Question for diesel owners

[FuShiLu]

Everyone has opinions. Mine has zero power until at temp, safety systems in modern machines are very different. If your not running it long enough you may even get the drive until your told to stop warning, that one’s fun. Read your manual. The internet is a terrible place to get information.

[bistchr]

I don't know about other owners but my Holiday Rambler with the 5.9 deisel has to be warmed up to get the air brakes pressure high enough, 100 psi, before the air brakes will release to move the RV. It is pressuring up the air ride shocks and the air brake system so there will always have to be some warm up time in order to move the rig.

[JD22]

Originally Posted by CamJam1

Is there are reason people let diesels idle for prolonged periods before they hit the road in the morning? It's really irritating for those of us in the campground who are trying to sleep in. Had a couple of Harley riders do the same thing recently, so it's not exclusively a diesel thing.

They need to run for a little while to build up the air tanks or no brakes.

[Kountry_star]

Originally Posted by Tha_Rooster

It all depends on how noisy my neighbors are late at night on how long I warm up early in the morning.

[Dholden]

1 your not supposed to put a cold diesel under load
2 it takes time to air up the system for the air brakes

[Kountry_star]

Originally Posted by Dr. Mike

hello all
There is a lot of great lessons and conversation here. But, I do have a few questions that were not addressed in four pages of posts.
1- Can someone define "modern" diesel?
2- I understand about the excessive idle, but is there any rule for being stuck in bumper to bumper traffic for hours?

As a side note. our coach takes a full five minutes to completely air up.

Best
Dr. Mike

I'm getting the feeling that "modern" means is defined as post emissions engines. Most all emissions systems / parts don't like prolonged idle be it traffic or campground.

[jeeper54]

Actually, if the bikes are carbarated, likely not though being Harleys',( from experience ), you will have to start and idle them thru the choke settings, for a couple of minutes. But even in low temps a couple of minutes is all it took, no revving of engine and a slow and easy drive away for the first few minutes.

[dbteam]

The OP didn't mention how long people are idling that is bothering them. Most of the posters on here are idling 5 minutes which allows time to 1) fill up the air brakes 2) retrack the jack stands (newmar thing) 3) retrack the slides 4) unhook electric and then leave. I timed this last time and it was about 5-6 minutes from when I started to when I was pulling out of the site but then again, leaving at 10am is early for us. Safe travels.

[National 350]

Originally Posted by CamJam1

Is there are reason people let diesels idle for prolonged periods before they hit the road in the morning? It's really irritating for those of us in the campground who are trying to sleep in. Had a couple of Harley riders do the same thing recently, so it's not exclusively a diesel thing.

Mine is a 2004 CAT............been known to easily get 300,000 miles on them, IF you take care of them. Idling and letting it fully warm up is one way.

[sandpsycho]

I start mine to build air pressure and warm it up. I'll run the high idle while I bring in the slides to provide extra amps to the pump. Then I just let it idle as the jack's retract. Once they are up I'm headed down the road. If that annoys people that's just an added bonus. If I was near people that where loud at night I'll bid a few good by blasts from the air-horn.

Now for the next topic, why must you lazy people use loud impact guns to raise and lower your jacks. .

[CompuGuru]

Wow, this has opened up a discussion similar to the one of when should slides be extended or brought in.
In my situation with a 2010 American Eagle 45 footer with a full wall slide, the procedure is: When you get to your campsite, leave the engine running and choose between hydraulic or air leveling. If Hydraulic leveling, then select auto which automatically dumps the airbags then starts the leveling process. This typically takes between 5 and 10 minutes depending on how level the site is. Once leveling is complete (and verified with the old blue handball), keep the engine running and extend the slides. Once the slides are extended, you can shut off the engine. When packing up to leave, Start the engine, raise idle to 1100 rpm, verify that the alternator voltage output is at 13.9 volts, and then and only then bring in the full wall slide. If the voltage is lower (ie: weak chassis batteries) you can cause the FWS motors (4 of them) to get out of sync and end up with major problems. The other two slides are much more tolerant of voltage but I don't want to test the waters.
After the slides are in and the engine is still running, it is time to go to travel mode which is jacks up, air bags up, and brake pressure solid.
Once I am in travel mode I do my walk around to ensure that the front airbags have indeed aired up completely. If not, when I turn the front wheels they will scrape the wheel well covers damaging the tires and the sides of the motorhome. Too expensive to allow to happen. Total time for my coach to completely air up is just over 15 minutes. I have taken it into Rev Group, both Decatur, IN and Coberg, OR, and NIRVC in Las Vegas to have the air system checked and all of them have said that there are no leaks. This coach just takes that long to properly air up.
Long story short, every coach and every manufacturer (and model) have different parameters on time needed to be "on the road" and there is no "set-in-stone" rule that applies to everyone.
So, the correct answer to how long does it take to get a coach ready to hit the road is: As long as it takes to do it safely!
Great travels to all this year.

Bill, Cathy, and the two fur babies Reilly and Gracie.

[RAMBLNFAM]

Originally Posted by CamJam1

Is there are reason people let diesels idle for prolonged periods before they hit the road in the morning? It's really irritating for those of us in the campground who are trying to sleep in. Had a couple of Harley riders do the same thing recently, so it's not exclusively a diesel thing.

How long is prolonged? We typically run ours 15-20 min prior to departure to warm it up, build up air, and it is required for slides etc. Same applies when we arrive, usually a 15-20 "cool down" and slides etc.

Chris

[Kountry_star]

Originally Posted by rudyhiebert

Replying to the question, my guess is that these RV owners insist on not using quality synthetic lubricants in their RV engines and transmissions.

Have synthetics in everything from front wheel bearings, axles, engine, grease, etc.. Still takes 5 to 6 minutes to fully air up. Take 0 seconds to a few minutes for turbo to cool down to 350-400. Not sure what synthetics have to do with warming up, airing up or cooling down??

[redrhinino]

The national Cummins rep told us at the FMCA rally that the DEF engines should not be idled for more than 3 1/2 minutes. If you have to idle longer, you can go to "high idle" by engaging the cruise control. This makes the engine run at 1000 RPM.