Community Forums

iquailhunter · 05-06-2012, 10:27 AM

I presently pull a Forest River Cardinal 40' with 4 slides with an 2007 GMC 2500hd. I recently put a chip in it, and man what a difference in both power and economy. Does anyone ever "chip" a diesel pusher and if so what kind, and if not, why not? I am about to pull the trigger on a Entegra 2013 Anthem and was wondering about the 450 hp. Thanks for your time and Blessings.

dashdriver · 05-06-2012, 02:30 PM

Chips for the big diesels are not as prevalent as for pickups, however I believe there are a few available.

What you will no doubt hear about in this thread will be all the Warranty Warriors who will get in a war about whether chips affect the warranty or not, so be prepared for that.

Personally my rig is a 99, so warranty is the least of my concern. Only reason I don't put one in is because I do not drive it enough to realize the fuels savings compared to the cost of installing it. Those things are expensive!!

MRBB · 05-06-2012, 06:05 PM

First, you are pulling a 40' with a 3/4 ton PU? I know you are really overweight.

Second, a chip can give you better HP and millage but will put stress on your motor and tranny so you get a fast benefit but you will pay for it down the road.

A better way is with a tunner that can be customized for your truck and trailer so it doesn't destroy your motor. I use the superchip tuner and it gives me 48 more HP and 140 more # of torque but is safe for the truck and tranny. Good luck....

YC1 · 05-06-2012, 07:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iquailhunter

I presently pull a Forest River Cardinal 40' with 4 slides with an 2007 GMC 2500hd. I recently put a chip in it, and man what a difference in both power and economy. Does anyone ever "chip" a diesel pusher and if so what kind, and if not, why not? I am about to pull the trigger on a Entegra 2013 Anthem and was wondering about the 450 hp. Thanks for your time and Blessings.

My humble opinion is the 450 will be fine on that beautiful coach but not be an outstanding hill climber if you are towing a heavy toad. My opinion is based on owning a 2008 HR Endeavor 40 footer towing an H3 Hummer. I have the Cummins 400 ISL. My engine is a rear radiator model so there are a couple of mods available. I had the option of adding a "horton fan" which is a two speed model but did not. Recently a company has built a replacement fan that is not a two speed model but does not require any wiring or mods to install and is very well priced and does exactly what they advertise. The replacement fan reduced the engine noise on my rv by 5 db which was astonishing and reduced the hurricane winds behind the mh at idle which in turn made the backup camera audio usable instead of being washed out. Side radiator engines don't have the options but I believe they are hydraulically controlled and may enjoy the energy savings by themselves. The fan replacement made an immediate improvement in acceleration and fuel mileage by .5 mpg. I have not had any issues with heating on the steepest grades towing.

As mentioned finding engine chips are not quite that easy but I found one, installed it in about 30 minutes, and WOW what a difference in acceleration and fuel mileage. Parleys Diesel Performance: Diesel Power Digi CRTV Power Module for 2008-2012 CAT C7 & C9 Diesel Pusher RVs

There are a few thread you can search here and as mentioned too you will get the warranty folks howling. It's mine and I have no worries. The limiting factor in my case would be the transmission. However my engine and transmission communicate with each other and actually will limit engine power to keep from over powering the tranny. I would like to have one more gear but don't need it now. This thing loaded to the hilt at 40K lbs goes like a scalded cat and gets great mileage. 7.5-9mpg Get outta my way. I don't know how much power I have yet but suspect it is around 500 hp.

mgosselin · 05-06-2012, 10:51 PM

YC1

What company came out with the new fan? I have a 2007 Discovery.

Thanks.

YC1 · 05-07-2012, 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mgosselin

YC1

What company came out with the new fan? I have a 2007 Discovery.

Thanks.

RV-Chassis

Right here. Great folks to work with. I also bought sway bars from them. Installed them myself. Not cheap but worth every penny for a lifetime of fantastic fun driving.

rvjimmy · 05-07-2012, 08:28 PM

Engines in a DP need to be reprogramed at a dealer with the right equipment, no chips. Most deisel are reprogramed, I quess at least any I've worked on, no chips to be found in the ECM. JMHO Jim

YC1 · 05-07-2012, 08:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rvjimmy

Engines in a DP need to be reprogramed at a dealer with the right equipment, no chips. Most deisel are reprogramed, I quess at least any I've worked on, no chips to be found in the ECM. JMHO Jim

My chip goes on the fuel rail. Unplug the pigtail, connect this one in series. If you turn it up to high the engine goes into the limp mode so something is happening. Besides the big grin on my face and the look of astonishment from stop lights when people see this monster leaving them at the limit line.

iquailhunter · 05-07-2012, 09:30 PM

Just wanted to say "Thank you" to all that have answered. There is a lot more to this RV'ing than meets the eye!

Blessings on you all.

Mr_D · 05-07-2012, 09:45 PM

On our ISC I went with a Banks kit, even included a new turbo housing, waste gate actuator, boost gauge and EGT gauge. Took a while to install as the end plate on the new turbo housing was the wrong one so I had to flat plane the old one (it was warped by the heat).
One nice thing is: if the EGT gets too high it cuts back on the fuel automatically. No worrying on my part, it just does it.

Mr_D · 05-07-2012, 09:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rvjimmy

Engines in a DP need to be reprogrammed at a dealer with the right equipment, no chips. Most diesels are reprogrammed, I guess at least any I've worked on, no chips to be found in the ECM. JMHO Jim

With the Banks kit the new ECM loom plugs into the existing wiring on the engine, I can drop back to the OEM ECM with a few wiring changes. But it would be harder to change the turbo housing and waste gate actuator!!
When I first got the kit installed it had a bad wiring loom and gave me an engine fault. I called Banks and they said to go ahead and drive it as it's impossible to run a diesel too lean. It just won't run unlike a gas engine that can be destroyed by a too lean condition as diesel will self destruct with too much fuel. If you see black smoke from a diesel it's getting too much fuel.