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Joe Does the separator also have a vent that allows draining water from the bowl without having to break vacuum by partially unscrewing the filter? The check valve in the base would be a help as long as it doesn't add a lot of restriction. I had a shutoff valve on my Series 60 that had to be closed before filter change or the truck would start and run long enough to get out of the bay. Then bring out the ether.

So! No zerks? Just spray the points shown on the link? Mine is working very well, but being the mountain lovers that we are better add this procedure to my to do list.

I had the absolute privilege of boarding a new 1988 Wanderlodge on the dealer's lot / 40ft. with the 8V92 engine in it. I have never forgotten it. Always think of it as the Gold Standard. What a shame they aren't built anymore.

My 2 cents. I think that I remember reading the 650 was a modification of an existing truck model for RV use. A fifteen litre diesel pushing a big RV down the highway is light duty compared to an 80,000 lb tractor trailer, but Cumapart once had the reputation amongst truckers of experimenting with the consumer's money. Now that goes back some time. I do remember some fellow owner operators getting into a horsepower contest. Often with disastrous results. Sure hope the techs that worked on Deen's engine were on the first string, and the dealer offers a reasonable warranty.

We plan on adding the latest Winegard Traveler Direct TV self aiming unit to our coach before heading west this summer. I may do the install, but that depends on how my back feels at the time. Check Solid Signal's website for their price. I have dealt with them several times over the years and find their pricing and service good. If for no other reason, the site is a good place to come up with ideas.

Glad I missed all of that! My last rig was a 2001 Western Star with a Series 60 Detroit so I missed all of the fun. Retired in Nov of 2011 a few months past my 67th birthday. The EPA is just here to help you!

The distance from my tank to the engine is about the same as on your Holiday Rambler. Don't they normally have side radiators by the way? I got in to much of a hurry when we bought ours. Garage kept, lows miles, and great shape. Wish I had done more research. Would have settled for nothing less than a coach with a side radiator. Brett's comment about Racor Filters coming in a variety of forms got me curious. Hit their site. Wow! I had the big 1000FG on a number of trucks over the years. Very easy to service and drain under the hood of a big rig. I still have a hard time dealing with the shortcomings of DPs when I compare their cost to a new really durable Pete, KW, or Freightshaker. What good does all of the glitz do you when you waiting along the interstate for a tow or a service truck? I will probably mount a Racor unit just behind the fuel tank with a shutoff valve between the filter and the engine. Perhaps that will save prime. Just hope the engine transfer pump can handle the extra restriction. I will have one there before we leave for the west this summer. By the way/Power Service disperses water, and they have been around for a long time.

If you have solved your problem by now please tell us what it was. I lost an ECM on a Series 60 Detroit once. The giveaway on that is no warning lights on attempted start. The dash is dead, but the engine stills turns over.

Popping the hood on an 18 wheeler is easy and done at every pit stop. Crawling underneath a low to the ground DP not so easy. My unit has only one filter. I have considered a Holley electric fuel pump with a spin on filter and return line to the tank or something like it. That would also take care of lost prime problems. Had one on my gasser, but it is noisy. Racor might make a filter for that unit. Input welcome.

One more thing about water. I once had a petroleum engineer tell me that water was a byproduct of the manufacturing process. Now that was in the late 70s when he said that. Still true? I don't know, but he said very small amounts were dissolved in the fuel only to settle out later. That is why we need fuel water separation of some sort on diesel rigs. I had excellent results with Racor units on trucks, but they are too big to install on my rear radiator Phaeton in a convenient place to check regularly. If I had a side radiator unit I would have one installed in the engine bay. They have a clear plastic bowl on the bottom with a drain petcock.

I am looking for clear light green fuel. Water would be obvious because it is heavier than fuel. Any impurities would also be obvious. Off color fuel has been adulterated with crud you don't want in your tank.

I used Flying J almost exclusively during the last 20 years of my trucking career and have never had any problems with their fuel. They pump so much fuel daily that it doesn't stay in the ground long enough to spoil. Their pumps are normally the fastest that you will find. Thirty minutes for 97 gallons suggests the pump filter was long overdue for change and that is uncommon, but the filter was doing it's job. Not saying that the J was not at fault, but I doubt it. Now that we have a DP that sometimes takes us away from the high volume stops, I always fill a fruit jar with fuel and inspect it before I fill our tank. A small funnel gets the sample into the tank. I use Power Service and Lucas Injector Cleaner at every fill.

That is a nice looking coach. Hope the engine has a turbo. I remember the naturally aspirated 3208 smoking like a train. Stay tuned in to this website. There are a lot of knowledgeable members here.

I tow a Subaru Forester with a five speed manual tranny. I do know that Blue Ox base plates are available for late model Foresters and Outbacks and a manual is a must. Without the rear monitor, I wouldn't know that it was back there. I certainly wish that I had figured out the freedom of towing a dinghy when we bought our first Class A in 1988.

We own a 2003 Phaeton. I had the opportunity to look over a 2002 Foretravel on our first trip west in the Phaeton. I wish that I had settled for nothing less, although it would have cost me considerably more.

Thanks Brett. Both he and his son are skilled mechanics. They worked on my last two trucks. I sent him the link you supplied.

A friend is starting the search for a used DP. He has been a truck mechanic all of his adult life and still owns a public truck garage. He noticed a nearby 98 Beaver low miles. They were once a sought after coach, but didn't the company start to have $$$ problems? Is that year worth a look for him?

Perhaps you already know/just in case- you will need ironclad proof of rabies vaccination for your dog to get into Canada.

If you visit the Michelin websites you will discover that the XZA3 was developed to be a linehaul steer tire for the trucking industry. There is no reason you shouldn't run those tires on your rear axles on a DP, but I don't believe that they have the special compounds that are used in the true XRV tire. As I indicated, I went with the XZE model all around knowing that they didn't have the compounds that are considered favorable for the way RV tires are used. Trucking companies that are likely to need better winter traction (almost all long distance carriers or companies doing most of their business up north) run different tires on drive axles. As a trucker, I often got 300,000 miles on drives and with premium steers (as XZA3 are) running long distance trips, 200,000 miles of use was possible. For truckers better fuel mileage has been a benefit when using drive tires resembling steer tread patterns, but they had to be able to handle the high torque modern high displacement diesels deliver. If I was lucky enough to afford a high end DP with one of those engines for power, I would look at different tires for drive axle use.

XZA tires tires are primarily steer tires I believe. Tires built for RV use are designated XRV or did I miss something?

We travel with a full fresh water tank this time of the year. As we head home from Colorado to PA in November, many parks will be closed. Might have to rough it in a state park or Walmart lot. I always dump gray water before leaving a campground with hooks or a dump station.

Correction on the Shurflo accumulator tank at Camping World/ $51.49. The reviews are positive, Shurflo also markets a 2 gallon stainless accumulator tank that sells for around $120. I may take a look at that one, because I remember how well the large tank I used in our first coach worked.

I replaced the original pump on our 2003 Phaeton in an RV park last Wednesday. The old pump got really noisy and the flow reduced noticeably. The screen was not plugged. Guess it was just old. Installed a new Shurflo bypass pump. Two days later it started to act up. Everything was correctly installed . Not my first time. Pump trouble shooting guide suggested mechanism adjustment, and I would probably have had to remove it to do that. Just happen to have a new expansion or accumulator tank with us. It is pre-charged to 30psi , but the pressure is adjustable. Took about thirty minutes to install. Pump now better than ever. The tanks do work. I installed one near the pump in our 1988 gasser shortly after buying it new. It was a much larger unit sized for residential use, and we could get close to a gallon of flow without turning the pump on. Kept things quitet when my DW was sleeping. The Shurflo tank is around $60 at Camping World.

Put 6 new Michelin XZE 255/80/22.5 on our 2003 Phaeton 40 last June. They are more available than XRV tires and probably easier to find if a road failure happens. Unit handles well on curves and in cross winds. Saved $100 a tire through FMCA. Pay any labor and parts separately. Dealer told me that it would be higher if all charges were on one invoice.

RV diesels seem to develop problems earlier in their life than the big rig engines that I am used to. That observation is based on all that I have read on the internet about DPs. Just throwing this out there: I have heard of water pump impellers on high mileage truck engines corroding to the point that they just aren't moving enough coolant. Not common, but it does happen. Also charge air coolers are a failure item on big rigs. Some are checked as a precaution. Others are checked when serious engine work occurs. Could a leaking CAC cause over heating?? I don't know. Power loss, yes. But?