Generator for my Solitude 310GK

[Txfivver]

I'll chime in here with my experience so far. I had the Onan 5500W LP generator installed in my new 375 RES before delivery and so far I love it. It is just as quiet as the Honda 3000iu portable gen I used with the last trailer. The Onan will run both 15000 btu a/c units plus most of the interior lights and doesn't sound like its straining at all. It is vibration free and you can easily sleep in the bedroom above it. It's first big test will be in 2 weeks at Tx Renn Festival, 3 days of dry camping, it can be 40 or 80 out, never know! I say get it if you think you'll use it even occasionally, it sure is convenient and very low maintenance on propane.

[WhittleBurner]

Marcy's brother bought a motorhome last year that has the Onan generator. The exhaust on it is run to the top of the motorhome. You can't hardly hear it when it is running.

[Paul & Deb]

Just curious how much does that generator weigh?

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The generator itself is about 170 lbs. You need to consider some additional weight for the box and any support you add to the compartment. The pin weight on my 337 is 3,200 lbs. Not too bad when you look at other 337s. I have 2 heavy 6v batteries up there too.

[CWSWine]

We didn't get on in our 310GK but our motorhome has an 8000 watt. What I like it has "AGS"( Automatic Generator Start) and for us, that's what makes the difference between an external generator and one built it. We have a small dog that we leave in the RV at times and twice at Rally in Iowa the power tripped and the generator kick in and keep the RV cool. We set up ours to come on if the battery voltage gets below 12.1 volts or the inside temperature gets above 75 degrees. We can also set quiet hours where the generator doesn't come between certain hours. If you plan on keeping the RV and you can install AGS it's worth the extra time and money in my opinion.
For the lazy people, we have a generator start switch beside our bed.

Added: My 8000 watt will run three 13.5 AC, Microwave, TV, and lights.

[DaveMatthewsBand]

Can those built in generators just come on by themselves?

I'll give you a little back story to make it interesting... there was a 10 year old motorhome in the covered and powered RV storage space next to mine and it had 4 year old tags, years worth of dust and gave all appearances of something that hadn't been moved in at least 4 years. It was plugged into the 50a receptacle with years of dust on the cable and no footprints around the MH.
So pretty much every day for about 6 months, I was out at the storage place doing mods to our new trailer. This place reminded me of a ghost town because there were probably 150 rigs out there and the majority were older units that never moved. I rarely saw anyone out there, even though I'd be out there on the weekends too. It was kinda creepy.

So one day I'm outside mine, again no one around and the MH next to me starts buzzing, then I hear the generator fire up and it just kept running. The office was closed so I just called their emergency number and gave them the unit number and said they might want to contact the owners.
About 2 hours later, the generator is still running and the owners pulled up, walked around the MH, walked inside, turned off the generator then stood outside looking puzzled. I went over and let them know I was the one that called and I asked what was going on and they said they had no idea.
Their batteries were fully charged, from being on shore power. They also confirmed they hadn't moved it in years and that it was something they inherited but hadn't gotten rid of yet.

I suggested they have someone take a look at it or disconnect the generator. (because I didn't want their heap catching on fire and burning mine down in the process).

[CWSWine]

Yes, that can happen and did happen to me. It wasn't the fault of the RV it was my fault for leaving the Automatic Generator Start (AGS) active while in storage. I was lucky that it was cool and didn't need the AC but even if I did the generator won't start with less than 25 gallons of fuel in the tank. It takes a battery to start the generator so if you have a battery disconnect the generator can't start. I know people that turn off their auto temperature start and leave the battery low auto start active in storage just in case the batteries run down. I think it would be smarter to add a small solar setup to keep the batteries change while in storage and not use the generator.

Can those built in generators just come on by themselves?

I'll give you a little back story to make it interesting... there was a 10 year old motorhome in the covered and powered RV storage space next to mine and it had 4 year old tags, years worth of dust and gave all appearances of something that hadn't been moved in at least 4 years. It was plugged into the 50a receptacle with years of dust on the cable and no footprints around the MH.
So pretty much every day for about 6 months, I was out at the storage place doing mods to our new trailer. This place reminded me of a ghost town because there were probably 150 rigs out there and the majority were older units that never moved. I rarely saw anyone out there, even though I'd be out there on the weekends too. It was kinda creepy.

So one day I'm outside mine, again no one around and the MH next to me starts buzzing, then I hear the generator fire up and it just kept running. The office was closed so I just called their emergency number and gave them the unit number and said they might want to contact the owners.
About 2 hours later, the generator is still running and the owners pulled up, walked around the MH, walked inside, turned off the generator then stood outside looking puzzled. I went over and let them know I was the one that called and I asked what was going on and they said they had no idea.
Their batteries were fully charged, from being on shore power. They also confirmed they hadn't moved it in years and that it was something they inherited but hadn't gotten rid of yet.

I suggested they have someone take a look at it or disconnect the generator. (because I didn't want their heap catching on fire and burning mine down in the process).

[BigGuy82]

They're roughly the same size, so why not go with the 7000?

Because it's more expensive and you don't need the output? I've got a 5500 and it runs everything - 2 A/C's, lights, microwave, W/D, TV's - haven't exceeded it's limits yet. If you want to power your neighbors RV, I guess the 7000 is the way to go ...

[offtohavasu]

Because it's more expensive and you don't need the output? I've got a 5500 and it runs everything - 2 A/C's, lights, microwave, W/D, TV's - haven't exceeded it's limits yet. If you want to power your neighbors RV, I guess the 7000 is the way to go ...

A 7000 powering your neighbors..We should have went with that instead of our Cat generator here at work.

About $1,000 difference, you have power to spare and don't have to worry about efficiency loss at altitude. If you're starting from scratch, why not make sure you have everything covered?

[BigGuy82]

A 7000 powering your neighbors..We should have went with that instead of our Cat generator here at work.

About $1,000 difference, you have power to spare and don't have to worry about efficiency loss at altitude. If you're starting from scratch, why not make sure you have everything covered?

About $1,000 difference, you have power to spare and don't have to worry about efficiency loss at altitude. If you're starting from scratch, why not make sure you have everything covered?[/QUOTE]

Never had a problem powering my 42' Solitude or my 36' Bighorn with this genny. It runs on propane and did just fine at West Yellowstone (altitude around 7,000'), so power loss at altitude was not a problem. Essentially, I do have everything covered and I don't see any benefit spending another $1,000 for something I really don't need. But hey - your money, your choice.

[sgrol60]

I have both - 3 Honda 2000 portables and an Onan 5500 onboard. I prefer to use the Hondas. I can use 1 or all three depending on the load needed. My TH is a little over 1 year old and my Onan surges severely with a light to no load. This has to be rough on the TH electronics. The Hondas just run and, being inverters, output clean voltage. I tried to get a TH without the Onan but couldn't without special order. I plug the Hondas into the TH gas tank so never need to worry about fuel and they are a lot more stingy with the fuel than the Onan.