DIY Genny Slide

[sledhead]

Don

thanks for the skateboard bearings Iidea as I want to build my own roll out for my ranger bed .

as for small genny I have a westinghouse I 2500 works great and good on gas + is very quiet .
only thing you need to do is change the oil to 100 % syn oil after brake-in and change the oil every 50 hrs as it only holds
.4 of a liter ( quart )
I use it lots

https://www.amazon.com/Westinghouse-Outdoor-Power-Equipment-iGen2500/dp/B09LRFNVKM

[Fred Mc]

If you use channel iron, you don't need tapered roller bearings. Regular ball bearings will work just fine. And the heavier the load the easier the slide will work.

[ktmossman]

You have faaaar more faith in skateboard bearings than I do...  I spend an inordinate amount of time on said bearings and I wouldn't trust them for A.) Any more weight than the standard use case (average human weight/4), B.) Use in a long-term high-vibration settings, C.) Significant temp swings, or D.) Exposure to significant dirt/debris.

They are pretty specifically engineered to purpose and don't take much to fail when pushed beyond that.  I know how many sets my daughter and I go through for "normal" use.

I'd look for something a little more industrial, like the bearings they use for the tracks in shipping facilities.  I think they are available in a very similar size.

[windtrader]

Agree there are far stronger and more durable bearing options. Given the design load, the usage pattern, and costs of bearings in a rack for a bus generator, it still offers high value in my book. I suspect in an average year, the bearings travel about 50 feet and say, there are 30 (2x15) to take the load, that is about 25 pounds each. shock of 3-4g equates to peak load of 100lbs. Seems a reasonable spec for the application.

[luvrbus]

My cam bearing are 1-1/4in in diameter and are rated at 900 lbs ea,you can buy cam follower bearing from 7 bucks that will carry the load,a skateboard wheel wouldn't survive long with the ceramic or steel ball bearings the cam follower rollers have needle bearings like a u joint

[Fred Mc]

I don't recall suggesting skateboard wheels. Four.

[luvrbus]

I don't recall suggesting skateboard wheels. Four.

You didn't Don has us skateboarding,anyways needle bearing carry a heavier load than a ball bearing,your wheel bearings are a big, tapered needle bearing sort of

[buswarrior]

Whatever materials one chooses, it is easy to only think about sliding it out, and designing for that brief moment...

The load on these parts is the generator bouncing/pounding/squatting on them the rest of the time, 24/7/365.

If it will roll out, it also can "bounce" , including an airborn drop, when finding the world's potholes, without vertical fastening.

Contact point of a ball bearing is mighty small.

And internet unbalanced reporting, nobody posts up the mangled mess of their failed slide, or what it took to extricate the generator after that went wrong. We only hear about the successes...

Generators are not light, they can wreck stuff. Gravity is not a fastener.

Happy coaching!
Buswarrior

[luvrbus]

Whatever materials one chooses, it is easy to only think about sliding it out, and designing for that brief moment...

The load on these parts is the generator bouncing/pounding/squatting on them the rest of the time, 24/7/365.

If it will roll out, it also can "bounce" , including an airborn drop, when finding the world's potholes, without vertical fastening.

Contact point of a ball bearing is mighty small.

And internet unbalanced reporting, nobody posts up the mangled mess of their failed slide, or what it took to extricate the generator after that went wrong. We only hear about the successes...

Generators are not light, they can wreck stuff. Gravity is not a fastener.

Happy coaching!
Buswarrior

They have to have a safety latch it is not a pretty sight when one takes a baggage door off turning a corner.Mine is a little different with the actuator it pulls against 2 rubber stops and a saftey bar is released by the actuator, it really is a simple design a spring loaded bar that drops in a slot and a latch that the actuator pulls to release and rolls the generator out.My Eagle used 2 pins sometimes they were a pita to line up

[epretot]

They have to have a safety latch it is not a pretty sight when one takes a baggage door off turning a corner.

To your point:

I'm using the old AC compartment. That door has zero chance of stopping the generator.

The pin was something I considered. Or simply a bolt. Not a big deal to thread out every so often.

[luvrbus]

A bolt one could tighten against some type rubber mount would be best in my opinion the pins were a pain.When you install a generator on a slide, they do transfer more vibration and noise without being tight against the roll out ,my 12500 QD is 47 DB rolled in and 65 DB rolled out from the rubber stops. I am thankful it has a electric fan it would be a major job to install belts for fan,lol it is bad enough to change a air filter and fuel filter inside the sound box,it is for sure it wasn't one of Cummins best designs, my son's 8000QD is easy you can do everything for servicing from the bottom

[silversport]

eight years ago I build this hush box for the genset. There wasn't enough height for rollers, I used C channel to slide
and mount the unit in.  I can do the maintains without moving the genset, in that time I only needed to pull it out once, remove four bolts & exhaust pipe,  with a come along & dolly it's out in less then a half hour.

[luvrbus]

eight years ago I build this hush box for the genset. There wasn't enough height for rollers, I used C channel to slide
and mount the unit in.  I can do the maintains without moving the genset, in that time I only needed to pull it out once, remove four bolts & exhaust pipe,  with a come along & dolly it's out in less then a half hour.

When generators are mounted that way they are a lot easier to cantilever out than one mounted length wise with the bus, to cantilever a sideways mounted generator takes more design since the generator head and engine both come out at the same time and the head doesn't help with the balance. With a sideways mount they can be designed where you need not disconnect anything,Kay's and Mike MCI 8 ONAN sideway mount just roll out so does mine