On board generator

jnharley wrote:
Love our onboard Onan 5500 propane generator. It gave us many more camping options on our summer trip to Alaska. We had it installed a year after build by our manufacturer. We found a fabulous deal for the generator on line and our 5th wheel manufacturer let us drop ship it to them for installation. It actually cost us less after market that it would have if installed during build. We also installed a PSW inverter (we did that ourselves) and now have most of the outlets able to run off the inverter. We do routine maintenance on the generator and run it under load once a month. Now no worries about finding fuel for a portable or having it walk away.

Finding fuel for a portable ( gas ) would be much easier then finding propane I would have to think. I guess if you have a large enough bank of batteries, then you can get away with having to just run the generator to charge the batteries . Having no experience with an inverter I don't know. I do know my 5500LP is a lousy power source for consistent use, great for that hour or two of emergency power, but beyond that it uses too much propane to make it practical . Don't get me wrong love the onan, but I would probably go the two honda deal the next time. Less weight ,probably less then half the cost to purchase.

Spent a week hunting in October using just one Honda 2000, used about 6 gallons of gas in that time, have no idea how many hours, but I had the satellite setup, so TV, and lights were on a lot to keep everyone happy. Nice thing was the occasional use of the microwave ran fine on the honda, as long as there was nothing else going. Worked out great . I could not have done this with the Onan, too far away from propane. The Onan has its place, but its limited.


While on the subject of inverters, what kind of power is need to run a fifth wheel for say 4-5 hours of TV, some lights , maybe occasional microwave use , and how much generator time to charge the batteries back up. How many batteries are required etc.

I would not worry about what you should have done. You have a very good generator in the Honda 3000. Just cut down your power usage and you will be fine.

Love our onboard Onan 5500 propane generator. It gave us many more camping options on our summer trip to Alaska. We had it installed a year after build by our manufacturer. We found a fabulous deal for the generator on line and our 5th wheel manufacturer let us drop ship it to them for installation. It actually cost us less after market that it would have if installed during build. We also installed a PSW inverter (we did that ourselves) and now have most of the outlets able to run off the inverter. We do routine maintenance on the generator and run it under load once a month. Now no worries about finding fuel for a portable or having it walk away.

I have an onboard Onan 5500 gas and would never have a 5'er without one. Yes, I do run it every month without fail for one hour under load and I use non-ethanol gas and I still put stabilizer in the gas. At a moderate load with two a/c's it will run 20 hours on the 10 gallon built in tank. If it is real hot out the 20 hours is a little bit less or more if cooler. I carry two 5 gallon gasoline cans with me so I can fill it up if necessary when boondocking.

After just over 4 years the generator has ever failed or caused a problem. I change the oil and oil filter once a year as well as check the air filter and replace as needed (probably before really needed, but then that is just me). At this point it has 216 hours on the clock.

Yes you did make a mistake not getting the generator prep, or any other prep offered by the manufacturer.

But besides that, the on board LP gensets are great but not the best boondockers. The EUs are far more efficient.

I have kept it started and used numerous times for tools.. Just never for RV use

I'd have the Honda gone over by a dealer if you really haven't started it in years. Then, I'd use it, it should run 1 AC fine. I'd prefer a nice running Honda portable to a built in LP generator any day.
However, I would have ordered the FW with gen. prep. if for no other reason than resale value.

That 3,000 watt generator should run everything. It won't run two ACs if their compressors happen to kick in at the same time, but the odds of that are small. The starting surge from an AC compressor lasts for maybe 3 or 4 seconds at the start of a several minute run, but I, too, doubt you'll need even one, let alone two, ACs running at this time of year.

If you've never used that generator, do be aware that it is necessary to run it for a half hour or so every month or so to keep it from rusting into uselessness. They are shipped properly prepared for storage, and are usually fine for years, until you run them the first time. After that, you need that monthly use or they will become impossible to start.

jts140 wrote:
Was wondering if I made a mistake, ordered a 2014 Montana 3625re without generator prep. Thought I would never dry camp and here we are about to dry camp in two weeks at our local mountain bike park for a race weekend..
Do you feel and hear an on board generator if it is installed up front?

I do have Honda EB3000C CYCLOCONVERTER™ Generator — 3000 Surge Watts, 2600 Rated Watts which I never used... Hoping to run every thing on it but a/c don't think it would come close to pushing it. I have two a/c units.
2014 3625RE Big Sky Package, Mor-ryde IS/disc brakes
2008 Chevy 3500 CC SRW

http://i1380.photobucket.com/albums/ah164/jts140/photo41_zpsbfb7be05.jpg

We love the on board 5500LP we have in our fifth wheel, but its not too great for running hours on end, it takes a lot of propane to run them for hours at a time. Great for a short power loss, but thats about it. I have ran mine for hours, but I am having to get propane way to often. I have a honda 2000 that I use for long term use, but don't need to run a lot of stuff.

You might start and run one a/c on that generator. But I doubt you'll run two. Even in Florida you may be just fine w/o a/c. It's been in the 60's and 70's here for the last 2 or 3 weeks.