Traveling in hot regions
We are travelling cross country and are heading into the hot, hot temperature states. Are there things to be more aware of in our Class C diesel motorhome? I would like to take preventive measures to ensure a safe trip.
Forum Discussion
- Drive at night.
- Snowdance,
I've had good luck running the roof air on fan only to circulate the air from the cab area of my class C. - Your dash air is far bigger than you roof air and will cool about 3 times as much. Up to 117 degrees or so we open a vent a small amount in the rear of the rig and use the dash air full. As you go down the road the vent will pull the dash air thru the rig keeping it very cool. Just be sure there are no other vents open so all air into the rig has to come thru the dash AC and all air out goes thru the vent in the rear. You will have to play with it to see how much you need to open the vent on your rig. Our rear vent is in the bath room so we can leave the rear vent open a little when stopped at a rest area, leave the rig engine and dash air on and run the bath vent fan on low. All air that comes into the rig must come thru the dash air. It works great. The inside temp in our rig is usually in the mid 70's
Also when running in the heat or pulling long grades, (As we do all the time) never come to a stop and turn the engine off. Leave it run until the engine temp is down to normal. For a 10 or 20 min stop just let the engine and dash AC run. If you engine over heats using it this way you need to work on the cooling system. If your dash AC does not cool your rig its because you have closed all vents and the air has no place to go so you will cool only where its blowing.
After about 117 degrees we run both dash and roof AC if needed. - Make sure your radiator is clean. Remove the bugs, dirt, etc..
- I live in Phoenix. Carry plenty of drinking water and in case of a problem never leave the vehicle.
RichH - Moved from Forum Technical Support
- Ok to slow down a bit especially on any incline. Take a quick look at your tires when you are stopped.
http://forums.woodalls.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/28975279.cfm - If you do run hot just avoid driving from 1 pm till 6 pm, here in Vegas we have just had 10 days of extreme heat {115 degrees} but the forecast says we are cooling down to 105 for the next week.
- Run the roof air and watch engine temperatures. I would sometimes turn off the dash air.
- When traveling in hot weather where the dash air can't keep up I run the generator and the roof air.
Bill
