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Are you move reliant on solar panels...how large is your system? And, does it adequately power your systems for house lights and low power consumption electronics? OR, do you frequently use your generator, if you have one? As you know, generators make a lot of noise and are restricted during certain hours...and you can't hardly walk away from your rig all day leaving the generator running..? And, what's your battery system?? One 12 volt deep cycle battery or two 6 volt batteries in series?? Have you found a significant difference between the two systems?

Does anyone know if this unit would have the automatic transfer switch It has an Onan3600 KY generator Just got this MH and trying to do what I can to get the "bugs" out of it Generator fires up but no coach power, Too cold for these old bones this time of year Any help appreciated TIA Ken

I have a onan hdkak 8000 generator in my class a phaeton '08. generator will start and runs great, but will not produce power. breaker does not chance anything when switching from on and off. any ideas?? I'm thinking the breaker may be faulty

I have a Generac in my 96 Dolphin. It works pretty well the only thing I've replaced is the controller. The generator is noisy, leaks oil, and the exhaust is very unpleasant. My previous motorhomes had Onan 'Quiet' series generators that were trouble free and could not be heard in the coach. I kept several manuals on my old Onans and I took measurement around the existing Generac. Seems really close dimensionally. Has anyone installed an Onan 5.5KW 'Quiet' series in their Dolphin. Thanks, Mike Layton

I'm boondocking in Quartzsite (only once) and I don't have solar so I'm using my Onan 4000 about an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening. I've only put about 30 hours of use on it since it was serviced in February. The oil is clean and full. It now runs for about 10 minutes and shuts off with a blinking light that's 3 pause 6 pause 3 pause 6...etc. I don't have a manual and so I'm not sure of the codes (nor could I really fix it myself out here in the dust of the desert). Quartzsite has closed down for the summer so no repairs here. I think I'll have to pull up stakes and head to a city where I can find repairs, but any suggestions you folks can provide would help quide me toward the most likely cause, and reasonable repair. Thanks, as always....Nan

We've got a 12.5kw Kohler generator on our 1974 GMC bus conversion. It is the original genset that was installed by Custom Coach in 1974, and it has only about 900 hrs on the meter. It's powered by a Perkins diesel. Both the Kohler generator and Perkins engine are working fine at the moment, and I'm determined to do what I can to keep it that way. The same shop that works on the bus engine has gone through the Perkins and done with was necessary to get it ready. There were a few minor issues which came from not being used enough over the years, but it seems to be doing fine right now. They've replaced a few gaskets that were leaking oil, replaced a weeping water pump, and right now are replacing the four mounting pads which have become too hard to be of use. Otherwise the Perkins seems to do exactly what it should. I've recently been in touch with someone who used to work at Custom Coach when these coaches were converted, and he advised me that one of the routine maintenance items they recommended was to change the main bearing at the rear of the Kohler generator head at regular intervals of about 250 hours. That's a pretty frequent replacement cycle, but it seemed like he had a reason for the recommendation. Since I have no idea how long ago the bearing that's in place was installed, I'll assume that it's the original. That makes it time to replace it. So now the question. Does anyone have experience changing the bearing that can give me an idea of how big a project this is going to be? It's my understanding that many Wanderlodge coaches used the same genset, as did some earlier Prevost conversions, so I'm hoping that I'm not the first one in FMCA that's attempted this task. Any advice would be appreciated. A copy of the service manual for the Kohler 12.5kw generator head would also be great - the only ones I've found online either don't have the necessary information or have such degraded quality that they're unusable. Thanks!

We are relatively new fulltimer's and about to make our first long haul trip (3k miles). We have been trying to figure out how to keep the coach cool for our pets while we travel. Thanks to all the forums out there we just read that running the generator while driving will allow us to use the roof A/C units and power the fridge on electric. That being said, we are a little naive about how to properly do this and all the 'in's and out's' of it. Any advice? Thoughts?

So ... anyone who knows me can tell you that I think the government lies and lies again and couldn't tell the truth if the Holy Ghost made them. Thats said, I decided to take apart my carburetor in the genny and not to my surprise, i probably will be purchasing a new one next season. Now, Yall Diesel owners dont have this issue to worry about however, feel free to chime in because I am sure youhave dealt with it at somepoint. Many know I have had genny problems sense about April and I managed to work through most of them because whoever serviced the genny seemed to do 1 thing right and that was put a decent Mobil 1 oil filter on it. The BIGGER issue with this fuel I traced back to a line that appears to be cracked above the sender, and in certain conditions allows air to come in thus causing the genny to starve for fuel. I thought the pick up line on the sender was short, as Joe and I talk about my issues and this seemed to be something that happens at times but - I am well under a ½ tanks and the genny is running. So, I took the hose from the chassis to the fuel pump (along my chassis is a metal hose and then another rubber hose into the sender) and the carburetor to a trusted friend who is a marine mechanic. Milton took a look at both the hose and the carb and determined that the damage from the "Ethanol" has taken toll on the lines AND gummed the jet in the carb. The plastic float is starting to become gummy and when he cut the hose open he could see where the brittleness came from ethanol. Prior to me taking my carb and hose to Milton he asked me to bring a few gallons of gas from my tank so he could examine it a bit closer. One of the things he found was a presence of water in my fuel tank ... how he figured that out I dont know but he said it was there. ANYONE who took high school chemistry of Chem 101 knows that anything Alcohol is a SOLVENT therefore it will do what it says it will do. I am sure All of us who have gas coaches in the mid Atlantic have ethanol in our tanks sitting over the winter so unless treated (if thats even possible) we have dissolved deposits in our tanks as well as water because of Phase Separation; especially if you traveled to states like Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, and Texas who all have ethanol free gas stations and or pumps labelled ethanol free. In my infinite wisdom I filled up with non ethanol and created a potential problem - but I saw 12 miles vs 8 to the gallon pulling a 3500lb car ---HUMMMMMM wonder why? I am not worried about the V10 per sae cause even in 1999 fuel-injected vehicles were designed with stainless steel lines and fittings, modern coatings on cast parts, and plastic parts and tanks that are ethanol-proof so the main engine has no issues --- and the fill hose only sees the gas for seconds until the next fuel fill - not really a problem at least for now ... Lets get back top the genny, my coach spent 2014 - 2016 winters in Walden NY, kinda upstate but not NY City. It sat from The Summer of 2014 until I bought it in October 2016 - and I wasnt aware of that until I did some odometer math and my issues started to make sense. The Ethanol absorbed some of the water but I honestly believe i had a lower separation and a highly corrosive mix of water and ethanol - and when the previous owner ran the genny over the 18 months it sat, he sucked oxidized sour gas into that fuel line and it SAT ... eating away at the rubber compound. My carb is shot to who ha because that corrosive mix has eaten the inside of it and soon that will completely fail. So, if you are having genny issues (Specifically fuel Related) , and they are reoccurring every few years, I suggest 2 things, and I am still experimenting to see if this is possible ... 1. If you live in states that allowed NON ethanol gas (Maryland Banned it) pay the extra .70 a gallon as it will save you in the long run 2. If you can, consider a way to put a separate tank in your coach specifically for the genny. I am thinking about taking the spare out and ditching it for a 30 gallon gas tank for the genny - not sure how i am going to do it. 3. Think about putting a Y valve between the gas line on the main tank and a separate tank for the genny, will give you the ability to run a fuel that has an phase separation fighter for when the genny will sit for a bit. It keeps "good" gas in the lines and in the carb. 4. When replacing genny fuel lines skip the local advance auto ... buy a hose that is Polytetrafluoroethylene (P.T.F.E) lined which is teflon lined hose. Its expensive but so is a motorhome! 5. Be proactive ... dont wait til there is a problem to fix it,. Use some type of stabilizer, i personally have 15 bottles of Lucas Ethanol Fuel Conditioner on hand. It goes in when a. I fill up headed to the campground where the coach will/may sit for a week or more b. When i fill up and its going in the driveway for a few weeks until our next adventure c. if I am doing a long haul (Over 500 miles) I will drop some in so it at the last fill up before I hit the camp ground, and the last fill before I get home. I know I can not be the ONLY person with these issues so chime in if you have suggestion and or problems.

Recently had all the vehicle and coach batteries replaced. Tried to start generator and hear nothing..dead silence at the control panel... Any ideas... I suppose it could be a loose connection, disconnect switch? Or maybe it's a bad starter, but since I'm not hearing anything... ? I'm thinking something is not connected.. Would appreciate any input. Thanks.

I’m hoping that someone out there has had this experience before and can help me understand what might be going on. For the past year now, I’ve noticed that as we encounter small bumps in rest area pullouts, camp grounds, or any other place where the road surface isn’t as smooth as it could be, that the generator framework that supports the generator makes clunking noises. It sounds much as if one of the shock absorbers is loose, but I’ve had them checked several times and that’s not it. I suspect that the heavy duty rollers on the framework that holds the generator up are loose. In just the last week while traveling through New Mexico and Colorado along Interstate 25 the mysterious noise has gotten much more prevalent, and, the front cover that meets the front cap of our motorhome is now dropped down on the passenger side by about ¼”. This is not good. So can anyone who has had this sort of thing happen on their motorhome or knows what might be going on give me some guidance? I’d certainly appreciate it. Thanks, Rick

Hi all, hoping someone can help me figure this out. 1997 safari sahara, 250hp CAT, 6.3kw Onan LP generator. When running either AC on generator they seem to run fine. Once I fire up the second they run fine for 15 minutes or so then all the 120 in the coach cuts off for a couple of minutes then comes back. AC's and all. This cycle continues every 15 mins or so until I shut one of the AC's down. All is well on shore power, no issues there. I suspect an issue with the ATS, or an auto switching breaker off some sort on the genny. Any advice is appreciated! Thanks, Jason

Today I did the monthly exercise of the generator. Instead of loading the generator with the microwave, heater and A/Cs I ran both heat pumps instead. They worked pretty good with the temperature outside of 45 F. Now comes the question, how many here run their heat pump instead of the heater? I seem to me if you are not paying for the electric at the campground why not save on propane? Most campgrounds include the electric unless you are staying more than a week.

At various rallies over the past few years, I've heard experts in their fields make contradictory statements about the ability and nonability of generators to charge house batteries in a motor home. Discussions with RVers haven't resolved the veracity of either side of that subject. Guidance, please, along with explanations. Thanks, Lori

I have an Onan Marquis 6500LP generator, Model 6.5NHMFA26115C, S/N A953989409 (electronic ignition) in my motorhome with just under 1,000 logged hours. What is involved in bumping up the output voltage? While dry camping this month, I was charging my batteries, and the automatic transfer switch dropped out for about a minute not long after starting the generator. It re-engaged on its own at which time charging appeared to proceed normally. The output voltage on my generator generally runs a bit low (110 to 112 VAC), and I'm thinking that a momentary dip below this output may have caused the interruption. I replaced the transfer switch (Esco ES50M-65N) in June of 2014 and assume that this equipment is still functioning properly. Thank you. Tom 1994 Foretravel U-240

I already ran the generator a few days ago so I knew it would work fine. Yesterday we lost power to the stick built house during a storm. We soon became aware that the power would be out for awhile as it was a very bad one with many communities without power. I got out, unplugged the 20 amp 50 foot extension cord used to keep the coach batteries charged and plugged in the house refrigerator freezer, a lamp and most important DW cell phone to the coach basement outlet. That save the day for us and lots of money for we didn't lose any food like so many. We were without power for over 24 hours and many in near by community will be without until tomorrow. Even though we ran the generator over 24 hours lately does not excuse not running the one hour test next month. Imagine what could of happen if the generator didn't work.

I'll start by celebrating the return to life by the FMCA Computer System. Today is the first day I've been able to log on in the last two or three weeks! That doesn't explain my long absence from blogging. When we returned last fall I fell right into some intense volunteer work as Education Chair for the Rio Grande Valley Chapter Texas Master Naturalist. We had a class of 22 trainees who will become new members once they complete their volunteer commitment. With classes and field trips to plan and conduct, my winter was pretty busy. It is also hard to write the blog when I'm not in the motor home traveling. Now that we're back on the road I should be contributing regularly again. We left our winter home in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas two months ago, May 9. In the week before we left we had 5 inches of rain from a single storm. That was followed by several other storms. Portions of our park including the road in front of our mobile home were flooded. Since we left, there have been other storms resulting in at least two subsequent flood events. We keep watching the weather reports and are pleased that the last two weeks have brought a return to drier conditions. The drought conditions in Texas have been resolved but the fact that it occurred within two months was responsible for a great deal of damage and loss of life. Our flooding was very minor compared to what happened in other areas of Texas. From Texas we made our way to Golden, Colorado for a week stay with Louise's family. The trip was made more interesting as we traveled through flooded lands near Lubbock and into cold rainy weather in the Denver area. In fact the weather was a positive factor in our decision to leave a day early just to give us more time to travel to our next destination. A family wedding in Cincinnati was a fun event with many of my cousins attending. Our family is scattered over the country and keeping in touch has been difficult. Our motor home has facilitated many visits that would have been impractical under normal circumstances. As much as possible we try to get our visits in as we take planned trips to other destinations. While in Cincinnati we stayed at the FMCA Campground on Round Bottom Road. It is a nice place to stay, a well maintained campground. I was surprised to see that the building at that location is now empty. No doubt FMCA is facing a number of challenges. From Cincinnati we backtracked to Missouri to stay with my son, daughter and our amazing grandchildren. They span a wide spectrum, from a year and a half old to the fifteen year old who just got his learners permit to drive. We enjoyed attending softball games, graduation celebrations, Eagle Scout leadership training graduation, dinners, several birthday parties and a St. Louis Cardinals ballgame. While in Missouri we endured numerous rain events. We were parked in a high location so water levels never threatened us though flooding was occurring regularly throughout the area. Leaving Missouri we traveled to eastern Kentucky to visit my brother. While there we endured another series of rains that delivered over 5 inches of rain in 48 hours. At this point I figure we could travel to California and solve their drought conditions in short order! We will go to California in October so we'll get to test this theory. Our motor home is showing its age. When we got ready to depart this spring the electrical system in the coach shut down completely. After trying everything else, I went to check the batteries which were good and then checked the battery cut-off switch. Bingo! The switch wouldn't turn. It had melted down. It is a small plastic switch which connects the total load of the batteries to the coach itself. The cables were clamped to a plastic surface which held the post in place. After years of use, the heat had melted the plastic enough that the post came loose. I didn't have a replacement switch so simply bolted the two cables together. Viola! Problem solved. Without DC current, the systems that control the current in the coach also stop working so everything is dead. Now it isn't convenient to pull apart wires to cut off the electrical supply from the batteries so I've replaced the switch. I found a much better switch, rated for twice the current of the previous switch. I also replaced the old switch for the chassis battery at the same time. It was identical to the other switch except there was a nut between the plastic and the cable attachment. With metal on both sides of the cable lug, that switch was in fine condition. The house battery switch had been replaced before and I'm guessing that the tech who did that either discarded the extra nut or it wasn't there and they didn't think to install it. I have a spare now in case you are parked next to me and need a replacement for your melted switch! Today we're at Cummins in Harrisburg, PA. This is our second Cummins stop this spring. In Colorado we had the alternator checked but they could find no problems even though we traveled for 100 miles with the alternator alarm sounding before it mysteriously quit and the voltage came up. This has occurred again after parking a month at our daughters home but was resolved before we left their driveway. I guess we'll have to wait for complete failure before they can diagnose the problem. I may have it rebuilt next winter if it lasts that long. While in Colorado they did find a leaking fuel boost pump and replaced that. I now know what the spot on the driveway was when we pulled out this spring. They also noticed that the exhaust gasket on the number 3 cylinder was leaking. We had just had all the exhaust gaskets replaced last fall and had traveled less than 1500 miles so either it was a bad install or we have a more serious problem. That is the reason for our stop in Harrisburg. We didn't have time to deal with the problem in Colorado and it hasn't resolved itself so now we'll take a day or two to get it fixed. Meanwhile we've had intermittent generator problems with it failing to run smoothly and then dying when the load is connected. They have diagnosed that as a failing inverter in our 7.5 KW Onan Generator. This is a DC generator which has a built in inverter to provide AC current. We're not getting out of town without leaving a few bucks behind. Fortunately fuel costs are down this year.

I have an Onan 4.8kw gasoline generator in my RV, Model 5BGEFA26100N, SN H973723191. It cranks and sounds like it's firing when I hold the crank button down, but when I release the button, the generator shuts down. Last spring I took it to an Onan/Cummins shop and they got it working. They said "the brushes needed cleaning" or something like that. We didn't use the RV last year, so the generator sat without being used for a year. Now it's doing the same thing, cranks and sounds like it firing when the start button is held down, but stops as soon as I release the start button. Thanks for any suggestions! Frank

I want to remove the generator from my RV. I am looking for the proper way to pinch off the fuel line running to it. I have an old generator in our 96 Winnebago Adventurer. The generator has trouble maintaining 60Hz and stable voltage. I want to either replace it(most likely) or try my hand at fixing it more. Fixing it in place is a pain because of poor access and visibility to see what you are doing. The generator has a feed line coming from the RV's gasoline tank. If I want to remove the generator I need some way of pinching off the fuel line. The fuel line emerges from somewhere in the vicinity of where the gas tank is refilled as a solid tube, then runs as a rubber hose to the generator itself for about 12". My guess is to use some clamp on the rubber line. But my concern is that a clamp might damage the line and cause a leak. Does anyone know how to do it right? Am I being paranoid? A permanent solution would be nice. But I will settle for a good temporary one. Thanks in advance.

Hi. We're new RV owners with a 2013 Coachmen Encounter. We've had trouble with the generator operating the air conditioners - and it's about 90 degrees around here! All works well when hooked up to electric at a campground. When the generator is on, we disconnect the power cord to the garage, and I think the inverter "AC in" is supposed to still be on, but it's not. The house batteries also do not appear to be charging when the generator (only) is on. The AC usually won't even switch on. If the engine is running, sometimes it will switch on, but drain the batteries until it switches off again. We've read all the instructions (which aren't specific to our model), but they're not too helpful to troubleshoot specific problems. Is there a switch or trick to making the generator primary power source? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Happy camping.

I'd put checking up on my generator low on the maintenance priority list of our new-to-us coach. After all, the dealer in Tucson had assured me that "all fluids and filters" were freshly changed when we purchased the Beaver Patriot Thunder in January. Nonetheless, the generator started as if its battery were nearly dead. In fact, a few times, it turned so slowly I had to initiate a second start cycle. Then, it began shutting itself down 15 - 30 minutes into its operation. The fault code was the eclectic "36", derived from holding down the Stop switch and then reading the next two sequence of flashes: tens at first, and then second digit next. Following the Onan guidance (their manuals are available on line), I replaced the air filter and changed the oil. Neither seemed tragically overdue, but were dirty. The Hobbs meter says the unit as accumulated 264 hours in its seven-year lifetime. Well, I should've filmed a "before" start and an "after"! It runs like a brand-new unit! So, don't despair if your generator is sluggish. The problem might not be an inherent mechanical condition; instead, it might be the fault of improper routine maintenance.

Suddenly my generator output voltage dropped to around 80 VAC. The nameplate tag has long since come off but with the help of the service manual the model number could be derived to be 10HDKAG 61731x. It is a 4-pole revolving field, brush-type, reconnectible, 10.0kW, single phase, 1.0 power factor, 60Hz unit. The reconnection is wired with T1-L1, T2-T3-L0, T4-L2. Which provides two legs at 120 volts each.The hour meter indicates 1,398.8 hrs. Here are the things I've done so far in an attempt to figure out what is wrong. - The wiring all looks good, tight and clean. - I took the measurements on both sides of the main breaker mounted on the gen-set. - The voltage regulator is part number 305-0875-04. I can adjust the regulator down to say 50 VAC per leg but no higher than the 80 VAC or so. I'm thinking the regulator is OK since it does adjust. At this point that is all I have to go by. - I disconnected the regulator and applied 12 VDC to the field winding. The voltage measurement between L1-L2 was 105 VAC. Just within spec per the service manual. Both L1 & L2 were balanced when referenced to common at 52.5 VAC. When the regulator is connected it drives the field winding to -23 VDC. I don't know how much the field winding should be to get 120 VAC. - I measured the frequency to be 61.5 Hz. Within spec. - The power plant is a Kubota V1305-B diesel engine. The throttle was lock wired at the factory and painted over. It is clear that it has never been touched. This unit is in a 1996 Monaco with the front generator slide out. As difficult as it will be to climb under the motorhome to get at the back of the generator with the front slide out rod right smack in the middle of the work space I'm thinking of going for a brush set replacement. If possible I would like to replace the bearing since it is so old. I have no idea how the bearing comes off at this point. Any thoughts about this problem and my plan for the brushes and bearing replacement? Thanks for your valuable time. Dale

Hi everyone! I have been following a lot of the posts on here and am amazed at the level of knowledge available! So, with that said, here is what I believe to be an unusual problem. This problem MAY be something as simple as operator head space or, it will be technical in nature. Vehicle: pristine 1989 Champion Eurocoach. John Deere Chasis with a ford 460 engine. I drove the motorhome from Texas to our farm in Missouri. As I was driving, the charge indicator (voltmeter) began dropping. The lights began to dim. I was running the onboard, 7.6 Kohelor Generator in order to run the rooftop a/c units. The house batteries both were fully charged and the chassis battery was brand new. Belts were tight. Eventually, the lights went out and I was forced to find a safe spot to park. Fortunately, we were within 30 miles from our house!!! The next day, I took a completely charged battery and changed it out, making the last leg of the journey to the farm. I have exchanged the main battery for a brand new and drop tested it. It passes. I pulled the alternator and had it tested; 14.3 on the output. I had the voltage regulator tested; Passed. I did a voltage drop test on the two house batteries; They passed. I do notice a problem in the disconnect. The disconnect switch works fine on the main chassis. I can turn ALL power off and on there, and the voltmeter installed in the disconnect gives an accurate reading. However, the "house" switch, fails to disconnect/connect. The on light fails to light and the voltmeter reads nothing because its digital. Can anyone point me in the right direction on this one? I worked at an RV place when I was a little younger and I have run my own garage, but this thing is stumping me. I am including a picture of our newest motorhome, and even with this problem, I am still more than happy....okay, forget the picture, no matter what format I save the pic in, it says its too big. Diet time?

I have a 1988 Beaver Marquis, with a 6.3 Kw Onan propane generator. The coach monitor panel shows half the VAC even when plugged into a land line or the generator. All the receptacles have 117VAC when plugged or when the generator is running, The batteries are not fully charged. I am charging them with a trickle charge right now. We did run out of propane with the ACs running once. Any thoughts will be helpful. Thanks Franke

I have a 1999 Georgie Boy motorhome. The previous owner is very sick and I am waiting for him to recover to ask. Everything was fine, but then the generator wouldn't start with the RV off, and there was like a circuit blown somewhere because the slideout, A/C, and some electrical stuff would not work unless plugged into a land line. When plugged in, everything works fine. I have tried to find another fuse box but can't. Also can't locate the fuse box for the dashboard items. Hopefully the previous owner will recover soon and can talk to him. It has to be a fuse or electrical wire that feeds all the same items? Thanks