$$$ OUCH $$$ (Generator Update)

Well, folks, that's what the Emergency Fund is for.  Right?

I'm at Cummins Rocky Mountain Onan Repair shop in Albuquerque, NM.

See the rig on the left?  He was unhappy because he showed up a day early and they wouldn't take him, so he told me, "We decided we're going to camp here."  Like the other people with appointments that day didn't count?  This is a busy shop. 

Their slide is over my line and they have chairs and their awning out.  They are making a point, while they are taking up part of my parking space - when the tech checked my generator and re-parked The Palms, I couldn't open my door - just enough to barely squeeze in and out.  (I guess I could have pulled out and re-backed in, but the men on either side didn't like it when I move in the day before.  Too close to the slides on one side, and too close to the mirror on the other.  Then after I was parked, they said, "You have plenty of room."  They said it twice.  I felt like saying, "Bite me!"  I was not going to re-park.)  Plus the rig with the slide was leaking antifreeze that was rolling down under The Palms.  I had to be really careful that Katie didn't walk in it and then lick it off so she was on a very short leash around our rig.  He couldn't put a bucket under the leak?  Right now they are in the shop, so hopefully their leak will be fixed and they will be gone today.  If they come back - trust me, they are not parking that close to the line tonight!  LOL 

Wow, this is turning into a RANT, isn't it?  I haven't done that in a while, so I guess I'm due.  Don't you just love rants?

I arrived Monday afternoon and Ken, the technician, had time to look at the generator before they closed.  It needs it's annual service and also a new starter, but when I told him about all the oil I've been adding (at first 1/2 quart every 8 hours of use, then I realized I could add 1/2 quart every 20 hours, and that only fills it half-way.  It's never leaked, it just burns up), he said its the O-ring, or pistons or something...  and that it would be better to replace it than to have it rebuilt.  But they would check it out Tuesday morning to be sure. 

The prognosis after pulling it into the shop yesterday agreed with Ken's opinion:  I need a new generator.  And you know what?  It will be so nice to have one that actually works all the time.  As anyone who has read this blog from the beginning - or even from the middle - knows, I've had issues with this generator since I bought The Palms.

And I didn't post all the problems, it was just too depressing, so you only heard about some of them.

This is a picture I copy/pasted from an Onan ad on-line.  It's the same model, but it sure does look prettier!

I only had 1,274 total hours on the generator which is 8 years old, and I've been told by a few people that this failure is probably caused by all the time it sat unused.  It's a 2006 motor home and I bought it in 2011 with a reading on the generator of only 8 hours.  So obviously it wasn't used during the five years before I owned it.  I kept thinking I was okay, even though it sat for so long, because it still worked.  The thing was, though, it didn't work well, and I've spent a lot of money on it trying to keep it going. 

This is a good lesson for all you RVers who have so much solar that you don't need to run your generators, or those of you who always have electrical hook-ups, so you never run the generator.  YOU MUST RUN THE GENERATOR UNDER LOAD FOR ONE TO TWO HOURS EVERY MONTH.  Under load means start the generator, wait two minutes, then turn on the air conditioner - for an hour or two.  If it's winter, or too cold for the A/C, turn on a space heater for an hour or two. After turning off the A/C or heater, wait another two minutes before turning off the generator.  You're good for another month.  That will keep your generator in good shape.  If you're in a place where the weather is perfect, choose either one and sit outside in the perfect weather for an hour or two.  I've been doing that, but it was too late, I guess.  The damage had already been done.  (Check with your generator expert to confirm the above.)

They have four RV hook-up sites here in their lot, which is really nice when you have to wait for parts. Each site has electricity and water, and they also have a dump site here.

This is the view of the shop after hours from where we're parked.  The garages are double what's shown, they go through to the back of the lot, so there are 19 service bays.  The service area and office area are spotlessly clean - that always gives me confidence:

They don't have my generator in stock, they've been replacing a lot of them lately and haven't reordered this type, so I'll probably be here two or three days.   With full hook-ups.  I haven't had hook-ups in ages.  It's nice to be able to watch TV in bed!

For those of you who are wondering how much this is costing me: I'm not happy with the quote of course, which they told me would be right around $3,500 total, yup, it's an $$$ OUCH $$$, but it's fair and they've promised me Ken - their best guy for this kind of work, so I'm happy about that.  There goes the tire fund - plus!  :(  But we all have expenses with our homes whether they are made of wood and sitting on a foundation, or made of fiberglass and sitting on wheels.  All a part of home ownership.  And at least, I assume, it's a smaller generator in comparison to some of yours.  I imagine a larger motor home would require a larger generator?  So it could have been worse.

NOTE - The generator was  supposed to be here this morning, but the shipper didn't send it out until this morning (bummer), so I'm here until tomorrow.  I asked if they would at least remove the old one today and she said yes, when they had a break today someone would come and get The Palms and do that.  Hopefully that will get me out a little earlier tomorrow.
   
I'll let you know what happens with the installation tomorrow.   (Don't forget our amazon.com link for all your on-line purchases - it doesn't cost you a thing and gives me and Katie a tiny percentage of your purchase price.  And please remember to start your research with the blog post link.  Thanks!  I super-appreciate your support!)

From me and Katie, have a great Wednesday, everybody!  :)