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Topic: Need your best guess re: Generator hours (Read 1220 times) previous topic - next topic

Need your best guess re: Generator hours

This coach is 14 years old and shows 90 hours on the generator.  Obviously not working.  Give me some ball park ideas what you run a year.  Coach has 120,000 miles.  Pardon me while I rant - why wouldn't they have fixed this at FT?  It was there in 05, I know cause I have their bill for $15,000.  They changed the filters, and marked on them the 90 hour reading.  This was for the new owner so he maybe didn't know any better, but FT should have.
1996 U270
Build #4846

Re: Need your best guess re: Generator hours

Reply #1 –
Quote
I know cause I have their bill for $15,000.

What did he have done for $15,000.
I hope it was more than an oil change  :))

Quote
Give me some ball park ideas what you run a year.
That is going to be all over the place depending how often you "Dry Camp" among other things.
I have 3100 hours. Much more than the norm for my age coach I am sure.

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Pardon me while I rant - why wouldn't they have fixed this at FT?
They changed the filters, and marked on them the 90 hour reading.

I am sure they only fix what the owners ask them to fix.
The selected media item is not currently available.Barry BEAM #16014
2003 U320 40' AGDS
Beamalarm, Foretravel technical help and specifications
"Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve"

Re: Need your best guess re: Generator hours

Reply #2 –
I have 2800 hours on my genset. I use it a lot but you can look and see if it is moving at all when you have it on.  I have seen 10 year old coaches with 100 hours on it. I have spent a lot of money getting repairs done but 15K is usually a pretty big item not a bunch of little things.
2025 Wanderbox Outpost 32 on F600 Expedition Motorhome
2015 Born Free Royal Splendor on Ford 550 nonslide version  for sale
Former Coaches  covering. 360,000 miles
1999 34 U270
2000 36 U320
2001 42' double slide U320
2018 Jeep Rubicon

Re: Need your best guess re: Generator hours

Reply #3 –
I've run it several hours, it hasn't moved.  Besides which, they had marked it at 90 hours on the filters when they changed them back in 05. 

They took it in and said fix everything that needs fixing.  It's about 20 pages worth.  Course when you charge $100 for a set of wiper blades it adds up fast.  New couch was $2,300, brakes for $1,000, backsplash under the micro wave was a $1,000.  Put in the Joey bed for $1,300.  To mention a few.

Of course it's possible that they told them to not fix the meter, but I'd have thought they'd have documented it.
1996 U270
Build #4846

Re: Need your best guess re: Generator hours

Reply #4 –
And I'd like to apologize, and withdraw my rant.  It's nothing that there's an answer for and I didn't mean for you kind folk to have to defend FT.  If I have a problem with FT, I'll take it up with them.
1996 U270
Build #4846

Re: Need your best guess re: Generator hours

Reply #5 –
Gayland,

Welcome to the world of owning a used Foretravel.  Not everything is going to work -- even if the previous owner spent $15,000 on 20 pages of stuff.  The way to look at that is that you are $15K ahead of the game.

$100 for wiper blades!!!!!!  Yikes.  I hope that included the frame, not just the blades.



 
George Stoltz.  Retired from full-time living in a great Foretravel and now are back to living in a traditional sticks and bricks in Florida.

Re: Need your best guess re: Generator hours

Reply #6 –
yup, mechanics aren't cheap...I only owned a pair of vice grips when I bought my coach....now I have a joey bed full of tools, filters, oil, and a whole bunch of spare parts.  Sure learned a lot in 2 1/2 years. Luckily, so many of you helped me out by answering my dumb questions...and the joey bed took about an hour for me to install ...(most of that time was @ home depot for the plywood and carpeting.  At a cost of approx. $550.00....
We are only strangers until we meet; however, some of us are stranger than others

Re: Need your best guess re: Generator hours

Reply #7 –
I put a lot of hours on my generator, if I can wear it out, I have had a good time, and buy a new one, not complaining about it.

Everyone has their level of comfy, that does not mean SOME owners should complain.

 Looks like the truth is; some can and some can not, or some will and some will not, so everyone has their comfy level.

When people find their comfy level, all is at peace.

Buying a 10 year old used Foretravel, as most experienced owners know, is better than buying a brand new anything else.

MHO
Dave 

Re: Need your best guess re: Generator hours

Reply #8 –
Our 1997 U295 shows the following meter readings:

Mileage: 64,000+- (speedometer was replaced and I need to check the original to calculate more accurately)
Engine hours: 1671
Generator hours: 3252

I think the previous owners used the generator a lot. We don't have enough experience yet to correlate generator usage against engine usage.
J D Stevens
1997 U295 CAI 36' Build #5085
2002 Subaru Outback
Motorcade 16869
Bellville, TX

Re: Need your best guess re: Generator hours

Reply #9 –
Quote
We don't have enough experience yet to correlate generator usage against engine usage.

No relationship. One has no bearing on the other.
Some will dry camp at one place for a long time and use a lot of generator hours but not move much.
Another could be traveling a lot and always be hooked up to shore power and no need for the Generator.
The selected media item is not currently available.Barry BEAM #16014
2003 U320 40' AGDS
Beamalarm, Foretravel technical help and specifications
"Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve"

Re: Need your best guess re: Generator hours

Reply #10 –
That's true, and for the most part it really doesn't matter.  It's not likely that I'm going to wear it out.  For ease of remembering, I'll go with 3,000.  Somebody mentioned replacing the generator bearing by 5,000 hrs, so someday I'll just do that and not have to worry about it.

Side story, the first owner was a cowboy, did the rodeo circuit with the FT and pulled a trailer with his horses.  His wife was unhappy because she had nothing to drive when they were parked so he traded in for a pickup and 5th wheeler that had both living and horse hauling capability.  If any of you have done the rodeo circuit - do they have hookups, or did you dry park?  ;D
1996 U270
Build #4846

Re: Need your best guess re: Generator hours

Reply #11 –
Hi Gayland,
 Foretravel does conversions for the horse hauling, with living quarters, type trailers. They have a number of big time rodeo people using Foretravel equipment. I'm sure they have every type of hook up we have. Foretravel did not do the manufacturing of the trailers. They did the modifications to bare trailers.
Raymond & Babette Jordan
1997 U 320
1998 Ford Explorer XLT

Re: Need your best guess re: Generator hours

Reply #12 –
Check the fan belt and see how worn it is as an indication of use.
Also on your unit, check the rubber insulators on the bottom of the fan shroud to verify that they are in working condition.
If it has high hours, they will be broken or missing.  The top rubber isolators may also be broken or missing.
Keep your eye on the rubber isolators as if BOTH of the bottom units fail you could lose your fan through damage.

It is very possible that the generator has very low hours.
Snowbirds very seldom use their generator as they travel from park to park and very rarely need to use it.
They might use it for a lunch break for the microwave but, mostly they eat out when on the road.
So, you may be very fortunate to have a low hours unit.
Regards,
JON TWORK KB8RSA
Full Time RVer (10+ Years) & Dedicated Boondocker
Retired, Unemployed, Homeless Transients
1996 Foretravel U270-36 w/24' Timberwolf Trailer
I firmly believe that tomorrow holds the possibility for new technologies, astounding discoveries, and a reprieve from my remaining obligations.
Welcome to WeRV2 (Under Construction)
Find Jon: Via Satellite Tracker Datastorm Users
The Second Amendment is in place in case they ignore the others.

Re: Need your best guess re: Generator hours

Reply #13 –
I'm taking it to a Power tech shop Thursday so I'll have them take a look at that stuff.  Unfortunately it wasn't owned by snowbirds, cowboy on the rodeo circuit first 10 years, then a couple that lived in Phoenix.
1996 U270
Build #4846