Coast Resorts Open Roads Forum: Class C Motorhomes: B+ motorhomes

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Topic: B+ motorhomes

Posted By: burlmart on 04/24/15 02:32am

burlmart wrote:

that happened at costco and we got it going at another station.

no fuel pump fail yet on 2005 tl. is there a probable time frame for these to go out? or mileage? or model year?

and maybe a better question: "is there an after market fix with a fuel pump that's mounted somewhere else?"

2005 Trail Lite 213 B-Plus w/ 6.0 Chevy

Posted By: Teacher's Pet on 04/24/15 05:26am

Ours sat unused for 2 years at least with ethanol added fuel without any fuel stabilizers, before we bought it. The mechanics felt that may have contributed to the failure since the tank had a sort of gunk in the bottom of it. I had them dispose of the fuel and clean the tank before reinstalling.

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'04 R-Vision Trail-Lite 213
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Posted By: quietjake on 04/25/15 04:47pm

re: "no fuel pump fail yet on 2005 tl. is there a probable time frame for these to go out? or mileage? or model year?"

Our home-town mechanic tells me this is a not-unexpected misery of his clientele with a certain age-model group using this particular pump/filter/tank design.

Whether odd-ball design or plastic incompatible with ethanol he hasn't determined. Mine looked like it was rotting from the inside out.

He also notes GM retains the various design/mfg rights and holds closely the rights/sales/etc.

re: " they had to drop the driveshaft, then the tank.
"....this wasn't necessary on mine....only the tank came out.

Our 213 is 2005/barely 33000 miles on it.

Buddies similar problem on a 1/2 ton 2003 GMC van, with considerably more miles on it. And several of THEIR friends with similar rigs.

Posted By: Teacher's Pet on 04/25/15 09:06pm

Actually it was the drive-shaft and heat shields that were removed before they dropped the tank in our case, as scottiemom said. 2004, 213 B+, 3500 series Chevrolet 6.0 V-8.

Posted By: burlmart on 04/26/15 12:52am

how does the failure occur? i guess i mean what are the warning signs or any symptoms you noticed before failure?

Posted By: Teacher's Pet on 04/26/15 04:31am

Ours just started loosing power on a slight grade close to an exit ramp and gradually died on a hot Thursday afternoon. It would start back up, go about 500 feet and die again. Acted a lot like a bad fuel filter, except we knew this filter was in the fuel tank. We coasted into a tire shop, who told us of a local "big truck" repair shop. We called and got an appointment the the next morning. We spent that night in the tire shop parking lot. Then in the morning, we drove it a mile to the truck repair shop without any bad symptoms. They read the computer codes and parts were ordered, since no fuel pumps could be found in the surrounding area. The shop manager had told us a 15-20 mile run with a 1st time failure would probably be short enough to keep it cool, since the pump had overheated, then failed. We drove 8 miles to the closest RV Park, without a problem. After the weekend we drove it back to the shop, and we were back on the road by shortly after lunch. Never had a problem since.

Posted By: burlmart on 04/26/15 06:24am

that is good info. so if it's allowed to cool, you might can carefully make another dozen miles?

do you think there is a way to use the VIN to see if our rig has a different model fuel pump that corrects rhe earlier problem?

with 3 dogs, a freeway or other breakdwn and overnite waits would be very difficult?

* This post was edited 04/26/15 06:35am by burlmart *

Posted By: Teacher's Pet on 04/26/15 06:23pm

Burl---Our 2004 213 cooled overnight, and we used it for a very short distance. But how long in normal operation would it take to cool down, that I don't know. Also your 213 is a 2005, but what year is the chassis, ours is an actual 2004, manufacturers will have chassis left over at the end of the year and title as the next year when used. Our 98 Damon Intruder was on a 97 Ford F-53 chassis.

We were told that sitting unused for two plus years could possibly cause a failure if fuel with ethanol additives was not treated with a fuel stabilizer at time of storage. The fuel basically gummed up the filter and strainer causing the pump to overwork, heat up and in the end fail.

Posted By: quietjake on 04/26/15 09:09pm

"i guess i mean what are the warning signs or any symptoms you noticed before failure? "

ours had no signs before sputtering on the steepest part of the Santiam Pass going up at around 4500'.....it quit briefly, I about coasted to stop, it fired up again once, made it around the death trap corner, died for a minute....started up and ran a few hundred yards to a side road.

Wide 2 lane portion of treacherous mountain pass with heavy traffic.

After being flat-bed carried down the mountain & left overnight, was able to fire it up & drive to the mechanic shop a few miles away.

Still a bit traumatized by the event. This makes the 3rd Chevrolet truck Santiam Pass has killed for me.

It's good to know about the 'overheating' aspect. I suspect the clogged part makes the pump work to thermal break down.

Ours is a "2004" model but don't know early/late/etc. Didn't even get a vehicle booklet with it.

On the other hand, I'm pleased with the power band of the 6L Chev motor...seems well mated with the size of the 213.

Posted By: Teacher's Pet on 04/27/15 03:54am

The date of manufacture and where, is normally on a label on a door post or door edge for a cut-away chassis, I believe.

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