Onan generator removal

sightseers · 03-25-2010, 06:06 PM

We have a 2008 Sightseer on a 29 ft chassis. Generator died and needs to be removed. Winnebago says that you just remove 4 bolts and it drops down. Not the case with ours. It sits on 2 L shaped rails and cannot drop down. Pulling it straight out is a problem because it does not quite fit through the opening - opening not high enough by about 1/2 inch.

I tried to attach a photo of generator.

Does any one have any experience with this?

inspectorudy · 03-25-2010, 09:22 PM

Whats holding the "L" shaped brackets up? It would appear that you put a jack under the gen to remove the load on the brackets and then remove the bolts that hold the brackets up.

John Mo · 03-26-2010, 06:43 AM

What happened to your generator? That's practically brand new!

sightseers · 03-26-2010, 07:32 AM

As an added note, the two rails that the unit is on are welded to the frame so they can't be dropped down.

Generator has about 20 hrs on it and it died with a loud clanking noise when I was having the carb. adjusted.

John Hilley · 03-26-2010, 08:47 AM

Onan has a 3 yr RV Generator Warranty, why don't you just get it repaired under warranty?

forest · 03-26-2010, 11:54 AM

Check with Onan. I believe they have a service bulletin about that. Broken valve spring, then the retainer falls off, then the valve hits the piston. They had a bad batch of valve springs and were experiencing quite a few failures.

Shouldn't have to remove the generator to diagnose the problem. Just remove the valve cover.

inspectorudy · 03-26-2010, 09:21 PM

I agree about the Onan warranty but the gen still had to be installed. How about if the green cover is removed is there cleraence to slide it out? Obviously they didn't weld the brackets in with the gen sitting on them. There has to be a real simple answer to your question.

desertrv · 03-26-2010, 11:14 PM

Had to drop the gen on a previous motorhome. It had to come out of the bottom. By looking at your pic, the cover will not come off without lowering the gen. I see bolts on the front bracket and if the back brackets are the same, just get a jack under the gen and unbolt and let it down.

Now that sounds easy, but first. Unhook the elec harness, remote and elec service. Unhook the ground wire, unhook the gas line, and the muffler pipe from the coach. I used a hyd motorcycle lift jack.

One last thing, make sure the coach has enough clearance for the gen and the lift. I had the Trek on wood blocks. I had to raise the rig about 6 inches.

Sometimes it is easier to let the pros do it for you.

sightseers · 03-27-2010, 08:06 PM

Thanks to all who replied. Spent 2 1/2 hours in 32 deg weather taking out the generator. There was no way it could be lowered - see attached photo - and it would not slide out through the opening because the opening was too small by about 1/4 inch. Had to take the sheet metal of opening off - what a project as screws stripped etc.

desertrv · 03-28-2010, 12:03 AM

Glad you got the gen out. Some things should be real simple, but are not. I am making a lot of pretty changes to the rig for the wife, well I like everything I am doing. I have gotten into a lot of crazy stuff. I will do a post with some pics when I get everything back together.

inspectorudy · 03-28-2010, 08:52 AM

Has anyone got an explanation as to why a company would do something like this? I had a gen on a boat once that was so far under the aft deck that it was impossible to service. I installed a couple of aluminum rails and rigged all of the wires and hoses to slide the thing out from under the deck. It only took several hours and made it user friendly. Sometimes I think RV manufacturers have never heard the term "User Friendly".

RV Mech Tech · 03-28-2010, 09:39 AM

Inspectorudy - welcome to the world of RV service! - sightseers genertor installation is only one of many examples of what you find on RV's - it's all for cutting producton costs - if you or I or a forum member installed that generator we would make provision for removal by adding unboltable brackets or whatever is required - on a production line the easisest and cheapest way of putting an RV together seems to be an unwritten rule with some manufactures and some RV's are not put together with service in mind - if you count the number of hours it takes to assemble an RV then you will see why they do whatever the can to shorten the production time and in some cases material costs) - this is why a lot of owners change things around and modify them for easer access or serviceability - just think what an RV tech has to go through when he knows there is a better way to put something together but cannot change things around ( on a customers RV) to make that modification and has to repair or replace that part and can't even get his hands or any tools in a confined space to do the job- ever remove a slidout? - the factories usually never pay enough under warranty and even with experienced techs it still ends up costing the dealer - there are some brands that try to avoid doing this but considering that you ar putting a 'house' together and do it on 'production time limit' its difficult to take the extra time to modify something for ease of service so we "grunts" get the job of doing the work afterward and under warranty time - I like to see the bus and truck conversions where an owner starts from scratch and plans and then assembles the vehicle to his/her way of doing things- thats when you usually see how things are, and should be put together for ease of service - and take into consideration that RV's are different than cars or trucks and that you have different types of floorplans even with the same trailer or motorized RV brand - with the auto industry each manufacture has the repair and removal and instalation time down to a science with time and wararanty claims and even though the RV industry has similar guidlines, no two RV's are built the same - ask anyone who works on them for a living - hope this give you some insight!