Hello, In the process of ordering the Montana fifth wheel and have a question on the generator option. Do most of you order the generator prep., the generator installed or nothing at all. Can a after market generator such as the Honda 3000 be used in the generator compartment. Thank you for your help.
To run a generator inside the unit it must be isolated from the rest of the compartment. You will also need about 1 square foot of opening in the door for ventilation. Generator prep should give you these items. There should also be a junction box which you can hard wire the generator into. The generator exhaust would have to be extended outside also.
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Haven't done it, but a friend told me that he would order his FW with the "generator Package", for the wiring hook-ups. He would then find a generator that would fit his needs. Not sure just what generator he used, but he did say that he saved a few thousand bucks
I would assume that when the mfgr sets the rig up for a generator, they are taking the air flow and other things into account....but don't quote me
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Generators are nice to have but alot of places you will visit may have generator run time restrictions. I havent found any place I go to that allows free use of the generator. The norm is 8AM-10AM and then again 4:30Pm-7:30PM at most sites. It is more of a problem on the Eastern side of the US then the Westernern side I think. I quess there is more open space on the western side.
Here on the East side doesnt give you much time to run a generator for air conditioning so most folks that like to camp off the power grids usually just end up running their generator just to re-charge their batteries up every day in the short time period being allowed to run their generators...
Even the Govt run sites here on the east side have generator restriction run times in force.
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Be VERY careful if you install a generator in the compartment yourself. The exhaust has to be run to the outside in a safe location. CO will kill you in your sleep and you will never wake up. A family died here in Tennessee last year and their generator was outside on the ground. Biggest problem was faulty CO detector. Just a word of caution.
David
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Definately get the generator prep and 2nd AC prep on that Montana, and if they still charge for it - the satellite prep. All of these are good selling points and save a lot of cost later if you decide to install a generator, AC or satellite dish.
Both of our Montana's were ordered with the Generator Prep. They are tailored to the Onan and come with a heat sheild that isolates the generator from the rest of the coach, an automatic transfer switch, start stop switch with hour meter (typically in the bedroom), the pop-out circuit breakers, and a kick-out panel through the bottom that gets removed when you install the generator. I installed our 5500LP myself after removing it from the old 5er and it was a piece of cake with that prep. The majority of Onans now draw air and exhaust cooling air through the bottom kick-out so you don't need a vent in the cabinet door anymore. The exception is the Micro-lite.
The cabinet is not designed for portable generators, as they cannot adequately vent the heat, fuel vapors, or exhaust.
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