Do you use Silver leaf on you DP?

[WyoFree]

I'd not heard of Silver Leaf before, or more likely I saw it and didn't recognize it for what it is? From what I understand it monitors how the diesel is functioning but does it do more than that?

Is it anything like the 5 Star Tuner for gassers that will actually "tune" the engine?

What does it do and for those who have it what do you think of it? And maybe most important is it approved by Cummins?

[jimmy braden]

basically its a digital read out of gauges -
VMSpc | SilverLeaf Electronics, Inc.

Yes, makes good use of a 7 inch netbook.

[soonerdave]

Silver Leaf is an electronic dash board used in several higher end DP's. There are no actual gauges, it is an electronic display, similar to tablet that can be customized to show many different parameters on the coach. Want your tach in the center, move it there, it can pretty much be arranged any way the owner wants.

[WyoFree]

Does it do anything more than look perdy?

[jimmy braden]

ah, it can give audible alerts for temps or oil pressure. Can it safe your bottom end ? maybe..

[jacwjames]

On my coach it will monitor any input that the engine and transmission computers put out.

I monitor

Oil pressure
Engine Temp
Turbo boost
Volts

Also shows what gear I am in.

Has a trip monitor for miles, fuel consumption, fuel reserve, and an estimate of miles I can still drive.

There are a number of other things you can monitor, just a matter of what you want to look at.

As stated it will also alarm on key perimeters such as temp and oil pressure. The newest version will also warn and track any engine faults.

[WyoFree]

The cockpit offers most of that information but this organized it better? Is it hard wired or automated?

It does nothing about tuning the engine?

[Dutch Star Don]

"WyoFree".....Let's back up a little. First, Silverleaf has been around for awhile and initially made engine monitors that mounted on your dash. They were about the size of a thick cigar box. The monitor attached to your motor home version of an OBDII port (round "J" port on RV's). It got its information directly from the engine computer via the port, just like a mechanic would when connecting a computer to read codes. The reason people bought them was to get a real reading of what their engine and trans was doing, versus an idiot light or an inaccurate gauge. I bought mine because my Monaco transmission gauge never moved more than a quarter inch and all the other gauges were just scales with no numbers.

They later expanded to digital dashes on high end RV's (about $10K) and full coach management systems like the old Aladin system that Monaco used. It can monitor everything from tire pressure to water tank levels.

Their engine monitors, the ones in a box, were expensive. Eventually, they offered the computer program to read your engine information for free, just download it from their website, but in order to connect your computer to the "J" port, you needed to buy their cable, about $300. Here is a link: https://www.rvupgradestore.com/VMS-t...t-p/vmspc6.htm

I've been using the Silverleaf system for over 8 years. I DO NOT start my coach without the program running. You can use anything from a full size laptop to a tablet to display the program. You can use a USB connection or they now have a Bluetooth connection.

Years ago, I bought a small 8" HP laptop and mounted it on the left side of my dash. I made sure the model I bought had an available 12volt connector so I wouldn't have to worry about keeping it powered with 110 voltage.

Once you download their program, you create your screen and monitor ANYTHING that the Cummins computer monitors. You can have as many gauges as you want. They can be analog, digital, or even a bar graph. You can choose their color and size. You can also turn on alarms for things like oil pressure.

There are some other cool features. The program will estimate Rolling MPG, Rolling Horse Power, Rolling Torque and percentage of engine power. I run three odometers on mine. One odometer I change each fill up and tells me my mpg and how many gallons I should take at fuel up. The second odometer does the same thing, but I don't clear it until the trip is over, giving me total trip mileage, mpg and fuel used. The third odometer is a lifetime one, that tells me the mileage and fuel usage since the first time the coach started when new.

You can literally spend hours designing your own screen without buying their cord. You can get the program here :VMSpc | SilverLeaf Electronics, Inc.

It doesn't do any engine tuning, but you can read some basic engine codes. It also has features like a Maintenance Log. Download the VMSpc program and play with it on your computer.

Here is my screen setup. I'm old school and I like using the laptop with a keyboard. It lets me make adjustments and changes easily.

[WyoFree]

Wow Don, If there has been a better post on the forum I've not read it. Even I can understand it and that's saying something!

Thanks so much for taking the time to help with such great information.

Harry

[billdreamlv]

Don

I started to use mine on the last trip. I had an overspeed alarm go off and didn't know how to clear it. I do you clear an alarm? Thanks.

[Dutch Star Don]

What do you mean by an over speed alarm. Was it a code?

[Mr_D]

I bought my VMSPC back in 2000 or so to montor my 2000 DSDP W/Cat 3126. When we traded it for the '02 DSDP W/ISC I had to buy a new cable. Kept the DSDP for 13 years. At the last I was using a 10" Acer Net book. The present Magna has a 400 CL built in. It's integrated into the whole house control system right down to the auto gen start and water tank autofill.

[greystroke]

Originally Posted by WyoFree

The cockpit offers most of that information but this organized it better? Is it hard wired or automated?

It does nothing about tuning the engine?

It does not tune the engine but provides complete diagnostics. I use a small notebook.

[Kiawah]

Attached are two images, one from last year driving, and an updated screen which I'm using this year which includes some gearing/transmission info of maximum speeds for engine brake. I've got a long western trip planned, and wanted to have the info readily visible for those steeper grades.

I also have a small laptop mounted on a tray I built which fits nicely into the front left corner of the dash. I laid out the screen so the data I use the most (purple fields of transmission, cruise set speed, actual speed, rpm, and engine load) are easily visible and closest to line of site.

Leftmost side are three guages for diesel fuel left, and day/trip info. The middle top of the screen is set up for engine and transmission data, and I have green/yellow/red dots defined to easily visually scan that everything is okay, but also have the details provided if I want to see the actual value. I added a historical line chart guage to engine temp (doesn't show any data without engine running).

The middle lower sections of the layout I've reserved for some warning messages that will pop up if they meet my predefined criteria, and can also play audio files if you'd like. For instance you could record a wav file of yourself saying to 'slow down idiot' if you drive over say 70. Bottom green section is reserved for any engine, transmission, or brake error codes.

I also have a section in lower right where I keep my tire pressure info handy.

I have the USB connected JIB which works great Had bought originally the wifi JIB, but WIndows 10 did that in and created connectivity issues, and they readily swapped out the JIB for me. Can't speak to how well a bluetooth version works.

You configure your gauges as to what gauges you want, where you want them, how you want the data to be displayed, and what conditional thresholds you'd like to use if overriding the defaults.

What it CAN'T do however is combine info from multiple gauges, and use conditional logic to display something. For instance, you can't do something like:
- IF the engine temperature is above xxx degrees
- AND the rpms are below yyy rpm
- AND the engine load is above zz percent
THEN display the message in RED "You're going to overheat, DOWNSHIFT"
Until then, it still needs a driver!

I also run Microsoft Streets and Trips on the laptop running in the background, which gives me another different view of my route than my GPS is giving.

I wouldn't be without the monitoring. If the wife is driving, I can easily see the key gauges from the passenger seat and know whether everything is fine or not.