High hours on the generator

[mrschwarz]

I am in the process of replacing the coach with a 2008 Allegro Bus. Everything seems good. I am doing this from Massachusetts with a dealer in Florida. One item has me concerned, though. The clock on the 10 KW generator has more than 4,600 hours on it. It seems high to me, but they checked it twice and said that's what it reads. The service manager says it's quiet and runs like a top.

Is there anything I need to be concerned with? When is a major service due (or is it way past that time)? Any other suggestions for buying on remote?

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

What brand and model of generator? Onan, Power Tech, etc?

Yeah, that's a lot of hours (I have 1900 on my Onan 7500 diesel and that's considered unusually high for a 9 year old rig). Assuming it is diesel and not propane, the engine should be fine if it received regular service (oil change, etc). I would be a bit concerned about the mechanical parts of power generation, though. Even if it is an inverter type, there is still a DC alternator and a drive belt. Probably overdue for a precautionary belt change.

Are there any records of generator service? If not, I would ask for a complete service (air filter, oil & filter, fuel filter, coolant change) and new drive belt.

 

[Marsha/CA]

Micheal,  Enjoy your Allegro Bus; we have a 2003 Allegro Bus and still love it, even with one sideout. 

Like Gary we have 1840 hours on our generator (I just looked) and I think we run it a lot, so the hour count on the one you are looking at, is quite a bit.  Could the "counter" be bad as in recording the hours used.  Is that possible?  How many miles does the coach have on it?

Have fun!
Marsha~

 

[Lou Schneider]

4,600 hours is 575 days operating 8 hours a day.  If it was a car running at an average speed of 45 MPH it would have traveled 207.000 miles.

How do the generator hours compare to the mileage on the motorhome?  If the mileage is low, I'd suspect the rig has been used as a commercial rental, where it was driven to a location and used as a party bus or dressing room.

High mileage suggests the generator was regularly used while the rig was driven down the road - probably to run the roof air conditioners.

 

[bertnspike]

It could also suggest a lot of dry camping in the south, no?

 

[4EZDAYS]

Any other suggestions for buying on remote?
Buyer beware!

 

[wincom6]

When I was inspecting my motorhome the salesman and the technician both remarked that the generator did have a lot of hours on it but that they had checked it and everything was good working order.  They both had read the hour meter wrong, the dismal point was over looked by both on them. They had read 992.7 as 9927.  I never corrected them and I'm just saying that there is a chance that your salesman is making the same mistake.       

 

[zmotorsports]

Providing the proper maintenance has been done I would not be bothered by the hours accumulated on the genset.  Our 2003 Dynasty had 2500 on it when we purchased it six years ago.  I did a major service and found a belt that was getting frayed and needed replacement.  I also changed all fluids and performed a cooling system flush.  Everything looked as though it should with that many hours and now at 2950 hours still runs perfectly.

I have seen these diesel gensets go 20k plus hours before major repairs needed.  I have also seen them with 100 hours needing work because of lack of use.  It is best to run these periodically to keep the bearings moving and to keep the moisture out of the windings/system.

Mike.

 

[sueperdave]

These things should go to 10 000hours easy.
The motors are running at a constant rpm and most often in a very clean environment.
Short of checking belts etc...don't worry about it.

You could do an oil scan on it do confirm.

 

[mrschwarz]

A friend of my brother stopped by the dealer and looked at the clock on the dash and the one on the genset. They both agreed and there was about 4600 hours so I am assuming it's an accurate amount of time. With only 19000 miles on the odometer, I am at a loss as to why it's so high. High hours may hint at a lot of time spent living in it in one place, but the interior looks good. The guy also said it runs quiet and smooth ('like a top' were his words).

According to Onan, the engine should get new hoses and belts every 1500 hours. At 3000 hours, it needs a new generator bearing (not quite sure which bearing this is). I told the dealer, that I need to see evidence that the service was done or a commitment on their part to get it done. I didn't get an answer about the service (they're still looking) and he didn't balk about doing it.

For me, this could be a deal breaker. Lazydays is doing a lot for the coach at this point, so I think/hope they're motivated to get this done.

For the poster that said that this might indicate commercial/rental use, I am not sure how it would. Can you elaborate? Whenever I rented a motor home, there was an hourly charge to use the generator. I tried to avoid using it at all cost.

 

[99WinAdventurer37G]

In trucking most of the generators we use have the perkins diesel engine, some have the cat, and most of these go past 15000 hours before major work or replacement.  But putting 2000 hours or more on these things, we normally spend about $500 a year on maintenance. Which I don't think a MH would incur as trucks have much more vibration than on a MH.  Most of our repairs are due to broken brackets, frayed wires, and about 4 full services each year(every 500 hours). 

So I wouldn't be concerned about 4600 hours on a diesel generator.

In fact, when I looked at MH's I was really surprised by how low the hours were on the generators.  Mine only had 200 hours and was about 12 years old when I bought it.  I thought the hour meter had been replaced.  But there were great maintenance records with the unit, and there was nothing for the generator.  I already have over 1400 hours on the generator in about only one year of use.  But my main use of the MH is boondocking at my farm. 

 

[Rich D.]

Average life of a quality diesel generator running at 1500 RPM and well maintained is 20,000 to 25,000 hours. You are probably not going to ever wear it out.