How Florida Generator Rentals Really Work, Straight From Our Jacksonville Yard

By Chad Rowland, Branch Manager, Generator Source Jacksonville

If you need a generator rental in Florida, the short answer is call us before you need it. Our Jacksonville branch rents industrial and commercial generators from 20kW up to 2000kW, and we deliver them, hook them up, and keep them fueled anywhere our techs can reach, which is about 3 to 4 hours out from Jacksonville every day. 

I’m Chad Rowland, the branch manager here at Generator Source in Jacksonville. I’ve been around generators long enough to know that nobody calls us about a rental because their day is going great. Something went down, a storm’s coming, or a project needs power that isn’t there yet. So I want to walk you through how rentals actually work on our end, and what you should be thinking about before you pick up the phone. 

Florida’s a little different than the rest of the country, you know. We’ve got our own calendar down here, and it’s called hurricane season. 

When does a generator rental make sense in Florida? 

Most of our rentals start one of two ways. Either the customer calls us with a down unit, or our own service department finds one while they’re out working on it. Either way, the building still needs backup power while that generator gets fixed, so we get a rental out there to cover it. 

The second big one is planned work. If we’re doing a load bank test or a major repair on your standby unit, a rental can hold down the fort while your machine’s offline. That way you’re never sitting there without backup, not even for an afternoon. 

Then you’ve got storms, which I’ll get into next, and project work. Construction sites, events, temporary power for a facility that’s mid-install. We carry diesel units, natural gas units, towable and portable units, and containerized power modules, plus the cables and accessories that go with them. The majority of the fleet is trailer-mounted mobile diesel, because that’s what moves fastest when somebody needs power today. 

If you’re not sure what size you need, that’s fine. Give us your load, or use the generator sizing tool on our website, and we’ll help you land on the right unit so you’re not overpaying for more machine than you need. 

Renting a generator for hurricane season 

Here’s the honest truth about storm response. On a normal day, we’re staffed for our normal customers, and everything runs smooth. When a hurricane rolls through, it’s a lot of customers reaching out at the same time. Everybody needs a unit, a truck, and a tech, and they need it right now. 

Strategically, it’s hard to get every guy mobilized all at once, and sometimes resources run thin. It takes some inside management and some creative thinking to get everybody moving and take care of the customer. We’re good at it, but I’d be lying if I told you the phone isn’t ringing off the hook. 

The good news is Florida’s easier to prepare for than a lot of places. Up in Colorado, a snowstorm can pop up on you. With hurricanes, there’s a timeline. You can see it coming. So my advice is to use that timeline. 

Call us early in the season, not when the storm’s two days out. Let us know what you’ve got, what size you’d need, and where it’s going. If we already know your site, your load, and your hookup, getting you powered back up after a storm goes a whole lot faster. And while you’re at it, have us take a look at your standby unit too. In my experience, battery is the number one reason a generator fails to start, and it’s the kind of thing you want caught in June, not in the middle of an outage. 

What “ready to go” means before a rental leaves our yard 

A rental’s only as good as the prep that went into it. So here’s what happens to a unit at our Jacksonville shop before it ever goes out to a customer. 

1. We walk around it first and look for anything visual, then pull oil samples to make sure the engine’s healthy. 
2. We do a run check, then it goes to wash. 
3. Once it’s clean, we do a full assessment. Oil change, filters, and a load test. 
4. Anything that looks subpar or could fail, we replace. Belts, hoses, radiators, hard parts. 
5. If it needs body work, we can custom build panels right here, and if it needs paint, it goes to the paint shop. 
6. Then it gets 100% load tested one more time before it’s ready for the customer. 

During that load test, we’re watching the things that tell you a generator’s actually healthy. Oil pressure, water temperature staying where it should, and amperage readings coming in balanced across all phases. 

And I’ll say this, because it matters to me. I tell my guys, customer service is always number one, but number two, let’s look good doing it. Clean trucks, clean uniforms, clean load banks. When our unit shows up at your site, it should look like somebody cared about it, because somebody did. 

Delivery, hookup, and fuel 

Logistically, once you’ve got a rental coming, it’s pretty simple on your end. We mobilize the unit by truck or heavy hauler depending on the size, bring all the cables and everything that goes with it, and get a certified technician out there for hookup. You don’t have to line up a separate crew to figure it out. 

Hookup is where experience really counts. I’ll give you an example from the service side. We got called out to a landfill where the previous company had said the generator had an engine problem. Every time the load switched over, the engine would die. Our tech did his own transfer test and figured out the phase rotation was wrong. The gas pump was trying to turn backwards, pushing gas back into the mound. That could’ve been a disaster. It’s the same reason our techs check rotation and load balance every time they hook up a rental. 

Safety’s part of that too. Our guys carry lockout/tagout equipment, and any time they’re working on a line, it gets locked and tagged so nobody’s getting hurt. 

Once you’re running, we stay with you. Our techs are on call 24/7 to troubleshoot, repair, or swap a unit if something goes sideways, and we can set up scheduled or on-demand fuel delivery so you’re not watching the tank. A generator without fuel isn’t going to run, simple as that. 

Florida generator rental FAQ 

What sizes of generators can I rent in Florida? Generator Source rents industrial and commercial generators from 20kW to 2000kW out of Jacksonville. Most are trailer-mounted mobile diesel units, and we also carry natural gas, towable, portable, and containerized options. 

How far from Jacksonville do you deliver rentals? Our certified technicians travel about 3 to 4 hours outside Jacksonville every day. That covers Northeast Florida, much of Central Florida, and parts of South Georgia. Our Pensacola branch covers the Gulf side. 

Do you install the rental generator? Yes. We deliver the unit with the cables it needs, and a certified technician handles hookup, checks phase rotation, and confirms the load is balanced before we leave. 

Can I rent a generator while my standby unit is being repaired? Yes. A rental can cover your building while your own generator is down for repairs or offline for a load bank test. 

Do you refuel rental generators? Yes. We offer scheduled and on-demand fuel delivery so the unit keeps running for as long as you need it. 

When should I reserve a generator for hurricane season? Early in the season, before a storm is on the map. When a hurricane hits, a lot of customers call at once, and the customers we already know get set up faster. 

Get a Florida generator rental quote 

If you’ve got a down unit, a storm on the way, or a project that needs power, give us a call. We’ll get you sized up and get a unit moving. 

• Jacksonville office: 904-914-7355 (weekdays, 7AM to 4PM) 
• 24/7 emergency line: 904-902-8116 
• Email: chad@generatorsource.com 
• Visit us: 857 Eastport Rd, Jacksonville, FL 32218 
• Request a rental quote online: Florida Generator Rentals 

Generator Source sells, services, rents, and buys industrial generators from 20kW to 4MW+, with branches in Brighton, Colorado; Jacksonville and Pensacola, Florida; and Austin, Texas.