So diesels dont like to sit....

msmith1199 wrote:

koda55 wrote:
When I was an otr driver I would idle my engine over night to keep warm in the winter and cool in the summer. I would bump the idle up to 1000 rpm. I never had any problems with my engines. Many drivers never shut their engines off from the time they leave home until they come off the road for their time off. Of course there may be differences in big rig engines and RV diesel engines.

Just out of curiosity, how much fuel did you burn idling for 8 hours to run the heat or air? I always wondered if there wouldn't be a way to mount a 4000 watt diesel generator on big rigs to provide A/C and heat to the cab. Seems like it would burn a whole lot less fuel than the main engine.

We always figured a gallon a hour. But fuel did not cost anywhere near what it does today!! Lots of todays rigs have APUs (Auxiliary Power Units) which provide power and keep the antifreeze warm while the main engine isn't running. But you probably will not find these on regional and local run rigs. And many of the owner operators don't spec them because of cost. And they use fuel just like the main engine does, just less of it.

And Koda55, if they were concerned about drivers rest, they would have paid to put them in a motel like the union companies did!!! Company I retired from sometimes made long runs, and we had sleeper units, but they put us in a motel every night when we were on a long run. but I know where you are coming from, cause I did the same thing before I found a good driving job.

koda55 wrote:
When I was an otr driver I would idle my engine over night to keep warm in the winter and cool in the summer. I would bump the idle up to 1000 rpm. I never had any problems with my engines. Many drivers never shut their engines off from the time they leave home until they come off the road for their time off. Of course there may be differences in big rig engines and RV diesel engines.

I did that back in the '70s and '80s too. And it wasn't good for the engines back then either. But at the money we made, one didn't mind the boss paying the heating bill. But todays commercial big rigs are set up to shut down after 10 or so minutes of idling. They are that way straight from the factory. And this didn't happen just yesterday, cause I retired in 2003. Company I drove for, if you idled the rig to long, you were gone in no time. And the built in tattle tails told on you. They don't want you wasting fuel! And diesels are diesels no matter whether they are "big rigs" or RVs!!! And some of todays RVs have the same Cummins ISX (500 or 600 hp) as the bigger big rigs have.

MSMITH1199

The company I drove for was more concerned with driver rest than a few gallons of fuel. We were taught how to idle the engine up to to 1,000 rpm.

It isn't good for ANY engine to sit and never run, unless specially prepared.
Even large round aircraft engines, 985 through 4,360 CID, 9 through 28 cylinder, must be started and warmed up every three days unless preserved for storage.

One of the issues is comparing per-emission controlled engines with today's modern MUCH more complex diesels.

What worked 10 years ago is not recommended for today's engines.

I was a charter bus operator over 25 years. The majority of my runs were in the Gulf Coast area(HIGH HEAT/HIGH HUMIDITY!). When on a trip less than 24 hours I would engage the high idle and sleep on the bus with the ac on. The engines were good for at least 450,000 miles before work was needed. When I need to idle my engine I make sure the high idle is on. 97 Monoco 325 Cummins

An 01 will not have the bad arms, as Monaco was still purchasing the arms from a gold standard supplier at that time. It was in 02 that Monaco took it on themselves to start building them in-house and taking shortcuts that caused the catastrophic failures.

jvernon wrote:

01 Monaco knight 36r 315 cummins isc, Allison tranny in good shape
38k...

http://www.monacocoach.com/StaticFiles/monaco/brochures/2001/01Knight.pdf

That chassis has a history of trailing arm failures, I believe. You should check carefully to see if it has one of the affected chassis. There are fixes, which may have been done.

Google Monaco trailing arm failure.

NADA low retail is $24.8 average is $29.9. The trailing arm fix is ~$4-6k. You should verify that.

Good Luck.

koda55 wrote:
... Many drivers never shut their engines off from the time they leave home until they come off the road for their time off...

I wonder how many owned the truck vs how many drove company trucks.

JetAonly wrote:

jvernon wrote:
Im set to buy a 2001 coach , cummins 8.1 isc, 26,000 miles. Should i be concerned because it hasnt been driven enough ?

Buy it at the right price. Make sure you factor in some $ for problems. Mine had a lift pump and two engine sensors that failed due to age, setting and ULSD. Plan on a full service profile, all filters/all fluids, for the generator, too. Did I mention buy it at the right price?

01 Monaco knight 36r 315 cummins isc, Allison tranny in good shape
38k...