Onan generators

[GGeorge]

I was told by a mechanic that an onan rv generator has a life expectancy of 800-900 hours. Can anyone confirm this? My generator has 590.9 hours and needs a control panel for $525., plus install. I am wondering if it is worth it. Any thoughts?

GGeorge

[ferndaleflyer]

I got my DP 20 years ago and the 7500 Onan so far has never failed. It has about 4000 hours on it. I service it once a year no matter how much I use it.

[2chiefsRus]

GGeorge wrote:
Well it seems I have been thrown a well baited fishing lure. Thanks to all.

The generator is a gas, Onan 5500. I use it to keep the batteries charging while going down the road, keep the residential fridge and a Dometic freezer working, and charge the wifes phone, occassionaly I run an a/c.

If you do go ahead and get it fixed, suggest you run it with more of a load on it to keep it working well.

[camper19709]

I have a Onan 5500 gas generator on my motorhome with 3,000 hours. I suggest going to a Cummins/Onan Service Center. I went to a service center in Florida when my gennie would not stay running. And, no dealer or mechanic could solve the problem. Cummins/Onan found that I needed a new circuit board ($400). They had one in stock. Put it on and I was out of there in a couple hours. I think the total bill was about $600. Labor was $135/hr. Yikes. But it now purrs like a kitten. I feel it was money well spent because they knew what they were doing, professional and very customer service oriented. I hope this helps.

[atsrmf]

I have a 4.0 Onan. It was in an '87 Gulfstream with just 57 hours when I bought it. Needless to say, it would not start, so I dropped it out and replaced the circuit board, fuel pump, plugs and wires, air & oil filter, and I rebuilt the carb. Now it runs perfect and just completed a round-trip to Colorado running the roof air. Almost 80 hours and runs like a champ. Onan is like any other mechanical device, it can break but the odds are reduced if you maintain it properly.

[Passin_Thru]

I have a 7.5 diesel and was told by Cummins most run 18000 hrs.

[kmb1966]

I just replaced mine at 750 hours because I wasn't gonna put 2,000 into a 4,000 generator.
I've had to replace my Onan:
several fuel pumps.
belt
bent rocker arms
worn out push rods
intake manifold gasket
ignition coils
carbureator
Now needs new HEADS!

I totally believe what the mechanic said. I have kept up all the maintenace on my Onan Marquis Gold, yet there is ALWAYS a problem. I have a stand-alone Gilette Generator, and a Honda 2000. On those 2 units I rarely do much of anything. They are totally reliable. If I had a choice to get away from Onan, I WOULD. But ONAN has the RV market. I don't want to pack around a plug in generator so I'm stuck with UNRELIABLE ONAN. I always hear about how rough/tough well built Onan generators are. Not been my experience after 15 years of RV-ing with it. I depend on my DASH A/C over the Onan! Never replaced one item on my Gilette or Honda 2000 generator. not one part! Onan, many parts!

[Happytraveler]

We have a lot of hours on our Onan Generator. We just take it to the shop after so many hours and they clean it up, LOL

[GGeorge]

Well it seems I have been thrown a well baited fishing lure. Thanks to all.

The generator is a gas, Onan 5500. I use it to keep the batteries charging while going down the road, keep the residential fridge and a Dometic freezer working, and charge the wifes phone, occassionaly I run an a/c.

I have looked on ebay for a new control panel. But I am afraid I will get taken to the cleaners if I bring new parts to the repair shop for installation. The last time I did that was for my roadmaster tow hitch and brakes. I saved $1400 on buying from ebay then had to spend $1000 more to have it installed "Because I did not purchase the parts from the same store who installed it".

This need more thought! Thanks to all.

[YC_1]

check these out

[Stim]

BobR wrote:
Do some research. What board do you need?
Alot of new boards on eBay for far less money. Also, check online for vendors that rebuild boards.

Board should have a part number on, do an ebay search for it.

[Dutch_12078]

Some of my shops service trucks were equipped with Onan Marquis 7000 gas generators with 12-13,000 hours on them without a major overhaul.

[BobR]

Do some research. What board do you need?
Alot of new boards on eBay for far less money. Also, check online for vendors that rebuild boards.

[KD4UPL]

I've known some Onan RV generators used in a commercial mobile film truck to have run several thousand of hours.

[copeland343]

We have over 4500 hours on ours. Gas Onan