So, my generator on the RV broke down .. again. I am traveling in a 2019 Winnebago Outlook. This is my second RV. My first RV was a 2016 Winnebago Minni Winni (same RV Big Daddy Don Garlits had at the time — haha). Both RV’s I purchased brand new.
While I was in Georgia, my generator on the RV stopped working. It is a Onan QG 4000 Cummins.
I thought it was a fuel issue and so did a couple people I had look at it while I was at the race. So, when I left South Georgia Motorsports Park to head to Texas .. I stopped at the Cummins Dealer in Mobile, Alabama to pick up a fuel filter, fuel pump, spark plug and hell — give me the air filter too (might as well — not that it would cause an issue, but while I am here). To my surprise — it was a scramble to get parts — Covid, China Shipping — you name it. Whatever the excuse, they had to bend over backwards to get me out the door with what I needed — got everything except the air filter.
It was pouring rain and I drove about an hour and stopped in Biloxi, Mississippi and man was it BEAUTIFUL there! I stopped at this RV Park called Gulf Beach RV Resort. It was small, but clean, beautiful and literally across the street from a gorgeous white sandy beach. They also had a Waffle House on the property! Waffle House isn’t a 5-star restaurant or anything, but after traveling all day in the rain and fighting for parts to fix my generator, I was just happy to have a warm meal that I did not have to prepare as it was sun down by the time I was set up and parked.
Of course — I ordered like 3x the amount of food a grown man could ever eat — but I did take some hamburger patties back to Haze. He was happy.
Unfortunately, I only got to enjoy the beach for about 30 minutes when I took Haze for a walk after I wanted to pull an “Office Space” on my RV Generator, but nonetheless — I will definitely be back.
I slept the first night and the next morning, I was up at 8am and ready to rock — I need to fix this generator because we are heading to Odessa, Texas. It could be 40 degrees or 118 degrees when I get there. I don’t know, but I need power to the RV to save our food and charge computers, phones, etc. May need heat or AC because I am traveling with animals.
I was able to successfully change the fuel pump, filter and spark plug. The hardest part was because this is an on-board generator — there is little room — thankfully God blessed me with Simpson’s fingers and I was able to get my little stubs in there. There is this little black computer box that is a pain — but just remember when you unscrew the two front screws — there is a latch type deal holding it in and push it back and then pull up. Other than that it was a piece of cake.
Sadly, after my great YouTube Mechanic skills, the generator still was not firing up. When cranking it over, you could hear it trying to crank over really fast. Just to be sure, I pulled the fuel line off the carburetor and fired it up again…. fuel was coming off that hose quicker than a virgin’s prom dress. So, it was getting fuel.
I ended up calling a Cummins dealer that was local and got in touch with a rep named Jesse from On-Site Generator Services that moved around his schedule to come out that day to help me! I explained my situation, what I replaced, what was happening and that I needed to be in Odessa, Texas the following day. He came out and knew right away what happened… busted rocker arm.
Like I said before — parts are a big issues right now! Even for these generators! Luckily — he had a friend with a salvage yard to pull 2 rockers for me. Although that didn’t fix everything — One of the valves was damaged, but to take care of that, the whole unit would need to come out and the head needs to come off. I DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THAT — I need to be in Odessa, Texas tomorrow to park for an event. So he did what he could for me to get me up and running so I could get to the next event.
The fix could last a day — a week — a month — years — you just don’t know. What we did know is that eventually it will give out and the unit will need to come out. However — I made it to Texas!
BTW — Did you know that you are supposed to lash the vales on your RV Generator?
Thank you Jesse from On-Site Generator Services!