Travel trailers are a fun way for your camping or long travels with ease and peace of mind, but it can be overwhelming and frustrating if you don’t know how it works. You may be enjoying your happy journey or travel when your RV batteries die, and you no longer have the option to recharge as you’re not close to shore power.
To make this situation not happen, you need a travel trailer generator with you on your adventure. Otherwise, your enjoyable adventure can become a terrific and horrible experience.
Now you must be thinking of what kind of generator I need. How can I find the best one for my travel trailer? Don’t go in a hurry. In this article, we’ll go through each factor and characteristic for you to make your decision feasible and fruitful. So let’s dive into it without any further ado.
Understanding RV Generator
An RV generator is a recharge or power station for the dying or dead batteries of your RV. They provide electricity to the travel trailers and make them function if it runs out of power. They are beneficial and even inevitable if you’re not close to any shore power to not let your travel trailer die.
Some travel trailers have built-in generators, while some don’t have them. You must check your category before considering a generator for your travel trailer. If the trailer has in-built, it’s good, but if it doesn’t have any, you would have to purchase a portable generator. The nature of the generator doesn’t affect the charging or power capacity of the generator as the generator produces electricity by the usage of diesel, fuel, or propane. The decision depends on different factors, which we’ll be discussing below.Generators are not only the option to fuel up the batteries, but they are considered as the safety measure in all. They never let your RV power reduce until they have fuel. It is advisable to consider a generator before deciding on a long trip.
Size of Generator for Travel Trailer You Need
Deciding the size of your RV generator solely depends on your need for watts in your RV. The more watts you use in your RV, the more powerful generator you will require. If you don’t calculate your watts and go for the generator without the estimations, you might face a crash down while charging or powering your RV.
The generators usually are powered in Watts, but Kilowatt generators are also present. They range between 1000-4000 watts. In kilowatts, it’ll be 1.5-4 KW. You can opt for both as there’s no power difference between watts and kilowatts, it is just the different units.
What Factors to Consider While Selecting a Travel Trailer Generator?
As we discussed in the beginning that the generator purchase depends on several various factors that must be considered before making it accomplished for your RV, let’s now discuss them:
1. Price
Your budget, the price, and the quality of the generator are the inevitables when deciding on your RV generator. In the case of travel trailers, the price is mostly the same as the quality of the generator. The higher the price, the better the quality. But you must not forget to research the manufacturer company before making a purchase.
2. Poundage
Poundage plays a very significant role in the selection of the generator. You have to check the weight or poundage of the generator before purchasing as it’ll decide where you will place your generator in your RV. Mostly the generators are mounted to the bumpers of the RV, but if you don’t want to put it up high, you would have to make a special compartment for it in your RV.
The generators have a very high poundage to a very low. It solely is dependent on how many watts it is. The heavy generators have high power and vice-versa.
You must take care of this factor as the heavy ones are difficult to carry with your RV on a long travel or journey,
3. Power Requirement and Noise
Power requirement is decided by estimating your watts requirement in the RV. You have to calculate the Watts that you will use in your RV and then go buy a generator according to it. If you’re not used to Air conditioners and heaters in your RV, you are good to go with a less power generator. It can range from 2000-2500. But if you have high-power appliances in your RV, you would have to go for a high-power generator.
Only the power requirement is not the thing to consider but the noise it produces must also be checked. If the generator produces noise above 50-60 decibels, try avoiding it as it’ll ruin your daily adventures and night sleeps. So check the power requirements and the noise of the generator before making a purchase.
4. Fuel Efficiency & Fuel Type
Filling your generator’s fuel tank repeatedly is not what you want and that’s why you have to check for the fuel tank efficiency of your generator. If you are a more adventurous person and go camping for most of the year, you must have a generator that has a good fuel storage capacity. If it has a small space, you would have to make a refill most often which is exhausting and tiring. No one on an adventure would want it. Try purchasing a generator that has enough fuel storage capacity.
There are three types of fuels that you can use in your generator: gas, diesel, and propane. You can use any of them depending on the nature of your RV generator.
What are the Different Types of Travel Trailer Generators?
Travel trailer generators are amazing if we talk about them in various availabilities. These generators are present in three various modes:
- Built-in generators
- Portable generators
- Inverter generators
The generators that are already present in your travel trailers are called built-in generators. They are fantastic options in terms of power availability as they range easily from 2500-1200 watts, and you don’t have to install them.
You can easily set them for use by pushing a button and vice-versa. You don’t have to manage them as they’re already built-in. The downside for the built-in generators is that they cost you many bucks in service as they are built-in in your RV. They can only be used for your RV and you can’t take them or transport them where you need them.
The portable generators are a good option if you don’t have any built-in generators as they are more cost-effective than the latter. They can be found in the range of 2000-4000, but 12000 watts are also available in the market. You can use them for other purposes as well as they are not built-in and can be transported.
Inverter generators are the best option if you want a noise-free generator. They have the lowest decibel nose with reduced consumption of fuel But Keep in mind; they are not much budget-friendly. You will have to spend a lot on them.
Power Needed for My Travel Trailer
To determine the power for your generator, you will first have to check and make a list of all the appliances in your RV. All the low-power appliances and the high power. You have to mention each and make a list. Then check their watts and mention them.
The watts of the appliances are most often present at the back end of the appliance, but if you can’t find it you can Google it and find it there. Make the average of all the watts used by your appliances and then go for the empower of your RV generator according to the average watts,
How Many Watts Does a Travel Trailer Generator Require?
Wattage selection is done by analyzing your RV appliances. Let’s say you have a heater or an air conditioner in your RV, it’ll easily cost you at least 2500 watts which is comparatively very high than a refrigerator that will only take up between 700-900 watts. You have to analyze your appliances before deciding on your Travel watts.
Well, you will not use all the appliances altogether, but you still have to calculate the safe zone.
Do We Need a Generator for a Small Travel Trailer?
If you’re considering a short journey or even a long adventure, you’ll require an RV generator as it will never let you go off the power and battery of your RV in your journey. But the power of Watt can be decided according to the journey. If you have to just go for a small trip, you can consider buying a less powerful generator instead of a high one. This factor can vary but having a generator in your RV is inevitable.
Conclusion
Having a generator for your travel trailer is essential, and you cannot deny its importance and contribution to your journey. You just have to figure out the size of the generator you’ll need for it. In this article, we’ve described all the factors and qualities of the best RV generator for your travel trailer. But if you still have got some queries, you can ask us in the comments below.
