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Old 08-17-2007, 02:37 PM   #1
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Can I mount a portable generator on the back of my bus?

I wanted to know if anyone has mounted a portable generator to the back of their bus. My idea was to build a rear deck and mount a generator. I'm wondering if all the bouncing the back end does will kill my generator? It will be mounted solid and theft resistant with a welded box,but will the bus bouncing mess it up? I dont have the space or money to buy an onan rv generator, so the portable one seemed to be the best idea for my limited needs. Thanks.

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Old 08-17-2007, 02:43 PM   #2
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Re: Can I mount a portable generator on the back of my bus?

I have seen many buses done like that, you can see lots of buses with rear decks in this album, I have also included a picture of the bus that has only a gennie mounted on the back.

http://www.skoolie.net/gallery2/v/Skoolies/Ragbrai2004

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Old 08-18-2007, 11:50 AM   #3
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Re: Can I mount a portable generator on the back of my bus?

Thanks for the picture Steve and thanks for the advice Bender. Can you buy an exhaust pipe like that or would I have to fabricate one?
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Old 08-20-2007, 03:04 PM   #4
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Re: Can I mount a portable generator on the back of my bus?

I think you could make a conduit like that yourself, that pipe is not hard to bend or you could just use angle fittings. Here is another bus which just has the gennie sitting on the deck.



I think mounting it in this position so the doors opens against the gennie makes more sense so that you can get in and out easier, but then you can't open the door all the way, what a decision!
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Old 08-20-2007, 07:31 PM   #5
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Re: Can I mount a portable generator on the back of my bus?

Running the wires through the wall is the easy part. I like the picture with the back deck. I'm thinking of about 8ft x 3ft deck with a ladder up to the roof rack. How are those good metal decks fastened to the roof? I see alot of pictures in your ragbrai album, but I can't see how it's done. I don't care for the ones that look like they're attached to the side of the bus between the windows. How do they attach it on the roof?
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Old 08-21-2007, 04:39 PM   #6
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Re: Can I mount a portable generator on the back of my bus?

They are bolted to the main roof ribs same place all those rivets that hold the skin on attach to.
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Old 08-21-2007, 08:12 PM   #7
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Re: Can I mount a portable generator on the back of my bus?

I tied my generator down to one of those $100 Wal-Mart receiver-hitch platforms and plugged the whole deal into the receiver hitch of the bus. The lines came in from the rear for power. The air flows back there are weird, so keep a close eye out for CO poisioning. I had the windows up (gennie powering the AC unit) but I still had a CO detector. It never went off, but Im not going to chance it.
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Old 08-23-2007, 05:51 PM   #8
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Re: Can I mount a portable generator on the back of my bus?

When you say bolted to the roof ribs, do you mean drill a hole through the rib an bolt it through to the inside of the bus or just screw it down to the rib? Sorry for the dumb question, but I want to do it right. Thanks
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Old 08-23-2007, 06:36 PM   #9
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Re: Can I mount a portable generator on the back of my bus?

Most that I have seen have been bolted. I am looking to only bolt thru the side, between the windows, to minimize the potential for leaking. I have not yet decided whether I will need a center support. It will depend on how substantial the steel that I get will be and how many fat guys I want to be able to support. Take a look in the pic gallery, there are many different ways to do it.
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