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?

[jimervin]

99 Damon is a chevy chassis with 454 vortec, 31 ft long, and a 4.10 axle, 4 speed trans. 4 wheel disc with ABS.

[mtrumpet]

jimervin wrote:
Filled up with gas in Wildwood, Fl on trip to Thomasville, GA from Frostproof, Fl. Drove to first traffic light and stepped on brake which went to floor. Local chevy dealer had serviced my cars for 2 years when I lived in area so they agreed to work on it.

They found locked caliper on left rear, 3 others damaged beyond repair, cystaliized pads, replaced master cylinder and rear rotors and refinished front rotors. Total was $3500.00, partially covered by Good Sam CSP.

This is a 99 Damon Daybreak bought used in April with 40,000 miles. Prior owner was a snowbird who left it outside in Wisconsin, damage due to neglect. Dealer had assured me that unit was well maintained, but was sold as-is. My fault for trusting. If I buy again, it will be a certified Good Sam unit. Thirty years in various RVs and still learning.

What engine/chassis set up do you have on that rig?

[lonnor1]

After a 600 mile trip through the North Cascades I pulled up in front of the house and the engine in my 97 Ford PSD started missing badly. I backed the 31' Alumalite into the yard and called Ford dealer for an AM appointment. On the way to dealer the high pressure oil hose burst, pumped 10 quarts of oil in the street and the truck died. Had the truck towed to Ford: High pressure oil pump and hose replaced also replaced camshaft position sensor. $1,100.00 lighter now, truck runs fine. Just thinking about where that hose could have broken makes me a lucky guy.

[jimervin]

Filled up with gas in Wildwood, Fl on trip to Thomasville, GA from Frostproof, Fl. Drove to first traffic light and stepped on brake which went to floor. Local chevy dealer had serviced my cars for 2 years when I lived in area so they agreed to work on it.

They found locked caliper on left rear, 3 others damaged beyond repair, cystaliized pads, replaced master cylinder and rear rotors and refinished front rotors. Total was $3500.00, partially covered by Good Sam CSP.

This is a 99 Damon Daybreak bought used in April with 40,000 miles. Prior owner was a snowbird who left it outside in Wisconsin, damage due to neglect. Dealer had assured me that unit was well maintained, but was sold as-is. My fault for trusting. If I buy again, it will be a certified Good Sam unit. Thirty years in various RVs and still learning.

[DocScottWesterl]

Gasser-Chev 454 in 1985 Heritage 2000 class A.
Engine coughing and bogging down going up hill.:E

• Replaced fuel filter in carburator...No fix it.
• Had carburator rebuilt...No fix it.
• Replaced rear fuel pump...No fix it.
• Removed connection to mechanical pump and connected form front elec pump to carburator...No fix it.
• Bypassed front elec fuel pump and filter...No fix it.
• Reconnect front elec fuelpump and filter...Same.
  Disconnected fuel linein rear of rear elec pump and filter, blew compressed air back into gas tank with the gas cap off, reconnected line and put on cap...Jumping cow patches,:R It ran great for about 50 miles.
  :BTHE SOLUTION----Remove gas tank get the******out and throw away the strainer in the tank. NOW THAT WAS EASY, IT ONLY TOOK TWO YEARS TO FIGURE IT OUT!!!!!
  
  I sure hope this info will help someone!!
  
  Good Topic Badeye. Keep up the good work.
  
  All the best,

[metalmangler]

Roadster20 wrote:
Excellent. I am not a first time buyer but I sure found it informative. How can I cut and paste to word program to pass to some friends?

I just open a new Word doc from the "Start" menu. Then I go back to the window where I have the Open Roads Forum up. Using the mouse I highlight the text of a post only (takes a little practice but it's worth it). When I have it highlighted I "right-click" on it and select "Copy" from the drop-down menu. Then I go to that new Word document and left-click on the little 'clipboard' icon at the top. Hope that works for you.

[metalmangler]

Captainblue, unless by chance you've added a driver's-side door and a fire-suppression system, approach that troubleshooting with care. Lot to like about those, but old Mopar 8-holers have open fuel-systems even when they're right & tight--and there's only one way out of an old Superior unless you've fixed that. I wish you success.

[Mushroom]

Cap'n Blue, white smoke is water. Best case is blown head gasket, worst is cracked heads. Both fixable.

You probably now have coolant in the oil so do not drive it. You don't want to wash the bearings and have it sieze up on you.

74 was about due for a rebuld anyway.

[munkalido]

captainblue18 wrote:
I need some advise, please. I have a '74 Superior Coach 2500. I'm afraid I might have blown the engine. I was driving along, heading for the campground, when I lost all power, was all I could do to coast into a gas station parking area. I have since gotten it restarted, but not without slight backfiring, and it blew off my oil cap, lots of white smoke. I can start the rig, but it really doesn't have any power (compression). Is very hard to keep running. Any ideas???

Check the oil? What does it look like? Pull the plugs too. What do they look like?

[captainblue18]

I need some advise, please. I have a '74 Superior Coach 2500. I'm afraid I might have blown the engine. I was driving along, heading for the campground, when I lost all power, was all I could do to coast into a gas station parking area. I have since gotten it restarted, but not without slight backfiring, and it blew off my oil cap, lots of white smoke. I can start the rig, but it really doesn't have any power (compression). Is very hard to keep running. Any ideas???

[Roadster20]

Excellent. I am not a first time buyer but I sure found it informative. How can I cut and paste to word program to pass to some friends?

[dlloyd]

I wrapped the air pressure buzzer with plastic tape to attenuate the sound. Did not want to completely eliminate it. It is not so loud now.

[Jim]

Bella,
Check that the wire bundle(s) under the dash all have enough slack so that normal things like temperature changes, road vibration, or movement caused by the 'tilt' feature of the steering column don't cause strain on the wiring bundles, which over time could cause wires to pull loose from their connections.

[Bella]

I was on a trip to Canada this month and had the following happen just south of Calgary, Alberta.

RV particulars: Winnebago Brave 34D
Driveline (Engine, Transmission): Workhorse
Miles: approx. 10,000
Year: 2004
Break Down Description: Reduced Engine Power
Symptoms: See above
Effect: See above
Cause: Wire under the dash came loose
Outcome: Engine power went down to almost nothing while going uphill. The LED readout on the dash stated "Reduced Engine Power" so I said No S**t, now tell me WHY. The "Check Engine" light came on at the same time. I pulled over and called Workhorse Emergency Road Service. The sent a tow truck and hauled me back to Calgary. Diagnostic showed a wire under the dash came loose. The computer didn't know how much power I was applying so it reduced the power. I got the service guy to show me where the wire was. Away I went. Two days later, while driving through Wyoming, going uphill, I lost engine power AGAIN. Same readout on the LED. This time, while pulled to the side of the highway, I risked my driver's door and my A**, half crawled under the dash and made sure the wire was connected. Gave it 15 minutes and it started with full engine power. The "check engine" light was on but I continued truckin. The next morning, when I started it, I had full engine power and no fault light. I will be having a discussion with Workhorse. This is the second wire that's "come loose" under the dash. Last time was a few months ago. I pulled into a campground and couldn't put my jacks down or my slides out. I still have the problem of my entire dash going out for no reason while I'm driving. I had the cluster software upgrade installed. Guess that didn't help.

[Golfingene]

Boy is my face red, it seems that although the problem was the Fan Hub and had to be replaced, IT WAS NOT A HORTON FAN HUB. Seems this was a Catapillar part. Cat replaced it and it works fine. Sorry, Horton.