Review: Champion 4000 Watt RV Ready Digital Hybrid – Worth It?

Last Updated on October 16, 2022 by Manager Access

Pumping out an impressive 4000 starting watts and 3500 running watts, this generator can easily power multiple large appliances such as RV air conditioning units, refrigerators, and any other device you need to be powered.

In this review, I am going to take a closer look at the Champion 4000-watt generator and explore its many features, pros, cons, and specifications to give you a better idea of what you will be getting out of this hybrid generator.

Functions and Ease of Use

This generator is built with an ‘open frame’ design, allowing Champion to use a bigger engine, at a lower cost.

The downside is that it will be a little noisier than fully enclosed inverters.

As with many generators, this Champion generator starts easily with a quick pull of the recoil start pull cord.

A single knob allows you to easily adjust the engine choke to aid in starting.

To the right of the pull cord, you will find a very user-friendly control panel.

To start things off, you will notice an engine on switch that allows you to quickly turn the generator off and on.

Below this switch is a switch labeled “eco” which will enable the Economic mode which runs more efficiently to use less fuel and increase run time.

Three LED indicator lights reside to the right of these switches to indicate an “OK” status, an overload warning, and a low oil warning to keep you in the know of any malfunctions.

Outlets

As far as outlets go, this generator has a good variety of different styles to power virtually any appliance you may have.

Choose from a 12V cigarette lighter style outlet, a 120V RV outlet, and 2 120V DC outlets to provide you with the 3500 running watts of this generator.

In the case of an overload, there are three reset buttons to get you back up and running.

If you are needing more power, this generator has parallel connections which allow you to hook up a parallel kit (sold separately here), to attach another

Champion 4000 generator for twice the power!

Overall Design

The open-frame design allows for this generator to be 50% quieter and 20% lighter than the 3500-watt Champion generator, however, it will require a helping hand to transport it as it does not feature any wheels in this kit.

A wheel and handle kit can be purchased separately along with a Champion generator cover.

Taking that into consideration, this generator is fairly light, weighing in at only 81.6 lbs, a weight that many similar generators just can’t touch.

Noise Level: Is It Quiet?

When using a generator near your RV or even as a backup power source for your home, you are going to want to take into consideration the noise level that your generator produces.

Many generators can become a nuisance to surrounding people.

As an industry standard, generator noise levels are measured in decibels and noise readings are usually taken at 23 feet away from the generator.

Champion’s Quiet Technology allows for this generator to operate at a mere 64 dBa.

This is about the same noise level as a normal conversation at 23 feet away.

Gas Consumption & Capacity

• Rated Amps: 29.2 Amps @ 120 Volts
• AC Maximum Output Starting Watts: 4000W
• AC Rated Output Running Watts: 3500W
• Rated AC Voltage: 120 VAC
• Frequency: 60 Hz

Featuring a massive 2.9-gallon fuel tank, this Champion generator can supply you with up to 17 hours of runtime at 25% load on gasoline alone.

The Champion 4000W Digital Hybrid is an Inverter
A digital inverter module converts the raw power that is generated from DC to AC power. The inverter function means that you can use it to power sensitive appliances and electronics.

Service, Manual & Warranty

If you have done research on generators, you have most likely seen the Champion name.

They have been an industry leader for years and have many different generators in all types of power ranges to give you Champion quality no matter what your power needs are.

Not only are they an industry leader in the generator themselves, they also have one of the best warranties on the market.

Champion offers a 3-year limited warranty and free lifetime technical support from a team of Champion experts to help you with any questions you may have with your generator.

If you want to familiarize yourself with the generator before you buy it, Champion offers the same detailed manual that is included with the generator, online for anyone to view at any time.

This is great for both research or replacing your lost manual.

Champion 4000W Openframe VS Durostar DS4000S

We can’t review a generator without seeing how it stacks up to a competitor, I mean, that is what shopping is all about right?

Let’s see how the Champion 4000 stands up to a similar generator in its market.

Things we will be looking at are the same type of questions that we get all of the time when reviewing generators – power ratings, noise levels, and the number of power outlets.

I did a review of the DuroStar DS4000S a while back that discussed many of the same things we have touched on with the Champion 4000.

We compared these generators at that time, but we are going to take a second look to show you how they stack up against each other.

Power Ratings

When looking at starting watts, the playing field is pretty level with both generators putting our a maximum of 4000 watts.

Where the Champion generator edges out the Durostar is running watts as the Champion 4000 supplies 3800 running watts and the DS4000S supplies only 3300.

Noise Levels

Thanks to Champion’s Quiet Technology, the 4000-watt Champion generator performs at only 64 dBa whereas the Durostar is slightly louder at 69 dBa.

Both of these are recorded at ¼ load at 23 feet.

Power Outlets

Another category that Champion wins is the variety and number of power outlets.

The Durostar only has 2 120V DC outlets and a 30A RV outlet whereas the Champion generator has these plug a 12V outlet and parallel capabilities.

Online Reviews and Scores

Although this generator is in the lower tier of online review quantities, the average star rating is much higher than most.

At the time of this article, this generator has over 150 customer reviews on Amazon with an average score of 4.3 out of 5.0 stars.

Taking a closer look at these reviews, we can see that over 85% of them are in the 4-5 star range with only 6% of them being a 1-star reviews.

This is one of the lowest one-star rating quantities we have seen when it comes to generators.

Potential Problems / Known Issues

As far as potential problems or commonly known issues go, the only thing that we could pinpoint was damaged or malfunctioning units upon arrival.

We are unable to see if these issues were addressed by the Champion support team, but with a 3-year warranty and free lifetime tech support, you always know that you are in good hands if a problem arises.

In My Opinion: Should You Buy It?

We can’t really find too many things that would turn us away from buying this generator.

The quiet technology and a variety of outlets are everything that we could ask for in a generator.

The only thing that we could see them improving on is including the optional wheel and handle kit to make this generator easier to transport.

While the kit is not expensive, it would be a great addition to this awesome generator.

Operating at only 64 dBa, I would not hesitate to use this on a RV (The Champion 4000w is one of my top picks for best rv generators) or even in our backyard during a power outage.

It is quieter than most thanks to the quiet technology that Champion has integrated into this generator.

By having a 4000 starting wattage and 3500 running wattage rating, you can easily power an RV air conditioner or several smaller appliances to keep your RV powered up with the essentials.

This generator can also be used on the job site or for tailgating events as well.

To compare their various models, you can also read my buying guide about the best portable generators from champion, featuring other generators from this brand.