Onan generator installation in 5er

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rcs777

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Sep 17, 2005
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8
We have a 39' Ameri-Camp Toy Hauler on the way.  I need some advice about generators.  We have a chance to get an Onan Marquis Gold 5500Lp for a good price (quickly).  Any recommendations requarding this genset.  We are in a Hurricane disaster area and may need reliable power for extended periods.  Any adivice is greatly appreciated.  Also, the dealer who has this genset does not have a mounting template and freight delivery is still almost non-existent here.  Does anyone know what the floor cut out deminsions for this gen are?

Thanks Richard
 
rcs777 said:
We have a 39' Ameri-Camp Toy Hauler on the way.? I need some advice about generators.? We have a chance to get an Onan Marquis Gold 5500Lp for a good price (quickly).? Any recommendations requarding this genset.? We are in a Hurricane disaster area and may need reliable power for extended periods.? Any adivice is greatly appreciated.? Also, the dealer who has this genset does not have a mounting template and freight delivery is still almost non-existent here.? Does anyone know what the floor cut out deminsions for this gen are?

Thanks Richard

I would call Onan and have them fax you information 1-800-888-ONAN

Unit will measure 33.6L x 22.3W x 15.5 weighs 258 lbs  Provides 45.8 amps 5500 watts

This engine will require 1 gal fuel per hour at full load about .7 at half load. It can start one 13,500 BTU AC plus 3300 watt baseload.

My closest experience was with a Onan diesel in FL that ran last year after the hurricane knocked out power for a friend of mine for over a week 24/7 with no problem and used surprisingly little fuel as loads were much lighter than we thought would be normal.


The Marquis is quiet - betters NPS sound level standards when installed ~73 db at full load. Electronic governor and ignition.
 
That's an LPG (propane) powered model, right?  From what others have posted here in the past, LP gensets gulp a lot of fuel.  You will need a very large LP tank and readily available fuel source.  A gas or diesel powered genset might be a better bet.  And a 5-8 KW diesel is quiet and efficient,  an advantage if you plan to run it for extended periods every day.
 
Thanks Leo,  We are trying to get through to Onan, but long distance phone service is not too stable yet.  We are especially having trouble with toll-free numbers since they switch through New Orleans. 

Gary, I agree about the fuel consumption issue, but we actually have an ample supply of LPG here right now.  Gas and Diesel are more difficult.  We are not waiting in lines anymore, but they are still imposing limits on purchases when the supply gets short.  Hopefully two or three more weeks and it will get back to normal.  We use LPG for our home ho****er and cooking and we get regular delivery, so for our local needs, that seems to be the way to go.  I am hopeful that we won't regret it when traveling.

Are there any areas where LP is not readily available?  We will probably be sticking to short 3-day weekend trips in the Deep South for a while.

Thanks again,

Richard
 
rcs777 said:
Thanks Leo,? We are trying to get through to Onan, but long distance phone service is not too stable yet.? We are especially having trouble with toll-free numbers since they switch through New Orleans.?

Gary, I agree about the fuel consumption issue, but we actually have an ample supply of LPG here right now.? Gas and Diesel are more difficult.? We are not waiting in lines anymore, but they are still imposing limits on purchases when the supply gets short.? Hopefully two or three more weeks and it will get back to normal.? We use LPG for our home ho****er and cooking and we get regular delivery, so for our local needs, that seems to be the way to go.? I am hopeful that we won't regret it when traveling.

Are there any areas where LP is not readily available?? We will probably be sticking to short 3-day weekend trips in the Deep South for a while.

Thanks again,




Richard

Let me throw out one other thing. This genset will probably have a 300-500 oil change interval. So, you'll need to have a supply of oil and filters if your going to be using this very long since you'll be racking up 24/7 usage or 168 hours per week and change is important.
 
The fuel consumption rates someone posted are for Gasoline not LP

(I have the 5500 Gas in my MH and recall the figures from my owner's manual)

If you wish I can post LP figures later this week, or you can google onan, I think it's the obvious (www.onan.com) but am not sure.  Download the manual from them.. Might even be able to download the mounting instructions.  It is a nice generator

ALSO... Get a Gen-Turi or else get a LOT of exhaust pipe and some heat sheliding so you don't get burnt if you trip over it,,,, Since you are going to be cranking out kilowatts every hour of every day you do NOT want exhaust blowing back into your rig,, Trust me on that... Else you may sleep much sounder than you plan, and for a lot longer time (IE: Rest of your life OR THE BIG SLEEP)

And make sure you have a good Carbon Monoxide detector in the trailer (Same reason)
 
Thanks John,

Did go with the Gen-Turi, and the unit has two CO detectors installed with the gen-prep package.  One is by the door and another is in the toy-box.
 
I promised to look up the LP fuel consumption for the Onan 5500, I checked my manual and found it does not list LP consumption rates.. So, I checked

http://www.onan.com/pdf/rv/a-1425.pdf

and it shows average fuel consumption as

Gasoline  No Load 0.3 gal/hour  Half load 0.6  Full 0.9

And LPG (I think they are measuring vapor for gallons, but lbs is lbs liquid or vapor)

      No Load 0.4 Gal or 1.8 lbs  half load 0.8 gal/3.3 lbs  Full load 1.1/4.6


You can find the full technicial spec sheet at the above url if you have any further questions


Comment re: Gen-turi.... I hooked it up to my Gasoline powered 5500 and fired it up for the day last Wed.  Both AC's televisions, and other electrical stuff on in the rig though I do admit it was a cool day... After many hours I was able to hold the Genturi tube (i held the 2nd tube, just above the first) for over a minute w/o pain, could have gone much longer but was getting other pain from standing in one place too long (not related to heat)    Good thing.. park lost power about 24 hours later and of course I did not plan on taking the Gen-Turi down till pack-up-and-go time. (it is near the end of the take down list, right next to water and electric service connections, since it's all on the same side of the MH)

 

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