Issues out of the gate 2017 Georgetown 31B3

[bclinton]

Not a good start with my new Motorhome. Agreed to purchase on 1/29 and pickup at 0900 on 2/5. Got a call on 2/4 asking if it can be change to 1230 instead of 0900. No problem so far....I get there and they explained the Onan gen was not acting right and they tried to replace carb but no luck and they decided to drop a new one out of another MH and I will be ready to roll after I get the walk around and sign the papers. They moved one from another MH and it had issues. As soon as a load was connected to it it would act up. After 3 hours of waiting the tech basically was at his wits end. The owner said we could take it since it was just the generator and there was an ONAN dealer in my city that we could take it to. I said no way! I want everything functional. We finally drove back home 150 miles, so a 12 hour day and all I did was complete the purchase of a MH I do not have yet. The tire date on the MH is 2016. I am guessing that it sat on their lot for at least a year. I think I got a decent deal on it but that does me know good if I constantly have issues with it.

It is now 2 days later and I have not heard from them. It was a disappointing day....the salesman/owner would come by as we sat...only 10 minutes longer and you will be ready to go......basically all day.

[kenandterry]

Clearly another case of another dealer rushing to get his hands on your money without dedicating the proper resources and time to do it right.

They’ll always tell you they’ll fix it later when you compile the rest of your list.....but they never have the time to do it right the first time. I’m not sure why you completed the sale of the rig without driving it away. Now they have your money?

Remember that Ford F53 chassis are made well in advance of any number of RV manufacturers wanting to buy one to stick a house on it. The tire date is not that critical considering the the VIN of the Ford (when was it built?) and the VIN of the Georgetown.(mine were 2 years apart....but that’s a different story as to why)

[5picker]

You are not the first, we've heard stories here like this before.

I hope you didn't finalize the deal with items not repaired.

Once they get your money, then you have issues just like you are describing... two days, no call. They are on to other things and you are at the bottom of the list. They got what they wanted... your money.

Best of luck. It's now up to YOU to make sure things go the way you want them to.

[bclinton]

So I talked to the dealer and he said the gen is 100% right now. The problem was it was set to 50hz mode instead of 60hz. For any experts out there does that sound right and could running the gen at 50hz hurt anything in the motor home? We are heading back to pick it up and camp a couple of nights. He did offer to bring it to us Friday so I feel like he is trying to make good on the mishap.

[dbareford]

Dealer relationship is important, I bought my Georgetown GT3 from CW of Fredericksburg VA. They have been excellent. We did our PDI and noted some cosmetic issues so we took delivery and uses it for a month to shake out any other issues. Brought it back with a list if 12 items, they knocked them all out and brought the tech out so I could get details on a couple fixes. Had to bring it back for a recall. Again great service. VERY pleased with them.

[JimF]

Your sounds like our purchase experience. Our unit was not ready, the interior was filthy, got that way during their prep for sale. I told the dealer, and owner, I had a check in hand and your not getting a cent until it is completely cleaned, serviced and a PDi with corrections performed. We walked out, Yeah, one of those 120 mile one way trips. They didn’t have it ready for another week. Have been back to that dealer one time that was 6 years ago.

Good luck, don’t give them a cent until it’s right.

[bclinton]

Originally Posted by JimF

Your sounds like our purchase experience. Our unit was not ready, the interior was filthy, got that way during their prep for sale. I told the dealer, and owner, I had a check in hand and your not getting a cent until it is completely cleaned, serviced and a PDi with corrections performed. We walked out, Yeah, one of those 120 mile one way trips. They didn’t have it ready for another week. Have been back to that dealer one time that was 6 years ago.

Good luck, don’t give them a cent until it’s right.

Ours appeared ready except for the gen. To their credit they were upfront about the Gen issues and tried to make it right by dropping a brand new one out of another camper. We are going to spend 2 nights nearby and check everything out.

[5picker]

Back to your question... I don't suspect damage was done in the brief testing time the genset was on 50Hz instead of 60Hz. Those problems usually occur in 120v electric motors but could involve other things. If it ran for hours incorrectly, maybe but this is just an opinion.

Back in the day, many generators has a Hz meter on them and Hz would often fluctuate until you got the speed set correctly and even then would swing pretty far. This was pretty common on farm gennys and I never seen an issue.

I'd have them document that the genset had originally been set incorrectly and that way you CYA and be sure to test every electrical appliance before you leave.

[bclinton]

Originally Posted by 5picker

Back to your question... I don't suspect damage was done in the brief testing time the genset was on 50Hz instead of 60Hz. Those problems usually occur in 120v electric motors but could involve other things. If it ran for hours incorrectly, maybe but this is just an opinion.

Back in the day, many generators has a Hz meter on them and Hz would often fluctuate until you got the speed set correctly and even then would swing pretty far. This was pretty common on farm gennys and I never seen an issue.

I'd have them document that the genset had originally been set incorrectly and that way you CYA and be sure to test every electrical appliance before you leave.

I feel better! Thanks!

[kirkwilliams2049]

I would probe to see if maybe there was a short in the system - something doesn’t feel right about this

[awellis3]

Originally Posted by bclinton

To their credit they were upfront about the Gen issues and tried to make it right by dropping a brand new one out of another camper.

Yes. They were caught by surprise and were scrambling to save your trip and didn't see the forest 'cause all those trees were in the way. Swapping out a major component like that is almost unheard of. I think these guys are keepers.

[bclinton]

Originally Posted by awellis3

Yes. They were caught by surprise and were scrambling to save your trip and didn't see the forest 'cause all those trees were in the way. Swapping out a major component like that is almost unheard of. I think these guys are keepers.

Ya, I think you're right! When I called the owner back he said he wished he would have put me off a day or two until they go it right once they found out they had a problem but I was already on the way

[bclinton]

Good news! Picked it up yesterday and the gen is working like new (it should because it came out of a 2018 RV). Funny thing....they took me to it and it was plugged into shore power. They fired it up, it ran for about 30 seconds and would shut down. The poor guy has that look on his face like really! Turns out if it is plugged into power and no load on it will power down which makes sense. A tech came up and immediately found that and it ran fine. Other than a screw loose on the stove burner and missing the microwave vent hood vent covers no issues so far.

[Mr. Dan]

Thanks for reporting back. Looks like you're making significant progress.