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Old 09-15-2013, 10:18 AM   #1
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Generator Question

We are getting ready to purchase a 2000 National Tradewinds RV next Saturday in Florida. It is 37' and is fully loaded. We are really excited and have a question about the generator. It has an Onan 7500 watt diesel generator in it and we are told it has 266 hours on it. Is that considered good or bad, low or high hours? Thanks in advance for your help.

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Old 09-15-2013, 10:49 AM   #2
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Low hours , that is good . Make sure it runs right provides power. Change oil air and fuel filter should be good to go for a long time.
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Old 09-15-2013, 11:11 AM   #3
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To me it is borderline. That is about 1.7 hr a month which could be considered the minimum "exercise" period to keep the generator in good operating condition. With that amount of hours on it, I would suspect the maintenance is lacking.
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Old 09-15-2013, 07:24 PM   #4
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Congrats!

In case you don't get the documentation package here is a link to all the docs I got with my 99 Tradewinds. Most will be the same as yours.
https://skydrive.live.com/?cid=ae67f...2766057%212101

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Old 09-15-2013, 07:30 PM   #5
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Even though it has low hours you may expect to renew the rubber stuff on it....like hoses and belts. People with diesel gensets will tell you that the more they are used the more reliable they are. With regular use and maintenance you could expect about 10,000 hours from it.
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Old 09-15-2013, 07:35 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rv dreamer View Post
We are getting ready to purchase a 2000 National Tradewinds RV next Saturday in Florida. It is 37' and is fully loaded. We are really excited and have a question about the generator. It has an Onan 7500 watt diesel generator in it and we are told it has 266 hours on it. Is that considered good or bad, low or high hours? Thanks in advance for your help.

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When you go to pick up the unit, start the genset, run the crap out of it and make sure it will continue to run with all your stuff powered. If it is not smoking, dripping, stinking or otherwise acting out, take delivery, change all fluids, filters, belts and coolant. Run it hard and check the oil consumption. Hopefully you will get some records. It will most likely run a long time. I would not not hesitate to buy one with low hours if it didn't smoke or drip and it ran all the equipment on the coach. Good luck with your new coach.
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Old 09-18-2013, 08:40 AM   #7
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Have it serviced as soon as possible (if you are buying the rig from a dealer, have them service it before you start it). Oil, filters and antifreeze. We have the same genset and it has 850 hours on it. The Onan will protect itself from low oil by not starting, (even low oil pressure from a lack of service-sludge will keep it from running).
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Old 09-18-2013, 08:58 AM   #8
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Get it, test it and go from there. I too bought a very low time Onan genny, but after a little maintenance and running it, it is sound. These are very tough, well built generators.
You can't sweat all the what if's. Also, Get a manual. The web site is hard (for me) to navigate, but a web search of your make and model should locate a manual for you.
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