How to Change the Wabco Air Dryer and Accessory Air Filter on a Prevost XL2 (and why to change them)

[@SeversVideos]

As a trucking company owner I know about these and change them, good video for folks that don’t know for sure. 👍

[@rjack2947]

Ted, I love your videos I have a 2006 Prevost H3-45 and would love to see a video on your process for an Oil change along with what filters need to be addressed. Thanks, Rick

[@ArcticEngineerNP]

You are right, that Wabco is in a tight precarious location. I changed mine last year (broke two strap wrenches in the process) and even with it blocked up as high as I could get it the space seemed tight getting under there.

[@HaydenJames7]

Ha! Found it! Thank you!!! You're a God-send!

[@TedsGarage]

Glad you found this video helpful! I've got more Prevost content coming, and a lot of my older RV-related videos are relevant regardless of what you own. One note with this - the filters that I changed in this video don't constitute a full rebuild of the unit. So depending on what's causing your issue you may need to dig into this more. But the filters are a good starting point, especially if they've never been done before.

[@Elliott23232323]

regarding a future video suggestion.... how about what are the 5 most probable reasons that would cause the bus to be stranded on the side of the road? And how to avoid or be prepared for them. Thank you for your videos, great content!

[@Elliott23232323]

Also, curious about your thoughts on this video as it pertains to an XL2 like yours. What if you simply replaced your lead acid house batteries with LiFeP04? kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y2TWeaOdhrBliJY

[@TedsGarage]

Thanks for the suggestion, that's a good one! I've added it to the list. On the LiFePO4 batteries, the previous owner before me had thrown them in without updating the inverters (and had them set incorrectly). So far I haven't observed any problems with them being installed this way, although they may not be optimal. I changed the inverter settings based on the recommendations from the battery manufacturer.

[@Elliott23232323]

that's interesting, so the previous owner just swapped out the LA for LiFeP04 batteries and left everything else the same? the areas of concern, as I understand it, are 1. not charging to 100%.with a LA charger. However Tesla recommends only charging to 80% to avoid damaging the battery, so not charging to 100% anyway. In the video he uses solar on the roof to top off the batteries if needed., and 2. possibly damaging the alternator from increased rate of draw from the batteries (the batteries have BMS, battery management system). Is the alternator on the bus ok to handle the BMS LiFeP04s? it would be way more cost effective to just swap out LA for Li batteries. Just trying to understand why people are spending 20-50K on additional battery components:Lithium battery charger, new inverter, buss bar, charge controller and gateway, all connected with blue tooth technology. Does not seem cost effective to me. What am I missing?

[@TedsGarage]

@@Elliott23232323 What you list are the commonly stated issues with running a lithium battery in an RV without that extra equipment that's specifically designed for it. I'd view not getting to a full charge as the most likely side effect since Lithiums do like a slightly different charge pattern from other batteries. However the BMS should handle this pretty well internally. I need to get connected with the BMS on my batteries to see how charged they get, but I'm getting what seems to be a reasonable/expected amount of battery life out of them thus far. I also haven't seen issues with the alternator. However some of that does come to sizing, and you can upgrade your alternator (don't forget to upgrade the wiring too) if you want/need more capacity. On my last RV I upgraded the alternator setup to dual - a 200A for the chassis side and a 270A for the house side. I didn't have lithiums in it but I did have things side so that the alternator could feed the inverter working at full capacity going down the road, and it worked well. I have a few videos on that upgrade. The Prevost has a 50DN alternator which I believe is rated for 270A at 24V - plenty of power and it's also oil-cooled. I'm not worried about it being overtaxed or overheated. I also run lithium batteries for weight savings on two of my motorcycles. Not the same application of course, but no issues there.

[@Elliott23232323]

@@TedsGarage ok good to know, thank you! all those additional lithium components will provide "optimal" performance, however not cost effective in my mind

[@Elliott23232323]

thank you!

[@TedsGarage]

You're welcome! Hope you found it useful!

[@mylynne1953]

Great video. However you don't mention if the air system has to be empty or can the filter be changed while the system is charged?

[@TedsGarage]

That’s a good question and a good point. The air system should be empty when you change this. Check valves should keep the tanks after the dryer from back feeding but it’s better if they’re all empty. My air system was empty already.

[@boun_viaggio_usa9989]

Is your compressor passing oil?

[@TedsGarage]

It might be. My air tank that comes before the air dryer had some oil in it when I first drained it, but I have no idea how long since it was last drained. Similarly the accessory filter housing had a little oil in it, but I don't know when that was drained, either, and the desiccant cartridge looked like what you saw in the video. I'm going to keep an eye on things but not planning on replacing the compressor just yet.

[@jc_from_tx9229]

I change mine about every 3 years

[@TedsGarage]

That would be a good interval to work with.