Engine mounted generators

I think most of the "engine mounted generators" are really just big alternators. Some say you have to rev the engine off idle to get them to come on, and that is a sign of a one wire alternator. The manufacturers are just trying to relate them to doing what an Onan generator will do, regardless of the technical exactness, it appears.

When I drove a truck in the early 70's, we had a couple of units that had these. Inverter technology outpaced them. They were used to run refrigerant systems on insulated boxes. These had shore lines for parking. When in use, they upped fuel consumption by quite a bit. A high output alternator with a high power inverter will probably do a better job if you need it while moving. If you need it parked, I'd use a shoreline.

If you do a search, you'll find a few threads on the subject.

It seems the jury is still out on how well this works, the long term reliability, etc. It seems fine for battery charging and short usage of AC appliances. Not sure about running it all day to keep the AC on.

There is some controversy about whether it violates the warranty from Mercedes Benz, as they don't come right out and say it's OK. So proceed at your own risk, I suppose. If anyone has had any service issues, or warranty issues with it, please speak up. Same if it's been terrific and problem free.

Papa O wrote:
I have read pros and cons regarding engine mounted generators (under the good generators).

Does anybody have first hand experience with one?

I don't think Roadtreks "system' is actually an engine mounted generator. I think it's a high amp 1 wire alternator(second alternator pictures in their manuals) hooked into their proprietary control unit that does max charge of batteries along with the solar panels and that feeds the inverter/charger

We had one at work in one of our service trucks but the engine uses way more fuel then a generator so we went with a welder/generator or just a generator in the trucks.