bumper mounted generator

[Frankf]

Originally Posted by Morich

The 58 db would be way too loud for my group. The ads tend to lie to you!

Check to see at what distance they get that level as many have set a "standard" of something like 30 feet away!

Adding a portable genset for home use, I worked on getting an enclosure made to reduce the noise down to around 25-30 as measured by a phone app.
Much more agreeable when we lose the power and need to run it overnight.

If the sleeping quarters were located in the back of the rig the tongue mount would probably be fine. But for the bed in the bulkhead I'm still not sure if it would be too loud. Probably not during the day, but when sleeping?

Everything I have read says stay away from the rear bumper mount for a generator as you be adding close to 175 lbs (100 lbs generator & 75 lbs for the mount and reinforcement).

Wish Harbor Freight had a demo model you could listen to.

[Marine359]

Originally Posted by Frankf

To anyone who has mounted a generator on the front over the propane tanks on a Micro Mini with the sleeping quarters located in the front, and I mean your head will be right against the front of the RV. What about the noise level?

I'm looking at mounting a Predator 3500 Super Quiet (58 dBA) in the front.

Can anyone with a similar setup comment? Thanks.

You didn’t ask this, but I would caution about adding the additional weight (100#) to the tongue of your MM. I tow my MM with a Canyon and I’m right at the limit of my RAWR, and GVWR. With the Duramax, your GVWR is less than mine. For safety sake, you may want to consider getting your rig CAT scaled in normal travel pack-out with water before making a decision to add more tongue weight. My tongue comes in at 600-625 depending on tank fill level. That’s with my lightweight 39lb generator in the pass thru.

To directly answer the question: Hard to tolerate any generator running on the front cap or next to the MM while you’re occupying the trailer. The quietest gen is the Honda 2200i. My gen specs at 58db as well, but I put it at least 20ft away from the MM when we’re inside. Simple to do if you’re lugging around a 40lb instead of 100lb generator. And nobody really needs a 3500w generator for a MM do they?

[BobC]

I'd just carry it on the tongue and remove it to run. Aside from the noise you might hear, the orientation of the generator's exhaust can have a big impact on how loud it is for your neighbors. I agree with Marine359 about sticking with a generator in the 2200i's range.

Also, educate yourself about decibel ratings before you decide that a generator that costs a lot less than the Honda is pretty much just as quiet. A generator that's 10 dB than another will sound twice as loud. Also, Honda publishes their dB levels at both full rated load and 1/4 load, which is more indicative of average use. The 2200i comes in at 62 dB @ rated load and 53 dB @ ¼ load (62dB is almost twice as loud as the 53 dB). Some manufacturers will only publish the lower load dB level. If only one level is specified, we have to assume it's measured at something close to Honda's 1/4 load level.

There are a number of generators available that advertise dB ratings in the same general range as the Honda at lower prices, the Champion's 2000W Dual Fuel Inverter model is one example ($489 vs Honda's 2200i at about $1,129). It advertises a single sound level of 53 dBA, not 53dB.

However, Honda's dB rating and Champion's dBA ratings aren't equivalent. Here's what https://sound.softdb.com/difference-between-db-dba/ has to say about dB vs. dBA:

"What is a dBA?
A dBA is a weighted scale for judging loudness that corresponds to the hearing threshold of the human ear. Although dB is commonly used when referring to measuring sound, humans do not hear all frequencies equally. For this reason, sound levels in the low frequency end of the spectrum are reduced as the human ear is less sensitive at low audio frequencies than at high audio frequencies.

You will often see noise levels given in dBA (A-weighted sound levels) instead of dB. Measurements in dBA, or dB(A) as it is sometimes written, are decibel scale readings that have been adjusted in an attempt to take into account the varying sensitivity of the human ear to different frequencies of sound. The main effect of this adjustment is that low and very high frequencies are given less weight than on the standard decibel scale.

Compared with dB, A-weighted measurements underestimate the perceived loudness, annoyance factor, and stress-inducing capability of noises with low frequency components, especially at moderate and high volumes of noise."
(Underlining is mine)

If you find this confusing, it's by design to try to convince you that two things are comparable when they're not. Whatever you do, don't go the "open frame" generator route. They're intended for job sites and similar uses, not camping. Although they're the least expensive, they're much noisier. You'll hate it and your neighbors will hate it and won't think kindly of you.

[Frankf]

Originally Posted by Marine359

You didn’t ask this, but I would caution about adding the additional weight (100#) to the tongue of your MM. I tow my MM with a Canyon and I’m right at the limit of my RAWR, and GVWR. With the Duramax, your GVWR is less than mine. For safety sake, you may want to consider getting your rig CAT scaled in normal travel pack-out with water before making a decision to add more tongue weight. My tongue comes in at 600-625 depending on tank fill level. That’s with my lightweight 39lb generator in the pass thru.

To directly answer the question: Hard to tolerate any generator running on the front cap or next to the MM while you’re occupying the trailer. The quietest gen is the Honda 2200i. My gen specs at 58db as well, but I put it at least 20ft away from the MM when we’re inside. Simple to do if you’re lugging around a 40lb instead of 100lb generator. And nobody really needs a 3500w generator for a MM do they?

Marine, I just updated my signature as I traded my Colorado for a '21 Silverado. My wife and I plan to do more traveling in the coming years and just needed more room, so on the tongue weight issue, which is important, should not be an issue with this truck.

Anyhow, I did just buy a Predator 3500 as the price with the coupon was just too good to pass up. I did some research and these are actually made in the USA and the complete parts schematic with numbers are available from Harbor Freight. So I decided to roll the dice with it. Most all reviews were positive.

Yes, probably more than we need for the MM, but here in Eastern NC during the summer we sometimes loose power for several days during the hurricane season. And if we have to stay in it we wanted something we could run the AC unit and several other items, fridge, microwave, etc while on generator power. We do have to RV under a shelter so we can at least not have the sun beating down on it.

It may be where we just use the tongue mount (not purchased yet) to haul it and if we need it to run long term move it off the tray. Even with the tonneau cover at 23" on my Silverado the generator being 20" tall it will still fit in the bed so that's a carry option too. May end up just doing that.

Most everywhere we travel will have shore power so this is probably more for at home use.

My next question is should I get a propane conversion kit for this? Seems to be a very straight forward conversion.

[Marine359]

Good decision Frank, considering you’ve now got enough truck to carry it on the tongue. I don’t know if there is a propane conversion for it, but you might check Hutch Mountain’s website. I’m sure the arrangement will work great for you, and the HF generators are spoken of highly on the forums.

[BobC]

I'm generally not a fan of extended warranties, but, in the case of HF power tools, I generally buy them. Even though the reviews are positive, if you didn't get one with your Predator, you might want to consider doing so.

[RocknRoll]

That was easy!

https://www.amazon.com/Propane-Conve.../dp/B07STRR947

[Sky]

I have a 1700BH, the 2-bunk model and needed to add a generator. I removed the lower bunk, added a new wall thus creating a closet in the front half of the lower bunk area and a storage area in the back half that is accessed using the outside door. In the outside closet I added a home-built aluminum shelf on heavy duty equipment slides. On top of the shelf is a Predator 3500 gas generator. To run the generator I open the door, pull out the shelf and lock the generator outside the trailer on it's equipment slides, connect the generator to the AC power inlet which is only about 3' away. I sealed the new wall addition gaps with caulking to minimize fumes. I also added two vents in the outside door to ventilate the generator closet when traveling. It took a lot of work but I can now dry camp and run the A/C if needed. I did not want to lift a heavy generator in and out of my pickup when camping. The end result is a built-in generator with easy operation and access.