How to get a free generator for your RV

An inverter generator like the one in the picture above is something every RVer could use.

Below is a picture of what the old workhorse of a generator I have in my RV now looks like sitting snuggly back in its bin.

It's a way bigger generator than I need. It worked well for almost 20 years, even though it was loud. Then it started leaking oil (gradually at first, then big time). It got to where it was leaking a cupful every 30 minutes. I lived with that for a while by putting a can under the generator to catch the oil.

On top of all that, now and then, it would crank and run but wouldn't put out any electricity. That was not fun when I was boondocking and needed air conditioning. I could usually restart it and get it to work (but not always).

Then the electric starter stopped working (it doesn't have a pull-start). The starter going out was the final straw.

I decided it was time for a new generator

Deciding to get a new generator was an easy decision when I realized that . . .

RVers can get it for FREE

I'll explain how to do that at the end of the article. Don't jump ahead. The details will still be there when you get there, but I promise you that if you're an RVer, you can get it for free.

The old generator was securely bolted to the frame, and it had a lot of wires connected to it for the remote start, etc. Getting it out wasn't going to be easy. Getting it out would be like getting a 250-pound pan of biscuits out of the oven. There was no easy way to lift it.

After I got it out, I would need to do something with it. I couldn't just leave it in the RV park, and I couldn't put it in the dumpster (even if I could lift it that high). I guess it would make a good boat anchor, but I don't have a boat.

I worked out a deal with a guy who works at a local boat motor repair shop. He wanted a bigger engine for his Go-cart, so I gave him the old generator and engine in exchange for him helping me take it out. We were both happy.

Since he rebuilds small engines for a living, fixing the starter and rebuilding the engine to stop the oil leak wouldn't be a problem for him.

We finally got the old generator out of its hiding place.

Here's what the empty bin looked like

I bought the very quiet Harbor Freight 3500 Invertor generator. It is powerful enough to run both of my air conditioners.

I wanted it installed like my old generator, but of course, I had to do some work to get it installed.

Here's how I did it

I wanted to mount the new generator in the bin where the old one was (where else could I put it), but I wanted to get to it to change the oil and work on it, so I decided to install a tray on slide-rails.

Below is what the tray looks like. It's made to hold several lead-acid batteries, so it can handle the 100-pound generator with no problem.

I was going to show you what it looked like installed, but the tray with the slides came in damaged, so I returned it. When I receive the replacement, I'll finish the job and show you a picture of the mounted generator in next week's article.

Now back to how RVers can get it for FREE

The price of the generator was $800, but with sales and coupons, you can always find a way to get it for less. I found a coupon and bought it for $700. I'm sure that if I had waited and searched more, I could have bought it for $600 or $650, but I was impatient. That's still a long way from getting it for free.

With my new generator, I can go boondocking for a month, and since campground rates are $600 to $695 a month, if I boondock for a month, I will save enough on camping fees to pay for the generator.

You can't stop paying your mortgage or rent for a month or so, but RVers can stop paying campground fees by boondocking in National Forest or on BLM land and not pay any camping fees.

One of my favorite boondocking places

Here's a picture of me camping at one of my favorite boondocking places--Curtis Creek Campground. There's a mountain stream right behind my RV that's stocked with trout.

Bottom line: You may call my technique of getting the generator for free as being "funny math," but the bottom line is that at the end of the month (after boondocking), I'll have a new generator, and there will be no change in my monthly expenses. RVers can do this. If you have rent or mortgage payments, you don't have the freedom to stop paying for a month or so.