Many people hit the road without a generator, but those drivers will generally be limited to camping in RV parks or electrically rigged campgrounds. Additionally, without an RV generator, you leave yourself subject to power outages at campgrounds due to poor weather or grid problems. In a pinch, an RV generator could really come in handy. If you’re out in the middle of nowhere, a little light and electricity go a long way.
This blog will detail how to perform routine and basic car and maintenance on your RV generator. It doesn’t matter if you hit the open road once a month – or once a year; routine maintenance is essential to keeping your generator working for years. We definitely recommend that you keep a notebook handy that details your maintenance schedule. Many people already keep these kinds of logs for oil changes on their cars or trucks, so this shouldn’t be too difficult. It will really come in handy to have reference material.
First things first, you need to clean your generator regularly. If you keep your generator clean, it will make noticing trouble spots that much easier. For example, a potential leak might not be spotted if the generator is covered in fluid. However, if you always maintain a clean generator, then these issues will be easy to spot.
Next, make sure to thoroughly inspect the exterior of your generator. If you see any crazy-loose wires or bolts, then we recommend bringing your generator in to a service shop for a professional to fix. If you notice that you have some clogged lines on your generator, use compressed air to try and clear the line.
We found a great excerpt from campingroadtrip.com which details how to change the oil on your generator…
“Get a bucket and place this right under the oil drain plug. This is the square-shaped plug located at the bottom of your RV generator. Open this using a crescent wrench and turn this counter-clockwise. Allow the oil to drain into the bucket. Once there is no more oil dripping, replace the oil drain plug, making sure that you seal this tightly. Pour the new oil through the oil fill plug located on the top of your generator, following the capacity instructions listed by the manufacturer of your portable generator. You can find this information in your RV generator’s manual.”
We also recommend that you add a fresh batch of fuel. Every generator manufacturer has different models than operate on either diesel, gasoline, or propane. If you haven’t refueled in over six months, then we definitely recommend this step. Fuel tends to cause problems for your generator if you leave the same fuel in the long periods. Consult your generator’s owner’s manual for specific instructions on how to refuel.
If you’re interested in learning more about the basics of RV maintenance and generator upkeep, continue reading our blog. We feature tons of great do-it-yourself tips and tricks every two weeks.
