Idling Diesel ??

There are legitimate reasons for using a modern Diesel engine as a stationary power source, but generally speaking RV use is not one of those. Diesel engines rated for on-highway use that see a lot of stationary use need to be able to do a manual regen when necessary. The manual regen is also a stationary process, and if you think an idling Diesel is annoying, you should see/hear/smell one that's doing a stationary exhaust cleaning. That process can go on for 30-40 minutes at times, and the RPM's can get quite high.

:):)

I always thought Diesels had to idle for a while in order to build up air pressure for the bags. I don't own one so no first hand knowledge but that's what I've always understood.

Often easy to confuse "what I got away with" with "best practices".

Probably off topic but one advantage of a DP is when I first start mine up I let it idle while I go around the coach checking the doors and making sure everything is disconnected and ready to go. This gives it time to air up the air and air up the air bags. Then I am on my way.;)

The owners manual for my coach says not to let the engine idle excessively and goes on to say it will cause the fuel to wash the oil off the rings causing engine wear. The owners manual for my Ram pickup says not to let the engine idle for long periods of time because it will damage the engine. I'm not an engineer so I go by what the owners manual recommends.

alaska315 wrote:
In 1996 I bought a new Dodge with a 5.9 12 valve diesel.It was a 3500 2wd ext cab with a 5 speed manual.I pulled a 34 foot 2 car trailer with it all over the USA.The only time that truck was shut off was when it was home for 5 days at a time.Otherwise it was driven or idled.WHY?in the winter,it ran for heat and in the summer for the A/C when idling.I changed the oil every 10K miles with air filter and the fuel filter every other oil change.
I broke that truck in like I stole it and it never used the first quart of oil between changes unless I went over that 10K mile point,then it would use a quart.
The only issues I ever had with that truck was a head gasket seep at 400K miles.I had Atlanta cummins replace that head gasket and go thru the fuel pump at the time just for preventative measures.
The truck had 740K miles on it when I sold it in 2001.
Can't speak for what others think but can speak for what I have witnessed first hand and I have run diesels all my life and still have a 5.9 diesel.

So, do you think the Cummins diesel will hold up in the long run?
You sold it after only 740 thousand miles. :B

WOW!!

Ideling can lessen the oil flow to the turbo. While it is required for a couple of minutes while the engine is hot, just after pulling off the interstate, it is not required otherwise.

Ideling a newer F-350 is not recommended in the owners manual.

It is also illegal in many states to idle over 4 minutes. McDonalds has put 3 minute timers on all their trucks in California, so they stop the engine after 3 minutes. But that is not handy in a intersection! My buddy now stops about 30 feet back, then after 2 minutes puts his foot on the gas to pull up a bit, to avoid the timer shutting off the engine at 3 minutes!

Now many big rig trucks will use a 2-3 KW electric generator, or APU that has a freon compressor on it to run the cab A/C while going down the road or while stopped for the night.

Most of the NEWER diesel engines have an automatic shut-off to prevent excessive idling. This is better for the engine, the environment, and for those around you.
Times have changed and technology has changed. The oils are better and even with a turbo, the coking of the oil is not an issue anymore. With a synthetic oil, it was never an issue and you do not have to idle your engine to cool off the turbo. In any case, by the time you have pulled off of the interstate and come to a stop, your engine has probably idled more than it needs to to protect any internal components.
Living in the past just wastes fuel and does no good for a modern engine.

Tinstar wrote:
Idling for more than 5 minutes in a campground is kinda annoying. It hasn't got anything to do with your engine.

It sure is annoying.

In 1996 I bought a new Dodge with a 5.9 12 valve diesel.It was a 3500 2wd ext cab with a 5 speed manual.I pulled a 34 foot 2 car trailer with it all over the USA.The only time that truck was shut off was when it was home for 5 days at a time.Otherwise it was driven or idled.WHY?in the winter,it ran for heat and in the summer for the A/C when idling.I changed the oil every 10K miles with air filter and the fuel filter every other oil change.
I broke that truck in like I stole it and it never used the first quart of oil between changes unless I went over that 10K mile point,then it would use a quart.
The only issues I ever had with that truck was a head gasket seep at 400K miles.I had Atlanta cummins replace that head gasket and go thru the fuel pump at the time just for preventative measures.
The truck had 740K miles on it when I sold it in 2001.
Can't speak for what others think but can speak for what I have witnessed first hand and I have run diesels all my life and still have a 5.9 diesel.