1995 BOUNDER M36 with ONAN MARQUIS 7000 generator , HOW LONG/HOW MANY HOURS can I expect the generator to last?

[bediphrent]

My former truck shop has service trucks with Onan Marquis 7000's on board that have run 12-13,000 hours without major overhauls. They do get scheduled maintenance as required of course. At accident/recovery scenes, those generators sometimes run 3-4 days non-stop powering lights and tools.

amazing. love to hear this & I agree that theyre powerful. ours is running so smooth & is so clean. was very well maintained. thank you for your comment.

 

[bediphrent]

The rooftop a/c units aren't designed to be serviceable like residential systems. If anything other than a fan dies, it's replacement time unless you can do it all yourself. The dashbaord a/c system is a standard automotive-style system, probably an Evans-Tempcon system. Any automotive a/c shop can service it if it needs anything. Typically they develop small leaks and need "freon", or the water valve for the heat/cool control gets stuck and heat overwhelms the cooling.

The generator needs typical small air-cooled engine maintenance, i.e. spark plugs and air & fuel filters. That and regular exercise under load to keep moisture from building up in the wire coils of the stator. See the Onan Generator Handbook for advice.

https://mart.cummins.com/imagelibrary/data/assetfiles/0056746.pdf

youre right. I will hold off getting it fixed at this RV mechanic then unless they can quote me something decent - if not an automotive A/C repair shop will more than likely be the best bet, as you said. thank you for advice.

 

[bediphrent]

My Onan is 28 years old.

Run it an hour under load every two weeks or a couple of hours every month. Running keeps the brushes and slip rings clean and shiny; otherwise it will fail to generate. Generators love to run.

Keep up with oil and filter changes. Your spec is probably 150 hours. It's very easy to do that service yourself.

I strongly suggest that the only mechanic to touch it is a Cummins/Onan service center, not an ordinary mechanic or rv shop unless you're fully confident that they won't screw it up.

You also have a long list of things on a rig that old that need to be replaced so you don't end up sitting on the roadside. You need to find a competent truck shop or mobile mechanic, not an rv shop.

will do in regards to running the generator.

this isnt an "rv shop" its an auto mechanic that services RV'S, & auto repair etc.

this vehicle has been very well maintained leading up to today. I am not worried about breaking down on the side of the road. in terms of the things that make an rv drivable & able to drive long distances, theyre working great & I of course, am prioritizing to have them updated, flushed, etc & changed [as the mechanic sees fit] this week.

of course theres a couple things that need fixing amenities wise, such as water heater not heating [which we do not need in summer, or really ever..past owner had no use for the water heater either so they didn't care to fix it] but theyre mostly superficial & have no effect on the quality of travel or living in the motorhome while camping.

not all old RV'S are trash, lol. especially if theyve been maintained.

 

[Isaac-1]

When it comes to generator repair, I would strongly advise you to take it to a shop experienced in RV generators, your typical small engine mechanic will likely screw up the carburetor and governor settings on an RV generator as they are tuned to run at constant speed, unlike most other small engines.

 

[Heli_av8tor]

Well I missed the leading "0" on the Hobbs meter or I wouldn't have made what turned out to be a dumb comment.

Oh Well...

 

[WILDEBILL308]

This comes up fairly often. It always makes me smile with people worried over a few thousand hours on their Onan.
If you do your maintence you should get between 15,000 hours and 20,000 hours of use. Then do a rebuild and put it back in service.
The diesels will go longer.
Bill

 

[NY_Dutch]

The Onan Marquis 7000 NHM generator runs at 1800 RPM, which goes a long way towards extending its life. Our Onan Emerald Plus 5000 BGE is also an 1800 RPM generator. Some of the newer models run at 3600 RPM, and the sound difference is pretty obvious. Not louder as much as "sharper".

 

[johnhicks]

New tires?

 

[House Husband]

Your dash air is NOT Event Tempcon but is from Denso. A quality unit with 12 volt servo motors instead of vacuum controls. The compressor, condenser and receiver dryer are from Ford, then the Denso items are added by Fleetwood.
The oil filter for your Onan is a Motorcraft FL400S or equivalent. 1000 hours on your genny is no problem.
I change my oil and filter every 50 hours and write the current hours on the end of the filter with a magic marker.
You may want to consider carrying spare upper and lower radiator hoses. They are unique to your chassis and usually must be ordered.
Lower hose is Motorcraft KM4969
Upper hose is Motorcraft KM4941
I've been beating my 95 Bounder around for 20 years. I pretty much know it, inside and out.

Richard