Always Kohler. Generac is the best known brand with the worst reliability. The Kohler unit will run quieter, be more reliable, and use less fuel. Generac is also dicks about warranty work. More on reddit.com

Personally, I would avoid Cummins Onan.. they own that market though.. many of the parts are proprietary and they still use a brushed design. Service is everywhere but parts and labor are expensive from them. If this is for backup power, then you can be less picky. If this is for an RV, food truck or something where noise and fuel efficiency are important, make sure to get an 1800rpm generator. There's a lot of brands with pros and cons, but I like powertech. Their stuff is really simple and easily replaceable. Of the generator part breaks, you can replace the whole genhead for $1100. They might only make 12kw and higher now though. Personally, I couldn't afford one, so I bought a used diesel light tower with a kubota and put a new genhead on it. More on reddit.com

It’s not we bought a 60kw generac and it was the worst experience in my whole life. It worked once on test start did all the load testing thought great. Then about three weeks later a hurricane was possible so i went to check it and a red light was on. So i called the installer who has installed 100s by the way and he looked ran some test got the code sent it in they sent a part that didn’t work. So they sent a complete wiring harness that didn’t work mind you the installer is a electrician 3 generation he is not stupid. So this went on for months. The claims lady was terrible wouldn’t answer emails literally would take 4-5 days one time it was a week and half she said she was on vacation. I’m thinking you are so unorganized as a company when one person is out the customers calls and issues just go unanswered it was ridiculous. Then after about 5 months i kid you not still not resolved they had basically replaced every went over it multiple time with genecrap on the phone nothing. I told them look i paid i did my part i gave you money for a working unit it’s not working so give me a new unit i need this for my business i can’t have no power i cant operate with out it. She said that’s not how the warranty process works. I told her if you bought a car and for five months you couldn’t drive it and dealer couldn’t fix it and you couldn’t drive would you think that is an acceptable answer. Sorry about your luck thanks for you money we gave you a bad car but you will have to wait. Who in the world operates like that. The installer and dealer. Was so embarrassed and upset with them he literally out of his pocket gave me the refund then she said that not how they operate she will have to close the case they never refunded him he sold it at Richie brothers for a loss after taking it to his shop and trying to get it to work he even called im a engine specialist to see if they could figure it out. Generac is a complete joke I was understanding patience and they treated us like garbage i did yell at them on the phone till month 4 i wasn’t rude till that point but i went off the wall when i did just a complete disaster all around I would never ever wish that company on my worst enemy. More on reddit.com

I forgot to add, budget is around $1K, we don't mind a lower wattage unit, the cabin maybe peaks around 2kW total power draw. High altitude is also a consideration, the cabin sits at around 10k feet altitude. More on reddit.com