What size generator for a camper?
A 2,200W inverter covers a pop-up or small travel trailer with room to spare. The whole weekend list (12V fridge on the converter, lights, chargers, a vent fan) runs about 585 watts; the coffee maker is the biggest thing you'll plug in, and only a rooftop AC pushes past the class. If your rig has a 13.5k AC, you've got a 30 amp rig, different page.
The scenarios that matter
| Load list | Running | Peak | Bare min | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weekend list: fridge + lights + chargers + fan | 585 W | 785 W | 2,200W inverter | 2,200W inverter |
| Add a 600W camp drip coffee maker (the morning peak) | 1,185 W | 1,385 W | 2,200W inverter | 2,200W inverter |
| Pop-up with a small 9.2k rooftop AC | 1,635 W | 2,735 W | 3,400W inverter | 3,400W inverter |
Why small rigs are a solved problem
Everything in a small camper was designed for battery power first, which makes generator sizing almost unfair: the converter tops off the house battery, the fridge is either propane-capable or a 12V compressor unit drawing under a hundred watts averaged, and lighting went LED a decade ago. The 2,200W inverter class exists for this rig. It weighs under 50 lb, runs half a day on a gallon, and stays under campground noise limits at its half-load purr.
The honest competition isn't a bigger generator, it's no generator: a 500 to 1,000Wh power station covers the no-AC weekend silently and recharges from the 12V socket while you drive. Where the engine still wins is the rooftop AC, cloudy-week recharging, and trips past two nights. Row three is the whole AC story: a small 9,200 BTU unit's start lands right at 2,200W, which is why that AC size shows up on pop-up spec sheets aimed at suitcase inverters. Add the fridge and chargers alongside, as the row does, and the honest answer moves one class up.
Questions people ask
What size generator for a small camper or pop-up?
A 2,200W inverter, and it is not close: the no-AC weekend list runs 585W, and even the coffee maker peak stays under 1,485W. The only load that stresses the class is a rooftop AC; a small 9,200 BTU unit fits (row three), and anything bigger belongs to the 30 amp math.
Do I even need a generator for a pop-up camper?
For a no-AC weekend, honestly, maybe not: the 585W list above is a 500Wh power station's afternoon, recharged from the tow vehicle while driving. The generator earns its seat when trips stretch past two nights, when the AC comes along, or when the battery math meets a cloudy week. Plenty of pop-up owners run station-first, generator-in-the-garage.
Quietest way to power a campsite?
A power station for the small stuff plus a 2,200W inverter generator for recharge bursts and the AC. The 2,200 class idles around 50 to 57 dB (conversation volume, campground-legal), and running it two hours midday to refill the battery beats any all-night engine noise, including your neighbor’s opinion of you.