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duckiee's avatar
duckiee
Explorer
May 28, 2013

Overland 1990, 1989,1988 Mallard Overland - Front Diesel

Overland 1990, 1989,1988 Help!
I have an Overland that says 1988 John Deere on the chassis, 1989 in the VIN number, and 1990 on the title. I have been trying to research it, but it has been a needle in a haystack. I know that its and Oshkosh chassis. It has a diesel engine in the front of the RV. It is a 40 ft. Or near that. I have a guy working on it who is not experienced with RV's but is doing a pretty good job figuring things out.
We do have all the original manuals on it. But, it is a mess of information about gas engines, and a lot of extra stuff that doesn't pertain to it. It doesn't say what kind of chassis it is.
it kind of hoge poged together. A melting pot of parts. I think it is a ford steering wheel, allison transmission, Cummins diesel, And I am not sure what else. Just a bag of worms.
I would like to speed up the process by helping him with whatever I can find out on the internet. So far, the alternator was not charging the batteries. He went in and found it was a delco alternator which he thinks is not the original alternator. He thinks it should be a bosch. And it may be a rebuild. Anyways, there were maybe 5 wires hooked up to the alt. Some were melted. He reconfigured the wires in hopes that that was the problem. There was one wire left over that we don't have a clue as to where it goes. There are a lot of wires that have been spliced and are cut and is a mess under the dash. The previous owners had a field day with them!
Some things don't work. Like the air horn. The turn signal switch. The emergency start.
The blower on the A/c heater in the dash is weak. The A/C only trickles out. I am wondering if that is normal. The previous owner said that he didn't use the dash a/c because it wouldn't blow cold because the diesel engine would make the air too hot. I know the A/C system needs to be updated. But, I don't know if I should bother with it if it blows warm. Maybe it is the fan?
I am curious as to why the diesel is in the front and not the rear like all of the other diesels that I have found on the internet.
We have come to the conclusion that this chassis was one that didn't have the bugs worked out.
The speedometer is not hooked up to the transmission and we can't find where it plugs in. The wire is just hanging down, not connected.
The odometer does not work.
The volt meter is not accurate. It is showing on the low side.
Besides all of the other stuff. The BRAKES! I have to push down so hard it makes my leg hurt to get the darn thing stopped! I know this can't be normal. The previous owner said it was like that for him as well. He said he took it to an RV place to have it inspected and they didn't find anything wrong! I beg to differ. But, I can't, nor can my guy figure out what might be the problem. We don't know what exact chassis we have.
Also, the steering has way too much play in it. When I was going down the road about 40mph, I was white knuckling it to stay straight. I noticed a yellow sway bar underneath attached to the steering. But, I don't know if that is supposed to have any impact on the play. I am kind of lost in this area. I need to be able to steer and put on the brakes to drive it.
If anyone has any clues to my Overland orphan, please, please contact me! Please! at giulianogirls@yahoo.com

see PICTURES

http://www.use.com/mallard_Overland_...a140a8065490a4

5 Replies

  • duckiee wrote:
    jferre9570 wrote:
    Two things: John Deere chassis div was bought by Oshkosh and now belongs to Freightliner so you can call them for help; also try
    contacting Alice McGrath at John Deere: 319-292-8703 or McGrathAliceR@johndeere.com. Nice lady, very helpful and knowledgeable. She will need your VIN number. She was able to send me a complete set of photocopies of the chassis manuals for my last MH. FWIW, a diesel was available as an option on the JD chassis, and the brakes used a HydroMax booster (sounds like yours isn't working properly)




    I have to push the brakes to the floorboard to barley get the thing to stop. It takes a lot of leg strength! I have not driven it very far.( to the gas station and back) because of this. I only have a short amount of time and money to get this taken care of. Right now, I am updating the inside of the RV. New, floor,etc. I can not afford to take the RV to a dealership. They are a rip off here. The previous owner said that he took it to the nearest RV dealer around me and they couldn't find any problems with the brakes. I know there is. It can't possible be right that I practically have to break my leg to stop it! I am terrified to think of anybody in front of me slamming on the brakes. I am at a roadblock as to where I might take it to have it looked at. A truck repair shop?
    Any suggestions would help. I live in Surprise AZ.
    I have to get this thing in shape.


    I might try to call oshkosh to see if they can help. Did they charge you for the copies?

    I wonder who might be able to fix the brakes that won't charge me a ton of cash?
  • redsb3 wrote:
    Can't help much with your problem but I sure hope you got it real cheap. From your description, almost sounds like somebody did an engine swap, from gas to diesel. Could explain why a lot of stuff isn't connected or doesn't work.


    It seems like that is the case. There are two shifters. One on the dash, and one on the steering column. All the other Overlands that I have looked up like mine have either a diesel in the rear or gas engine in the front.
    The speedometer is not connected to the transmission. The cable for it is just dangling underneath it. There is a 2 foot gap from the end of the cable to where it is supposed to be hooked up. I don't know if there is a cruse control missing, or the cable is just too short. Got to figure out how to get that working. I have someone trying to figure it out but he is not clear as to what exact chassis it is and where to find a part that would fix it.

    And the brakes! Horrible!
  • jferre9570 wrote:
    Two things: John Deere chassis div was bought by Oshkosh and now belongs to Freightliner so you can call them for help; also try
    contacting Alice McGrath at John Deere: 319-292-8703 or McGrathAliceR@johndeere.com. Nice lady, very helpful and knowledgeable. She will need your VIN number. She was able to send me a complete set of photocopies of the chassis manuals for my last MH. FWIW, a diesel was available as an option on the JD chassis, and the brakes used a HydroMax booster (sounds like yours isn't working properly)




    I have to push the brakes to the floorboard to barley get the thing to stop. It takes a lot of leg strength! I have not driven it very far.( to the gas station and back) because of this. I only have a short amount of time and money to get this taken care of. Right now, I am updating the inside of the RV. New, floor,etc. I can not afford to take the RV to a dealership. They are a rip off here. The previous owner said that he took it to the nearest RV dealer around me and they couldn't find any problems with the brakes. I know there is. It can't possible be right that I practically have to break my leg to stop it! I am terrified to think of anybody in front of me slamming on the brakes. I am at a roadblock as to where I might take it to have it looked at. A truck repair shop?
    Any suggestions would help. I live in Surprise AZ.
    I have to get this thing in shape.
  • Two things: John Deere chassis div was bought by Oshkosh and now belongs to Freightliner so you can call them for help; also try
    contacting Alice McGrath at John Deere: 319-292-8703 or McGrathAliceR@johndeere.com. Nice lady, very helpful and knowledgeable. She will need your VIN number. She was able to send me a complete set of photocopies of the chassis manuals for my last MH. FWIW, a diesel was available as an option on the JD chassis, and the brakes used a HydroMax booster (sounds like yours isn't working properly)
  • Can't help much with your problem but I sure hope you got it real cheap. From your description, almost sounds like somebody did an engine swap, from gas to diesel. Could explain why a lot of stuff isn't connected or doesn't work.