Winnebago Minnie Towable

[3 Card Mmont]

Originally Posted by Bigbird65

Monty, will it fit in your motor home? I won't be buying a generator but if I did this would be my first choice. Be sure to give us a report after you check it out.

Yes, easily in one of the basement storage compartments.It will be a quiet alt to a noisy 7k diesel that can’t be used everywhere.. Mainly it will be for my utility trailer...After seeing it I decided to offer a generator with the Winnebago sale.. To be honest I may include the Predator and keep the Champion because of the remote start.. The 3500 Champion was over a thousand dollars, (almost 1200 with tax ).. A 3k Honda cost 2 grand, the 3000w from Northern Tool sells for $1500 .. So a 3500w whispering inverter for $650 .00 is just to tempting..

[cruzbill]

Calm seas and fair winds, Monte!

For those with twist lock generator receptacles, Monty's dilemma can be solved by cutting off those ridiculous straight blade cord ends and replace them with 30a twist lock cord ends to match the generator. Blade end cords will eventually burn up. Go with the twist lock cord ends and keep an adapter or two on hand to use at RV parks.

Twist lock are so much better, my cordset on my TT came equipped that way.

[Bigbird65]

Sorry that you are leaving Monty. Come back from time to time and tell us about your adventures in the motor home. Best of luck.

[Badlands Bob]

Safe travels Monty. Come back and visit when you get a chance.

[3 Card Mmont]

I did not intentionally delete my last message guys , I thought I clicked on edit however it’s gone.. I was going to add a little about the Predator.. It really vibrates , I sat it on the campground picnic table, after starting even after running it for an hour with no load it danced from one end of the table to the other.. I let it run a few minutes while in the truck bed , the noise from the bed floor was 10 times the level of the generator.. The fellow who showed it to me had his on the ground, so either I got a bad one or on the ground is where it has to go..90 pounds is a lot of weight to bounce like that.. Oh, I watched a few you tubes , one fellow took off the front 4 screws an reversed to receptacle another fellow changed it to a regular 30 amp .. Many wires hooked up to the back of it... I like your idea of changing the head on the cord.. oh Ken, the wheels on it are 14 inches apart, fit perfectly into the groves of your Ram tuck bed.. Gary and Nancy have one maybe they got a better built one, My Champion is lower, almost as quiet and has a reg 30 TT plug plus remote start.... See , I told ya I’d find something to gripe about..After I get My AZ property sold and settled into a smaller house I’ll start traveling again, hopefully I’ll cross paths with a few of ya.. I did meet one couple from this forum in a Walmart parking lot, ..Wonder what happed to them , SChweber was their name?.. So happy New Year ..Cheers !

[Bigbird65]

Monty, I did see this before it was deleted: I sold my Winnebago today.. The buyer was the second to look at it last Friday.. Did not have to include the generator and got a decent price.. I also found a major fault with the Predator generator, ... The supplied adapter that fits into the 30amp twist lock on the unit must be clicked to the right putting the prongs to the left, after you insert an rv cord it pulls to the left which causes the adapter to unlock and vibrate out.. I returned it !!! So this is it for me in this forum.. Wishing all the best !!!!

You did return the generator and not just the adapter? If I should buy a generator, I'll keep that in mind. Assuming you took the generator back I guess that you did not see enough value in it to work with it until you made it work like you wanted. Did you put any load on it. Maybe running it on the ground would be best. I read one of the reviews that said it would not be good to run it in the rain.

Of all things when I went by Harbor Freight today to get an item I made a point to look at that generator. It sure looked good but at my age I would injure myself trying to pick it up.

[3 Card Mmont]

Ken , I returned the Predator, the adapter was included..Ran it with and without a load ... To me it’s a red flag when something vibrates excessively .. Gary and Nancy did not complain about theirs so maybe I got a bummer.. Selling the truck to Car Max , flying home tomorrow..

[CarolinaCats]

I checked in today and got a shock!! I hate to see Monty AND Ken leaving the forum! Are you guys moving to new / different campers, or giving up camping? Either way, I hate to see you go. You both have contributed greatly to my knowledge!

As for the Predator generator, I am surprised by a couple of things. That they told you than they had just gotten them into the store on January 2nd, and by the vibration. I bought ours in the Raleigh store back in July. They offered a $50 off coupon in their flyer, so I went after it. As for the vibration, I have never ran mine sitting on a table, just on the ground, or sitting on the concrete floor in my garage. It never moved, and I didn't notice any excessive vibration. I'm not sure what to make of that.

Ken and Monty, I wish you well!! Please check in from time to time and let us know how you are doing!!

[Bigbird65]

Originally Posted by CarolinaCats

I checked in today and got a shock!! I hate to see Monty AND Ken leaving the forum! Are you guys moving to new / different campers, or giving up camping? Either way, I hate to see you go. You both have contributed greatly to my knowledge!

As for the Predator generator, I am surprised by a couple of things. That they told you than they had just gotten them into the store on January 2nd, and by the vibration. I bought ours in the Raleigh store back in July. They offered a $50 off coupon in their flyer, so I went after it. As for the vibration, I have never ran mine sitting on a table, just on the ground, or sitting on the concrete floor in my garage. It never moved, and I didn't notice any excessive vibration. I'm not sure what to make of that.

Ken and Monty, I wish you well!! Please check in from time to time and let us know how you are doing!!

YO Gary, reset, I'm not leaving. I'll still be here to pester folks.

For a few years now we Texas folks have been required to get a state inspection each year before we could register our trailer if the gross weight exceeded 4500 lbs. Our Minnie is rated at 7000 lbs gross. After taking Minnie to the state inspection station today, I paid the $7 fee and they printed out a "Passed" report and I went on my way. After I got home and was filing my paper work I noticed, in small print, on my Vehicle Registration Renewal Notice that it said Inspection Not Required. HUH? OK to the internet I went. Turns out that Gov. Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill SB1001 on 6/12/2017 raising the gross weight at which a trailer needs to be inspected from 4500 lbs to 7500 lbs.

[CarolinaCats]

Whew!!! I didn't realize until I reread your post that you were quoting the post from Monty that was deleted... I am very glad that we didn't lose two very talented voices on these campers!

[Bigbird65]

Not all that talented Gary, just a mechanically inclined tinkerer. I retired from Texas Utilities in 1999 at 57 with 33 years in. My job as a Process Control Systems Specialist was programming and trouble shooting problems with computer control systems for large gas fired electric generators. My other job was building interactive graphics for operators to use when controlling these generators. I was like a baby duck in a new world every day with new opportunities. Loved my job.

[Br0wnBear]

I went and checked on my Minnie this weekend. I can’t keep it at my house so it’s at a storage lot about a half hour away. We have gone through the record breaking east coast freeze in early January, and then it had been up to the 60s and rained pretty hard with winds the night before I went out to see it.

Outside everything looked fine, and when I went inside everything was fine except for a small puddle of water on top of the “nightstand” (actually the top of the cargo pass through) next to the bed. Some water had run onto the lower part of the mattress adjacent to the shelf so it was a little wet. The top of the mattress was completely dry, the wood on top of the passthrough wasn’t damaged and it didn’t look like the water had been there long, so I’m guessing it came in with the rain the night before.

The weird thing is, I could find no evidence of where it came in. No drips on the ceiling, walls dry to the touch with no sign of water running down them. All windows and roof vents closed tight. There was some water on the inside sill of the window near the area but it has a lip on the inner side of the sill at the bottom so I don’t see how the small amount on the sill could have gotten down onto where the puddle was. The outside seal on this window has no visible flaws. We’ve camped in it in the rain before and not noticed any leaks.

Any ideas? I’m stumped about what to do and also worried because I know what water does to an RV and because it’s not at my house I can’t check it as often as I’d like. For now I have towels on the shelf and will check it as often as I can.

[TDI-Minnie]

I bet there was significant condensation on the inside of the window and probably roof vents with the changes in weather.
As it condenses on the cold window, it drips down inside.

Keep an eye on it and maybe get one or two of those dehumidifying buckets.

[Br0wnBear]

I hadn’t considered condensation. I like that idea because it would mean no leak. It had gone from 5 to 60 deg and back down to 20, so major weather changes for sure. I’ll look into dehumidifying buckets. Thanks for the suggestion.