mounting a portable gen in a gen housing on TH - why not?

[Txsurfer]

Ok so I recently bought a Champion 3100 inverter generator and used it last week end in the bed of my pick-up. It worked great but I got to thinking - My TH has a generator box built into the unit and I was wondering why couldn't put the portable in the housing and run a exhaust extension ( aval. on ebay ) out the bottom of the unit? The generator housing area has a fully louvered door so I assume it would get enough O2 to breath? I would prob need to order the external tank kit and mount it on the tongue. I figure you could wrap the exhaust with the high temp insulation stuff. Any reason why this isn't a viable option. Note - my unit already has a auto transfer switch installed so that makes wiring it up pretty easy - I think

[deltabravo]

Y-Guy wrote:
The exhaust extension is a concern.

Also, Adding an extension to a generator that isn't designed for one is not going to meet UL / safety specs.

[nayther]

I'd mount an exhaust fan on one side of the door louvers, blowing out and along with the exhaust extension it should work OK.

For safety definitely need a couple of CO detectors.

[Txsurfer]

Thanks SoCal but I want to be able to run the unit it while driving. I'm just going to keep in the bed of my truck - I have a hard roll top cover and it fits under it so I can lock it up when needed. I think I will do the exhaust stub with about 12" of flex hose to divert some of the hot exhaust above the tail gate.

[SoCalDesertRid1]

If you put it on a sliding drawer type frame that slides the generator all the way outboard of the compartment, your cooling and exhaust issues are solved...

[colliehauler]

Txsurfer wrote:
Good points - well I can always just keep it in the bed of my truck.. it works fine and is out of the elements for the most part. Just always looking for a better idea.. thanks everyone

Like I said I think it is doable, and with remote start and the electric hookup with transfer switch would be handy. Just would take some engineering to get it right. Get it wrong and the concequnce could be severe.

[Txsurfer]

Good points - well I can always just keep it in the bed of my truck.. it works fine and is out of the elements for the most part. Just always looking for a better idea.. thanks everyone

[colliehauler]

Txsurfer wrote:
OK - how does a built in unit solve that problem? bigger fan? how does it evacuate the hot air out of the compartment?

See my reply to fj12ryder. You could do the same with a high volume fan exiting out the bottom of the compartment. It would draw fresh air in through the vents and exit out the bottom.

The other alternative is to buy a purpose built Onan that is designed for compartment mounting.

[colliehauler]

fj12ryder wrote:
On my Onan the bottom of the compartment is pretty open and I assume that's for ventilation. The sides and top are enclosed, but the bottom is vented pretty well. I see that yours looks like there is no way to pull air in other than the door. I would think you'd need some way to pull outside air in, then over the generator, and out the door.

If you ran it like that the compartment would be an oven in a pretty short period of time.

Your Onan pulls air in from the front vents with a fan that's part of the motor. The hot air flows out by the muffler and exhaust pipe through a large opening in the bottom of the compartment. This keeps the air in the compartment at a reasonable temperature.

[fj12ryder]

On my Onan the bottom of the compartment is pretty open and I assume that's for ventilation. The sides and top are enclosed, but the bottom is vented pretty well. I see that yours looks like there is no way to pull air in other than the door. I would think you'd need some way to pull outside air in, then over the generator, and out the door.

If you ran it like that the compartment would be an oven in a pretty short period of time.

[Txsurfer]

OK - how does a built in unit solve that problem? bigger fan? how does it evacuate the hot air out of the compartment?

[mrw8i]

Txsurfer wrote:

"The exhaust needs to dump out the side not underneath the unit. Underneath the unit is a good way to get carbon monoxide into the camper."

thanks - That was my next question. So I assume I could route it down through the floor and 90 degree out the side. Is there any rule of thumb for how far out the tip should stick?
Stick far enough out so exhaust does not seep back up inside the trailer from underneath, try to avoid being near an open window - but not so far you hit it with your knees when you walk by.

[colliehauler]

Txsurfer wrote:


This is a better shot showing the clearences

I don't think you realize how much heat these generate. If you had fans for forced cooling it might work. I would want one pushing the air in on one side and another pulling the hot air out on the other side. They would need to move a large volume of air.

[colliehauler]

Txsurfer wrote:

"The exhaust needs to dump out the side not underneath the unit. Underneath the unit is a good way to get carbon monoxide into the camper."

thanks - That was my next question. So I assume I could route it down through the floor and 90 degree out the side. Is there any rule of thumb for how far out the tip should stick?


On my TH's with factor installed Onan's it sticks out 4 to 6 inches.

[Txsurfer]

This is a better shot showing the clearences