Well,
My initial entry (only about 3 weeks ago) into RVing has unfortunately produced a VERY early kick in the stomach!
I purchased a 1998 33' Georgie Boy Pursuit with a Generac GN-480 5500C. When the rig was delivered the generator was running smoothly. The hours indicator showed 391 hours. The seller gave me all the usual demonstrations including the generator. He turned it off and then restatrted it etc.... No problems. I spent half an hour or so with him showing me everything. He then left with the genrator running fine.
Eager to learn about my new toy, I decided I should go through the rig and essentially replicate what he had done with the various appliances, gadgets, electronics, etc... I checked fluid levels, indicators, etc... and then I sat down behind the wheel to familiarize myself with the drivers seat. At that time, the generator was still running and had been doing so for approximately 40-45 minutes after his departure. Like he had done in my presence, I shut down the generator by pressing the generator switch on the dash. I waited a few seconds and then pressed it again to start it back. It cranked up fine and then one of the AC units kicked in and ran for 10-15 seconds and then the generator and AC shut down. I was not able to start it again. It would only continue to blow the fuse each time I pressed the switch and would not even begin to crank. Only the click of the switch.
Fast forward to Camping World Service Department. After $300 worth of parts (modulator, solenoid, controller) and $400 for labor, it will now crank but will not produce electricity. Per Camping World, I'm now faced with replacing the follow:
Stater Assembly including brushes and voltage regulator OR replacing the unit entriely at approximately the same amount of $.
So, finally, my questions: where does one find the best price on a new generator? I guess common sense suggests to replace it with another Generac of similar size because of wiring already in place? Having no experience with generators before, I'm definitely outta my league on this one. Thanks in advance!!!
Greg
My initial entry (only about 3 weeks ago) into RVing has unfortunately produced a VERY early kick in the stomach!
I purchased a 1998 33' Georgie Boy Pursuit with a Generac GN-480 5500C. When the rig was delivered the generator was running smoothly. The hours indicator showed 391 hours. The seller gave me all the usual demonstrations including the generator. He turned it off and then restatrted it etc.... No problems. I spent half an hour or so with him showing me everything. He then left with the genrator running fine.
Eager to learn about my new toy, I decided I should go through the rig and essentially replicate what he had done with the various appliances, gadgets, electronics, etc... I checked fluid levels, indicators, etc... and then I sat down behind the wheel to familiarize myself with the drivers seat. At that time, the generator was still running and had been doing so for approximately 40-45 minutes after his departure. Like he had done in my presence, I shut down the generator by pressing the generator switch on the dash. I waited a few seconds and then pressed it again to start it back. It cranked up fine and then one of the AC units kicked in and ran for 10-15 seconds and then the generator and AC shut down. I was not able to start it again. It would only continue to blow the fuse each time I pressed the switch and would not even begin to crank. Only the click of the switch.
Fast forward to Camping World Service Department. After $300 worth of parts (modulator, solenoid, controller) and $400 for labor, it will now crank but will not produce electricity. Per Camping World, I'm now faced with replacing the follow:
Stater Assembly including brushes and voltage regulator OR replacing the unit entriely at approximately the same amount of $.
So, finally, my questions: where does one find the best price on a new generator? I guess common sense suggests to replace it with another Generac of similar size because of wiring already in place? Having no experience with generators before, I'm definitely outta my league on this one. Thanks in advance!!!
Greg
