Scottybuck Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 I just recently bought a 1986 Toyota Conquest by Gulfstream....My first RV, and I know "nothing" about them....I see that it is wired for a Generator, has a compartment on the outside for one with a vented screen, and an inside hour meter that has no hours on it. Am I able to get a generator to go in the compartment to be hooked up, or should I just buy an exterior type unit? If I did buy an exterior type? Thanks for any help... Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 You need to define your needs. Running an A/C while boon docking or charging your house battery to watch some DVDs all night. The correct built in will run you $3000 installed. A exterior generator will be $250-1,000 depending on what you need/want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottybuck Posted September 18, 2012 Author Share Posted September 18, 2012 I wouldn't mind being able to watch tv all night if I wanted, or running the AC for a long period of time without a campsite connection, and $3,000 installed I guess wouldn't be an unreasonable price, but what kind of generator are we talking about? I went to the Richmond Nascar race a couple weekends ago with some buddies who had travel trailers. While there, I saw some class c RV's with generators in the storage unit with(what I'm guessing) exaust pipes sticking out under the camper. Is that something that I'd have to have done? Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottybuck Posted September 18, 2012 Author Share Posted September 18, 2012 Just to clarify....$3,000 is a bunch of money for a generator, but if it functions the way it is supposed to and is quiet, then I don't mind the cost. I own a Generac portable home unit that has been a bunch of junk. It's a big one and cost over $2,000....It has less than 20 hours on it and does not work. I figured I would get "one" and be done. Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 Google Onan RV Generator You might look on e-bay, or craigs list for used. I assume you plan on doing the installation yourself. These generally use gasoline from your regular tank. You may or may not have the pickup tube in your tank already. The pickup tube sticks about 2 inches from the bottom of the tank so it won't run your tank empty. The Honda or Yahama portable generators are very quite, I see a lot of these in campgrounds, you may consider these. If you plan on using this for the Air Conditioner, make sure you size it. If you have 13,000 btu A/C unit, you might consider installing a hard start capacitor so the generator will be able to start the compressor. If you don't have A/C, you might consider installing a window unit, 8 or 10k btu. If your talking about running lights and TV, the battery should be able to do this, I have LED lights and a small LCD TV that I can run all night. I also have a remote car starter installed, so if my battery does get low, I just start the truck and let it run for 15 minutes, I don't do this at 3am :-) Before you lay down several thousand for a generator, you might take a couple trips and see how you would use it. John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottybuck Posted September 18, 2012 Author Share Posted September 18, 2012 Yeah John, a couple of trips makes sense before dropping a bunch of money. My dad has a small Honda (3,000 watts) that I could borrow for the first few times I go, just in case I need one. What kind of extra battery do you reccomend? There was a compartment for one under the sofa inside, but the previous owner wired it to go outside in one of the storage compartments..... Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waiter Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 You got the perfect solution; "Hey Dad, Can I barrow the generator this weekend?" :-) Set the generator downwind. make sure its secured and locked to the Toyhouse. Plug your shore power into the generator and you should be ready to go.. Do you have an Air Conditioner? I didn't modify my Coach battery, its just a regular ole Walmart Deep Cycle battery. John Mc 88 Dolphin 4 Auto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottybuck Posted September 18, 2012 Author Share Posted September 18, 2012 It does have a colmeman AC in it, but I haven't looked to see how many btu's it is. I basically bought the rv, drove it to my parents farm, and parked it. I went the next day an checked the appliances (which all work), but had a cracked water filter. I've since ordered that part(which should be here tomorrow), and will hook it up to make sure that the water pump/water heater work. If that's a go, then everything else that needs to be done is cosmetic. If the water works, I can go camping in it as is.......Just some little things that I want to do (replace carpet with some type of other flooring, paint walls/ceiling, etc.....). Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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