increases and decreases. Thus they are quieter and more efficient toward fuel consumption.

You really need to determine your power needs in terms of watts and size the generator about 120% to 150% larger.