Towing with gen running??

People choose to live in these climates? :h

wayward1 wrote:

KATOOM wrote:
Does anyone run a thicker viscosity oil in their gen during triple digit camping temps? That "may" help the long constant run times under heavy load.

We run Amsoil or Mobil One synthetic in the generators. Use the right viscosity for the expected temps. Run the Onan 5500 on the road all the time. Our HR stays cool. Another trick is to park with the awning toward the rising sun, darn near eliminates the gain from the sun in the morning till the sun gets to the roof. Most units don’t gain as much through the roof as the sides. If possible have the driver’s side in the shade in the afternoon. Lots to think about but where you park can make a huge difference! Another trick is to have foil backed Styrofoam panels cut for your windows. Place them on the sunny side, these help in winter to hold in more heat at night.

In our Az temps it really wouldn't help if you had an awning on both sides. When you are in temps approaching 120 and overnight lows in the 90's you are just screwed trying to cool them.

KATOOM wrote:
Does anyone run a thicker viscosity oil in their gen during triple digit camping temps? That "may" help the long constant run times under heavy load.

We run Amsoil or Mobil One synthetic in the generators. Use the right viscosity for the expected temps. Run the Onan 5500 on the road all the time. Our HR stays cool. Another trick is to park with the awning toward the rising sun, darn near eliminates the gain from the sun in the morning till the sun gets to the roof. Most units don’t gain as much through the roof as the sides. If possible have the driver’s side in the shade in the afternoon. Lots to think about but where you park can make a huge difference! Another trick is to have foil backed Styrofoam panels cut for your windows. Place them on the sunny side, these help in winter to hold in more heat at night.

Sorry to hear the trip was a bust.

Sturgis should be a completely different animal though.

Don't worry about your rig. Things are always bound to come up. You just have to be creative and adapt. You'll get through it.

steiny93 wrote:
ouch
crazy temps; our -30 really don't seem so bad right now :)

Sorry, they still seem that bad to us:)

Trip update

I manage all equipment at a 54 hole golf resort. I know a little about small air cooled engines. My main concern was the A/C units.

I had ran the A/C off shore power at the house for 24 hours before we hooked up to leave. It was 74 inside and all the furniture and cabinets were cooled down to room temps. I started the genny and ran the front A/C during the 3 hour pull to the campground. The outside temp hit 123 in a couple places as we got close to the destination but was 122 where we camped. The genny ran fine as did the A/C except it was no help at all. The inside temp was 122 as we started setting up camp!! I guess the Fuzion insulation can't handle hiway speed.

Once on shore power again I started both A/C units and they were busy. They ran all night and had the camper down to 78 by 5:00am Thursday morning. Shortly after sunrise the inside temp began climbing at a very fast pace?? I began looking around and found the rear A/C was not cooling. I took the cover off and could see the fans was running as was the compressor. It got over 100 degrees inside that day as one A/C had no chance in this heat.

We packed up and left for home at 1:30am Friday morning and the trip was a total bust. Dealer has a complete new A/C unit ordered and should be here early next week. He said the old one had "lost some oil". I did not notice that when I had the cover off but it was very hot at the time and I was mainly looking at the compressor and fan.

I am very disappointed in the Fuzion's insulation and the fact that an almost brand new A/C failed so early. It prolly doe not have 100 hours on that rear A/C unit.

Our next trip with this camper is two weeks at the Sturgis motorcycle rally in S.D. and we leave in 15 days. I am a little nervous to be going that far from home with a now undependable rig.

So, to answer the original question in this thread. . . . YES, you can run the genny at high temps on the road, , , but it won't help!!!

mapguy wrote:

KATOOM wrote:
Does anyone run a thicker viscosity oil in their gen during triple digit camping temps? That "may" help the long constant run times under heavy load.

Sure, but always stay in the class and weight range the owners manual chart details.

Absolutely, but more often than not, most people treat their generator like a rented mule. Run it hard, long, and never bother making sure the oil is the right viscosity.....or rarely ever changed. I've seen gen's running in situations where I'm shocked its even supplying electricity its so hot out.

We do it all the time when its hot out, for that very reason...Nice cool AC.

KATOOM wrote:
Does anyone run a thicker viscosity oil in their gen during triple digit camping temps? That "may" help the long constant run times under heavy load.

Sure, but always stay in the class and weight range the owners manual chart details.

Does anyone run a thicker viscosity oil in their gen during triple digit camping temps? That "may" help the long constant run times under heavy load.