When Should You Buy A New Generator VanLife

Pamela Madore
Feb 25, 2023
3 min read

After throwing good money after bad, I decided I had to buy a new generator. It was a tail of woes and frustration until I couldn't stand it any longer. Let me tell you what I learned.

Ask Questions

If you are a solo female vanlifer this becomes even more important. I've heard way too many times "when you husband gets here we'll talk to him about it". If you read the manual (or watch from You Tube) before taking your van in for work, you will have a better understanding of what to ask. Know your model. Make sure they are specific in their answers. I don't care if they think I am a dumb-ass woman as long as I feel comfortable with them. And there is no shame in walking away. I recently did that.

Don't let them go to school on your dime

Just because it says on the door "repair shop" doesn't mean they know what they are doing. If you don't raise the whole van on a lift, you have to remove the spare tire to get to the generator out on my van. I knew I was in trouble when they came to ask me if I knew the trick to get the spare out.

I walked away on this one. The tech said "I've never done one like this. I'm going to have to look it up in the manual". Not on my dime buddy. Goodbye.

Don't be afraid to ask to speak to the technician

The service manager knows a lot but he isn't the one that is going to be working on your van. You can ask the tech if he has ever done one like this before. If he says no, ask him how he is going to overcome this problem. Ask the service manager to see if anyone else has done one before. Remember you are HIRING them to do a job. You are in control. Not them.

If you can't get through the gate keeper just walk.

Get an estimate

The things you are looking for is their cost per hour, the cost of the parts, and how long it will take. After looking at it, ask them what could change that would cause the estimate to go up. Be prepared for "we won't know until we get in there'. Ask them what the worst case scenario could be and decide if you want to proceed.

Pin them down as much as possible. This is your money and you need to know.

In my recent generator purchase, they quoted me 6 hours of labor. I thought that was a little high but I did know they were going to have to modify a couple of things to make it fit. When I got the bill they charged me for 4 hours of labor because the modifications were not that complicated. At $192 an hour, that made my day!

Set a limit on diagnostics

When you aren't really sure what the problem is give them every symptom like you are at the hospital. Then find out in list form, what the possible problems could be. Ask them what they are going to have to do to diagnose each one of these until they find the right one. When they say, "we will have to get in there to know", just give them an example. How long will it take you to diagnose if it needs a spark plug? How long will it take you to diagnose if I need a new engine?

I make this deadly mistake. I didn't ask them up front to give me scenarios. First, it was the spark plug. Then it was the coil. Then it was a part that Cummins didn't make anymore (I found a used one). $2300 later it was running but I knew it wasn't