Gaurdian RV 75D - any good?

Brian Diehl · October 02, 2013, 07:28:16 PM

Anyone have any experience with the Gaurdian brand RV diesel generators? I have the opportunity to pick up a 7500 watt unit for a fairly good price. What say ye?

Oonrahnjay · October 02, 2013, 08:43:20 PM

Quote from: Brian Diehl on October 02, 2013, 07:28:16 PMAnyone have any experience with the Gaurdian brand RV diesel generators? I have the opportunity to pick up a 7500 watt unit for a fairly good price. What say ye?

Absolutely no experience or knowledge, but the website leaves me with no confidence. There's talk of how the choke works and spark plugs on a diesel generator. I'm sure that what somebody did was just graft usual verbage from other (more common) models but if they're that careless on a website, how careful will they be with customer service -- or even building them in the first place. And poor command of the website could mean poor English ... and I'm not sure how confident I'd be in an off-brand, off-supported foreign product.

On the other hand, the price is good. But price isn't everything. BH NC USA

bevans6 · October 03, 2013, 03:30:05 AM

It's a Generac generator, Guardian is one of their brands. Three cylinder diesel, liquid cooled, self-contained in a box, no reason it shouldn't be OK. I would want to hear it run, since I was able to find no sound level specification, but it runs at 1950 rpm so has every chance of being pretty quiet.

Brian

luvrbus · October 03, 2013, 05:07:59 AM

I have a friend that has that generator in a Eagle his is belt driven it has not given him any trouble except 1 belt over the years very quite

They did get a bad rap when Briggs and Stration owned the company but there are lot of those around in RV's

Brian Diehl · October 07, 2013, 06:30:57 AM

I ended up buying the generator. It has 3 tenths of an hour on it - all factory time. Some diesel and a battery and it fired right up. Power output was stable with a small load and no load. The gentleman I purchased it from is looking to buy himself a bus to live in. I mentioned the board to him. Maybe he will be joining in the future as his purchase plans become solidified.

RickB · October 07, 2013, 04:51:11 PM

Brian,

I'm not sure if you know it or not but we're selling our bus. If your friend is interested give him my contact info.

The genet I have is a generac 7500 standalone unit without the quiet box. Kinda noisy but pretty darn reliable. It's a kubota diesel engine.

Hope you and the family are fantastic. Miss you guys.

Rick

wg4t50 · October 07, 2013, 06:02:48 PM

Being a Generac Dealer, I would highly recommend you steer clear of it, just to mention a few areas of concern, the controls are not sturdy, vibrate loose, rotor weak, starter and belt driven 12 v alternator, the best part the engine is the Perkins, that part seems to do fairly good.. I would never depend on that model nor a Generac in my anything, I find the best bang for the buck is the Power Tech out of Orlando.

Nearly forgot, I have a fairly new . in used hours, under 100, is about 15 yr old sitting, surely the fuel system is screwed up by now. otherwise a good engine, bad rest of it. Will find the scrap yard sooner oir later.
Do what makes you happy.

luvrbus · October 07, 2013, 06:08:24 PM

Dave a ? why are you a Generac dealer

wg4t50 · October 08, 2013, 12:02:24 AM

That is a great ? I have been in the generator game over 40 yrs, abt 15 yrs ago, I gave it a go for a cheaper choice, boy was that a mistake, yes it did sell well, but the service side became unreasonable. Every power outage every Generac had failed for one reason or other, the Onan/Cummins units were seldom a problem, batteries mostly.
Today, I have not sold a Generac for over a year, that is great for us. Sell many Onan/Cummins, generally keep 3-5 on order, this month, expect a 250 kw, 60 kw, 30 kw and a 25 kw to arrive, not bad for a one horse dumbass outfit that sells over a $ mil a year. I do laugh. Most of our business is commercial, comm, health & industry.
Generac, has the big budget for advertising, however their quality is still far from acceptical in my opinion.
The average home for the Onan/Cummins is over 3/4 mil $, the average for Generac would be the $150k to $500k or the wannabee gang.
My sales pitch, do you want one that the junk mane will get in 5-8 years, or one the grandkids fight over 30-40 yrs down the road ? Most see the light, some can not afford the better choice, so they stick with the Hugo junk and I see them 5 yrs later when they have had it with the Hugo / Generac.

I no longer play the RV / gasoline powerd units, stick with statinary, Nat Gas, LPGas or Diesel units up to 2MW.
I tell em, Do what makes you happy.
Cheers

luvrbus · October 08, 2013, 04:59:02 AM

No need to get your panties in a wad Dave I was just wanting to know if the generator was so bad why you were a dealer,he asked before he purchased the generator all this is a little late after he has already bought the unit IMO

have a nice day

Lin · October 08, 2013, 10:36:45 AM

Since Brian's use will only be a small fraction of what a commercial unit deals with, he still may get enough years good service from this unit to make it worthwhile. As the owner of a 40 year old Kohler gas generator that is still running strong, I certainly understand Dave's advice on quality. However, compromises to accommodate finances are generally very tempting to me.

luvrbus · October 08, 2013, 11:09:20 AM

I guess it all depends on what one sales like anything else fwiw I talked to 3 RV repair shops all 3 told me the Onan 7500 gives more problems than any generator in a RV and they sell the units

I know my Onan cost me over 3 grand to repair for cheap glue they used on the magnets that came loose and bombed the head but it wasn't their fault they said it was the supplier lol they bought the $#!%

wg4t50 · October 08, 2013, 12:42:47 PM

Great stuff, howsomever, its not my jock strap in a bind, why I laugh as all the bright bulbs that know it all.

We all have had many experiences, some good, some not so good.

RickB · October 09, 2013, 06:53:38 AM

FWIW, I have 4 friends with Onan quietpack gensets in their buses and I live in the state where they are designed and built. Three of the four have had numerous repeated major issues which Onan has always blamed on someone other than themselves that were involved in the "process" of subassemblies or vendors from other countries and therefor they have refused to warranty any of them. I have one friend, a gifted mechanic, who is close friends with one of the top R&D folks here at Onan who describes their equipment as extremely "issue prone". I have a generac and it has served me well, other than a few minor issues which can be expected if you own a bus that sits most winters and all of those issues were easily remedied. One of the folks I was referring to above, a well know musician from the area, likes to remind me he has more money into the 3 heads he has replaced in his 12k Onan than he does in the motor and transmission in his bus he has over 300k miles on.

Just thought the other side of the coin deserved a little attention...

Rick

belfert · October 09, 2013, 09:03:16 AM

Onan's warranty is supposed to cover the complete unit. They can't say they got bad parts from a supplier so they won't warranty that part. It is Onan's responsibility to get the supplier to replace the bad parts. If you buy a new Ford and your transmission fails under warranty Ford doesn't tell you they bought the transmission from a supplier so the customer is out of luck.

I hope Brian's Generac serves him well.