Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Bought a Harbor Freight 3500 Predator Generator today.

I've had a Honda eu3000 generator for years, I got from a friend. He's was needing power at his place while building, and asked about it.
Sure, come get it. I took great care if it all these years, rarely used it, but put a new battery in it last year, new air filter, oil changes, etc. Took care of it.
We are going to rig our sleeper semi up for camping, and beside having shore power, adding a generator for boondocking.
I bought a predator 3500 today.
Bought a quart of Mobil 1 full synthetic 10-30 oil, and have gas on hand.
Waiting for my wife to get home from work to help me get this thing out the back of my dually.
Back is blown, waiting on surgery, and ain't messing it up any more than it is!!!
From all the reviews I've read over the years, it's right up there with a Honda.
Bought the 2 year warranty too, just in case.
It's not a repair, but a replacement warranty. It goes bad, take it back, and you get a new one.
We're thinking of using the truck as just a hard tent/little cabin.
With power, we can string lights in a canopy on the side, plug in appliances, and look into some kind of ac/heating unit for the cab.
Found window screens that get held in by rolling the windows up a bit, and pinching the screens in the openings.
I had a receiver hitch welded to my truck, so we can make camping trips pulling the boat, or SxS, and leaving the 5th wheel home.
I gotta add another bed in the cab, like bunk beds, as the bottom bed, isn't wide enough for the 2 of us, plus dogs, porta potty, and 12v fridge.
Pics later....

Hope your back gets better!

Got the Predator gasoline air compressor for my flatbed to use for equipment and tractors, etc.

It starts with 1-2 pulls every time. Only trouble I've had is with the pull starter. I've had to replace that twice now. Only about $10 for a new hand starter.

I have one, no real test yet.
I do run them regularly with a load, I'm afraid of the chitty gas so I run them dry every time.
A buddy that builds kart race engines with the Chinese predators told me to run it 20 min and change the oil twice. Don't have a clue if that will help the life of the engine or not.
My experience with portable generators has been the power head or electronics dies before any real engine trouble.
Good luck!

Oh, and good luck with the back!

I’ve had the 3500w Predator for about 3 years! It has done everything I needed it to do around the house and on week long camping trips. I feed it non-eth fuel and change the oil every year. Not 1 problem! I do wish the wheels were a little bigger but it’s not much of an issue. It will run our 28’ Jayco and barely get out of eco mode and is super quiet! I run it a couple hours in the morning for the coffee maker and microwave and a couple hours in the evening and a tank of gas lasts 3-4days. It sips fuel on eco mode. I see no need for a $2200 Honda, “the pred” as I call it, has been great and would buy another. I’ve recommended them to a couple friends and they are just as happy with theirs as we are!!

Elk Country

The Chinese small engines run well and seem very well made.

I have the 9500 watt one, powers my whole house, furnace, stove, electric water heater,and all the lights. No issue at all

My back will get better with surgery, coming soon.
My next procedure is on the 12th, to get the remainder of a stuck kidney stone out, then on to fusion.... again...
Anyways,
Guess I gotta call my welder up and get him here to cut angle iron off that was used for a motorcycle carrier behind the cab, and figure out how to mount this thing, and maybe, an opening secure cover to protect it.
Then where to add the plug for power inside the cab.

IDK what those engines call for, but I recommend 5-8 hours run time, then change the oil. It will help with longevity.

Oil is cheap enough, and easy to change.

Are there any, real, small, portable air conditioning units to use in my sleeper truck ?
Thinking, I can use a small heater I have for camping in winter off the Predator like I did a few years ago, in my cargo trailer.
Air will be for summer camping.

I have one and really like it. Runs my camper AC and lights with no issues. Very quite. Only thing I dont like are the wheels. Saw a nice cart with a handle and pneumatic tires but they are out of stock. Working on some kind of mod for that.

I built a 2x4 frame with a 3/4 plywood bottom with 8 in lawnmower wheels. Sit the whole thing in it. Watched some YouTube video of guys changing the wheels and thought a small cart would be easy and there lay some scrap 2x4's. Keeps the thing out of the dirt and mud. We usually need them after hurricanes so there's water to deal with.

Hell just go to Walmart and get their cheapest window mount and roll with it. I'm convinced I could live in a tent, with phone coverage, and make it work indefinitely.. Nice generator.

I'm going to get a predator ghost cart racing motor, did read the cast flywheel needs to be replaced if you plan on revving it past 3500 rpm, but that wouldn't matter on a generator.

A couple years ago some peckerhead dropped an older 3500 Predator off at the local clothes donation place the church ladies run. One of them called her husband to have him come get rid of it and dad and I just happened to be walking by when he was trying to wrestle it into his truck.

When we offered him a hand he said he didn’t know where to get rid of the thing and asked if dad wanted it. So we ran up and got the truck and loaded it up.

I fiddled with it a little and found the plug wire coming off the mag was dry rotted and broken in half. A quick check produced one for $12 on EBay. Got it put on and no start, looked a little closer and the carb was full of oil. Guess it had been upside down or on it’s side so I pulled it off and rinsed it out with some brake cleaner. Still no start. Checked the plug and it was fine but when I put my thumb over the hole and pulled the rope I found no compression.

Pulled the valve cover and Bingo! Broken valve keeper. Another quick shopping trip on EBay turned up a pair of keepers and springs for $8. Got them in and installed and the thing busted off on the first pull. Smoked like dammit when it warmed up, turned out the muffler was full of oil too from it’s upside down ride but once it burned off it was fine.

That was 4 years or more ago and it is still the most reliable small engine on the place. We always run the carb dry and use pure gas but it never takes more than 2 pulls to start no matter the weather. And since my labor is free dad has about $24 in the whole thing for parts, shipping, and oil. Pretty good deal

I'd suggest getting a magnetic dipstick / oil drain plug and replace the OEM one. Best if done before first startup. Surprising how much metal dust an debris can be inside small engines, especially when new.


https://www.amazon.com/Motoparty-Magnetic-Predator-Inverter-Generator/dp/B07VK1H6HG

Ordered !
8.99 !!!
Thank you.

I changed the oil at 6 and 20 hrs. Now it’s once a year or 30 hrs, whichever comes first.

Out of the trucking sphere now, no idea on your budget, have you
looked into an APU?

If you can swing the expense, you get power, battery charging, heat/A/C.
Integrated into the truck, fueling through the fuel tanks.


Always thought that a truck otter would be a dam fine way to go
for a traveling/camping setup. Way more comfortable to drive
than any P/U. Not anymore more expensive (used) than a new
pick up, more power, more reliable, strong components that will
not wear out in that application.

Plus, as you plan, the truck makes a dam fine base camp on its own.
Having lived in one for several years, you can do much worse.

5 years driving for a company that impeded idling, without any
accomadations for heat/ac. (Sleeping in a truck, in the summer
during the day sucks!)
When I was able to idle, it was heaven!

Let's hear about the truck.
Engine, rating, tranny...?