Restroom trailer for winter wedding: heater power draw?

Question

We're planning a December 2026 outdoor wedding in Nashville with 150 guests over six hours, serving dinner and alcohol. The venue is a field with gravel access for delivery trucks, but no power hookups. We're renting two heated restroom trailers, one standard and one ADA-compliant, to keep guests comfortable in the cold. The rental company says the trailers have built-in heaters but we need to provide our own generator. How many watts does a typical restroom trailer heater draw? Should we size the generator for peak draw or continuous load? Any advice on generator specs or backup power for winter events?

Owen G. · Answer

A typical restroom trailer heater draws between 1500 and 2500 watts per unit. You need to size the generator for the peak draw, not just the continuous load. The heater's compressor and the trailer's water pump both create a high initial power surge when they start up. A single restroom trailer can have a peak draw of 3000 to 5000 watts.

For your two heated restroom trailers, rent a generator with a running wattage of at least 5000 watts and a peak wattage of at least 10,000 watts. This provides a safe margin for both trailers operating heaters, lights, and flushing mechanisms simultaneously. A quiet inverter generator is better for a wedding to reduce noise. Test the generator with the trailers before guests arrive to confirm it handles the load.

Place the generator downwind and at a distance to keep exhaust fumes away from the event area. For backup, have a second generator on standby or ensure your rental company has a contingency plan for power failure. The cold weather will also require the rental company to winterize the trailers' fresh water and waste systems to prevent freezing.

Restroom trailer for winter wedding: heater power draw?

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