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desertvince · 07-31-2011, 11:17 AM

Recommend this check up

Purchased our “new to us” ’06 Winnebago Journey 32T last fall. First, extended trip (40 days) began on 5/31. From Tucson, the farthest point was somewhere between Yellowstone and Stanley, ID. One day out of our return to Tucson, 40 miles north of Wickenburg, AZ on US 89, the check engine light and smell of diesel fuel pulled us over. Two hours later, we were towed into Wickenburg (where we received great service from Craig Motor Crafts, Inc.). Oh, the problem? Broken fuel injection line into cylinder #6 on our Cummins 5.9L ISB engine.

Each fuel line (injector), has a support tube (holding the fuel line with a rubber bracket) to reduce vibration pressures. I will never know if ours was missing the support when new or if lost during a maintenance job. Regardless, the fuel line broke and probably spewed 4 to 6 gallons of diesel on a very hot engine (it was 105 degrees that afternoon). Sure glad diesel doesn’t ignite that easily.

My guess, a gas engine would have burned the entire MH to the axels. My recommendation, check to see that the supports for your fuel lines are all there, ours broke at 29,000 miles.

Ray,IN · 07-31-2011, 11:26 AM

You are very lucky. The vast majority of RV fires are MH's. The majority of those are engine fires.Diesel pushers are included in the count. For further information visit macthefireguy.com

JiminJersey · 07-31-2011, 07:45 PM

+1 on the fuel line checks - I've replaced two sections of line on my Bounder this summer - both were areas where a split in the line poured gas on the ground, and in one case, on the right side exhaust pipe. With a 22 year old coach, I can't be suprised, but then I went over the whole length from back to front looking for more wear 'n' tear. I'm considering replacing the entire line(s) over the winter just to be safe.

In my case, the lines only leaked under pressure, so as soon as I started the engine, they started dripping. I found both of them relatively quickly, the first one necessitated a sweat-inducing 2 mile drive home from the GAS STATION where I discovered it!

Jackm · 07-31-2011, 11:30 PM

Thanks for sharing your experience and your advice. Gasoline needs an open spark or a flame to ignite. Even though gasoline is more flammable than diesel fuel, gasoline-powered vehicles, including motorhomes are less prone to engine-related fires because of the high volatility of gasoline. As it turns out, most diesel engine-related motorhome fires occur when flammable materials in or near the engine compartment become coated in diesel residue and eventually ignite due to the high ambient temperatures.

In contrast, tractor trailers rarely have engine related fires because there are virtually no flammable materials in the front-mounted engine compartment. However, with diesel pushers, the design necessitates the close proximity of flammable materials near the engine.

A couple of years ago, I was involved with the R&D of a fire suppression systems that was designed for trucks and RVs. As a result, I had to learn more about the subject than I really wanted to. For months, I became (slightly) paranoid about RV fires. As it turns out, the most common cause of vehicle fires is human error (cigarettes, stoves, electric heaters, etc.). Fuel related fires do occur but they're a lot less common than fires cause by human error. Recently, a family placed a barbecue grill full of hot coals in the compartment of their motorhome as they were leaving. The RV burned to the ground. The family got out but their cat was trapped. Case in point.

Jack

clarkgriswold · 08-01-2011, 01:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by desertvince

Broken fuel injection line into cylinder #6 on our Cummins 5.9L ISB engine.

Each fuel line (injector), has a support tube (holding the fuel line with a rubber bracket) to reduce vibration pressures. ... Regardless, the fuel line broke and probably spewed 4 to 6 gallons of diesel.... check to see that the supports for your fuel lines are all there, ours broke at 29,000 miles.

This is NOT related directly to your comment but this is yet another case in point that indicates RV (and chassis) manufacturers simply are not placing QA as an issue to be seriously consider. Fortunately, car manufacturers learned (by competition) that quality IS important and directly related to sales. What to do? What to do?