Why can't DP owners learn the basics

[Keith & Joyce]

My idle time is determined by how hot the turbo is so it doesn't coke.  Next by getting the level system to level.  Then I turn it off.  Leaving I warm up the engine until I have built up air pressure.  Then part throttle operation until up to temp.  That's all that's needed.

Keith

[Barbaraok]

Keith, sounds like you have air leveling?   If you have to relevel during stay, do you have to run engine or can you use supplemental air compressors?  We have friends with air leveling and each does it differently.  

[jcussen]

21 minutes ago, Barbaraok said:

Keith, sounds like you have air leveling?   If you have to relevel during stay, do you have to run engine or can you use supplemental air compressors?  We have friends with air leveling and each does it differently.  

Believe many coaches that have airbag leveling, have small 12 volt compressors. On the HWH auto system, leveling system will check level every 30 min and either add or vent air as needed to keep coach level. Compressor is on pressure switch and only comes on when there is a demand for air. If you have slides with air seals, it might supply them also.

[Big5er]

wow, doesn't have time or the desire to chat with the neighbors and mention the issue but has time to start a forum rant about them...jeez. Some people, like docj, would hate being parked next me with my big diesel truck. I unhitch the trailer, pull out from under the it and leave the truck idling. I go plug in the trailer, run out the slides, turn on the a/c and set out the dogs water dish......still with the truck idling. Then I go get the dogs out of the air conditioned truck and turn it off. 

One of my girls just gets all freaky when the walls move, therefore I let the slides do their thing while she stays in the truck...with the a/c running. If the neighbors think that is so intolerable I suppose I could let the dogs poop while I am setting up and am too busy to watch and clean up behind them? Has anyone bothered to ask docj about the temperature? Maybe they wanted the added a/c from the dash to help cool the entire MH before shutting it off? Never stayed in a MH, don't know if that would help or not, but its a thought. No one has bothered to mention that most RV parks have "quiet" hours either. Is an idling diesel causing an excessive and truly obnoxious noise? I think if the sould of an idling engine bothers you that much during the middle of the day, go inside for a minute...or you could go next door and offer to help. Naa...what was I thinking? Why even attempt to act neighborly? Just go talk about them behind their back. They won't know you are talking about them and it is so much more fun. It sure beats being nice. It also shows the world what sort of character you have. 
 

Hey, did everyone see that grumpy old guy in the site next door? He was so mad about my truck making noise, I just left it idling for an hour. Sure was fun watching his ears turn red  He was some kinda mad haha. Wait until we start the camp fire and set up the outside projector screen so the kids can watch movies while they grill their hot dogs. That should really set him off.

[Ranger Smith]

4 hours ago, Barbaraok said:

post deleted

Yes I do have enough batteries. You are also trying to compare a coach with 2 slides and 36' to my coach which has 3 slides and one of them is almost as long as your whole coach at 36'.

[Barbaraok]

Yes, Big 5er, your one of those ppl who a lot of us grouse about.  I don’t know why, but diesel PUs seem to delight in making enough noise to wake the dead.  MUCH louder than almost all DPs.   What is the excuse when A/C isn’t needed.  

[Barbaraok]

4 minutes ago, Ranger Smith said:

Yes I do have enough batteries. You are also trying to compare a coach with 2 slides and 36' to my coach which has 3 slides and one of them is almost as long as your whole coach at 36'.

So why can’t you level and deploy your slide while plugged in?  

[Ranger Smith]

2 minutes ago, Barbaraok said:

So why can’t you level and deploy your slide while plugged in?  

I never said I couldn't. I choose to do it my way and it is easier for me that way.

[packnrat]

on start up ( any motor) a good 4-5 min is best to "warm-up" the parts to a working temp, and get good warm /hot oil throughout  the motor. ( motors are not built to run "cold").

turning a motor off and on short dur can hurt it if done repeatley or a lot. ( back to oil) but long "cool down" idle times not required.

when one parks. just one or two mins is more than enougth time to spool down the turbo. and "relax" a motor. anything longer is just burning up fuel moneys.

now if one is having to restart. a couple times to park "right". there are other issues there.

you house battries should already be full charged. if pluged in then not a issue.

only reason older trucks kept the motors running was for the health of the driver ( cold/heat). or if in that cold of a place to help keep the fuel and oil from jellying.

if one must run a motor after parking. there is a problem someplace.

[Barbaraok]

1 minute ago, packnrat said:

 

1 minute ago, packnrat said:

if one must run a motor after parking. there is a problem someplace.

Yes there is. 😎

[remoandiris]

2 hours ago, packnrat said:

on start up ( any motor) a good 4-5 min is best to "warm-up" the parts to a working temp, and get good warm /hot oil throughout  the motor. ( motors are not built to run "cold").

Can you cite a source to validate this statement?  I have never seen an owners manual for a modern vehicle say it needs to be warmed up prior to operation.

[Pat & Pete]

25 minutes ago, remoandiris said:

Can you cite a source to validate this statement?  I have never seen an owners manual for a modern vehicle say it needs to be warmed up prior to operation.

I'd be interested to read that source myself . 

[Big5er]

3 hours ago, Barbaraok said:

Yes, Big 5er, your one of those ppl who a lot of us grouse about.  I don’t know why, but diesel PUs seem to delight in making enough noise to wake the dead.  MUCH louder than almost all DPs.   What is the excuse when A/C isn’t needed.  

Well first, I don't have a pick-up....read the signature. Second I don't need an excuse when the a/c isn't needed. If it's that cold I'm heading south...or running the heater. And as far as the excuse for the idler in the original post, we will never know because the OP was too busy complaining about his neighbors to talk to them.

[docj]

3 hours ago, Big5er said:

Is an idling diesel causing an excessive and truly obnoxious noise? I think if the sould of an idling engine bothers you that much during the middle of the day, go inside for a minute...or you could go next door and offer to help.

I never said that the diesel noise was the issue.  It is the diesel exhaust that isn't pleasant to breathe for an extended period of time.

 

4 hours ago, Big5er said:

Maybe they wanted the added a/c from the dash to help cool the entire MH before shutting it off?

In hot weather, most MH owners travel with their generators running so their house A/C's can operate.  The dash air is an incidental supplement to the house A/C's, mostly to keep the driver cool during the trip.

4 hours ago, Big5er said:

wow, doesn't have time or the desire to chat with the neighbors and mention the issue but has time to start a forum rant about them...jeez.

I don't RV for the purpose of meeting people at RV parks.  I'm friendly to those I meet, but IMO it's a lot like living in an apartment complex.  Be polite and don't make trouble for your neighbors.  I realize there are some RVers who seem to delight in meeting people but not everyone does.

[acampingwewillgo]

Maybe its been mentioned, maybe not. When I pull into a site whether it's asphalt, concrete, gravel or plain old dirt, I always idle the motorhome until I step out to see if I want to use blocks under my tires for leveling first(mostly on gravel/dirt). If I do require blocks, I set them and then roll up onto them. Once on these blocks I will set blocks under my hydraulic jacks and set the jacks onto the pads, (old Joystick type controls). At this point I will shut down which maybe 10 minutes in fumbling around. I let the air out of the suspension and then finish stabilizing the coach with the jacks. If its really Hot, I will keep the genny running until I get hook hooked up with electrical(dogs like to stay cool.   Not excessive to me but others mileage may vary. Pretty much reverse the process when leaving....hope I haven't offended anyone....😀LoL

[Barbaraok]

Most DPs have levelers, often hydraulic, so we usually don’t worry about leveling with blocks under wheels.   If it is very hot, we run the genny going down the road so the house is cool.  We know we have about 30 minutes to get electrical hooked up and air conditioning on before the coach would be uncomfortable.  Obviously, it only takes us 5 minutes or less after pulling/backing in before electrical is on.  Then we take our time with the rest.   Of course, since we have wheels, we try to make sure we aren’t hot areas during the summer, though that is getting harder to do each year.

[jcussen]

2 hours ago, acampingwewillgo said:

Maybe its been mentioned, maybe not. When I pull into a site whether it's asphalt, concrete, gravel or plain old dirt, I always idle the motorhome until I step out to see if I want to use blocks under my tires for leveling first(mostly on gravel/dirt). If I do require blocks, I set them and then roll up onto them. Once on these blocks I will set blocks under my hydraulic jacks and set the jacks onto the pads, (old Joystick type controls). At this point I will shut down which maybe 10 minutes in fumbling around. I let the air out of the suspension and then finish stabilizing the coach with the jacks. If its really Hot, I will keep the genny running until I get hook hooked up with electrical(dogs like to stay cool.   Not excessive to me but others mileage may vary. Pretty much reverse the process when leaving....hope I haven't offended anyone....😀LoL

Just curious. Why do you want to use blocks under your tires? Can you not just put blocks under jacks and level with jacks, and then dump the air if you think that's necessary? By the way, love the old Michell Vogues, almost bought a  40 ft 98 with a turning tag and IFS, but tag did not lock.

[Ray,IN]

Extended diesel engine idling was the norm 60-70 years ago, they did not have pre-heaters in the engine, nor were those antique engines easy to start, even when warm; so the driver let it run.That train of thought seems to never die.  Today Cummins says 2-3 minutes of idling after hard engine use. It all boils down to " READ YOUR INSTRUCTION/OPERATORS MANUALS!

I never let my Cummins engine idle over 2-3 minutes at most. It has a straight-thru muffler that is LOUD, OEM from the Winnebago factory. It even annoys me sometimes. Extended low idle causes cylinder wash-down =  accelerated engine wear.

 

[lenp]

This is getting out of control!  

Barbarok, I have three Trojan 1275 12 volt (450 amp hours) batteries in great shape (Panametric battery monitor tells  me they are 96% effecient) and they will extend the slides and level the coach just fine without the engine, generator or shore power.  However, the voltage WILL drop and current increase thus, I choose to run my engine to minimize low current issues.   Hey, it only takes 2-3 minutes,

Additionally, even if I plug in as soon as I back in, I will not have power for 3-4 minutes due to the delay of my Sureguard.

Everybody has their "method" - let's let it rest.

Lenp

[Barbaraok]

So you would rather spew more diesel fumes and noise ?  🤔

[jcussen]

28 minutes ago, Ray,IN said:

Extended diesel engine idling was the norm 60-70 years ago, they did not have pre-heaters in the engine, nor were those antique engines easy to start, even when warm; so the driver let it run.That train of thought seems to never die.  Today Cummins says 2-3 minutes of idling after hard engine use. It all boils down to " READ YOUR INSTRUCTION/OPERATORS MANUALS!

I never let my Cummins engine idle over 2-3 minutes at most. It has a straight-thru muffler that is LOUD, OEM from the Winnebago factory. It even annoys me sometimes. Extended low idle causes cylinder wash-down =  accelerated engine wear.

Agree, these days, most manufacturers say it is necessary to load up engine to warm it up, and say as soon as oil and air pressure up, take off and use partial throttle till temps are up. We are getting close to the point when CARB and the EPA will require the engine to shut down 30 seconds after the parking brake is applied.

 

 

[packnrat]

i know of no "source" for or about warming up a motor.

i just kniw things can snap much easer when there is a mix of hot and cold parts. and that tht tolarnces are set for a warm motor not a cold one. this dies not mean let it idle to warm more than five min.  just to get warm oil through the whole motor. sure it is not up to full opperting temps. the rigs at work would take 30 min to get "hot" at idle. and that is on a 65-75F degree day.

as to shutdown nothing wrong with letting the motor run a min or two before turning it off. as the turbo is the big deal. only realy to let it get to lowest rpm before shutdown. again just a couple min. not 20-30 min. just a lube thing here.

and yes i am guilty of start up cold and jump into gear and go. 

like start up start motor. get ready to drive. belt, radio, plug in phone to charger, that sort if thing.

shut down ( for me) log book ( computer), paperwork in hand.

when it is over 90F i add the ac into this. heater warms up  better on the go.

 

[Mr. Camper]

I taught special needs kids for 20 years who knew how to get along better than you folks do.  State your opinion and move on.  Do you really want to spend your time arguing or demanding to know about someone's batteries, set up procedures, or idle time?  How proud would you be to have your kids or grandkids read some of the posts in this thread?

[FL-JOE]

15 hours ago, Ranger Smith said:

WHO CARES . . . Your way is right for you and mine is right for me . . . GIVE IT A REST instead of arguing about it.

X2.  If there is one thing I have learned from going from a fiver to a gas coach to a DP is that slides and some other systems operate differently.  I have went from a single 12v house battery to a bank of 8 6v batteries, plus 3 different slide systems.   I very much doubt Barbaraok, her DH, or anyone that doesn't own my exact year/model would know how to set up camp in it (according to manufacturer).

That is why I said if you are going to walk over and try to "educate" your neighbor be careful because maybe you don't know as much as you think you know.  Owning a new DP certainly doesn't make me an expert on DP's.

[docj]

16 hours ago, packnrat said:

i know of no "source" for or about warming up a motor.

FWIW, here's a document that covers starting and warming up diesel engines in conditions that most of us hope to never encounter 😎
Caterpillar Cold Weather Engine Recommendations