what type wire to run between generator and electric panel

as I mention in another post here, I would jury rig the power to our house from the generator when we had outages, besides being a nuisance to juggle things, I totally realize it's not safe and illegal.

1 of the things I need to do is run a cable between the electric panel on 1 side of the house to where the portable generator would be running - outside the garage.

It's a 5000w husky unit from home depot with the 30Amp 4 prong twist lock connector.

What type of wire would I need to run above the drop ceiling tiles in the basement for the 75' between the panel and where the generator would go?

I am hearing 8 / 3 would be good. (with that having 4 total conductors - the red, white, black and uninsulated ground).

Your thoughts? is 8/3 the minimum? a bit overkill? just right?

How would your answer change if I said we might at some point move to a bigger portable generator? (what's the biggest portable they realistically make? 8000w?)

 

10-3 is acceptable for 30 amps at distances found in a normal residence (<150'). That would be correct for a 5000 watt 120 volt load (41.6 amps) but not a 240 volt load (20.8 amps.) which is what you have. The wire is sized to the receptacle and breaker on the generator. Run conduit not cable and you can easily change wire size if needed. 8000 watts would be 33.3 amps and need #8. No harm in going #8 now but of course the inlet would have to be changed if you used a larger generator.