Onan KV to 2800i

[hbn7hj]

2003 Roadtrek Chevy 190P

The upgrade was done at the Onan dealer in Ridgecrest, California. Total cost was $5k which included 5 hrs @ 134.50/hr. Charge for generator was $4200.

You must have a mount upgrade kit which Onan sells for $300. It allows for the decreased width and the increased height of the new generator. Lead time for the upgrade kit was 6 weeks for me. Hopefully it is less now. I bought it months ago. A new power cable was made. A new ground cable went from the generator to the frame. The control cable was plug and play.

Exhaust required welding skills as I wanted the Onan muffler installed. The side exit exhaust was used and went straight to the original exhaust hanger. The original exhaust was discarded but you could use a section of it to make the new one.

The new generator hangs 1-1 1/2 inches lower but the new exhaust exits the side rather than the bottom so total ground clearance remains about the same.

The reduction in sound is amazing. Barely audible inside. Really happy with it. Instant start with the fuel injection. No carburetor, no slip rings. Should be more reliable. Fuel pump is external to the case which should make fuel pump failure easier to deal with.

Bottom line is if you can crimp ends on #2 copper cable you can do it yourself. A motorcycle jack is a help. You could make do with a floor jack and many Lynx blocks.

 

[booster]

Expensive, a bit, but in the big picture not all that bad. Plus an Onan service center that actually knew what they were doing


The old Onans were pretty much bad at everything except making electric power when they worked right. Noisy, shaky, orphans with ver limited part support anymore, plugging carbs, corroding slip rings, failed ignitions and fuel pumps, etc, etc, etc.



$5K is probably close to a big battery bank and extra alternator, but the genny covers more flexible options for those that need, or want, AC when not on shore power.


It is good that people finally have the option of a quiet and efficient Onan.

 

[Bud-ClassB]

"$5K is probably close to a big battery bank and extra alternator, but the genny covers more flexible options for those that need, or want, AC when not on shore power.


So booster, is the Pleasureway solution make sense?

Bud

 

[booster]

"$5K is probably close to a big battery bank and extra alternator, but the genny covers more flexible options for those that need, or want, AC when not on shore power.


So booster, is the Pleasureway solution make sense?

Bud

What Pleasure-way solution are you referring to?

If you are talking about their current 600ah of battery, Onan generator together setup, absolutely it does, but if you doing offgrid and moving much at all, I would also want more alternator charging with a 600ah battery bank. The Transits would be a natural for that because of the factory second alternator option. If you weren't in need of AC, you would not need to run the gneerator, but you would need the bigger alternator then unless you drive long distances.

600ah of battery and 300 watts of solar will cover pretty much everything except AC when not on shore power so you need the generator for that.

 

[jjrbus]

I would be happy with only 5 hours labor. Hopefully the new Onan will be far superior to the old ones.

 

[hbn7hj]

I would be happy with only 5 hours labor. Hopefully the new Onan will be far superior to the old ones.

It appears to be. For reasons I don’t understand the charge rate into a 100AH lithium battery increased from around 25 amps with the KV to 50 amps. Changing out an Onan KY generator to a 4000i increased the charge rate into 600AH of lithium battery from 100 amps to 170 amps. Certainly happy with the increased charge rate.

The 2800i is much quieter. Can barely hear it inside. I have no clue what spare parts to carry. The KV went through a few fuel pumps.

 

[booster]

It appears to be. For reasons I don’t understand the charge rate into a 100AH lithium battery increased from around 25 amps with the KV to 50 amps. Changing out an Onan KY generator to a 4000i increased the charge rate into 600AH of lithium battery from 100 amps to 170 amps. Certainly happy with the increased charge rate.

The 2800i is much quieter. Can barely hear it inside. I have no clue what spare parts to carry. The KV went through a few fuel pumps.

It probably has to do with your shore/generator coach battery charger in relation to the generator. I am pretty sure that the waveform from an inverter generator is going to be somewhat different than from a constant speed (alledgedly) generator. Of the chargers I have had around, some were pretty sensitive to input voltage also compared to others which may have to do with their design as perhaps a big heavy old transformer charger reacts differently to the two waveforms going in than a more modern charger would. Heck, it could be as simple as you had a high resistance connection from the old generator and it got fixed with the new wiring.


Whatever did it, sit back and enjoy it. It is very refreshing to see something related to Onan that turned out well and quite reasonably priced.

 

[RT-NY]

2003 Roadtrek Chevy 190P

Do you think that the job would be about the same in a 1999 Roadtrek Dodge 170? There is much less space back there than in the 190, I think -- the generator is right up against the propane tank on the driver's side. But you say that the new generator is less wide so perhaps it would work? Is the exhaust on the passenger's side or the driver's side?

 

[hbn7hj]

Exhaust is on the Driver’s side with the service door facing aft.

 

[RT-NY]

Exhaust is on the Driver’s side with the service door facing aft.

I fear that mean it might not fit in the 170 from 1998-2003 because of the propane tank.

 

[booster]

Onan probably has a fully dimensioned drawing on their website for the generator and adapters. At least in the past, that was common there, but I haven't looked lately.

 

[hbn7hj]

It will fit. The exhaust can also come out the bottom. Worst case the installer may need some welding or tube bending skills.

 

[RT-NY]

It will fit. The exhaust can also come out the bottom. Worst case the installer may need some welding or tube bending skills.

Exhaust out of the bottom would probably work. Do you think that heat might be an issue so close to the propane tank? Maybe the mounting bracket might act as something of a heat shield. The driver's side of the KV is the air intake, so I am guessing it is cooler.

 

[nicaland]

Looks like a very easy install, and well done as well. I think it's really great that Onan has significantly upped the game, and totally agree with Booster that if you ever want to rely on AC when you're boondocking Then spend your 5K on this power option.

Every inch of ground clearance matters to me, but then I also occasionally drive on Jeep trails and such. Sure would be easy to install a little bashplate for that expensive machine!