Forum Discussion

J-Rooster's avatar
J-Rooster
Explorer
Apr 23, 2016

Bad Gas I should of known better!

I just got back from a 2 week vacation in Southern Oregon! As some of you know I've had health problems! Two years ago the RV was packed and ready to go to Lake Havasu City, AZ. I filled the tanks up the day before we were going to leave. Anyway, I was sick most of the Winter and the following Spring and Summer! Fall came and we were ready to head out to Lake Havasu City again! Debbie's Mom fell ill just before we were going to leave. Debbie's Mom was in bad shape and sick thru the Fall, Winter and died this Spring (a month ago). Itching to get out we decided to take a trip to Southern Oregon for 2 weeks ago. So I headed out! I drove from Port Orchard, Washington State to Coberg, Oregon my first fuel stop. My coach a gas powered (Chevy 8.1) top of the line 04 Winnebago ran fine at highway speeds and a little rough between 35-45 MPH. I only had a 1/4 tank of bad gas left in the gas tank when I fueled up with new gas. I was going down I-5 about 5 miles South of Coberg when a orange fuel light appeared on the dashboard. I pulled off of I-5 safely and got my trouble shooting Winnebago manuel out and I read what the orange engine light means. The manuel said it was a emissions problem and that I could still run the coach but watch the exhaust and the orange engine light. The manuel said if the orange engine on the dash starts blinking/flashing to pull over and shut the coach engine off to prevent engine damage. I had 76 miles to go to get to the RV Park so I started out again. I was nervous one time I-5 was down to a single lane for several miles (road construction) and if that orange light started flashing I had all of Southbound I-5 blocked. We made it to the RV Park with no problems. The next morning Debbie wanted me to call a RV repair shop (Workhorse) so I called Guaranty RV in Junction City, Oregon. The Workhorse mechanic told me that he thought it was a burned out OT sensor (emissions) and it would be a simple fix on my way back home to call ahead and stop by. I didn't think about the engine again until the day we left! When it was time to head home I started the coach up and the orange engine light did not come on? I went to the nearest fuel station bought 3 cans of Sea Foam (that treats 50 gallons of gas) and filled the tanks with 92 octane of gas (I usually run 87 octane). My coach ran like a top all the way home! I'm going to have the fuel filter changed and new spark plugs put in next week. I love big block Chevy engines and I'm rethinking my position about fueling up the day I leave instead of the day before!

11 Replies

  • forget the plugs if its running smooth, I,d put sea foam in a few more times, that stuff will clean up everything. and consider yourself one lucky guy ,it could have ruined all fuel systems .I carry a can all the time.