Onan 7500QD in front storage compartment? Am I delusional? - Page 2

notanlines · 08-06-2021, 12:37 PM

"if a fuel cell fits in the front storage with the generator" Uh, no, no, no. Not enough room AND no way I want my family to sleep 6 feet from a generator with 20 gallons of diesel fuel next to the generator. Bad, bad idea.

wiredgeorge · 08-06-2021, 02:02 PM

Something to think about when putting together necessary wattage by adding electrical components... the A/Cs take quite a bit more electricity to start. Folks have added a soft starting gizmo to avoid the initial high start up electrical demand. I suspect using the soft start gizmos on your A/C units and starting one at a time would allow a somewhat smaller generator capacity to be used.

immortl · 08-09-2021, 09:43 AM

So no way I would put gas in the same bay as the generator. I am maybe willing to entertain diesel, due to less volatility, but overall, probably not the brightest idea either way. From what I've read, some have put them in the same bay with a divider between them and Alfa, back in the day, seems to have put them in the same bay as well (based on reading, haven't seen any pictures). I am really hoping there is room to put a fuel cell somewhere underneath the trailer, preferably somewhere close to the axles. I'll have a better idea when I get to the trailer in a few weeks.

Those soft starts seem interesting and I'm going to check them out too.

Thanks,
Joe

Ken / Claudia · 08-09-2021, 10:35 AM

My thoughts are fuel carried inside any vehicle is a bad idea. Outside much better but think about where and what other protections it may need. Under trailer it's exposed to road debris hitting it. As an example: Buddy showed up last month with TV and RV. A 18 wheeler blew a tire right in front of him. He could not avoid a big part of it from hitting his truck it then went under the truck and than where would it go next?. It bounced along and hit the underside of his TT several times. A impact split a gray tank that now needs replaced.

dutchmensport · 08-09-2021, 10:48 AM

Not telling how to do it, just simple observations here. If you use a fuel tank some where on-board the camper (gas or diesel), wherever you put it, it will need to be vented also. If in a compartment inside the camper, you'll need to figure a way to vent it to an outside wall, or under the trailer, or somewhere. Just another item to consider.

Pete::51 · 08-12-2021, 11:05 AM

Have you checked the specs for the generator prep package? Our last RV was a
Dutchman toyhauler. It was prepped for a generator and included a 30 gal. fuel tank mounted between the frame rails at the back of the trailer. It was complete with a fuel line from the tank to the generator compartment as well as a pump to refuel the toys.

notanlines · 08-12-2021, 11:21 AM

Pete, regretfully, generator-wise, his is not a toy hauler.

Bandit12 · 08-12-2021, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dutchmensport

Water weighs in at 8 pounds a gallon. I imagine diesel fuel weighs about the same.

At 16 gallons you are also adding another 128 pounds. At 20 gallons you are adding 160 pounds of weight in addition to the existing 420 pounds for the generator. And although it might not be much, how much does the actual fuel tank weigh empty?

It's something else you need to consider.

Diesel and jet fuel are very much alike in their weight and specific gravity. JP-8 weighs 6.6 pounds per gallon and diesel is about the same at just under 7 pounds per gallon. For rough approximations just use 7 pounds per gallon as a base line and go from there. You'll be overestimating but not by much.

immortl · 08-13-2021, 07:31 PM

So the trailer isn't a toy hauler by standard definitions of today. It sort of is in that it has a dedicated garage/bonus room in the rear, but it's a side load, the ramp door opens down to the passenger side and the garage is the width of the trailer (just enough for her Harley) and a tick under 5' wide, when looking at it perpendicular to the axis of the trailer. It really was just about perfect for what we were looking for. Doesn't take much away from regular living space, provides way to take wife's Harley along, and can be my office for work when stationary. All that said, while is supposedly has a generator prep package, I don't believe there is a fuel tank for it. The factory option was for a LP generator.

Here is the floorplan.

Point noted for protecting any fuel cell that ends up under the RV. Skid plates are now part of that plan if that's how it works out. Same for the venting, thanks for pointing that out. Was talking with my diesel mechanic the other day and he reminded me to make sure to run the exhaust out the driver's side of the trailer. Wish I had the trailer out here, I would have traded him IT services for assistance with setting this all up. Perhaps I'll haul it back out to MT and waive a few invoices for him.

Thanks,
Joe

**flybouy** · 08-13-2021, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bandit12

Diesel and jet fuel are very much alike in their weight and specific gravity. JP-8 weighs 6.6 pounds per gallon and diesel is about the same at just under 7 pounds per gallon. For rough approximations just use 7 pounds per gallon as a base line and go from there. You'll be overestimating but not by much.

Depends on the temperature IIRC. AVGAS 110LL at 15° C 6.01 lbs./U.S. gal. Density of avgas (all grades) at -40° C: 6.41 lbs./U.S. gal Don't ask me why I can remember that....

Bandit12 · 08-13-2021, 08:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flybouy

Depends on the temperature IIRC. AVGAS 110LL at 15° C 6.01 lbs./U.S. gal. Density of avgas (all grades) at -40° C: 6.41 lbs./U.S. gal Don't ask me why I can remember that....

Gas and diesel are affected differently by temperature. Even though I retired from the USAF over 21 years ago, and it's been at least 24 years since I sat at the engineer's panel for a refuel, I remember the pit carts or trucks we got fueled from listed everything in gallons and the airplane measured fuel in pounds. I remember having to do the math from the POL slips to confirm we got the fuel on the airplane we were being billed for. When you're fueling a C-5 airplane from 70,000 lbs to 300,000 lbs, you kinda want to make sure you got it right.

wiredgeorge · 08-14-2021, 07:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by immortl

So the trailer isn't a toy hauler by standard definitions of today. It sort of is in that it has a dedicated garage/bonus room in the rear, but it's a side load, the ramp door opens down to the passenger side and the garage is the width of the trailer (just enough for her Harley) and a tick under 5' wide, when looking at it perpendicular to the axis of the trailer. It really was just about perfect for what we were looking for. Doesn't take much away from regular living space, provides way to take wife's Harley along, and can be my office for work when stationary. All that said, while is supposedly has a generator prep package, I don't believe there is a fuel tank for it. The factory option was for a LP generator.

Here is the floorplan.

Point noted for protecting any fuel cell that ends up under the RV. Skid plates are now part of that plan if that's how it works out. Same for the venting, thanks for pointing that out. Was talking with my diesel mechanic the other day and he reminded me to make sure to run the exhaust out the driver's side of the trailer. Wish I had the trailer out here, I would have traded him IT services for assistance with setting this all up. Perhaps I'll haul it back out to MT and waive a few invoices for him.

Thanks,
Joe

When you go to put that Harley in that toy hauler side load, watch going over the place where the ramp meets the floor as the Harley will very likely drag. I had to put 4x4 blocks under the ramp end so the angle wasn't as steep at the transition. I am sure there are better ways to do it than 4x4s. I also suspect that your larger toy hauler will be higher than my little one that I had (Forest River) making the angle more acute.

immortl · 08-14-2021, 04:31 PM

Yes, I've been thinking about that and suspect we'll have to work on the angles a bit. We had to work on them with just the low utility trailer we used to pick the bike up a few years ago.

I'm planning on putting in a winch to help with loading/unloading so it'll be transitioning slow and controlled. We looked at one where the owner had put in a winch to assist with the loading of his golf cart he kept in there and I really liked that idea. It is one of the no negotiating upgrades with the wife. It's just going to get done. I do not want her going down with a steep angle, nor going through the far side of the garage. The space is going to be somewhat tight with her bike. I want the loading and unloading to be slow and boring, all the time.

Thanks,
Joe

moparmad · 08-24-2021, 05:08 AM

you should have a basic cut out on the bottom floor drivers side for a gen. a gen prep is just sheet metal box that they put in with the transfer switch. nothing else. well at least that's what mine came with. you can make a gen box fairly easily. I was going to go with the QD gen but the price was a bit high for me. I went with a 7kv fuel injection version and put a 24 gallon boat tank next to it and put the vent down the landing jack hole. that left me enough room for 4 lifetime 6 volt Lt "tall version batteries which gave me 800 amp hours. the lithium was a bit too much but will be switching when the price drops. then I installed a bilge gasoline vapor detector in the compartment which first warning is a fan that vents out the bottom of gen box and if it persists it sounds an alarm. then hooked up an xantrex 6k inverter set up with auto start for the gen. works great. have this for 4 years now and not once did the hydrocarbon alarm or fan has had to come on. If you think about it. the toy haulers have on board fuel tanks that vent to atmosphere for years until recently they put on evap systems for emissions reasons only. there are tons of ways to do it. but one thing for sure is one button and forget it style camping has its benefits.

You may also like: