Re: [a/s] SewerSolution

["Hank Feeser" <hrfeeser@xxxxxxxxxx>]

My 81 is called an 81 1/2 and came "from the factory" with the diesel setup,
i.e., it is all a/s's doing. They sent the 454/P30 chassis to a place in MI
and did the conversion before the unit went to OH to be built. The early 81
diesels were not turbo charged and are slugs but get decent fuel economy -
12-15 mpg. The 1/2 comes in when they upgraded the diesel to a turbo diesel.
All diesel engines are from Isuzu, and all I believe are 353 cu in models. I
only personally know of 81's and 82 diesels. A PO of mine however, ruined
the original engine, not sure how but suspect gas in the diesel tank, and no
353 replacements were available so I have a 396.3 cube Isuzu industrial
engine which takes 24 qts of oil on a change. It is RPM limited to about
3,000 @ which point the boost is just @ redline boost-wise; you also have to
be concerned about exhaust temp. I drove it about 500 miles from where I
bought it without any problems, practically on the rev limiter the entire
time, (wife in her Jeep was flying) which equates to about 65 mph or so. It
feels like it could pull a barn behind it. The shift points in the trans
were changed along with some valving recognizing the greater torque of the
diesel, in the 400+ range. It has a 70 gal fuel tank and on the trip home I
ran about 10 mpg in Feb, ambient temp in 40s.

I'm working my way through the unit now in prep for using it to attend some
races (retired Porsche racer) from July on. The cruise control was trashed
when the engine was changed, the accelerator is difficult to push, mice ate
through the connection between the water tank and the pump, as well as
bedded down in the insulation surrounding the hot water heater, made nests
in the hot air ducting (all this under the sink area), paint was badly
chipped on the front and rear shrouds/spoilers etc etc. In working my way
through this mess, I have uncovered too many areas in which, IMHO, a/s did
shoddy work, very shoddy work. For instance, when I lit off the hot water
system, I had drips under the unit. Upon inspection under the sink area
where the heater is located, there was water on the floor. I naturally
assumed a leak in the Atwood tank, bought a new heater, and replaced the old
(that's how I know about the mice hotel in the Atwood). Lit it off, still
leaking. Traced the leak to a screw put in dead center through the hot water
line leading to the rear bath that was to hold up the rack that holds the
microwave oven. It had obviously been there since construction, and had
finally corroded in two and started leaking. I'll put a picture of it up in
a couple of days, along with some other stellar examples.

The male barb fittings on the pump are 1/2 inch; a/s used 5/8" water line
and just tightened the clamps more to accommodate the inappropriate fittings
etc etc. The front bumper is held on with four 1/4-20 screws of which 3 were
broken/missing; the rear bumper is held on with two 1/2" carriage bolts.

Aren't you glad you asked :-)

Hank (retired Navy engineer also)