I was surprised while checking the air filter element a while ago at the large amount of crap that was in the filter container (not to mention the amount of water too). It seemed an inordinate amount that should not be there so I decided to "look" into it, and immediately figured that with the intake on mine (any many others) being just below the roof-line, that it is natural for all the crap going over the roof while driving and what gets caught in the vortex created at the rear, to be sucked up and ingested into the piping. I decided to make a small deflector to hopefully stop this (and a side benefit turned out to be my rear camera stays clean and usable while driving in rain).
I have just completed a 11,200 mile journey across Canada, down the East Coast of US and (yes) a few thousand miles thru Mexico then back home, and the air filter is still almost looking like new. I figured there was about a teaspoon of dust inside the "can" and the filter was dry even with the last 2 days being very wet in Oregon and Washington. This is a simple thing to make and does not deter from the looks of my coach. I did not paint it but will once the weather gets a bit better.
Hope this helps if you too are concerned about your air filter
John
2000 U295 36
Sounds like what i need to keep water from obscuring the camera view in the rain. Where do I find the photos?
John,
Some photos just might get you your first Karma point/s.
Have not seen the photos, but this issue is why I am looking forward to Xtreme and Rance making a conversion to the air intake on my 01 320, to make like the Phenix side air intake slots. Brothers Phenix does not plug up the air filter nearly as quick as my coach does. Never have seen any sign of water in the air filter, just plenty of dust, can remove filter and shake about 2 pounds of dust from it just tapping gently on the ground.
More and cleaner air is worth a fix.
Here's a link to photos: Rear Air Deflector (http://www.beamalarm.com/Documents/rear_air_deflector.html)
Dave Abel
here they are anyway by John Haygarth 2000 U295
The deflector I made is constructed out of 1/8th Aluminum sheet and I made it about 3" wider than the air inlet to alleviate any chance of water/air coming around the sides. It protrudes 3" from the body so protects the Back-Up Camera too and keeps the lens clean most of the time.
It has a ½" lip that is bent at roughly 45 degrees to compensate for the shape of the roof at this point and allow it to drain water away. This lip has four ( 4) 1/8th dia holes spaced across it and I pop riveted it to the coach, firstly putting a small amount of caulking under to seal it.
I have found this deflector totally stops water from being "sucked" into the air filter system and also the amount of dust etc is also greatly reduced therefore extending the life of the filter and more importantly protecting the engine/ turbo from particulate damage. This is a very simple item that can be constructed easily but if someone wanted I can make it for around $29.00 plus shipping. It is polished Aluminum that can be painted to match the coach.
As others have stated Wow. What a story, while I am new to rving I was always careful with water around classic car air filters. I never thought about it on my rv. I always wash and keep it clean and now will check the filter and will be careful where I shoot water during cleaning. While my engine is a cat I don't believe that makes a difference.