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Old 01-08-2007, 04:57 PM   #1
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I can't speak for the AC units, but I can say that the generator prices are right in line for a Briggs and Stratton or Tecumseh powered unit. They will work well and are cheap to maintain. They are, however, noticably louder than a Honda and will use more fuel.

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Old 01-08-2007, 09:02 PM   #2
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If you are going to use 2 a/c units, you don't need 15K, a pair of 13.5's should be more than adequate. I'm installing a single 13.5 on top of mine, with a small 5k in the very back for a bedroom unit.

Also keep in mind that if you're rigging that thing up to run 2 rooftop a/c's at the same time, you'll need to consider wiring the bus for 50amp service. Those RV air's run close to 20amps at load and 2 of them are not going to work on a 30amp service.

My TT is 28' from front to back, it has a single 13.5 non-ducted unit that keeps the trailer at 69º even when parked in direct sun on 100º day... it does very well...
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Old 01-08-2007, 09:18 PM   #3
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Stick to a reputable name when dealing with the generators. They may well be the same thing as that offbrand gennie, but a name like Coleman means atleast you will have a company behind it to offer support.
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Old 01-08-2007, 09:32 PM   #4
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Oh, almost forgot.... You can get an A/C at an extremely good price ($290 + shipping) on a 15k btu at Tri State Surplus... This is a good ebay seller, I've bought from this guy 4 times and he has great prices, quick shipping etc... only thing I found negative about this guy is he never leaves feedback.... not a big deal at all...!
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Old 01-08-2007, 10:20 PM   #5
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While working at an RV dealership I was planning on two 13.5 coleman or duotherm units. I was told that was too much ac for the inside of my 54 passenger bus. As far as using them as heaters with the heat strip I have been told that they do very little. They'll take the chill of in florida or arizona.

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Old 01-15-2007, 07:15 PM   #6
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Have you ever heard those industrial type generators run? They are uncomfortably loud despite anything you can do to make them quieter. There's no way you could camp with other people with one of those things. You'd have a bunch of mad campers. For your A/C, just get a 13,500 BTU. It should be plenty to cool down an full size school bus. You can always add another one later if you like. I have two Honda EU2000i generators that I run in parallel. I bought them new, but you could probably find a couple of used ones on E-bay for $650 a piece or so. Mine are VERY quiet. You can't even tell they're running unless you walk up to them. I've goten up several times in the middle of the night because it's so quiet and I think they're not running for some reason. I have to look outside and see if the little green lights are on on the gens (means they're operating normally). I get 4,000W of power out of mine. That's more than enough to run one 13,500 BTU A/C and anything else in your bus. Mine are VERY fuel efficent too! I can have them running full blast for three days straight and they don't even use 5 gallons of gas each. I'm telling you, you don't want one of those noisy generators. It's no fun camping with one of those, even if you're by yourself. Spend your money on the Honda's and you won't be sorry. Even if you have to put your A/C off for a while, it will be worth it. Summer is still quite a ways off. I bought my Honda's from Mayberry's in New Jersey. Check them out at http://www.mayberrys.com. The generators were $879 each. There are no taxes unless you live in Jersey and shipping was free! It only took them about three days to get to my house in Oklahoma City. I bought the parallel kit off of E-bay for $90 brand new. So, you'd spend around $1,850 for your complete generator setup. Spend another few hundred for one 13,500BTU A/C and you'll be set! Also, both of those generators could run two A/C units with a little power to spare. Please don't buy one of those crappy noisy generators. I could go on and on about it.
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Old 01-15-2007, 09:01 PM   #7
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jmaes, in St Charles at the Sam's Club, they have a generator with a manual start honda motor, IIRC about 6k in wattage, for about $950. It was back before Christmas when I looked at them.

If your bus isnt insulated very well, then you will need the 15k AC, minimum. I tried an 11k ac unit in mine after insulation, it couldnt do it. Area camper dealers that I have talked to have 35 foot fifth wheel tralers with one 15k AC unit in them and say they do fine. At the RV show this weekend, I saw that all the drive mobiles had two 13.5K AC units on them. The longer ones, ie 38 and 40 foot had two 15K units.

I would agree on the "dont scrimp on the generator" school of thought. As for the AC units, plan for two, install one, if it carries you through the midwestern heat and humidity, great, otherwise add a second. Would like to see how you are doin on yours, since mine is just across the river from you.
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Old 01-15-2007, 11:11 PM   #8
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One other point on the Honda generators. The EU series will be the quietest and most fuel efficient, but don't count out some of the others. We had a 2500 watt EN series powering the bus at Countryfest this year and it did a phenomenal job. In fact, we had the campers around us shut down their noisy gensets and just ran extension cords to our generator. Northern Tool sells their own line of North Star gensets that use Honda power. You might get a deal if you try that though I'm really not sure.
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Old 01-17-2007, 09:10 PM   #9
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Add me to the list of "get a QUIET generator"! I have a Honda EU3000. Cost $1700.
Has much bigger tank than the EU2000 and has electric start. I also have a EU1000 for
portable use. The 3000 is actually quieter than the 1000 and 2000.

I had a Briggs and Stratton cheap generator once. Traded it for a Crescent
wrench or something -- couldn't stand the noise any longer.
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Old 11-19-2007, 10:19 AM   #10
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Re:

Quote:
Originally Posted by jmaes
As for the AC units, here is where I am looking to buy from


http://www.adventurerv.net/
They have coleman 15,000 BTU units listed for 459.00. Seems like the best out there.
Hi!

I made the mistake of placing an online order with AdventureRV.net and have had nothing but trouble. (I noticed that another post somewhere else on this site mentioned them.) They held-up my order without telling me, then when I had to enquire, I got an excuse that one of the items was out of stock. Fine, but they don't bother to tell me for a week and a half? Then I get a terse e-mail with a couple of tracking numbers so I figure the out-of-stock item is now in and they're shipping the whole order. Nope. They just decided to ship what they had on-hand a week late instead of doing that in the first place or better yet, giving me the information and the option for what I'd like to have them do next.

Then to top it all off, the guy I'm having to deal with at their company starts getting insulting with me. How do you treat paying customers like that and still stay in business? The items they did send were packed poorly and was missing one other item I ordered, and they have yet to bother to give me any details on when the back-ordered item might arrive.

It has been one mistake after another with this order from them, and even though all of this has been their fault, the guy continues to be abusive towards me in his e-mails to me. Amazing.

Anyway, if you choose to deal with these neanderthals, do so at your own risk...

-John
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Old 11-19-2007, 11:17 AM   #11
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Re: What to buy? Best generator and AC units for under $2,000

Average Fuel Consumption

(gal./hr.)

No Load 0.51
1/2 Load 0.76
Full Load 1.07

NO, NO, NO, NO! If Yes, can I borrow or HAVE some money, because it doesn't seem like you want to hang on to it. Full
load uses 1.07 gallons per hour x $3.50/gallon = $3.75 per hour x 10 hours = $37.50. Half load isn't much better and that's after you spent over $2500 for the genie. That doesn't take into consideration ripoff gas prices in different areas. Someone did a comparison on this forum about fuel usage/savings. You could use some of that money to buy caviar for starving kids in Switzerland.

I agree with what Matt/KC10Chief said about the Honda's or some other brand that sips fuel and is quiet as hell. It's more money/KW, but the savings in fuel pay off big time in a hurry. It won't take long to pay for a second and third genie. You would only run what you need and they're portable. I would also look at battery banks, solar and wind power. I would hate to see you waste money. Just my humble opinion.
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Old 11-19-2007, 06:49 PM   #12
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Re: What to buy? Best generator and AC units for under $2,000

I just read my post. I don't mean for it to sound harsh. I don't want you to waste money.
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Old 11-21-2007, 10:00 PM   #13
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Re: What to buy? Best generator and AC units for under $2,000

crazycal I believe the original poster probably bought his genny a long time ago since this post is from last january. But your input might help somebody else that is looking for info on gennies, like my self.
Many old threads are getting renewed lately.
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