Reinstall Generator in PleasureWay Excel

[RV-there-yet]

At mkguitar's request, I took pics of the reinstall of my Microlite 2800 generator into my 2000 PleasureWay Excel RD. Some help would be nice, but it can be done by yourself (as I proved today). A few tools are essential. I used a rolling floor jack. mkguitar mentioned a transmission jack. That would be nice, too.

I took a lot of photos. It looks like this site only allows 5 per post, so I'll post 5 at a time as replies and describe what is happening in each photo. I tend to get wordy so apologies in advance. Just scroll down if it gets tedious.

I also tried to make a video record of this task, but I didn't realize my camera battery was getting low and apparently it did not record past the first two installments. So, no video. Sorry YouTube.

Pic 1 - shows the mounting system for my van. Other vans may be different. Mine uses 2 pieces of angle iron that mount to the left and right sides of the van frame. The genset is offset to the passenger side so that the control panel will line up with the rear license plate. The plate holder is hinged so the control panel can be accessed by swinging the plate down and reaching in through the bumper.

Pic 2 - closeup of the angle iron mounts on the driverside.

Pic 3 - There are two threaded holes in the lower pan of the genset (circled in red). I believe those are used to mount the genset in some applications. I think I saw a video of a Roadtrek that was mounted that way.

Pic 4 - The gray flex conduit at the top contains the generator output wires that go into the coach. The red cable (before it goes into some flex conduit) goes to the positive terminal of the coach battery. The black hose at the bottom is the gas connection. Between the red cable and the gas hose there is a white harness plug in. That's where the inside controls are connected. That has to wait until the unit is raised into position.

Pic 5 - The unit is heavy. Not easy to move around. My work area was next to the van and is a little lower than the cement slab where the van is parked. Rather than strain something trying to pick up the unit and place it on the slab, I used some short 2x4 lumber under the angle iron mounting brackets and under the genset's belly to slide it back under the van. The cardboard on the cement also helps.

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Pic 6 - Slide the unit under the van until it's *about* where it should go. Fine adjustments to location can happen as you raise it into position.

Pic 7 - My basic problem was how to get the unit up onto my jack. It's pretty difficult to lift it when it's under the van like this. Maybe two people, one on each side could lift it while a third person moved the jack under it. But I was working alone, so this is what I came up with. With a little effort I could lift one end and slide some short pieces of lumber under that end. Then move to the other end and do the same.

Pic 8 - Do that enough and gradually the unit is off the ground far enough that a jack can be slide under it. I had to move the jack around to find the spot where it would lift the unit evenly without tilting to one side or the other.

Pic 9 - Here is where I plugged in the wiring harness for the inside controls. If I had gone higher it would have been very difficult to see where to plug it in.

Pic 10 - Plugged in.

[RV-there-yet]

Pic 11 - A few inches more. Generator is now on the jack, above the lumber supports. As you can see from the bolts that I put in the mounting holes, we are a little off. By carefully moving the jack a little at a time I was able to get the holes lined up.

Pic 12 - Got all four corners attached, but not tightened.

Pic 13 - The exhaust pipe was removed before dropping the unit so that it wouldn't get crushed or dented. Now it's time to put it back on.

Pic 14 - The exhaust port of the generator engine is on the bottom.

Pic 15 - Slide the pipe onto the port stub and twist it back and forth to get it to slide all the way on.

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Pic 16 - U-bolt clamp secured on the exhaust pipe at the port connection.

Pic 17 - Exhaust pipe runs out the passenger side and is held in place by a pipe hanger at the edge of the van.

Pic 18 - I cut the fuel hose when I dropped the generator and installed this shut off valve. Now I have a new piece of hose attached to the generator fuel inlet that is much too long. So here I am mocking up the connection to decide where to cut the new hose. The shut off valve was initially installed with the idea than I would shut the fuel off when parking the van for the winter and then run the generator until it runs out of gas. Since then I have been told by a generator guy at Cummins that it will still leave some gas in the carb bowl to sit and go bad. He says better to run the genny at least monthly to keep gas flowing through the carb.....or pay extra and run ethanol-free gas in your van. I'm still deciding which way I'm going on that.

Pic 19 - Gas line complete, valve open.

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Pic 20 - The generator output wires (inside the gray liquid tight flex conduit) go through the van floor at the rear of the coach. My grimy finger is pointing to the hole.

Pic 21 - The wires come up through the floor and into a junction box. Connecting the wires was easy: White to white, black to black, green to green. When I dropped the generator I made the mistake of not disconnecting these wires first. I didn't drop the unit all the way (good thing!) so I didn't tear the wires out or break them, but I did damage to the conduit so I had to buy a new one. Found this one at Lowe's. Just what I needed. A piece of conduit (with fittings) and no wires inside. All the others I found were preloaded with solid copper wires and I really didn't want to try running those wires into the generator. Could have just pulled them out I guess, but buying the empty conduit saved some work and some money.

That's it. I'm sure there's something I didn't get an adequate photo record of, but I got really tired. The job wiped me out (of course, I'm old). Get some help if you can but be aware that it IS possible to do it solo. Take your time, think each move through and be patient (and safe).

[mkguitar]

Thanks, Awesome


I have a Lexor but you shed some light on what to watch out for


Agree with the Onan guy.... now !

- Mine has a petcock and was run dry before storing but still gunked up some, leading to carb cleaner shot down the fuel line and seafoam 20% mix to get it going.


Thanks Much, Mike

[Rlum]

Very nicely done. Also impressive since you did it solo! Did you consider placing rubber feet or some sound/vibration reductions?

Thanks for great write up!

[Rocinante]

Wonderful exposition, thank you for sharing this.

[rowiebowie]

You have provided valuable knowledge that I hope to never benefit from.

[themexicandoctor]

Thank you - this is an excellent thread.

The Generator is in.

And you still have all your fingers ...

[RV-there-yet]

Yes, always a win when I come out of a project with all my digits. I had visions of me laying under the coach with a 150 lb (my estimate) genset resting on my head! But the budget floor jack did its job (again...one of my best investments).