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?

[Jim]

RV particulars: 37' Fleetwood Bounder, Diesel Pusher.
Driveline (Engine, Transmission): Cummins 5.9L, 190HP, Allison 4 speed.
Miles: 126,000
Year: 1994
Break Down Description: Alternator would not charge chassis battery, dim lights.
Symptoms: Dash voltage meter went high for about an hour or so before failure, then into discharge and stayed there.
Effect: Had to cross wire house batteries to chassis (starting) battery and run genset to stay on road. (Genset set up to charge all batteries using the 120V to 14V converter - shorted the 'Aux' switch on the dash so the batteries were crossed with a relay used for starting the rig with a low chassis battery).
Cause: Bad alternator.

Called Freightliner and found my alternator is a Delco 21 SI @ 100 amp. They asked $470 before shipping. Called several places but eventually found a local auto parts store that had them at $162 total (after core return), includes tax and $10 for them to swap the pulley. Difficult part was the part number mis-match between the Freightliner p/n and the Delco generic p/n.

Although this alternator was caked with dirt and road debris, it performed it's job for over 126,000 miles. I found one of terminals on the internal voltage regulator was so corroded it fell off when I moved the connector.

Good job Delco.

Outcome: Replaced bad alternator, dress up wiring, back on road. Three hours plus part chase time.

[J-Rooster]

I've only had one breakdown on the road, and it was 7 years ago, and at that time I owned a Class C 31 foot Jamboree. The breakdown was caused by my slideout, sliding out about 18 inches,and of all places it was that narrow steep grade that you drive up before you get to Yosmite National Park. It was the dining room slide on the driver's side. What I did was drive on the shoulder on the passenger side of the road (this caused the coach to lean toward the passenger side preventing it from sliding out to the driver's side anymore) until I got to the top of the hill, and pulled into a gas station. There the wife and I were able to push the slide back in and secure it. The cause was I ran over a flat object (a thin paper book left on the floor by the Grandkids) while, retracting the slide-out shearing off a pin, which caused the slide-out to freely move in or out (with this pin sheared off, I couldn't use, extend or retract the side-out using the hydrolic's). John

[horibajim]

2005 Winnebago Journey
Freightliner Chassis
5.9 liter Cummins engine
Towing 1998 Oldsmobile Intrigue
Me, Wife and 2 cats (cats have 15,000 miles)

Traveling south on I-75 to Florida through Tennessee. We felt a vibration when we climbing hills. We made it all the way to Florida but now we get vibration when accelerating from a light. The coach has 15,000 miles. At the 5,000 mile mark, had the oil changed according to the mfr specifications (Freightliner Service Center). They also lubed the chassis (at least according to the piece of paper). I took it to a Freightliner service center in Orlando. They very quickly found a bad universal joint. That was the good news. The bad news, they said, because it was not lubricated properly, it was not covered under warranty. I don't know how they can tell, the parts were in such bad shape. Cost me $389. The Florida service center called the place that did the original lube job but got no where.
So extended warranty companies are not the only guilty. I'm not really thrilled with original equipment (Freightliner) manufacturers.

[Roark_Family]

What is the company you use for your extended warranty?

[Wannafulltime]

RV particulars: 36' National RV Dolphin with Mor-Ryde Tag Axle
Driveline (Engine, Transmission): Triton V-10 (has Banks Ram-Air added on)
Miles: 33,000+ (had 28,000 when we purchased it in April, 2006)
Year: 2000
Break Down Description: making a right turn when heard loud noise; thought we hit something or were dragging something
Symptoms: loud road noise
Effect: wheel fell off
Cause: wheel bearings in right tax axle seized up
Outcome: burnt up brake and scored brake drum, had to replace all parts & brake drum had to be re-turned.

We had come from Branson, MO down US 65 and decided to get gas before we hit I-40. There was a Wal-Mart there (Conway, AR) with good price, so we decided to turned in. As we turned in, we heard a loud noise and we thought we had either hit something or were dragging something. We pulled to a stop, got out, and found out that our right tag axle wheel had come off. We went into Wal-Mart and called around for a mobile RV service. We found one and settled in to wait for them. While we waited, we called our extended warranty folks to find out what we needed to do. It seems the service person would have to call them and get an authorization number before doing any work. When the service guy called, he was told that he had to send an itemized list to the warranty place and they would let him know what to do. However, they wanted to have us towed to a service facility, even though this guy worked with several big RV companies doing roadside service. The tow would cost at least $700, but more like $1000, because we would have needed a flatbed towtruck. Since we had no idea whether or not the warranty place would pay, we declined and decided to have the guy fix it there and he could argue with the warranty place. Long story short, they would not pay for anything except $30 for bearings. Since the service guy was sent the wrong part and it would have been an additional four days sitting in the Wal-Mart parking lot (he needed a four hole brake assembly rather than the five hole he was sent - mind you he had sent pictures to show what he needed) we had him reassemble the wheel without the brake assembly (to the tune of $621.00!) and came on to Florida. So now we have a tag axle without the brake assembly and we need to have the rest of the work done. I am so disgusted with extended warranty companies. One pays through the nose for these warranties to keep from having such problems, and all one gets is stonewalled right and left. I am still going to speak with someone from the company to see if I can get them to come up with any money on the repair. I believe we are due it because the bearings (which they pay for) caused the problem! I had the service man check the other wheel on the tag and it was lubricated just fine! GRRRRRR!!!!

[Techie]

Finaly happened to me -- heading north of Barstow, CA on the 15 and the engine stop light came on with the computer telling me low oil pressure.

Pulled off as soon as possible and stopped -- pressure on the gauge was down to under 20.

Oil was pooling underneath the coach and looked like it poured out.

Got all over the underskirt and still managed to spray the toad.

Had it towed (Coach-Net was great but the tow truck managed to damage both of my mirrors!) and just received a call that the problem was a failed line and will be fixed tomorrow under warranty.

[detomasop]

Cummins 350, Spartan Chassis

Problem: Coolant tank "sight glass" (actually plastic) broken.
This empties about 1.5 gal of coolant. Lucky I found this shortly after it happened. Quick fix to get you on the road: 1. use nylon drain plug from the water heater to temporarily plug the hole. 2. somebody also had the problem and used a "boat drain plug"

[Ritaboland]

I see that there are 50 pages for this topic. Was there a complete report consolidaton etc done on this topic? I'd love to see if there is because it's taking me awhile to get thru all 50 pages.
Thanks

[Borrego_Ed]

Two years ago I bought a ten year old Monaco Dynasty from one of the biggest RV dealers in the U.S. thinking I'd be fairly treated, NOT. Picked the unit up in Fl. in the Tampa area, drove it as far as Baton Rouge when the starter went. Then in Texas punctured a rear tire, which was my fault. The first three trips it broke down and had to be towed twice, thank goodness for Good Sam Emerg. service. To make a long story short, found the Cummins' 300 turbo had been overheated by previous owner which was the source of the major problem that of not starting. We had to resleeve one cyl. replace the piston, the head and exhaust manifold. In addition had to replace the alternator, starter, starter solenoid (twice), fuel shut off solenoid valve(twice),inverter and rewire some mickey mouse wiring tapped into the starting circuit. The bottom line was $8,300 later I think we have a pretty good rig, but the grief getting there was awful. We had all the work done by authorized Cummins' shops, and when they first put the new head on hadn't torqued it properly so our trip to Oregon was cancelled as we lost five gallons of water in 500 miles. But lucky for us the Cummins' shop in Sacramento knew what they were doing and redid the head job right. But we had spend a week of our vacation getting the repairs done, lucky for us we had friends in Sacramento. I really kick myself because I noticed a little milky color in the breather pipe when I was in Fl. but because the crankcase oil was clear I dismissed it as being the result of the damp weather in Fl. This was my really BIG mistake and I'm convinced the dealer knew there was a problem, but saw me coming. Oh well I guess I'm not to old to learn, but oh my the price. The turkey that owned it before and had traded it in had the nerve to came by when I was picking it up in Fl. and I thought he was going to cry when he started telling me what fun he and his wife had experienced in this RV. The R.V. Dealer did send me a check for $750 said thats all they would pay. Hope this story gave someone comfort seeing their problems weren't as bad as they thought, if so my time hasn't been wasted writing this story.

Borrego Ed

[lv2golf]

New Owner - Just bought a 1997 Beaver Marquis and tow vehicle (2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee) from a nice gentleman in Carson City, NV. Great coach and you can tell he really took care of everything. We signed the papers and headed out of Carson City going northbound on Hwy 395. Approx 30 mi north of Susanville, CA, coach warning alarm started sounding. Very irritating noise so my husband pulled over on the shoulder (in the middle of nowhere!!). The alarm was "leveler down" but after checking the coach all jacks were in the proper position. Since we are new to rving (always tent camped), we had no idea what was going on. The coach looked like it was sitting down too low to drive (the mud flap behind the front tire was on the ground). He immediately called the previous owner and he was very helpful trying to resolve the problem. (lowering jacks, checking air, etc.) Nothing seemed to work.

Next step was to call Beaver Service Center in Bend, OR. They also had several suggestions which weren't resolving the problem. In the meantime, contacted AAA and they contacted a towing service. Unfortunately, our AAA coverage did not include RV towing!!! Just great!! Welcome to rving!!

We finally talked to a towing company out of Susanville and the gentleman was very helpful and suggested we needed a service truck instead of towing. (of course, it couldn't be 'towed' since it was practically sitting on the ground, and he would have to get a permit to put it on a flatbed due to height restrictions.)

In the meantime, talking to Beaver, etc., determined the problem was in the air suspension system. The previous owner called several times and insisted that he drive up to where we were (2 1/2 hours from his home) to see if he could help. The service man arrived after we had sat for approx 5 1/2 hours and shortly thereafter the previous owner arrived.

The service man determined it was a front air suspension valve that had failed and caused the air hose to break away. He did not have the type of valve needed so he drove back to his shop in Susanville to rig something up that would get us going again. In the meantime the previous owner arrived with his wife and dog to help. They sat with us for 2 1/2 hours while the service man was gone and was just about to leave upon our insisting that all was okay, when the service man arrived. So he had to find out exactly what he was going to do to by-pass the valve. It was a very clever rig, running a longer hose from the broken valve up to the front of the coach under bumper. Simple open/close valve that my husband could manually operate to get the air suspension up so we could travel.

All work was completed after 8 hours on the road side, and the previous owner paid for the service call. We got back home the next day which is just 15 miles from the Bend Service Center. Of course, I immediately got online and signed up for GSC with ERS.

We talked to Beaver about our new valve setup and they determined the coach would be okay to use over the weekend. The next day we drove 200 miles to a fishing tournament on the Columbia River in Boardman, OR, and camped at the Boardman RV Park and Marina (very nice park, right on the river and large paved sites). No problems going or coming on this trip!!

Took the coach into Beaver service center on Tuesday the following week and had the front valve replaced. One of the back air suspension valves was also leaking and the other one looked worn, so replaced those also. Had the coach "PDI'd" by Beaver and they repaired the cab A/C, serviced the aqua hot, and did a little seal work on the entry door. Other items listed were minor and can be repaired by us.

All in all, we love the coach and have just done a winterization but will use again in October for ten days and then winterize all over again.

Hope this helps someone out there who has an air suspension problem.

Sandy in Oregon

[Patty98311]

New owner

1994 36' Allegro Bay DP cummins 5.9(40k miles) w/ 6speed Allison Transmission

Purchased unit from private individual in MS drove home to Ar(300 miles) with no problems, two weeks later drove to Mo(250 miles) camping no problen during road trip. Set up and tried to move next morning jacks come up, engine started, transmission would not engage or light panel. Had just signed on for GSC(w/ERS) the day before they responded on site in about an hour with service truck, could not find problem called tow rig which was on site in about 2 hrs from original call. Will conectingtow rig to unit, unit was started to straighten wheels and everything started working. Tow was cancelled, cause has not been identified. Unit has operated normally since but have been afraid to use levelers as this is what the technician suspected was the problem but could not verify.

[rebelsbeach]

Pelleyboy wrote:
I noticed that a few others with a 2007 Spartan K2 chassis were having issues with the fan belts coming off. I too experienced this with my 2007 Newmar Mountain Aire which resulted in a tow. I found out from the Spartan repair center that there is a service bulletin out from Spartan addressing this issue. The fix is a five hour rebuilding and reconfiguration of the pulleys on the fan clutch. Apparently there are some serious alignment issues. Anyone with a new K2 should check to see if this bulletin applies to them. Don't find out the hard way like I did.

Brand new coach....my second three hour wait for wrecker was TODAY for this fan issue...

First time the side cooling fan had come off, that was in late July...

[Berjmobile]

In seven years of running - only two breakdowns - both without any warning. First year was a brake failure. Cause: defective master cylinder. Seal broke and master cylinder could not pressurize the wheel calipers. Towed to Cummins and master cylinder was replaced. No trouble since. Second break down was just last month. Coach would not go into gear. Towed to campground. Cause was a broken throttle return spring which caused the engine to idle too fast for the Allison to engage. Manually held the throttle lever back to hold the engine RPM down and the coach went into gear. Drove home and new springs were installed. I believe that both breakdowns were, at least in part, due to age. Don't see the need to carry a spare master cylinder or extra throttle return springs. Inconvenient breakdown? Yes indeed! Sufficient cause to quit RVing? H*** no! Jim.

[Pelleyboy]

I noticed that a few others with a 2007 Spartan K2 chassis were having issues with the fan belts coming off. I too experienced this with my 2007 Newmar Mountain Aire which resulted in a tow. I found out from the Spartan repair center that there is a service bulletin out from Spartan addressing this issue. The fix is a five hour rebuilding and reconfiguration of the pulleys on the fan clutch. Apparently there are some serious alignment issues. Anyone with a new K2 should check to see if this bulletin applies to them. Don't find out the hard way like I did.

[responder19101f]

driveline - G.M.C. 454 3 speed a/t
fleetwood Pace Arrow '81
over heating on the way home from private sale
cause - fan belt broke
replace fan belt with pr of panty hose (yes it worked to get it off interstate)
actually drove it about 17 miles like that - replace the belt and it works fine.... (sorry honey - I will buy you a new pair)
I now carry a full set of spare belts!