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IAMICHABOD's avatar
IAMICHABOD
Explorer II
Jan 04, 2014

Do you Exercise that Generator

When I am not using it I try to do this monthly. I also drive it to keep everything lubed and the tires round. I put a load on the generator while driving, AC in summer, plugin heater in winter,(only the safe kind) so I kill 2 birds with one stone.

I Live in a earth quake zone and have mine parked at home so I always make sure that the Generator is ready to go and the RV is stocked with food, water, gas and propane.

It came in handy a few years back when, after an earthquake ,our power was out for 2 days. Not only did I have power for a TV so I could keep up with current events, I also helped 2 neighbors with some power to run essentials.
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  • mustangglp's avatar
    mustangglp
    Explorer
    Jan 04, 2014
    old guy wrote:
    I know this may sound a little silly asking this, but if you are in a quake zone and your house is destroyed how do you think the RV will survive? I wish you all the luck in the world.


    Trailer is mounted on springs and tires and made to flex. Also The trailer
    Has stand alone power in case lines are down
  • KD4UPL's avatar
    KD4UPL
    Explorer II
    Jan 04, 2014
    I run my Onan at 1/2 load for 2 hours every other month. I think the manual says every month but I just don't get it done that often.
    My house is set up so I can plug it into the camper. I do this to load the gen which, in theory, saves my some on my electric bill while it's running.
  • SolidAxleDurang's avatar
    SolidAxleDurang
    Explorer II
    Jan 04, 2014
    jasult wrote:
    I also have house generator that I tested 2 days ago before the snow storm that hit here. We do lose power in the winter alot from downed wires and during super storm sandy I was only house on block with lights on for 10 days. Some had generators that would not start :S


    We had a pretty bad ice storm just before Christmas. Despite the fact that my auto-standby does it's thing (automated testing) weekly, i still went out 1 or 2 days before and did a manual test and checked the oil level.

    Sometimes I'm amazed by those that KNOW (or should know) something bad is going to happen... And they have 3-5-7 days to prepare.... Yet they do nothing...
  • jasult's avatar
    jasult
    Explorer
    Jan 04, 2014
    I also have house generator that I tested 2 days ago before the snow storm that hit here. We do lose power in the winter alot from downed wires and during super storm sandy I was only house on block with lights on for 10 days. Some had generators that would not start :S
  • SolidAxleDurang's avatar
    SolidAxleDurang
    Explorer II
    Jan 04, 2014
    old guy wrote:
    I know this may sound a little silly asking this, but if you are in a quake zone and your house is destroyed how do you think the RV will survive? I wish you all the luck in the world.


    Likely they would both be destroyed based upon proximity...

    However, the possibility exists such that the utility infrastructure will be destroyed when the home is undamanged. Having the RV prepped helps in this type of scenario.

    Here in Oklahoma, we face the same type of scenario with ice storms or tornadoes.
  • SolidAxleDurang's avatar
    SolidAxleDurang
    Explorer II
    Jan 04, 2014
    My auto-standby for the house is computerized and has a weekly exercise cycle built into it's programming....

    For the portable generator, yup... 'Bout once a month under load.
  • old_guy's avatar
    old_guy
    Explorer
    Jan 04, 2014
    I know this may sound a little silly asking this, but if you are in a quake zone and your house is destroyed how do you think the RV will survive? I wish you all the luck in the world.

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