Why does my 30amp coach have a 5.5kw genset?

[djbmsu]

I have owned 8 RV's and have never seen nor heard of a smaller generator than the 5.5K. And again likely by bulk purchasing is why they are used.

[Russ2018]

i have a 1999 brave 35 that was ordered with a 6.5 , just saying !!!

[chcraigsc]

Never had a Class C; now a B-Plus. As one who taught manufacturing engineering, the situation seems to argue for too much cost to redesign for the occasional 30-amp customer when most clients are going with the 50-amp service. Cost to put in a smaller unit probably outweighed big gen-set cost.

[NeilV]

Originally Posted by Yillbs

Perhaps I'm simply not asking my questions correctly, sorry about that.

The Fiesta and most gas Fleetwood in this era had an EMS system that sheds power to devices that encroach on the available ampers, in my case, it's 30amps.

My question though, specifically, is related to the size of the generator, not what the coach can power. If the 50amp coach needs a 5.5kw genset to function at 50amps, why would they put the same generator in a 30 amp coach instead of a proper sized 4kw genset?

A 30 AMP coach usually can't run both AC units along with other high current draw appliances such as a coffee pot, microwave, electric water heater, toaster, electric heat, etc and will have to resort to Load Management/Shedding on a 30 Amp generator so it is common to use a 30/20 Amp uneven split 50 Amp generator that only produces 120 volts using the 20 Amp output of the 5.5 kWh generator for the second Air Conditioning unit. This is generally more efficient since when boon docking you won't have to run the generator for as long to cool down the coach and cook, charge the batteries, etc, etc since you'll be able to do all of them at the same time.

Plus the 5.5 kWh Generator runs at a much lower RPM than the 4 kWh making it less nerve racking since its not turning as fast.

The sound of the 4 kWh generator turning at its higher RPM and running longer since its often load shedding gets a bit old after a while. When dry camping with friends who have the 4 kWh generator we will often both end up using my 5.5 kWh generator by plugging his coach into mine just because we find the noise from his generator so tiring to listen too. When I had my previous coach with the 7 kWh generator it easily would keep up with both our needs when air conditioning was needed.


If you have the 5.5 then count your blessings since you have the quieter and more capable generator that more than just marginally acceptable.

[W6LMJ]

Try using the TV, microwave and A/c at the same time. It is easy to run out of power. Count yourself lucky the original buyer got the larger generator.

[Chuckge]

Basic electricity
5.5 kw=5500 watts
Watts are the amount of power a device uses
Volts x amps = watts (power)

Look at any appliance for the amps it draws
If say 2 amps, then 120 volts x 2 amps = 240 watts of power used.
Air conditioning 120 v x 20 amps = 2400 watts or 2.2 kw
Start adding up all the power used at any given time along with a factor of safety and you will see why you have a 5500 watt generator

[deandec]

I guess I am confused with this discussion, especially the 50A part.

My PT7000 generator only produces 30A (two pole 30A breaker), but the Coach uses 50A shore power.

Do newer RV's come with a 50A generator?

[Rswiebe]

My class A is a 30amp with two ac units. Both AC’s wont work at the same time on a 30 amp system. My coach has a 6.5 generator so on really hot days the generator will power both AC’s.

[BruceDeville]

Originally Posted by Yillbs

I guess I'm just a little dumb to class A's, but I recently purchased a 2008 Fleetwood fiesta 33l, and I was confused why I had a 5.5kw onan. I pulled up the original brochure for the coach and one of the options was in fact a 5.5kw onan with 30amp service. This was an option when it was ordered. Obviously whoever ordered this one chose said option.

What would any person need such a large generator for a 30amp service coach for?

Having owned such a coach my guess you can run 2 ACs running down the road where you generally encounter additional heat requiring 2 ACs to cool down. When stationary, hopefully parked in a shaded area you can survive on the "load share" arrangement of one AC at a time.

Just a thought.

[twinboat]

Originally Posted by DougJames65

Don't try this ever !! 30 amps can only supply 27 amps continuously, it will trip with a 5 second 30 amp load, unless the breaker is a defective fire starter!

You can draw 30 amps but not continuously.

Continuously means for 3 hours or more. Then you can only draw 27 amps.

[twinboat]

Originally Posted by deandec

I guess I am confused with this discussion, especially the 50A part.



My PT7000 generator only produces 30A (two pole 30A breaker), but the Coach uses 50A shore power.



Do newer RV's come with a 50A generator?

You have a 50 amp cord because thats the standard cord used. Your rig probably doesn't need 50 amps. 2- 30 amp lines seems to do the trick.

Some huge motorcoachs come with 12,000 watt generators capable of producing 50 amps at 120/240 volts.

[MBrant]

Originally Posted by Yillbs

I guess I'm just a little dumb to class A's, but I recently purchased a 2008 Fleetwood fiesta 33l, and I was confused why I had a 5.5kw onan. I pulled up the original brochure for the coach and one of the options was in fact a 5.5kw onan with 30amp service. This was an option when it was ordered. Obviously whoever ordered this one chose said option.

What would any person need such a large generator for a 30amp service coach for?

The arithmetic: 5500/120v = 45A, which is a tad small for a 50A coach, but not tragically so. This is a little big for a 30A coach, but the differences are small. Maintenance and fuel costs are almost identical, and the generator is not strained, which is A Good Thing.

My suspicion is that the 30A genset didn't arrive in time for the build, so they substituted the larger genset. This is good - for you. Cherish that! LOL

[Bainbridge]

Originally Posted by Yillbs

I guess I'm just a little dumb to class A's, but I recently purchased a 2008 Fleetwood fiesta 33l, and I was confused why I had a 5.5kw onan. I pulled up the original brochure for the coach and one of the options was in fact a 5.5kw onan with 30amp service. This was an option when it was ordered. Obviously whoever ordered this one chose said option.

What would any person need such a large generator for a 30amp service coach for?

My 1990 Winnebago was similar. It was 30A and I don't think a 50A upgrade was available. It had 2 13,500 BTU A/C's with a selector switch that would allow only one to operate at a time. I installed an aftermarket device called "Pulseair" which would automatically switch between the two units. The front would run for 7 minutes and then the rear would run for 5 minutes. The switch had a BOTH position that could only be used when the 5.5 KW generator was used. I cheated and split the cable from the generator to the rear A/C and installed a male/female 20A connector. When camping I could plug into the 30A campground receptacle with the main coach cord and run the front A/C. I could then disconnect my added 20A plug and run it via a 20A extension cord to a 20A receptacle on the campground box to run the rear A/C


Bob B.
2007 Winnebago Voyage 35L
1994 Saturn SW2

[Clark clan]

We had an Itasca Sunrise that had something similar. If we ran the genset, we could run both AC units at the same time. If we plugged in, we could run only one.