First Time Towing a larger camper
- Thread starter jsheeh9427
- Start date
Oldelevatorman
Well-known member
Oh boy!
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jsheeh9427
Member
So we took the truck and camper out two weekends ago. Not too far from where we lived to get a feel for the truck and towing and any issues we might run into while towing.
So here is what I found:
Truck:
The U-Joint on the drive shaft needed to be replaced - Done
The Differential needed maintenance, new gasket and new plug - Done
Rear Shocks needed to be replaced - Done
Front wheel bearing needed to be replaced - Done
Camper:
Black/Grey water are mislabeled
Fridge not working
Door bumper on outside came loose and was hanging by one screw
Front left outside light was not installed properly and needed to be turned around.
So here is what's left:
Gas Gauge in truck stopped working
HFCM light keeps coming on, no idea why. HFCM is working fine.
Overhead console is not working correctly except MPG. (Miles to empty has stayed on 244, compass doesn't display, temperature is off by 11 degrees)
The HFCM has me a bit perplexed. I have drained it and at first this black stuff came out, not it's grey, but it's not a lot. Comes out at first then straight diesel. Have done this at least once a week. Any thoughts on that?
As far as bullet proofing goes. The EGR delete has been done. I understand why people do it, but it's illegal to do. Also the bolts have been removed and studs have been added in their place. The only issue I have aside from the HFCM is the turbo hose blows off every now and then. First time it happened it freaked us out, thought we blew a tire.
Thanks for all the advice. This will all make a great book for beginners in the future.
John
So here is what I found:
Truck:
The U-Joint on the drive shaft needed to be replaced - Done
The Differential needed maintenance, new gasket and new plug - Done
Rear Shocks needed to be replaced - Done
Front wheel bearing needed to be replaced - Done
Camper:
Black/Grey water are mislabeled
Fridge not working
Door bumper on outside came loose and was hanging by one screw
Front left outside light was not installed properly and needed to be turned around.
So here is what's left:
Gas Gauge in truck stopped working
HFCM light keeps coming on, no idea why. HFCM is working fine.
Overhead console is not working correctly except MPG. (Miles to empty has stayed on 244, compass doesn't display, temperature is off by 11 degrees)
The HFCM has me a bit perplexed. I have drained it and at first this black stuff came out, not it's grey, but it's not a lot. Comes out at first then straight diesel. Have done this at least once a week. Any thoughts on that?
As far as bullet proofing goes. The EGR delete has been done. I understand why people do it, but it's illegal to do. Also the bolts have been removed and studs have been added in their place. The only issue I have aside from the HFCM is the turbo hose blows off every now and then. First time it happened it freaked us out, thought we blew a tire.
Thanks for all the advice. This will all make a great book for beginners in the future.
John
justafordguy
Well-known member
On the HFCM light coming on, you need to clean the sensor. You may have to take it apart depending on how bad it is. Sometimes you can clean it through the drain hole.
On the Turbo hose blowing off, if the boots/clamps are still in good shape you need to clean the boot and pipe real good with brake cleaner and then dry them off before you clamp it back together. If that doesn't work replace the boots and clamps.
On the Turbo hose blowing off, if the boots/clamps are still in good shape you need to clean the boot and pipe real good with brake cleaner and then dry them off before you clamp it back together. If that doesn't work replace the boots and clamps.
Dawnnira
New Jersey Chapter Leaders-Retired
My two cents...13 years old, if the boots and clamps don't clean up good...replace them. Many aftermarket options, I went with the HPS kit. A little expensive but very nice product. We share the same old overhead console, you tube it. It's real easy to take it apart, the old circuit board gets lose over time from vibration and all you have to do is squeeze them back down. I agree with cleaning the sensor...trial and error. It might take a few thousand miles to work out what the last owner did. Stay strong
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jsheeh9427
Member
Ok so on the hose issue we removed the old hose and cleaned it up real good. First with brake fluid cleaner, then with hairspray. Wiped it down and let it dry. Did that on the hose on both ends and on all connections. Placed the clamp back on with an extra nut over the one that's on it now. So far it's been a week and running great.
We are taking the HFCM off this weekend and replacing the both upper and lower fuel filters as well as cleaning out the unit. After we drove just the truck to Virginia and back last weekend we drained it and a bunch of stuff came out. So I am thinking that the sensor does need to be cleaned and the filters are no longer filtering.
Ill take pictures when we are done.
Thanks for all the help and inputs.
John
We are taking the HFCM off this weekend and replacing the both upper and lower fuel filters as well as cleaning out the unit. After we drove just the truck to Virginia and back last weekend we drained it and a bunch of stuff came out. So I am thinking that the sensor does need to be cleaned and the filters are no longer filtering.
Ill take pictures when we are done.
Thanks for all the help and inputs.
John
jsheeh9427
Member
So here is the update with the first time camper experience:
First this group has been more helpful than any of the F-250 Diesel forums I have been on and sifted through looking for answers.
We were going to take the camper up to Michigan last weekend to see family. Really glad the truck started acting up and we postponed by a week.
Truck is in the shop today and the tech tells us that previous owner took the FICM out and replaced with a high performance one. So it sounds loud and black smoke comes out and not programmed for towing or hauling anything. We also had a bad #6 injector and the tube for the transmission fluid was not attached. All being fixed today and that will fix some of the issues I noticed.
He did say the HFCM needs to be cleaned a bit more but the replacement of the filters has helped a lot already. It will take more time to get it all out. There was a lot of crude in there.
So new injector, new FICM, new trans tube. He did verify that the truck has been 90% bullet proofed. The only thing that wasn't done was the oil filter filtration upgrade.
We will take it out on Wednesday for a hour or two drive and then towing on Thursday morning. (If all goes well)
I plan on updating as we make the first real long excursion.
John
First this group has been more helpful than any of the F-250 Diesel forums I have been on and sifted through looking for answers.
We were going to take the camper up to Michigan last weekend to see family. Really glad the truck started acting up and we postponed by a week.
Truck is in the shop today and the tech tells us that previous owner took the FICM out and replaced with a high performance one. So it sounds loud and black smoke comes out and not programmed for towing or hauling anything. We also had a bad #6 injector and the tube for the transmission fluid was not attached. All being fixed today and that will fix some of the issues I noticed.
He did say the HFCM needs to be cleaned a bit more but the replacement of the filters has helped a lot already. It will take more time to get it all out. There was a lot of crude in there.
So new injector, new FICM, new trans tube. He did verify that the truck has been 90% bullet proofed. The only thing that wasn't done was the oil filter filtration upgrade.
We will take it out on Wednesday for a hour or two drive and then towing on Thursday morning. (If all goes well)
I plan on updating as we make the first real long excursion.
John
