Generator almost goes airborne !

[Pedrodasdas]

Yap, beleive it or not, I almost lost my Onan generator.
Right after I fueled up, on my way back to the RV I could see the bottom part of the generator hanging under the Solera.

What happened is that the 3 tiny spot welding broke. Those 3 weld spots are all that retains the generator to the Solera frame.

Luckily enough, the generator was stopped by its own exhaust pipe. I just can not imagine the disastrous end if I had lost it on the highway.

I wish someone at FR is reading those post and I beleive there should be a recall to check that welding job.

I was also lucky to find a welder to put everything back in place.

Definitivly, there should be bolts and nuts to hold that angle iron to the frame, all the rest of the cage is bolts and nuts.

I have been VERY LUCKY, I wish the next one will also be.

[papap]

I'm in am in Alaska and my wife is taking it on a trip while I'm gone. You have me scared now.

[10Isola]

I posted on this a while back. I have a new G-Town. When I had it in the local shop they showed me how much play there was with the generator. You could sway the whole thing back and forth with two fingers. I was told by the dealer that this was that way on purpose to allow for the vibrations driving down the road. I agree with you that the angle iron alone is not sufficient. IMO there needs to be some sort of welded cross bar.

[Pedrodasdas]

Sorry to worry you Papap but it's better to prevent than repair or get into trouble.

As soon as possible, I will take the generator down and put at least 2 bolts trough those angle bar.

[KyDan]

Angle iron that is flexing "on purpose" will metal fatigue and crack
sooner or later.
This sounds like an accident waiting to happen.
Imagine if your generator fell out while in heavy traffic at highway speed?
People could easily be killed.
I suggest you report this defect to the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Recalls & Defects | National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

You might save someone's life!

[bclemens]

I have forwarded this posting on to engineering and production.

I do know that we are not allowed to weld to the Mercedes frame. So it should be bolted on...I'm going to go out on the line and take a look myself.

[KyDan]

Originally Posted by Pedrodasdas

As soon as possible, I will take the generator down and put at least 2 bolts trough those angle bar.

I also suggest you inspect these " angle bars" for any signs of cracking
each time you travel with your coach.
It should become just part of your regular "pre-flight" inspection.

I had a friend who totally restored an old 1960s era GMC motor coach.
It was stripped down to the frame and totally rebuilt and re-painted
all original. It was GORGEOUS!!
While crossing the Kansas planes on the interstate his generator exhaust
pipe broke off due to metal fatigue. They were running it to keep the roof
AC on during a hot spell. It caught fire and by the time they smelled smoke
the rear end of the coach was in flames.
They barely got stopped and got out before the entire coach was involved.
It was a total loss and it just defeated them. They took the insurance
money which was not enough and quit camping.

Be careful out there!

[Rugged Brown]

Originally Posted by bclemens

I have forwarded this posting on to engineering and production.

I do know that we are not allowed to weld to the Mercedes frame. So it should be bolted on...I'm going to go out on the line and take a look myself.

How did you make out with your inspection of "the Line". Interested to know.

[bclemens]

Originally Posted by Rugged Brown

How did you make out with your inspection of "the Line". Interested to know.

In Canada right now getting product feedback. Won't be back to the plant until next week.

I did inform production to be on the lookout.

[FR_Welder]

Any pics of the welds in question? As mentioned by someone earlier we arent allowed to weld on the actual frames of the Mercedes or Freightliner frames. So any pictures of the problem area would be extremely useful.