Roadtrek 2004 and new/old Onan 2800

[Boxster1971]

Originally Posted by BTFLCF

I had 2 small resistance heaters. One with fan and one radiant. Also had a work light plugged.
With the meter adventure I'd didn't run it very long. Will get to that in the next few day.

Good work - glad this is going to be a useful generator.

[booster]

I think it would be useful to hear about how and where it was stored over the years, as the conditions had to be quite good for not corroding slip rings or rusting the engine internals. We hear regularly that you need to run every month to prevent those issues, but I have always been suspect that was for the absolutely worst conditions. I know that when I removed our 2800 Onan, it sat for over a year, wrapped in a plastic engine storage bag, in our heated home crawlspace. It came out of storage and ran perfectly, putting out over rated wattage when tested.

[cruising7388]

Originally Posted by BTFLCF

My wife kept an eye on the usually reliable Craftsman Multimeter. Calling out 165 volts.

This is an interesting phenomenon. It was reading peak voltage rather than normally displayed RMS voltage which is .707 of peak. This was resolved with a replacement battery? What's the Craftsman model number?

[Frankshay]

Originally Posted by cruising7388

This is an interesting phenomenon. It was reading peak voltage rather than normally displayed RMS voltage which is .707 of peak. This was resolved with a replacement battery? What's the Craftsman model number?

I had the same thought.... FWIW the Onan in our 2000 Xplorer still works well although I've had to deal with mouse-eaten wiring and a failing magneto. Someone asked in another thread about starting the A/C: ours generally does it although I sometimes have to "play" with the fan switch to make sure the genny doesn't stall.

[BTFLCF]

Boxster:
I'm glad it's useful I hate wasting anything.

Booster:
In answer to your question regarding the storage of the Onan generator for 25 years for most of the years it was in my unheated, but insulated garage on the side of a hill that is usually buried in the winter up to the window level in snow. Maine is a dry State most of the year as a result, things like tools stored away from anything with heavy salt store fairly well without special treatment. Unfortunately the same can't be said for vehicles. I am currently dealing with still another expensive repair related to Salt corrosion on my pickup truck resulting from Parts rusting. My sense is that this beatiful country is very large and very different. It has many conditions that are not the same for all. I suspect that manufacturers and repair technicians work from their own environment and give recommendation as guides not rules. I tend to keep one or two vehicles off the road in the winter months because of the salt corrosion issue Those vehicles always do well. Anything that I use during the winter months has a life cycle between 3 and 5 years before major work needs to be done related to rust. Undercarriage washing has not been particularly helpful since the characteristics of road maintenance in Winter converting the salt sand mixture into a fine mist that works its way past where the water jets hit and in most years there's more storms to keep up with. Black ice is occurring with greater frequency where sand without salt seemed to be the preferred road treatment.

cruising7388:
The Craftsman multimeter is a 82141
I'm glad you used the term RMS. It sent me off to look it up and now I know more about pure sine wave vs modified. I love learning even at my age. Just fear there so much to learn and so little time to do it.

Frankshay:
It's good to hear that the 2000 Explorer with the Onan generator is working well does the air conditioning get better after a few Cycles or is it just on the initial startup that you have to play?
We know all about mice. Even in a daily drive we have to watch for nest in the heaters and around the air filters.

Well the same day the AC pump failed on the Pickup the mainboard on our LG washer dryer combo unit failed. So generator test further moves down on the priority list. Probably god I don't have a firm date from the installer.
Thanks all.

[booster]

Thanks for the info on the storage. Had the unit ever been run when you got it? Still in a factory box and maybe plastic wrap?


On the meter you may want to see if the meter has a "peak" voltage or "peak hold" that may have been active when you were checking voltages. Sometimes the indicator to show those functions are active is very small on the screen or maybe a tiny indicator light elsewhere, even on a button sometimes. Changing battery usually does a full reset, so it would have gone to default when repowered and cancel the peak hold.

[Frankshay]

Originally Posted by BTFLCF

Frankshay:
It's good to hear that the 2000 Explorer with the Onan generator is working well does the air conditioning get better after a few Cycles or is it just on the initial startup that you have to play?
We know all about mice. Even in a daily drive we have to watch for nest in the heaters and around the air filters.

One of my friends here has been battling squirrels who have taken up residence in his Honda Fit. They keep finding a way to get back into the heating ducts, he's about insane at this point.

I think the A/C gets better with use but we don't use it all that often. Had it on last night for a bit as it was very hot and humid. Another known problem with that generator is the oil level switch can cause irregular running or false shutdowns. It's easy to bypass.

[Angeou]

try to get help from this generator technician.

[BTFLCF]

Booster:
The generator was bolted on the original pallet. Plastic wrap (as I recall) was removed. The pallet was on a dolly so I could move it if needed.

I looked at the meter and the manual and didn't find any reference to a peak setting. The 82141 is a basic meter commensurate with it's owners understanding. I really need to learn more, a little knowledge can indeed be a dangerous thing.

[windymatt]

Older RV's don't use a Xfer switch to isolate AC sources. Instead, the AC input cord has a male 30 amp plug end that can be inserted into a shore power receptacle OR into the generator output conductors, which are connected to a female receptacle fastened to the body or chassis. In this way it is impossible for two dissimilar inputs to "dead head". Fewer parts to go bad, simple and effective.

An Onan Microlite is a good generator. Don't worry about negative comments and enjoy it!

[BTFLCF]

My 1989 Roadtrek did have a female receptacle for the shore power cable as you describe. My "newer" Roadtrek doesn't have that that I can find. It does have a LYGHT Automatic transfer switch which is describe in the Owner manual to automatically switch power. The wiring inside may indeed lead somewhere but since I don't have it on a lift it's hard to say if there something I'm not seeing underneath.

My confidence in the generator is growing based on the fact that, like me, it's old.

[windymatt]

Originally Posted by BTFLCF

My 1989 Roadtrek did have a female receptacle for the shore power cable as you describe. My "newer" Roadtrek doesn't have that that I can find. It does have a LYGHT Automatic transfer switch which is describe in the Owner manual to automatically switch power. The wiring inside may indeed lead somewhere but since I don't have it on a lift it's hard to say if there something I'm not seeing underneath.

My confidence in the generator is growing based on the fact that, like me, it's old.

I know the feeling. My REALLY old Hall came with a 4/5 kW Generac that, while having many superior features (like 1,800 RPM operating speed and virtually silent running), parts and service became virtually unobtanium. I switched to a 2.8 Microlite, which weighs at least 100lbs less and also won’t start The now critical AC unit. Onans are good equipment, and I say this with many decades in the wind/solar off-grid field where good generators are a must. I only wish mine were a 4 and not a 2.8!

[AnFear]

Couple of things, I bought a 2002 Roadtrek 190 without a gen and had one added. Totally doable. Very glad to not have a Honda hanging off my bumper and a can of gas floating around. I full time so it's one less hassle.
Now I got my mounting kit from Onan/Cummins. I don't know if they make one for the Chevy but if you look at pictures of it you'll see that it would be easy to fabricate. Next I bought my own transfer switch and had it installed with the gen so my gen guy just ran wires when he installed it.
Lastly when I had this work done I also added; Trimetric RV 2030 battery monitor, Blue Seas ML-RBS battery switch and a muffler from Cummins.
If your budget allows you might want to look at those upgrades.

[BTFLCF]

UPDATE 2


I was referred to a custom fabrication shop that takes on unique projects and has a great reputation. I saw him last week and he is willing to do the install. Both an RV service center and ONAN service center pointed me to him.

He said he is currently working about three weeks out. So maybe we''l get it done this year.

I've run the generator a couple of times with a couple of resistance heaters and it ran fine.


AnFear: I assume that your Roadtrek was about the same age the installation would be very similar. The wrinkle in my case, I believe, is the 25 year age of my generator. I'm considering the trimetric monitor. The resonator is a must. My unit only has 1 coach battery so I don't understand the need for a switch. Budget is a consideration since I do not have an estimate from the installer yet. I will certainly consider all your suggestions.

[JohnnyFry]

You made a good point here. 1,800 rpm machines are much quieter but the downside is the fact they are much heavier because with half the numberof power strokes per minute you need an engine with essentially twice the displacement. It is too bad because 1,800 rpm engines are usually much longer lasting. The reason that the 6kW diesels in big class As are quiet is that they are; A: water cooled and B: 1,800 rpm.

[kelly]

I'm looking for a generator for my 2001 Lance 1030 camper.

[AnFear]

BTFLTF the switch is to isolate the coach battery from the start battery

[BTFLCF]

AnFear : Thanks for the clarification. I had just assumed that the battery isolator under the hood performed the function of the switch. I still have a lot to digest on the workings of the electrical system.

To those following this thread. It appears that the custom fabrication shop has little interest in undertaking the job. He was 3 weeks out 2 months ago. I followed up a few times but he's out on a job and doesn't call. So it's back to square one. The generator does run well. Exercising it about one a month.

[AnFear]

The battery isolator does do that. The switch I have now allows more control. I can keep the start and couch battles separated. Say I spent the night plugged in and then driving a couple of hundred miles. No need to overcharge the coach battery. I can connect both sets for a few hours while plugged in if I want to top off my start battery. And I can use the coach battery to start the van if my start battery has a problem. It also has an auto setting which works the same as an isolator.