A couple of questions about a 8.3L Cummins powered motorhome.

[johnrv4]

I'm looking at replacing my current towing rig('01 Dodge & Sunnybrook TT) with a Newmar motor home. I've looked at a couple, and both are powered by Cummins 8. 3L's. I was wondering if anybody knows when they went to the ISC's (CAPS fuel injection system,24V) and stopped using the 8. 3's with the P7100. I've heard the CAPS aren’t as reliable as the good ole 7100, and I'm thinking I'd rather find one that still has a 7100 (if it didn't have a million miles on it). Also, has anybody ever heard anything bad about the Spartan chassis used by motor home manufacturers? I like the independent front suspension with the airbag setup, and just wondered if there were any problems with them. Last question- They use an Allison 6 speed auto in the motor homes (possibly a MH3000 model??). Are there any bad features of this transmission?



Thanks in advance

 

[DMcPherson]

I beleive the caps system has been in use on the c engine since the early 90's. they arent to bad, but they do go. and if you think a vp44 is expensive than you never saw a price of a caps pump. on the brighter side its usually only the accumulator that goes on the pump and is much cheaper to fix. overall it is a very good engine, and I deal with them just about everyday.

what is the year range and size you are looking for? because the isl is an awesome engine, but may be more than you are looking for.

 

[johnrv4]

I'm looking at 1998 to 2000 model year. I'm going to look at a 1998 tomorrow that has a 325 hp 8. 3L with a Bosch 7100 pump on it and 42,000 miles. So far, I've just looked at one that was a 2000 model year. It ran nice, but had an exhaust leak. I wonder if the exhaust manifolds on the ISC's cracked like ones on the ISB's. I'm interested in the Newmar brand that uses the Spartan chassis. The size that I'm looking at is in the 38'-40' range. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Jeff Tisdale]

Newmar/spartan went to the isc in 1999. If you are looking at a Dutch Star,the newer coach design started in 1998. The IFS front axle was optional in 1998 and standard 1999 and newer. A 1998 with IFS is quite rare. I was shopping for the same thing as you 2 years ago and got a 1999 DSDP so far so good with caps. To me the IFS was worth it plus the transmission seemed to be smarter about shifting with the ISC compared to the p7100 8. 3

 

[johnrv4]

Thanks for the info Jeff. We ended up putting money down on the '98. The gentleman we're buying it from bought it new and it does have the IFS. He stated that he wanted the ISC, but it wasn't available when he purchased it. They said they would give him the p7100 version with a horsepower uprate to 325hp for the same cost as the standard one (which is what he did). I've heard that the ISC and Allison are a great combination when everything is working right. I guess I'll get to see how the p7100 version works out.