I would strongly suggest that you add "generator duty cycle" and "generator service life" to your list of things to think about.

High-speed generators have a very limited duty cycle. Most have a 50% duty cycle, so using them for more than a few hours straight at full load without a break of the same length means losing quite a bit of service life. High-speed generators also have a service life of 1000 hours. Under ideal conditions and usage (50% duty cycle), expect your gasoline generator to require a complete overhaul (same cost as a new generator) after 1000 hours of use. If you do run your generator constantly, expect a service life of 100 hours or less.

Ray's note about high-speed diesel generators being almost as bad as gasoline generators is on the money. 3600rpm means inefficient and early death. Just since I've been reading this thread (and seeing those Affordable Power units), I've shifted from wanting an 1800rpm genset to a 1200rpm genset.

In Katrina, lots of people had gasoline generators. Lots of those gasoline generators failed within 48 hours because they were not given any rest and burned themselves up. Sure, they were covered under warranty, but it's tough to get warranty service when your local roads are impassable.

Everyone I talk to about generators calls gasoline (including tri-fuel) generators "toy generators" or "fuzzy blankets". You feel better having it in the garage, but you're not really better off. The consensus I've heard: they're okay for a worksite or the occasional trailer camping trip, but don't bet your life on them.

I'd just hate for you to spend all of this time and that money planning to help yourself with a generator and then have something that doesn't help you at all. Or, only helps you for a couple of days.

I checked the shipping on those Affordable Power gensets and it's only $250 to LA. Assuming Palm Springs is a little less, that's $2600 for a bulletproof 12kW generator that will save you money hand over fist on fuel and maintenance, and assuming you drop off the grid tomorrow, won't need an overhaul until 2017.