Fifth Wheels with an onaboard Onan

ford truck guy wrote:
2014,

Is yours a Bergs system, or do it yourself?

I had the Bergs dual feed system when I was dry camping at the tracks in the heat, what a great set up ! My 2 Honda's together runnngthe AC's could run forever !

I just have the one Honda 2000. As said we never really need the air conditioner, but my previous fifth wheel with the Onan 5500 LP I could run the air, but never did in 12 years with the generator.

To answer your question no, I have the Atwood 6 gal. extended run tank, it looks the same as the Berg System. They look very similar , the quick connect hose , and cap that goes on the generator looks like they are the same.. I didn't see a dual setup for the Atwood to be able to supple the two Honda's like yours .

I have a factory installed Onan 5500 lp and it's a fantastic option.
I agree if your camping style involves hunkering down off the grid and using the gensets all day long for days in a row, gasoline is a better option.
However if you are a convenience user and use the built in for rest area breaks, lunch stops, overnighting, leaving the dog in the camper. The built- in Onan gives us lots of options vs. a portable genset or no genset at all.
There is no planning , no hauling ,no carrying no set up, no cord pulling, no carb issues, no stale gas or ethanol talk no security issues.
Just push button convenience and you can have full electric wherever you are.

Don't get me wrong, we have a lot of use for a built in generator as we boondock a lot (hence why we bought a rig that could have one), but it was just disappointing that it uses up so much propane. That's basically the only thing I miss about the toyhauler.... the gas generator.

2014,

Is yours a Bergs system, or do it yourself?

I had the Bergs dual feed system when I was dry camping at the tracks in the heat, what a great set up ! My 2 Honda's together runnngthe AC's could run forever !

edatlanta wrote:

JAC1982 wrote:
The reason we went with a Montana High Country was because it was the only one in our price point that came with a gen prep option for the Onan. Grand Design Reflection, Jayco Eagle etc. did not, not even as an option. I think all the "higher end" ones do though... Montana, Solitude, Redwood. But sub-60k, Montana HC was it from what I could find. We had the generator installed ourselves after purchase from an authorized Cummins dealer/installer, it was a little cheaper than having the dealer do it.

We came from a toyhauler with the on-board gas Onan as well. This new one is propane, and honestly I liked the gas one better. It seemed more efficient. We're actually buying a 4500 portable generator for use when it's colder, because the onboard uses up a lot of propane.

I have a 5500 Onan that was factory installed and it is gas. I like it a lot. Right now I'm using it to provide power since the entire town is dark after the storm passage a couple of hours ago. I find it a lot easier to fill a gas tank than a propane tank and the gas tank lasts a lot longer. I use non-ethanol gas in my rig and keep stabilizer in the fuel year round. I also run the generator 1 hour under load the first of every month. So far it hasn't failed me. Today's run will take the place of the normal run on the first of the month obviously. 2 hrs running as of right now and I would expect 6-8 hrs more to go. Lots of lines and trees down.

My previous fifth wheel I ordered the Onan 5500 LP , IMO its great for emergency use like what you are doing, but running them long term is pretty impractical . We used ours a few times when the power has went off in a small RV park we stay at every summer in Montana, and a few other times during that 12 years .

We went to a Montana rally early on when we first bought our 2008 Montana, and it was called the circling of the Montana's . It was dry camping outside Quartzite ,Az. in January . We ran that Onan quite a bit, and I spend a few trips going to Quartzite for propane :) We very seldom go anywhere we need to run the air conditioner. Our annual trip in the summer in Montana, the weather is pretty mild. Now days with our present fifth wheel, it does not have a onboard generator, all we need if we use the fifth wheel for hunting or whatever with no power, is our Honda 2000, it takes care of any needs we have . I will probably never buy another fifth wheel, and install a onboard generator.

Just got back from a hunting trip, and we ran that Honda off ,and on for 5 days , my wife had it running probably a good 10-11 hours per day. I run it with a 6 gallon extended run tank attached to it , in those five days I went thru about 9 gallons of fuel. I added to the extended run tank the last two mornings before I left camp to make sure it did not run out before I got back to camp.

" I use non-ethanol gas in my rig and keep stabilizer in the fuel year round."

Running non-ethanol gas I see ZERO reason to use a stabilizer.

JAC1982 wrote:
The reason we went with a Montana High Country was because it was the only one in our price point that came with a gen prep option for the Onan. Grand Design Reflection, Jayco Eagle etc. did not, not even as an option. I think all the "higher end" ones do though... Montana, Solitude, Redwood. But sub-60k, Montana HC was it from what I could find. We had the generator installed ourselves after purchase from an authorized Cummins dealer/installer, it was a little cheaper than having the dealer do it.

We came from a toyhauler with the on-board gas Onan as well. This new one is propane, and honestly I liked the gas one better. It seemed more efficient. We're actually buying a 4500 portable generator for use when it's colder, because the onboard uses up a lot of propane.

I have a 5500 Onan that was factory installed and it is gas. I like it a lot. Right now I'm using it to provide power since the entire town is dark after the storm passage a couple of hours ago. I find it a lot easier to fill a gas tank than a propane tank and the gas tank lasts a lot longer. I use non-ethanol gas in my rig and keep stabilizer in the fuel year round. I also run the generator 1 hour under load the first of every month. So far it hasn't failed me. Today's run will take the place of the normal run on the first of the month obviously. 2 hrs running as of right now and I would expect 6-8 hrs more to go. Lots of lines and trees down.

azdryheat wrote:
I think most any 5th wheel has a generator prep package.

We too thought that and found we were sorely mistaken.

The reason we went with a Montana High Country was because it was the only one in our price point that came with a gen prep option for the Onan. Grand Design Reflection, Jayco Eagle etc. did not, not even as an option. I think all the "higher end" ones do though... Montana, Solitude, Redwood. But sub-60k, Montana HC was it from what I could find. We had the generator installed ourselves after purchase from an authorized Cummins dealer/installer, it was a little cheaper than having the dealer do it.

We came from a toyhauler with the on-board gas Onan as well. This new one is propane, and honestly I liked the gas one better. It seemed more efficient. We're actually buying a 4500 portable generator for use when it's colder, because the onboard uses up a lot of propane.

Like others have said, it'll be propane, not gas like your Raptor.