Breakdown Information

[Badeye]

Moderators Note: This thread is intending to report a problem and its resolution. If you are seeking help or information to help you resolve a problem you would best be served by initiating a thread on the class A forum proper

After some conversation with Diesel-Lover and others on this forum I thought I would try to start a thread concerning breakdowns on the road. We try to prevent this by good maintenance and driving reasonably but it can still happen. As I observed in a previous post, on a roughly 350 mile northbound drive on I-75 I saw 4 class A MH broken down. All were southbound.

If we should have a breakdown and would post the following information on this thread it could be a resource and reminder for others.

RV particulars:
Driveline (Engine, Transmission):
Miles:
Year:
Break Down Description: (You can add any description of the problem here that you think would help others in understanding the situation and problem.)
Symptoms:
Effect:
Cause:
Outcome:

This is the type of information that is recorded in the aircraft industry and other maintenance activities to track failure trends. It will take a while before we see a lot of value in this. If it continues for a time and sufficient data is available, I will analyze the data and put it into a form that I can send by email to any interested parties. I would suspect that an initial report could be done in about three months or when we have about 100 to 150 cases.

What do you think?

[diomar]

Model:'93 Winnebago Adventurer(32RQ)
Chassis:P30
Engine:454(trottle body fuel injection)
Transmission:4L80E
Location of failure: 4 miles N of Tampa, FL, SB on I-75
Failure: Engine quit running, cranks, but won't start.
Cause: Worn ECM harnesss at shroud(bent sheetmetal) covering air conditioning compressor pulley.

It was a dark and stormy night...
Cruising along at 55mph, decided to push on to St. Pete Bch...instead of stopping at our usual 5pm.
Engine quit.
Slipped into neutral and tried to start...just cranked.
Pulled over to shoulder and tried to start again.
Called FHP and gave them lat/lon of our location.
FHP unable to locate anything without Highway Number and Mile Marker.
1/2 hour later very kind Officer pulled up and offered to contact towing service.
1/2 hour later towing service showed up and offered to tow to either "unknown" RV shop or LazyDays RV shop.
Paid towing service $180 for towing to LazyDays facility.
NOTE: Make sure wrecker driver knows about perils of AutoPark and unsprung driveshafts.
NOTE: Make sure the the wrecker either replaces the universal bearing caps on their respective ends and tapes them in place, or count on having the universal replaced before you head on the road again.
Five days waiting for LazyDays to get an open bay to look at it.
Four hours once it was in the bay.
Two hour while the tech dropped the fuel tank because he was unable to hear the fuel pump running. He claimed that the fuel pump would need to be replaced. Pump and gauge sending unit would be replaced together. I asked what blown fuseshe'd found. He went back to check fueses and found the ECM BAT fues has blown. We also found that the fuse should've been a 10A and someone(previous owners) has replaced it with a 20A...(I hate when people lie...Nope, never had a problem with it...*sigh*).

LazyDays tech says the problem was a pinched wire near the fuel tank. Problem was fixed, tech said the 20A fuse was ok in place of the 10A that the mfgr spec'd.

Paid LazyDays +$300. and $50 tip to tech for being so good at 'finding the problem so quickly'.

Back on the road...

Transmission would occasionally feel like it was placed into Neutral wile driving down the road. Problem would occur when hitting a pothole/bump on the road.

Continued driving...

1000-2000 miles later...

Engine stalls somewhere in N. Texas. Coast to side of road. Open hood, check ECM BAT fuse, replace fuse, back on the road.

30' later...

Engine stalls, still somewhere in N. Texas. Vector to side of road, open hood, replace ECM BAT fuse that promptly burns out...

replace fuse...
replace 3rd fuse...
replace with 25A fuse...
replace with 30A fuse...
I'm either gonna clear the short, or somethin's gonna send up a smoke signal to show me where the short is...
Engine starts!
Replace 30A fuse with 10A fuse and head back on the road...cool, pale and diaphoretic...no heart attack, yet.

back in Colorado.

Scattered rock from passing truck blows out larger driver-side fixed-window.
Pull into home depot in ColoSprings to replace blown window with lexan. (easy to cut and tape in place).
Wife vacumms up glass frags and feeds infant...
Did I mention the amount of stress that driving with a 4 month old infant can bring? on top of the problems the coach was having?

Wait for second MI(heart attack).

Back on the road. Home at last.

Out to california and back, no blown fuses, but the tranny would occasionally do the neutral-shift thing.

Back home. Strange vibration at 45 mph. Went to tire dealer and they agreed that the tires may be the cause. They replaced the tires. Handkooks with Michelins. Ride is improved 100%.

Heading home and ECM BAT fuse blows.
15 fuses later(10A-30A) and having to drive the coach in reverse the last +mile home(did I mention that this is a 32')...without a backup guide.

Sitting in driveway and waiting(the MI thing again, stress level as an all time high).

Engine still running, I removed the engine cover and gave the thickest bundle of wires a 'wiggle'...THE LAST BLOW ECM BAT FUSE!!!

Hope all your miles are as enjoyable as ours have been.

I had my first MI on April 1, 2003.
I had my first child on May 22, 2003.
I bought my first class A on June 1, 2003.
I only regret not having had my child or buying a motorhome, sooner...
I could've waited until my deathbed to have the MI and the coach problems...heh.

--joe

[ConnieAndMike]

91 HRC With 460 Ford 550 chasis, Fuel Injection.
Symptom: Loss of power from 65mph to about 40mph on I80 in Nebraska.

Doesn't get much flatter that that. Temp in the low 70's
We had been crusing for about 2.5 hrs in the afternoon. Had about 1/2 tank of gas when I noticed the loss of power. Thought I might be on a grade or something. Then a small, bearly detectable engine miss/stumble.

I thought for sure it was another intank fuel pump/filter problem.
We were about 20mi east of NorthPlatte and pulled off and into a dinky old Sinclair Station. I had read where the gas in the tank may get hot and cause a problem. I took on 20 gallons. We got onto Hwy 30, and headed into town. I eased it on up to 50-60mph and no problem.

We stopped in town at another gas station and took on another 28 gallons to fill the tank, making a total of 48. I have an 80 gallon tank, so I still had 32 gallons onboard when I had the problem. Seems like a lot of gas to me.

We cruised at 55-65mph for another 2000 miles out to Denver and back without any other problems. I always made sure I got gas at about 250mi or so taking on 40-45 gallons.

So was it Hot or Dirty Gas, vapor lock or the dreaded pump???
If you notice the problem, pull off and get some gas to cool it off.
It may help.

Mike

[TWOSTROKE]

Coachmen 1998 34' with Chev 454.
3000 miles
Problem Cheverolet Built it!

Since we have been motorhoming quite a while now we have several breakdowns but this series is probably the worst and ended up with us really happy in a new Holiday Rambler Endeavor DP. First major trip on a 1998 Coachmen 34' 454 to Gainsville, FL no problems but on the way home as we go thru Mobile, AL, the exhaust gets very loud. Wife is driving and we decuss it, no problem as 454 always have problems with exhaust manifolds, we will drive on home. About 130 more miles in Magee, Mississippi she says we are smoking very badly. We stop in a parking lot, and oil leaking from the engine area and find the oil cooler line melted and oil running out. Find a mechanic (on Sunday to come and help) son looks at front tires and says what are these shiny things around the tires, both of the steel radial were showing thru all the way around the tires, Coachmen had forgotten to realign the front end after building the coach. The mechanics go to find parts and get a plug to put in the block to plug up the oil cooler line and discover the motor moves as the left engine mount bolt does not go thru the mount, the mount sits on the bolt that how the oil cooler line melted as the engine would torque up and the exhaust would hit the oil cooler line. Fix that too, change the worst looking tire, pay them $75 (More than they asked) and drive home.

This coach had everything you can think of break including the rear hitch, exhaust, ecu, and so much more. Chevy spent over $20,000 trying to fix it and fianlly bought it back. We had 3' yellow lemons plastered all over it we were so disgusted with it. While we were waiting for them to decide to buy it back we bought the Holiday DP. It was the best move we could have made, loved that coach even though we did have a break down on it at at about 80,000 miles when one of the calipers stuck and wore the rotor half way thru. We got it towed home 150 miles and got it fixed with new rotor and caliper for $300. It was on a freighliner chassis.

1998 Holiday Endeavor DP Cummins 230HP Allison 6 speed
80,000 miles


2000 Four Winds Funmover with V10 Ford
40,000 miles
Transmission

The next breakdown happened almost 2000 miles from home in California. We have a Four Winds funmover with Ford V10. We had about 40,000 miles on it. Pulled to a stop and when we went to go, it would not move. The engine ran fine. We let it cool off for about an hour and it worked. We did this on and off for a week while we were in Ca once it was rolling, everything worked fine. We got home and had our trans guy look at it. Ford had left two bolts inside loose and let fluid seep through. Out of warranty we paid $2500 to rebuild whole transmission. It has 100,000 miles on it now and runs great.

We had some of those wonderful Firestone tires on the Fun Mower, the first one blew at 70 mph in Ohio and about scared the wits out of us. After the first one and until we got Michelin tires on it, we got where we could change a tire in 15 minutes since we have an air compressor on board. Get spare out, jack it up, use air wrench off and on, load junk tire and gone. When done with trip, take tire for free warranty replacement. Finally got tired of it, put new tires on it and then Firestone recalled the tires. Glad for the Michelins.

1997 Eldorado Class C 31' Ford V10
114,000 miles

Last breakdown was about 6 weeks ago in 31' Eldorado class c motorhome. We were headed out of town to a race about 300 miles away and had gone only 40 miles when loud bang in the rear. Found two rear tires on right side blown out. Tools would not fit the lugs, called my service manager at our store and he bought tools and we put one spare on and limped it back home. Used another vehicle and replaced the tires the next week as well as repair the wheel well damage. It did not have Michelins on it either but we were only going to use this one for a while til we bought a new one, howerer one son used it to go to Norwalk, Ohio a week ago. He lost two tires on it and it now has two new Michelins.

Pictured below are the Funmover and the Eldorado as we still have them.

Many more I am sure but these are the ones that come readily to mind.

[ppjeep]

99 Discovery
ISB 5.9 Cummins w/Banks
Allison 3060
Freightliner Chassis

Problem: No air pressure
We were getting ready to leave the 04 GARVR on Friday morning, trying to beat the crowd (ha ha) and much to my surprise the coach wouldn't build any pressure. I checked the obvious stuff that I could and couldn,t find anything. Called Freightliner and they connected me with the closest service center which couldn't get to me untill the next afternoon, but did give me the phone number of someone else in the area who may be able to help. So I called and they sent a technician out that afternoon. He changed the governor and still no air. Following the system the next item was the air drier, had air going in but not out. He bypassed the drier to get me going and I continued home where I removed the drier and installed a filter kit. Seems to be fine now.

[underwe]

Hello Badeye:
Thanks for starting this thread. I was a little late in getting into this, but cannot see where you have reported a compilation of your
database on this topic.
Can you give me an update on your progress.

Again Thank you for this service to the RV public,
Bill

[underwe]

The following is painful to recount even now, but this is an important topic.
RV Particulars: 2002 Itasca Horizon CAT 330 Allison Tran 6 speed
Mileage: 37,600
Breakdown Description: Traveling South on I-25 rolling in Trinidad, Co about to go over Raton Pass. Lossing power
Symptoms: RPM needle is irratic and I am losing power, managed to make into a WalMart parking lot. Checked tran fluid level is was good.
Effect: No power, could not get over 35/40 mph. Called Allison. I was instructed, if I can, drive to Stewart/Stevenson in Pueblo, Co. (80 miles away). Service manager will be there to meet us. It was Sunday aftenoon.
Cause: Tran wiring harness had detached from the frame and landed on the exhaust manifold.
Outcome: with wiring harness repaired and properly attached, all's well.
Addendum: that was the longest drive of my life from Trinidad to Pueblo.
Second, it took several hours for the tech to find the problem. Discussed with Winnebago, they were not aware of this ever happening before. On the forum, I read where someone reported that fully extended jacks can cause problems with wiring detaching. I did very much appreciate the good service at Stewart/Stevenson and that Allison paid the bill.

[argie71]

Hi All:

A question about a problem I am having with my Onan Generator in my '99 32Y Southwind.

Generator starts on its own - realize it is probably a short somewhere as the starter keeps running. Any thoughts or ideas about whwre to start.

argie71 (Ron)

Ron & Yvonne, Ringo (the cat) and Genji (the pug)
'99 32Y Southwind - Ford F53 w V10

[george_parks_sr]

1999 DISCOVERY 5.9 CUMMINS 275HP PROBLEM; Cracked block. 22000 miles Replaced with no cost to me, but 2 weeks in a hotel in San Antonio. Cause stated Flaw in the casting. George Parks

[au_ee]

We had two breakdowns when we had our Winnebago Brave. Unfortunately they both occurred on the same trip. The first was a transmission transducer that went out, the other was a short in the electrical harness. We had to get a tow on the second one. I asked the tow truck driver what his experience was in towing motorhomes. He said his experience was that the vast majority of tows involved gassers. I don't know if the newer units have improved since the 90's but we do seem to notice more gas MHs on the side of the road than DPs.

[jimsan]

RV: 1999 Georgie Boy Cruise Master w/21000 miles. GM 454 ci engine
Traveling east on I-40 just west of Albuquerque when I lost so much power I couldn't climb the hill from the Rio Puerco. Towed to an rv park cg on Sunday and Monday morning I limped into Alb to see if I could get it fixed.

Turned out to be a badly plugged fuel filter that made the engine hot (this did not show on the temp gauge) and it destroyed the guts of both cat coverters. All the cat innards flowed downstream to the muffler and plugged it completely. If anyone runs into this large loss of power, recommend you have a mechanic shop put flow meter on the hard points to see if it has happened to you.

Mechanic said he'd been doing work on cars for 31 years and never ran across this.

[wa0mqe]

RV particulars:
Driveline (8.1 Vortec, 4L80E GM 4-speed Auto):
Miles: 18,500
Year: 2001
Break Down Description: Alternator putting out 15.5 volts (to high)
Symptoms:
Effect: Not sure but could boil batteries, chassis & house
Cause: Appeared to be alternator
Outcome: Replaced alternator and ignition switch

Warrantied the alternator, but the service shop also found a problem with burnt connectors on ignition switch. Said this could have caused the alternator to put out more voltage due to sensing circuit in alternator thinking it needed more.

[Allegro]

I have a 1998 Allegro Bus with 5.9 Cummins ISB and at 92,000 miles a valve broke and had to replace the head, bore cylinder to 1st oversize, and install new piston, injector, and turbo as well as head. Good thing was Cummins warrantted engine for 7 years or 150,000 miles. Bad thing was I paid for oil, antifreeze and freight on new head. They had to ship from fractory as their distribution point did note have it. Oh well, anyway I saved about $4000.00

Cause: valve head broke off stem, probably just fatigue as weld broke. Happened about 3 miles from our campground in Lanacaster Pa. We stayed with a cousin, completed our trip and drove our toad home. Three weeks later picked up MH. Run like a kitten coming the 600 mile home. Hope it does so for another 92,000 miles.

[chloesmom]

RV particulars:
Driveline HR Rambler Endeavor DP
Miles: 11K
Year: 2000
Break Down Description: (You can add any description of the problem here that you think would help others in understanding the situation and problem.)
Symptoms: Flat tire (blowout)
Effect: Stranded 4 hours
Cause: Hit unmarked construction in Virginia
Outcome: $$$ for new tire

[Zaefire]

RV particulars: Class A Suncrest (no longer manufactured) Driveline (Engine, Transmission):n/a
Miles:n/a
Year:1988
Break Down Description:Headed north from San Diego at beginning of mountain pass. Wind blowing hard, gusting at 60MPH Symptoms: First heard a flapping sound like the awning had broken loose. Pulled over when we could get off highway. Nearly Christmas.

Effect: Roof on driver's side lifted by the wind gusts, ripped up as far back as bathroom, destroying trim at top of shower and giving me and husband more grey hair. Got to San Bernardino where CamperWorld told us they don't do insurance work. A small RV repair shop owner told us the following:
Cause: Suncrest known to have this problem. Later after removing the strip which covers the screws it was revealed that only one of each 4-5 screws was actually in place. If you own a Suncrest, you might want to check this.
Outcome: Couldn't have it fixed before Xmas.. so husband put 7 screws in a line neatly into top part of roof overhang to hold it down (it is a 1988..who will notice a few extra screws). Caulked excessively. When we got to destination and removed strip, husband put a screw in every hole where Suncrest had not. Caulked everywhere needed and some places not needed. Removed strip on passenger side, found same lack of screws...added screws where needed, and for good measure put 7 in a line above in roof overhang to match those on opposite side.
6 Mo later, have to recaulk occasionally and shower top trim under skylight is now strips of white duct tape till I find a way to replace the ripped up trim. Want to own stock in caulk and duct tape companies.

Addendum: Wind is a bummer in an RV anyway. If you hit high gusts, park it. Hopefully facing into the wind or tail into the wind. Where we had our incident, there were cars and trucks off the road and a truck container blown off on one lane.

[Zaefire]

1988 Suncrest 32.' (no longer made)

We bought the RV in a hurry as we had a family emergency back east and had just sold our house.
The previous owner was so darned nice and the RV has features that were ahead of their time. So we bought it.
He told us that there are 2 little switches 'right here on the dash' and this is how to use them: "When you are going up a steep hill, if you start bogging down, flip this one to switch over to the auxiliary fuel tank which has a shorter fuel line. If that doesn't work, here is another switch..flip it to turn on the electric fuel pump. That pump is located under the steps. Works every time." And sitting in his yard, he showed my husband how it would work.
Well we were in the Valley in California; had to bring the RV on a winding narrow road up a mountain to where we were staying.
So we hit the first hill, the engine bogged down, my husband hit the first switch, nothing...hit the second switch and the engine stalled totally and wouldn't start again.
It was 8 at night, 2 lane road and some California Forestry Dept. firefighters stopped near us and diverted traffic around us. Then the Highway Patrol came and called a tow truck. We asked if anyone could just push us over to the other side of the road to a big pull off so we could decide what to do. The CHP did that.
We called our son and he came to where we were (a few hours had passed) and he said maybe using those switches didn't work as the guy said, maybe doing the '2 switch thing' had caused a vapor lock in the 108* heat and it would now start. It did. We made it to our son's house safely.
What we learned when the guys checked out the motor home was that the engine uses a mechanical gas pump which is on the engine in front. The auxiliary gas tank is actually under the bed in the rear of the coach further away than the main tank, and there is no fuel pump under the steps. That is where the solenoid for the switch from one tank to the other is placed.
The electric pump is in the back as well and was dead and had been for awhile, and is hooked to the main tank anyway. The auxiliary tank is used only for the generator. So when he used the second switch nothing happened and the engine stalled.

After the electric fuel pump was replaced, we had no problem going up hills, as using it boosts the gas flow when needed. We keep an extra pump 'just in case.' The guys also replaced the original parts and fluids, belts and hoses etc.

There were so many inconsistencies in what that guy told us, we realized later he didn't know much about the RV at all. And we knew less at the time. We know much more now and it is all written down now as well.

To end the story on a good note, we have lived in the RV for nearly a year, we have put 12,000 miles on it. The coach is set up well and has the features we like so we are happy with it.