A Genturi is a plastic extension to your generator exhaust pipe. Your Genturi might be a cheap copy, and it might melt. Be careful with your Genturi; yours might not be as good as my old one. A quick search of generator exhaust on Amazon turned up multiple items that looked like mine at about half the price of a real Camco-Gen-turi. That doesn’t mean a Camco Gen-Turi is better; it just means there are multiple copies, and some might not be as good as mine.
Originally published August 2020
My Camco Gen-Turi (Genturi) is the exhaust chimney your RV generator should have had from the factory. In nearly all cases, RV onboard generators vent to the side, from below your RV. The Genturi takes the generator exhaust from below the RV and directs it above the roof, where it is less likely to re-enter the RV.
Warning:
I have seen reports, and I have even seen a melted Genturi in person. It was labeled with the “official” Camco label and appeared to be authentic. Perhaps the plastic has been changed and can no longer withstand the exhaust temperatures. I have not had this issue, but mine is probably well over 10 years old.
As Genturi gets hot, it can be dangerous to touch. The bottom steel part gets very hot and will burn you or could start a fire.
Our RV came with the Genturi purchased by the previous owner, and we were happy to have it. The only thing we had to buy was the suction cups that attach the Genturi bungee cords to our window.
The Genturi came in three sections and is made from a grey PVC pipe with a steel exhaust extension. The air gap between the steel section mixes the exhaust gases with additional air, cooling the airflow in the chimney and hopefully preventing the pipe from melting. The steel section of the Gen-Turi gets as hot as a typical exhaust pipe.
In our experience, the claim of reduced noise from the generator is false. Generator noise from inside and outside the RV remains unchanged. However, the claim that placing the exhaust above the RV roofline reduces the likelihood of re-entry into the RV is 100% true. We can frequently smell our own exhaust when the Genturi is not installed.
Design notes
My only other complaint is that the Genuri design does not prevent a high wind from pushing the exhaust pipe next to the RV. This could be an issue, but it is only reasonable to expect it with the wind from the driver’s side of the RV. Since we will be here anytime the generator is running, I don’t anticipate this being a problem. Thus, as we said in the Navy, the Genturi is not sailor-proof. The Genturi also blocks access to the door behind the chimney, so you need to disassemble the chimney to reach that compartment.
I saw a metal Do-it-yourself copy of a Genturi that seemed to be made from scrap metal. It looked pretty rough, and I bet it was dangerously hot to the touch.
Camco makes the original Genturi, and usually, I think Camco products are okay. Typically, they make and sell low-end products at a reasonable price. In my opinion, the Genturi is a mid-tier product sold at a high price.
Do it yourself
I never knew how good a generator exhaust chimney was, and probably would never have installed one. Now that I know how good it is, if I ever need one again, then I would build it myself. If I made one, however, it would have been heavier, which in an RV is not a good thing. Here is a link to a build-it-yourself generator exhaust. Do it yourself RV I don’t know these people and haven’t read anything else they have done, but to me, this article seems to describe a product just as good as a Gen-Turi at way less than 25% of the retail price of a real Gen-Turi.
Other than our articles about Bad Roads for RVs, I usually don’t give out warnings, but since we originally published this article in 2020, I think a warning was warranted.
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