Forum Discussion

Geocritter's avatar
Geocritter
Explorer
Jul 07, 2013

Question for owners of early 1990's Holiday Ramblers

Hi all y’all,

I’m looking for owners of early 1990’s Holiday Ramblers. I read a thread a while back that freaked me a bit. It was about how some of these Class A RV’s get hot enough to melt plug wires and make the floor uncomfortably hot. It seems that there are manufactures that chose form over function. After all it's easier to sell a nice looking RV than one that’s built well, but somewhat ugly (not sleek) because of it. To heck with the engine compartment over-heating, the new owners can worry about that!

After reading that I inspected the grill of my 1994 Holiday Rambler


It sure looks like it should get a lot of air flow, however I don’t have much experience with these things.

The other things I noticed, while I was looking for the transmission cooler was that there were two coolers, this one is located in front of the AC coils and radiator


And this one located below the AC coils and radiator.


I’m guessing that the lower one is the transmission cooler (it’s so danged hot now I’m not crawling underneath to trace lines, sorry but I have an issue with Texas summers).

If it is the transmission cooler does anyone have the experience to tell if the factory transmission coolers are up to the task, or should I install an over-sized one before I begin my journeys.

Sorry I can’t be more helpful on my end at this point, it’s a summer thing. If someone really needs me to trace lines I can do it in the morning before it gets too hot, but I’m hoping I won’t have to crawl underneath among the fire ants and scorpions.

Steve
Class A

10 Replies

  • tropical36's avatar
    tropical36
    Explorer
    Jul 07, 2013
    Geocritter wrote:
    tropical36 wrote:
    Chevy or Ford?..... and None should have engine overheat, if the house is designed right. Problem arises when the GCVW is exceeded and Ford has a much higher limit than Chevy during those years. AS has been said, frills are more important than things like a transmission temp gauge and this is what usually overheats, no matter what your engine coolant might be doing. Next and if you're lucky, the engine will go into limp mode upon order from the ECM, just when you think you're doing fine and while climbing those 6% grades for 5 miles or so.

    Good thought tropical36! I hadn't thought about installing a transmission temperature gauge, but it sounds like a darn good idea!

    I've really appreciated the responses I've been getting to this query. Though I'd like to know about any inherent problems (the kind based on poor design) it's good to know that Holiday Ramblers are well made, well designed, and basically free of poor-design problems. Some of my concerns are based on an experience of my brothers years ago. He'd purchased a used Class C for a 10,000 mile vacation trip. Halfway through he had to replace the transmission because the cheap *imbeciles that built it didn't see fit to install a transmission cooler (oops, oh well not my problem).
    Steve
    *BTW calling them morons would have been an insult to actual morons. Imbecile is far more appropriate.

    I thought about a tranny gauge before beginning this trip, but let it slide and would rather not be cutting into the line for an install now, while on the road. I pretty much can anticipate what it's doing though and drive accordingly. As for coolers, ours has one for the tranny and uses a portion of the A/C (another worthless item that costs money) condenser for the engine oil, which is a better use for it. Not so sure I like it being in front of the radiator and completely covering it, however. Still not sure of your chassis manufacture and most all questions and answers in reference are dependent on this. Consider some details as part of your signature for saving time and receiving better responses.
  • Geocritter's avatar
    Geocritter
    Explorer
    Jul 07, 2013
    tropical36 wrote:
    Chevy or Ford?..... and None should have engine overheat, if the house is designed right. Problem arises when the GCVW is exceeded and Ford has a much higher limit than Chevy during those years. AS has been said, frills are more important than things like a transmission temp gauge and this is what usually overheats, no matter what your engine coolant might be doing. Next and if you're lucky, the engine will go into limp mode upon order from the ECM, just when you think you're doing fine and while climbing those 6% grades for 5 miles or so.

    Good thought tropical36! I hadn't thought about installing a transmission temperature gauge, but it sounds like a darn good idea!

    I've really appreciated the responses I've been getting to this query. Though I'd like to know about any inherent problems (the kind based on poor design) it's good to know that Holiday Ramblers are well made, well designed, and basically free of poor-design problems. Some of my concerns are based on an experience of my brothers years ago. He'd purchased a used Class C for a 10,000 mile vacation trip. Halfway through he had to replace the transmission because the cheap *imbeciles that built it didn't see fit to install a transmission cooler (oops, oh well not my problem).
    Steve
    *BTW calling them morons would have been an insult to actual morons. Imbecile is far more appropriate.
  • tropical36's avatar
    tropical36
    Explorer
    Jul 07, 2013
    Chevy or Ford?..... and None should have engine overheat, if the house is designed right. Problem arises when the GCVW is exceeded and Ford has a much higher limit than Chevy during those years. AS has been said, frills are more important than things like a transmission temp gauge and this is what usually overheats, no matter what your engine coolant might be doing. Next and if you're lucky, the engine will go into limp mode upon order from the ECM, just when you think you're doing fine and while climbing those 6% grades for 5 miles or so.
  • MCDDY's avatar
    MCDDY
    Explorer
    Jul 07, 2013
    We had a 91 33' HR 1000 AKA Vacationer on a Chevy chassis and then a 94 Endeavor LE 36' on a Ford chassis. Never any cooling problems on either. Summer heat and humidity here on the Gulf Coast and then desert heat out west as well as mountain grades. Both good coaches but the Ford Chassis drove much better. No wander like the Chevy's bicycle tires. Ford was lots greedier though.
    As far as the deer whistles, I thought they and the cow catcher bumpers were standard equipment on every vehicle where you live but those won't do you any good where they're mounted. Our good friend in Fredericksburg convinced me of that. Mine are mounted below the mirrors where they get a good air flow. I guess they work as we've never even had a close encounter with a deer even at daybreak in the Hill Country.

    Hope this helps.

    Dave
  • mlslcan's avatar
    mlslcan
    Explorer
    Jul 07, 2013
    I have a 1993 HR 1000 built on the Ford chassis. I have not had overheating issues even pulling a Jeep Cherokee in the mountains. I have also not noticed too much heat radiating from the dog house into the cab. HR placed a fair amount of insulation on the dog house. Most of the problems with plug wires melting can usually be traced to missing heat shields on the exhaust manifolds or exhaust leaks at the manifold. I just ordered the Banks power pack system since I have two broken manifold bolts with the accompanying exhaust leaks. I should be able to put them on at the end of this month.


    Mike
  • Geocritter's avatar
    Geocritter
    Explorer
    Jul 07, 2013
    Ya, I forgot about the deer whistles. Why would anyone want to whistle at deer?

    So I guess this thread that I read sometime back was mainly about poorly engineered RV's built by companies more interested in pretty and flashy than they were in quality. It boggled my mind that the engine compartment in these things would get hot enough to melt the plug wires. I guess that's not a concern with my Holiday Rambler as long as I take good care of the existing cooling systems. I hope so, because I'd rather do preventive or intervention maintenance now than be plagued with heat problems later.

    Steve

    PS thanks for identifying those components for me. I'm currently waiting for fall to do a long long long list of service items. When I do these things I'll drive to my friends place and work on the underside issues on his concrete slab. No fire ants and scorpions for me!
  • wrvond's avatar
    wrvond
    Explorer II
    Jul 07, 2013
    I'd be more concerned about the deer whistles. The cooling system, as designed, works well, as long as routine maintenance is kept up. The deer whistles, on the other hand, will never work. ;)
  • ThorResidencyNe's avatar
    ThorResidencyNe
    Explorer
    Jul 07, 2013
    The one in front of the condenser is the tranny cooler and the other is power steering. They look just like the ones on my MH.
  • MountainAir05's avatar
    MountainAir05
    Explorer II
    Jul 07, 2013
    the one on the bottom is the power steering,

    The 8x12 inch one is the transmission

    The next bigger one is the Air Condition

    and of coarse the engine one is the largest one.
  • Fishinghat's avatar
    Fishinghat
    Explorer II
    Jul 07, 2013
    I have a 1993 HR Navigator and previously owned a 1989 HR Imperial Class C with a Ford chassis.

    Back in that time period, Holiday Rambler was a stand alone company that built very good RVs. Quality was evident in just about everything they did. One easy way to determine how careful HR was, is to check the weight limits against the actual weight. You'll probably find more capacity than most other rigs of that time frame. I would find it hard to believe that your coach was built to meet just minimum requirements.

    All that being said, I can't remember exactly how many radiators my Class C had. I suspect your coach has a transmission cooler, an oil cooler, a air conditioning heat exchanger, and naturally the main radiator. If you're concerned, have a shop flush your cooling system, replace the main hoses, thermostat, and coolant.

About Motorhome Group

38,752 PostsLatest Activity: Sep 15, 2025