BAC RV Club Forum
General Boards => Technical Support => Topic started by: Vernon Boen on October 04, 2026, 12:44:07 AM
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I have a 2001 Beaver Marquis. We are camping a couple nights next week with no hookups. My coach is not equipped with auto start on the generator. My question is how much do I run the generator? Can I monitor the house battery charge to determine when to fire it up or do i need to run it continuously?
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Our Marquis is a real power hog. If we leave the Marquis for more than 5 or 6 hours, then the house batteries will be weak. I suppose if I turned off the inverter, then that would help. lol In answer to your question, consult the voltage of the batteries. If they are at 12.4v. then they are 1/4th discharged, at 12.2 they are 1/2 discharged. Don't let them get far below 12.2v.
Anyways, we carry a Honda 3000 in the towed pickup that we run when dry camping. It has a 3.6 gallon gas tank and will idle along for about 16 hours on a fill. I should also note that we run the bedroom TV all night. lol I turn the inverter charging amperage down to 10 amps from its maximum of 30 amps... just in case some device gets turned on that would kick-out the Honda.
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I run my generator 90 minutes or so in the morning and the same in the evening when not plugged in to keep house batteries charged. I also monitor the batteries, with the control panel, or with a volt meter at the batteries. Your coach came equipped with an Echo Charger, it will keep your chassis batteries charged if working properly when generator is running. If batteries are in good shape, this should be sufficient. Hope this helps, good luck.
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How much diesel does the generator consume at idle? At full load?
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Another simple GOOGLE AI question and answer for a 10kw diesel generator:
Fuel Consumption Breakdown by Load
While diesel generators use a baseline amount of fuel just to stay running (idling to maintain its governed RPM, typically 1,500 or 1,800 RPM), consumption scales up as electrical demand increases:
• Idle / No Load: ~0.3 – 0.5 gal/hr (1.1 – 1.9 L/hr)
• 1/4 Load (~2.5 kW): ~0.25 – 0.35 gal/hr (1.0 – 1.3 L/hr)
• 1/2 Load (~5 kW): ~0.4 – 0.55 gal/hr (1.5 – 2.1 L/hr)
• 3/4 Load (~7.5 kW): ~0.6 – 0.8 gal/hr (2.3 – 3.0 L/hr)
• Full Load (10 kW): ~0.85 – 1.1 gal/hr (3.2 – 4.0 L/hr)
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If you just want to keep the batteries topped off than you can probably get away with a hour in the morning and a hour in the evening as long as you limit the electricity you are using. If you want to use more energy like the AC unis then run the generator as much as you want, especially if no one near you objects to your running the generator. I know people who would run the generator for 5 days straight at the race tracks, as did many of their neighbors.
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When we are at the race track we run the generator 5 hrs and if it is hot outside we run it constantly
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Just to back up what other members have advised, don’t let house battery voltage to drop below 12.2 v, because at 12v they are more than half discharged, not a healthy circumstance. With careful use of lighting, electronics, and other house devices, we usually only need the genset to run an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening. At an average of 0.5 gallon per hour, that’s only a gallon a day; but obviously run it for high demand stuff like air conditioning, microwave, or other AC devices. You should have some panel or Aladdin that shows you the house battery state of charge, even if you don’t have generator autostart. If needed, using a direct-read voltmeter can offer confidence, and you should carry one anyway for other situations, such as checking for faults at an older RV park power post.
One caveat I’ll reinforce also, don’t run your generator too early or late and disturb other campers; 10pm is a generally accepted quiet time start, but common courtesy to adjoining pads in evenings is representative of this club’s, or any thoughtful person’s, philosophy. A peaceful, enjoyable lounge on the patio doesn’t deserve noisy, smoky interruption from an adjacent exhaust. And be aware if wind direction may be blowing exhaust down range into others gathered ‘round an otherwise leisurely campfire… been there, done that, regretted my carelessness. So be extra discrete in Forest Service or Canadian campgrounds.
Joel
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Vernon
We too run our genset once AM and once PM but we have the electric refer so we cool it down and charge up the batteries depending on the weather. If we run high draw like roof air etc the generator is on.
Much of your question depends on the age and type of your batteries.
We also keep battery powered lights around so when boondocking we dont run internal lights much. When running the generator we make sure to plug in any rechargeable lights because the generator is going to recharge those too without a problem.
One suggestion might be your fridge. How are the seals? If you take a dollar bill and lay it under the seal and close the door then can drag it out too easily then your seals are leaking causing your fridge to run more. I have had success by warming the seals with a hair dryer and pulling them out slightly but it is only a temporary fix.
I too like the idea of of a small generator like Dave mentions.