honda vs generac vs onan which would you buy?

[ski-nut]

purchasing a new toy hauler and looking at onboard gen sets, any one have any thoughts on which brand has the best performance and value?
Honda?
Generac?
Onan?

All opions appreciated!

[ploiselle]

If price was not an issue, for built-in onboard gas powered generation (not a portable in the back of the PU), Onan would be my pick .

With generators, you generally get what you pay for. I think the prices will reflect Onan being the most expensive, all being equal. Onan's can be very expensive to repair, as Cummins has the market on Onan parts. Onans can be repaired at Cummins.

We have a 7.5 KW PowerTec diesel in our 41' MADP.

Paul

[ski-nut]

Thank you for the reply, do you know anything about Kipor? you can find them here http://www.go-rv.com/coast/do/catalo...05&pageNum=280

any info about them would be appreciated!

[ploiselle]

Hi

The only thing that I know is that it is made in China. I don't think China makes any quality products. If you are looking at a portable besides weight, power and reliability, noise is a very important issue. A lot of generators are construction grade. You and your neighbors will not be happy with a noisy generator.

Take a look at Honda. I have friends with two eu2000's. They are very light, very quiet and combined will give you 4000 watts. I have read that Yamaha's are also very good. If they make a quick stop, they fire up one Honda. For a/c they use both.

My experience from my construction days is that you get what you pay for. I have burned up several cheap generators because they were not rated for continuous duty. I now have a 5.5kw Kohler that I bought more than 20 years ago. Starts still every time with one pull. At the time I paid $2,200 for it. Now, I only use it for emergency power.

Paul

[tincup]

Ski-nut,

I would go with Honda, I purchased a EU3000i a year ago after talking with friends that have 2 EU2000s. I decided on the 3000 because I didn't want to change oil, gas and plugs in two units. Storing and moving around two instead of one so I sprung for the extra dough and got the 3000. Depending on your load a single 2000 may be sufficient.

I echo ploiselle's comment about noise, you and especially your neighbors, won't like the racket. A $300.00 construction generator will annoy everyone and shake loose your fillings With generators "Ya gets what ya pays for"

Paul

[eldave]

I love my Onan. It's an 80's 4.0 BFA. It's not the quietest, it's not the smallest, but it's reliable and I can work on it myself.

If I ever had to buy another generator again, I'd definitely go with Onan.