anyone have any good/bad experiance with champion portable generators?

[north channel novels]

We have a Champion 8-year-old, 3100 gasoline inverter that runs our RV equipment just fine. Cost only 1/3 of a Honda 3000 at the time. Starts second pull cold and first pull warmed every time. At 90 pounds, I load it into the back of our 2500 at the beginning of the season, run it in place and lift it out at the end of the season. Despite the number of months it sits unused in the garage each year it starts up each spring as if it had just run yesterday.

[gherrick]

I purchased the 4350 inverter style two years ago. Has worked great for boondocking. Also have it set up to runs6 circuits in the house when there is a power outage (furnace, fridge, lights, etc)
I have had no problem with the generator mechanically or electrically. Very happy with it.

[Malco1]

Another thumbs up for champion. We have the 3400 gas with the remote start. Going on 3 years now and no issues. It is heavy though at 100lbs.

I agree I have a Champion 4500 gas and it works great. I don't like duel fuel because the DF has no remote start.

[Wandering5thwheelers]

We had a champion generator for many years and loved it! We sold it for almost what we paid for it when we sold our RV.
I started rv’ing again last year and purchased a 3650/3300 W Remote Start Inverter Portable Generator CARB and cETL Certified, and I love it just as much. It runs everything in my unit, including my AC. It only runs on gas, the one I bought, but has remote start/stop, which I love even more.

[MarkAllen]

I have had a 3100 gas-only unit RV ready for several years. I only use it a couple of outings per year, but it has performed great every time I need it.

[Homegrown]

I have 2 Champion inverter generators, a 3500 remote start and a 2000 watt. I can run them in parallel to use both ac units if I need, but I usually just bring one or the other depending on needs. I’ve had great luck with Champion generators.

[eeshelman]

I have a pair of 17 year old Honda EU2000i generators that we've always taken on our camping trips. We ran them in parallel with a gen-tran parallel kit which enabled us to run our a/c and lights. On our last trip (we mostly boon dock) I had an issue with the generators not charging the batteries or running anything. I know its a generator issue because when we got home, I plugged the trailer into an extension cord and everything lit up and worked. RV also runs fine on shore power with no issues. I believe that the parallel kit has failed and when I searched for another one, I noticed that they are pretty much obsolete nowadays as Honda has shifted over to a master/slave unit or companion unit and boy, are they sure proud of them! $1300-1400 each. The generators run like new with no problems. I googled GenTran and saw that the kits are discontinued and the company itself must have been sold off and morphed into manufacturing other types of electronics and some home electrical panels. I am looking at just purchasing a new generator and saw the champion 4500 watt one. I saw it also was inverted which was a plus and it was only $985 vs $2800 for two Honda's. It has great reviews, but in today's day and age where businesses can and will buy reviews and pay people to post positive reviews, I am skeptical of believing reviews. I was hoping anyone with any experience with these units can comment. Your real life reviews would be a great idea if I should seriously consider one of these units, as we mainly want it to power our a/c unit and a few lights. I am in California unfortunately and apparently the Honda's aren't CARB compliant and cannot be sold here (good thing I am only 2 hours away from the Nevada border, lol) and the Champion is CARB compliant and looks like it will meet our needs. Thanks in advance and I looking forward to reading all your comments

Can run my single AC with soft start and weighs under 50 pounds. I only ever run with propane and converted it to run off the trailer’s propane port so no lugging around any fuel and propane is so clean device will last long

[Harvestmoon]

Can run my single AC with soft start and weighs under 50 pounds. I only ever run with propane and converted it to run off the trailer’s propane port so no lugging around any fuel and propane is so clean device will last long

I have the Champion 2500 DF and runs the A/C (with Easy Start) on our 22MLE no problem when we are off grid. It is light enough to carry in one hand and fairly quiet running (although not Honda quiet). I run only on propane except I put a splash of gas in the tank to start on gas and then switch over to propane. It can be started on gas 1-2 pulls and then switch over to propane on the fly. It can be started directly on propane but takes a lot of pulling to purge the air out of the line. It is 1850W max running on propane so I have to limit what I am running (e.g., A/C or microwave but not both at once).

eeshelman - I am interested in how you adapted the propane to the trailer port. I have considered doing the same but 1) wasn't sure if the regulated pressure at the camper was correct for the generator; 2) could not find the correct hose with the camper quick connect on one end and the generator quick connect (with finger) on the other end

[eeshelman]

I have the Champion 2500 DF and runs the A/C (with Easy Start) on our 22MLE no problem when we are off grid. It is light enough to carry in one hand and fairly quiet running (although not Honda quiet). I run only on propane except I put a splash of gas in the tank to start on gas and then switch over to propane. It can be started on gas 1-2 pulls and then switch over to propane on the fly. It can be started directly on propane but takes a lot of pulling to purge the air out of the line. It is 1850W max running on propane so I have to limit what I am running (e.g., A/C or microwave but not both at once).

eeshelman - I am interested in how you adapted the propane to the trailer port. I have considered doing the same but 1) wasn't sure if the regulated pressure at the camper was correct for the generator; 2) could not find the correct hose with the camper quick connect on one end and the generator quick connect (with finger) on the other end

It has been a couple years so I don’t remember all the steps. I contacted Champion customer support and was sent instructions and a parts list to adapt it.

[Bamaman]

Champion generators is a Chinese owned company, but i hear their level of customer service is outstanding. I assume they have Americans to talk to if you have any problems.

I like to say they're 90% as good as Honda and Yamaha generators at 50% of the cost. And they'll do the job.