A modern Motorhome has all the conveniences of home. But, very few of these conveniences will operate without a source of electrical power. It is easy to take this power for granted. However, that could be fatal to your recreation goals. This subject of motor generators reminds me of the time I was camping at Calaveras Big Trees State Park, a couple of years ago. On the 3rd day or so, I went to fire up the generator and nothing happened. I didn't even get a click. My first thought was that I had a dead battery. But, a quick voltage check eliminated that option. I couldn't figure it out. We were going to leave the next day, so I just let it go until I got home. I needed time to think about it. I talked it over with my brother, and he said my gen-set had a centrifugal clutch that relies on momentum. This made sense to me, but I decided to go to an RV forum site for further advice. I got a response indicating that I should check and make sure that my crankshaft did not stop "top dead center". It seems that a motor generator uses a type of centrifugal clutch that will not work when the crank stops in this position... my older brother, Phil, had told me the same thing.
Old Growth Redwoods The solution was to put a socket on the crankshaft, bolt, and give it a pull. I did, and it turned the crank with a bang! It has been working fine ever since... Depending on where you are going in your Class C Motorhome, there are a couple of areas concerning your motor generator that needs attention. As an example, for every 1,000 ft in elevation that you travel, you will lose 3.5% of rated power. There is an adjustment on the gen-set to help compensate for high altitude running conditions. If you are going from high altitude to a lower altitude, you have to adjust in the opposite direction. You will find specific instructions on how to do this in your Operating Manual. 
A Motor Generator is a very complex piece of equipment. This is an item that I feel truly needs to be serviced by an expert technician. I am sure some of you out there, are capable of servicing your unit. That's fine. But for the rest of us, take it to an expert... less stress. Here's something to think about: when you are out exploring the country, are you staying within the temperature zone for your oil viscosity? For most of us, this probably isn't a real issue... as we try and stay in the warm areas but avoid places that are hot. Even so, if you are driving around a country as diverse as ours, you will, on occasion, find yourself in either a too hot or too cold of an area. When it comes to oil viscosity, if you can just figure out where you will be most of the time, it will not harm your generator or vehicle engine if you are out of tolerance once in a while. However, there may be some things to think about:
I don't change my own oil in my motor generator. I just run it in for service every 150 hours. However, there are some things that the average guy can do with his gen-set. You are going to determine exactly where you are running your unit, not a technician... As an example, under normal conditions, a filter change for an Onan 4000 is every 150 hours. If you know that you are going to be in a dusty environment, check and change your air filter more often. If you also know that you will be there for a prolonged period of time, bring extra filters. Then it's simply a matter of following the instructions in your Operating Manual. You would also want to inspect the motor generator's compartment. It may need to be cleaned up a bit... dust is an insulator. You want to make sure that your gen-set's cooling fins do not clog up. 
I was kicking around the Onan site and I came across a couple of thoughts. They are very insistent about the proper exercising of your Motor Generator. I normally run mine a minimum of 30 to 40 minutes a month with an air conditioner or heater running. It seems that I may not be doing enough... Onan's comments are:
Lack of exercise can cause moisture build-up and fuel system damage that make it run poorly. In fact, in as little as 30 days, the fuel in gasoline-powered generators can begin to break down into gums and varnishes that clog the fuel system. Fuel varnishing results in hard starting and surging. (A surging generator never settles at a stable operating speed.) To prevent such problems, we recommend running gasoline generators at a minimum of 50 percent capacity (2000-watts, or one air conditioner for a 4000-watt set) for two hours at least once every four weeks. A long two-hour exercise period is preferable to several short periods." I came across some other information that I thought was interesting. It seems Onan's experts are not supportive of exhaust extensions. Right off the top they say, "Cummins Power Generation has been unable to this date to identify any commercially available exhaust extension kit which meets reasonable standards for safely handling exhaust gases". 
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