Traded my Ranger today

[RANGER_MARC]

Back east I bought a Honda EU200 portable generator to use on the job site. We started getting a lot of storms one year which knocked out power a lot. This way we were (my crew) still able to keep working. Honda's are a little more pricey than most but they start every time first pull and just keep running!

Hey, Dave, when you say, "a little more pricey," how much pricey are we talking about? Just curious....

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[AzScorpion]

Hey, Dave, when you say, "a little more pricey," how much pricey are we talking about? Just curious....

Marc it depends what you're comparing against. If Harbor Freight it's probably double but the Honda's are around $1000.00 and you can sometimes find them cheaper if you look hard enough online. They are super quiet which is nice too.

For my house back in MA I had a whole house Generac. I was out in the boonies and if/when we lost power we were not a priority to get power back on with only 8,000 population. That was run on propane and can also run on NG too but there was no NG in our area.

 

[MTB-BRUH]

I have been running Champion generators for a couple years now and no complaints. We live in the mountains and our power goes out all the time. Champion is kind of known as the “cheaper” generator but still name brand. We have a 3800 watt we use and is also 30 amp ready to plug into a RV. I use an identical one at work that stays in the back of my truck. Also recently bought a 2000 watt Champion inverter similar to the Honda EU2000 but it was only $450 compared to Honda around $1000. I highly recommend Champion Generators

 

[Tracy Bowman]

Marc it depends what you're comparing against. If Harbor Freight it's probably double but the Honda's are around $1000.00 and you can sometimes find them cheaper if you look hard enough online. They are super quiet which is nice too.

For my house back in MA I had a whole house Generac. I was out in the boonies and if/when we lost power we were not a priority to get power back on with only 8,000 population. That was run on propane and can also run on NG too but there was no NG in our area.

That’s what I would love to get one day. My brother-in-law has one. When we have a major storm or tornado come thru, we can be out of power several days. With the generator we have, can only power water well and refrigerator and a light. Thankful to have it, though.

 

[Tracy Bowman]

Careful with generators and their quality. Good ones produce a square wave. This keeps from frying your electronics. Cheap ones kill your appliances faster than anything else will. I know this the hard way. Own a Honda generator now at 6.5KW. It’s portable but still pretty heavy.

I picked this one up off Craigslist years ago during off-season time. Half the price of new. Then went into adding a converter so I can run gas, propane or natural gas. So in essence it can run for as long as I have available fuel anywhere.

Trig, thank you for the very helpful information. I don’t want to mess up my appliances.

 

[AzScorpion]

That’s what I would love to get one day. My brother-in-law has one. When we have a major storm or tornado come thru, we can be out of power several days. With the generator we have, can only power water well and refrigerator and a light. Thankful to have it, though.

Anything helps but in my case in the back of my house there was a large incline. So in the late winter through mid summer I would get a lot of water run off so my sump pump was working overtime. Without a generator for back up my basement would've been flooded, ask me how I know. ? It would run about 60% of the house so all essentials were hooked up to it. Lucky out here there's really no disasters so no real need for one...yet.

 

[Texasota]

The only thing remotely close in the future that could maybe, possibly, [insert other remote description here] make me consider a trade in is see if Dodge brings the Dakota back as a mid-size entry. Even if they do, styling and powertrain will be a huge deciding factor.

If it comes out looking like a spaceship like every truck now a days no deal. The current Ranger and Tacoma are the last trucks to look like trucks instead of SUV's or Mini-vans with a bed cut in. I have no interest in sports car looking headlights and front ends on trucks.

I still have a fond spot in the brain data banks of my Dakota V8 Magnum manual 6-speed I had quite some years ago.

Well, looks like you will not be tempted which is a good thing:

Dakota Cancelled

 

[Arly]

Back east I bought a Honda EU200 portable generator to use on the job site. We started getting a lot of storms one year which knocked out power a lot. This way we were (my crew) still able to keep working. Honda's are a little more pricey than most but they start every time first pull and just keep running!

We have this Honda generator and love it. We got it for remote construction and can talk right next to it, it runs so quite. Its bulletproof in our book. We must recommened Honda generators for there quality. Those cheap generators are, well, just that.

 

[Texasota]

My thinking has been, the F150 is a great truck, probably the greatest truck, but there is just the wife and I, and so a Ranger is the perfect size for us, and the F150 is too big to be practical. However, looking at the way that the generators in the PowerBoost 150s worked during the recent storms and power-outages in Texas, I would have to reconsider that thinking when the time comes for our next vehicle (c. 2023+). Will the new Rangers have this option? If so, will they have enough power to run our household items for a few days until power comes back on? Will I have to move up to the 150? Time will tell...

Only speculation on my part, but I think you can bank on the Ranger plug-in Hybrid having the ProPower onboard generator. It will likely be even better than the one in the F-150 since the battery pack in the Ranger will be much larger. Can't wait to see it.

Here is an interesting article on the F-150s PropPower generator. The 7.2-kW system could easily supply your critical household needs during a power outage.

F-150 ProPower Generator

 

[RANGER_MARC]

Only speculation on my part, but I think you can bank on the Ranger plug-in Hybrid having the ProPower onboard generator. It will likely be even better than the one in the F-150 since the battery pack in the Ranger will be much larger. Can't wait to see it.

Here is an interesting article on the F-150s PropPower generator. The 7.2-kW system could easily supply your critical household needs during a power outage.

F-150 ProPower Generator

Hey, Al, thanks for sharing this. Here's hoping these options are available on the next-generation Rangers!

 

[Texasota]

Hey, Al, thanks for sharing this. Here's hoping these options are available on the next-generation Rangers!

Yes, I am hoping too. If/when this becomes available I plan to install a transfer switch in my house so that I can run a single power cable from the Ranger to the house. Then everything in the house can operate normally without running a bunch of extension cords.

The really nice thing about the ProPower generator is that the Ranger/F-150 engine shuts down when the battery pack is sufficient to supply the power needs and only runs when the truck's battery needs to be charged up. A portable generator runs continuously regardless of the load on it. The ProPower system makes for a very efficient portable generator that comes with a very large fuel tank. And if needed, you can briefly unhook the Ranger's power cord to fill up that large fuel tank at your local gas station (assuming it is operational).

I'm looking to the Ranger plug-in hybrid to be a great power backup in this uncharted future where we become dependent on renewable energy sources. I suspect rolling blackouts are going to be a part of this future as our Texas brothers/sisters just experienced.

 

[mtsoxfan]

I have a Generac 5500, with a switch box I installed in house, I can run well, boiler, 3 refigerators, all lights and outlets and not miss a beat. Didn't hook up range because no room, but grill works fine along with large toaster oven. Down side is so damn loud..

 

[viperwolf]

The only thing remotely close in the future that could maybe, possibly, [insert other remote description here] make me consider a trade in is see if Dodge brings the Dakota back as a mid-size entry. Even if they do, styling and powertrain will be a huge deciding factor.

If it comes out looking like a spaceship like every truck now a days no deal. The current Ranger and Tacoma are the last trucks to look like trucks instead of SUV's or Mini-vans with a bed cut in. I have no interest in sports car looking headlights and front ends on trucks.

I still have a fond spot in the brain data banks of my Dakota V8 Magnum manual 6-speed I had quite some years ago.

You know they throw a Hellcat in it, heck it would not surprise me if they tried a Hellephant Engine.

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