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When your old RV Onan quits—maybe right in the middle of your trip—this direct replacement brings back quiet, reliable power for your RV AC, fridge, and more, so you can keep exploring with all the comforts of home, no hookups required.
If your old generator finally gave out, this Onan QD 6000 fits in the same spot as your original. You'll still need to hook up the fuel line, electrical, and exhaust, but the major work is already done for you. Enjoy the comforts you count on—morning coffee, fully charged devices, and lights on at any hour. Plus, it has enough power to run two 15,000 BTU air conditioners at once, so you can beat the summer heat and stay comfortable wherever you park.
After a long drive or when the weather turns wet and rainy, nobody wants to wrestle with a bulky generator. With one-touch start, automatic timed glow plugs, and remote switching capability, powering up is always simple, rain or shine. All you have to do is press the power button and relax. And the built-in shutoffs handle low oil, overloads, and engine quirks automatically, so you can settle in for the night with your fridge cold, your CPAP on, and no worries about unexpected shutdowns.
This generator uses sound-dampening technology and a special muffler to help keep things peaceful. You won't have to raise your voice for campfire stories, cut conversations short, or lose sleep to engine noise. It also meets National Park Service noise guidelines, so you can experience brilliant fall foliage in the Great Smoky Mountains or visit the steaming geysers at Yellowstone without worry.
From routine oil changes to swapping out the air filter, service is straightforward. No need to be a mechanic—just basic tools and a few minutes are all it takes to keep things running strong for years to come. And with built-in self-diagnostic capability, troubleshooting issues is faster and easier so you can spend less time on maintenance.
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Videos are provided as a guide only. Refer to manufacturer installation instructions and specs for complete information.
Hi, everyone. Steve here with etrailer.com. Today we're looking at our Cummins Onan Quiet Series Onboard RV Generator, 6,000 watts running on diesel. So, folks, this is going to be a direct replacement for the one you already have in your RV, or motor home, trailer, whatnot. Make sure the dimensions match up to what you have or that this can at least fit into the space you have and that the weight and everything is going to be supported safely. Now that being said, this should install and hook up right where the old one did.
Make sure that you're checking all those dimensions, as I mentioned. If you don't wanna tackle this job, maybe it's out of your spec of things you can do, no problem, check out etrailer.com. On our homepage, use our dealer locator tool. We can help find someone near you that can do the installation for you. Now, getting into the unit, again, folks, this is going to be an extra quiet operation.
It has soundproof dampening, and an enclosed muffler to help quiet it. Now, coming down from the top, I wanna show you, I removed the four bolts that hold this access panel in place. Let me just get this off here. First thing you're gonna notice, about an inch of insulation, that's that sound dampening insulation. It's not just here on this access port, it goes all the way around the whole case, front, back, side, everything.
But I wanted to point out here, that is your lift point. You can put a chain underneath there, a hook, and use that to lift this whenever you have to replace the unit or move it or whatever you have to do for maintenance, those kind of things. So I want to point that out right away, from the front. And this also uses a USDA spark arrestor muffler, meaning it's safe for National Forests. It's gonna be quieter at days and nights alike, so that's gonna be nice, keeping everything in compliant, and for the quietness.
It has been built reliable, so it's made for the long haul. Again, maybe yours is outdated, maybe it's just time to upgrade, whatever the case may be, this will get you covered. Again, running on diesel power. Now I do want to come here to the front. As you can see, you've got a coolant fill cap here, excuse me, and you have your oil dipstick and fill here. You simply twist that and then you can pull it out, it is on a cable, I'm not gonna pull it all the way out, it goes down there pretty far. It does come with oil from the factory installed. So just double-check everything when you get it the first time, or whoever's installing it. You have your pre-start here, now again, this is diesel, so this does have a built-in automatic time glow plug to give you a quick, easy start. It's a 12-volt start. And then you have your stop. You have your hours meter here obviously, and then your on-off main switch here as well for the power. Now this guy right here, behind this access panel is gonna be a couple different things. So let me give you a picture of that. The bottom right hand corner, you can see behind this access panel, that's where the main coolant to your radiator, the tube goes, along with a couple inline fuses that are behind that access panel as well. Now the bottom left hand picture, that's gonna be on the right side of the generator, if you're facing the front here in a second. That's gonna be your fuel line, return, and main fuel line entrance. And then of course your battery hookups right there as well. So again, those would be on the other side. Now, right back here, this guy that keeps coming off on me, I took the two bolts out that hold this access panel in place, that is where your main harness is gonna plug into. And this will plug into the existing harness that's inside of your motor home, coach, trailer, and allows you to remote start it from inside there. It does have a grommet on here. You got a couple different options, it looks like, as far as popping out, and then being able to put that in place. And inside of there, on that top left hand photo, you can see that rectangular black box. That's gonna be where your supply hookup lines and those kind of things go, as far as where those go and all that. So that's what those are for. Now, coming back from the bottom up. So the bottom right hand corner, that's gonna be a photo from underneath this big unit. The bottom left is gonna be your main oil drain plug. The top left is your coolant plug. And the top right is your muffler hookup from underneath. You do get an included gasket to replace your preexisting muffler, which will just hook right back into place on this particular one. So again, no new muffler included, as far as the actual pipe of the muffler, the tail pipe, rather, you'll have to use your old one, which shouldn't be a big deal. It's gonna be pre-routed the way you need to for your hookup anyways. So, folks, from routine maintenance, oil changes, filters, all those kind of service things, you don't have to be a mechanic, you can do that stuff yourself. I'm really confident you can, honestly. So you don't need any special tools, you just need to take some time, read the instructions. It's as simple as changing out the oil and filter, air filter, and those kind of things, and some basic maintenance. It does come with built-in self-diagnostic capabilities, so troubleshooting issues is faster and easier. So you're gonna spend less time on maintenance as well. And it even has safeties built into it. So, like automatic shutoff for low oil, overloaded system, and those kind of things. So you can relax and have that peace of mind that it's going to basically shut itself down in those events if it needs to. Once again, it runs on 12 volts, as far as the start part, and then diesel is the main source of fuel. Well, folks, I think that's gonna wrap it up for our quick look together. Again, I'm Steven, thanks so much for your time. I hope this information's been helpful. Have a good one.
Kate F- Product Enthusiast at etrailer.com
If you’re someone who loves the mountains as much as I do, camping off-grid, chasing cool mornings, and staying comfy in the heat of the day then the Onan QD 6000 might just be your perfect travel buddy.
This generator really shines in high elevation camping, which is something I get asked about a lot. Folks want to know things like, “Will my generator actually work up at 8,000 feet?” And the QD 6000 honestly holds up great. It’s diesel-powered, liquid-cooled, and automatically adjusts engine speed based on your load, which helps it stay efficient even when the air gets thin and dry.
One of my favorite things about this generator is how surprisingly quiet it is for a diesel. You can sit outside with your morning coffee, enjoying the sunrise and not feel like you're camped next to a lawn mower.
It’s also ready for those crisp mountain mornings we all love. The built-in glow plugs make cold starts easier, and if you’re camping where temps dip below freezing, just add a diesel anti-gel additive to your tank. That small step makes a big difference and helps your generator keep doing its job.
If you're not sure whether the QD 6000 or the 8000 would be better for your setup, feel free to reach out, I’d love to help you find the best fit for how and where you camp.
Chris R-Product Enthusiast at etrailer.com
If you’re boondocking in places like Twin Lakes, CO or Flagstaff, AZ, and running a diesel Class C like the Tiffin Wayfarer 25RW, the Onan QD 6000 is a great fit. It’s built for both high elevation and hot temps, which is exactly what you run into in those mountain and high desert spots.
All generators lose a bit of power at altitude, about 3 to 4% per 1,000 feet, but this one holds up better than most. It’s liquid-cooled, diesel-powered, and adjusts engine speed based on your load, which helps when you're running things like two A/C units, a fridge, and a microwave. Just be smart with your power, and soft start kits on the A/Cs make a big difference.
It’s also quiet enough for national parks, and the built-in spark arrestor makes it safe for national forests and dry camping out west.
If you want a generator that handles elevation, thin air, summer heat, and powers what you need without breaking a sweat, the QD 6000 is one I always recommend.
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Rob W.
7/7/2025
Hi Kate, I really need help here. I’ve got a Tiffin Phaeton 40 IH, and we do a lot of dry camping, I know we have 3 A/C units, a residential fridge, and I think our hot water and heat run off a system called Aqua-Hot? We usually like to run the microwave, charge devices, stuff like that. I’m trying to figure out if the Onan QD 6000 would be enough for what we need, or if I should be looking at the 8000 watt model instead. I just don’t want to overload it or have to keep turning things off and on. Any advice?