my 85 hilo didnt come with a generator.....has anyone here added a generator?...what is the smallest one you could use that would still run the a/c?

Here's an earlier thread on this topic.

http://www.hilotrailerforum.com/f17/...-run-l21-3627/

Check the specs on your a/c and compare to the chart in this thread, or post the specs on your a/c here and someone will help.

100,000 watts at the least! 4 /25,000 watt generators! lol oh yeah and 4 guage copper wire up to 100 ft. funnin ya! lol

Run Mine with 5000 watts

2,300 watts will run the typical roof AC. Maybe you can get by on 2200.
I have one of those Ryobi inverter/generators from HomeDepot for about $499 that runs it great. Model# RYI2200
For something like an Onan that mounts under the camper you still need at least 2200 watts, 2300 to be safe.
If you want to run other AC appliances at the same time then you need to go bigger. Personally I have everything running off DC power (battery/solar) so I can use the 2200 gen just for AC, so the DC appliances/lights do not put any strain whatsoever on the generator (other than the 2 amp charger which is nothing.)

ryobi makes a 2000 inverter generator...would that run the a/c?

No, Ryobi does not make a 2,000. Theirs is 2,200 surge and 1,800 continuos.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Ryobi-2-...2200/203617901
This one will run different AC units on campers that I have seen. Can't attest to everything, but the typical camper ones will run on it. I had one that was 2,300 watts start-up and it ran on this 2,200 watt surge Ryobi. Typically AC run much lower than the start-up watts needed. Say, 1,300 or less, but you need the power initially to get the compressor motor running.
I have this generator and it runs mine and my friends (he has same Ryobi) and my old one.

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1997 22L
Renovation complete!

i only need 120vac window ac now my unit is so tiny now. so idk. yeah i only need my gen/ or shore for 120vac to run window ac and sanyo mini fridge. rest is solar on 750 watt inverter off my solar battery for lighting, computer, tv. i have all dc led's and halogens. i can run just fridge tho if needed. going to go with bigger inverter, when i can, or may use 2. it and my controller both have 2 usb's each. so does my gen and a bat charger built into it also and another 2 amp in the camper from acv to dcv variac converter.

they actually do make a 2000...its a ryi2000
https://www.ryobitools.com/products/...rter-generator

They do, stand corrected.
Don't get the 2,000. It likely will not run any A/C.
Most any Air Conditioner will need that 2,200.
Don't confuse AC Air Conditioner with ac Alternating Current.
120 is current I assume you mean, yes, all Air Cond units will run on household current like generator puts out.

If running a fridge too, a 120v household current fridge, then these little generators will not suffice. The air cond will be maxing out the generator at start-up, so if you want to add a fridge then get something in the 3,000 area. Fridge has the same type of compressor, so needs start-up power, and no way to tell them to never start up at the same time.

Good luck with solar. Do you have lots of panels? I have 200 watts solar and this is enough to keep things running, but not an inverter for long, and def not an inverter to run a lot of things like you want to. I use the inverter to charge the lap top on rare occasion, otherwise it always stays off. The more things you can make run straight off the 12 volt DC the better. The same appliance running off DC will use way less power than its household current version running off the AC (alternating current) that the inverter puts out.

I have 2 batteries and run an ARB DC powered fridge, lights, a fan, water pump, maybe the furnace fan and charge the phone, but little else - not all at the same time though - all this runs off DC. On rainy weeks I can last 2-3 days on what the battery has. Very little solar action happens in the rain. You also have the lift pump to raise the roof which will use a lot of power, so to start the camping off by draining that amount of power down is not ideal. I have separate battery for camper and for pump. You can run the vehicle engine while you raise the roof, but there just is not enough power over the trailer plug to matter much in this instance.

happy trails

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1997 22L
Renovation complete!

lol..in arizona we have tons of sunshine and very little rain

I don't recommend running the TV to raise the top, you can blow the fuse in the TV because of the amps required to raise the top. .02 cents
Tree

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It doesn't contribute that much energy to to the battery anyway. The battery has to have a good charge to lift the top or be jumped from a good battery.

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Rich - while the TV can't add much current (because of the wire limitations), it's possible for the camper to try to draw that current anyway, and either blow the fuse (or worse) overload some wire and fry it.

Better to disconnect TV when raising/lowering. I don't get why HiLo's don't have a relay built in so when you press the raise/lower button it disconnects the + line to the TV connector. Seems a basic safety precaution.

what is TV?

Tow Vehicle (your pickup/suv, etc)

Are you guys just thinking this on reckon, or have some in-depth electrical knowledge?
Likely the TV wiring to power the trailer is much too insufficient to lead to blowing any fuses. I am skeptical that the lift pump would pull power through the TV like that, esp given there is a battery also right next to the pump that stabilizes current. Running TV while lifting wont give much additional power, but I cant see how it would be a problem.
It all comes down to how everything is wired up, how it's connected, through what kind of fuses or relays, and the gauge of the wiring. For instance, mine is separate plug, very heavy gauge wire, wired directly to the TV batteries through a heavy duty solenoid, it laughs at this, but if a tiny wire feeding the aux plug on the 7-way through a fuse buried somewhere in the TV, or worse, not fuse and it could melt somewhere unseen then that is another story, but still, the lift pump unlikely to do that.
More likely the wire melts closes to the lift pump, but will melt wherever the wire is the smallest. I just don't see the pump drawing that kind of current.

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1997 22L
Renovation complete!

Agreement Here! If you can "jump" the battery directly from the TV, why would there be any problem?

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Now 2600TFB since May 2017
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Electric current don't care *where* the current comes from. If a device tries to draw a given current, that current will try to come through ANY wire connected to that circuit.

You may have been lucky and never blown a fuse or.burnt a wire. The reality is though, *some* of that current is still coming through the TV wiring. And if there's *any* hiccup in the system it will try to draw all 50 amps through the TV wire...which will.last about 1/10 of a second.

How long of Jumper Cables would you have to use to make the Distance from the TV battery in front of TV to at least the front of the Hitch or further back?

I've never used, or actually seen cables that long

The PO of my old '76 had installed a 20 Amp outlet outside the HiLo and connected it to the Pump located inside at the front wall (also the Battery & No Manual Crank). Eliminated the hassle of crawling under the Table to reach the Pump & Battery compartment.

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Formerly 2176B Classic since 1988, needs work!
Now 2600TFB since May 2017
1982 G20 3/4 Ton Chevy Sportvan
Navy Vietnam Vet