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?

[ssands]

Onan Generator problems:
6.5 NHE-FA/26100 P
S/N; G980768473
Emerald Plus 6500

RV particulars: 1999 Winnebago 37G
Driveline: Ford V10
Miles: 61000

Break Down Description: This generator will run for about 10 minutes or so and then the RPM will start to fluctuate and the unit shuts down.

Symptoms: It use to seem to only happen while driving so I disconnected the remote control function just to be sure. No change. Recently as I just drove from the campsite to the dump station and while I was occupied with my "duties" it went unstable and shut down. Generally it will not immediately restart. You have to wait 10 to 15 minutes and then it might restart. My DW tried to restart it after about 5 minutes only to have it start but it never stabilized and just shut down.

Parts changed: Control board, voltage regulator, ignition coil, spark plugs, plug wires, fuel filter, air filter, oil and oil filter.

Cause: Fuel pump.

Outcome: Well I gave up and took it to a shop. $250 and a new fuel pump later we're fixed. Apparently the fuel pump would heat up and quit. Once it quit, the mechanic removed it and hooked it up to a battery. It was DOA. Ran it all the way home including a few stops along the way, about 1.5 hours, and it didn't miss a lick.


BTW... I want to say how well we were treated at the shop. ATI Machine in Lancaster, Ohio.

[Edouard]

Only 1 breakdown in over 11 years with a Class "A". On a return trip from New Jersey, we were warned by a passing pickup that the left front driver tire was going soft.

Stopped on the side of I-87 in northern NY and checked the situation.

Still had reasonable air left in the tire, and the next rest area was in view, so limped into the rest area. We do have roadside assistance, but decided to see if I could do it myself and possibly save some time.

Dropped a couple of 2x6 planks under both front jack's, and raised it up partially, broke all the lug nuts loose, then lifted the front wheels off the ground, removed and replaced the wheel/tire combination with the spare. It was a 19.5" unit, not certain if I could handle the larger 22.5" tire/wheel combo's today, and most units don't come the the spare anyway.

That's it, in the 11 year's of Class 'A' ownership, not bad, knock on wood....

[shooer2]

we've had two breakdowns in the past 10 years. One a rear tire blowout in Maine. A second breakdown last week in South Carolina at the intersection of I-20 and I-95. It was during a terrible thunderstorm driving along and the engine quit running. I had been driving in rain all day. In both cases I used Camping World road service and it was excellent. I had the motorhome pulled to a KOA in Florence South Carolina. They referred me to an onsite mechanic who found my problem to be an air filter that had turned into a sponge. Problem fixed and on to Myrtle Beach.

[firecoach]

After being on our trip for several days and riding over some of our country's finest highways we lost the throttle pedal. Engine would go to idle and that was it. Or in our case as when I quickly tapped on the pedal it would resume normal operation or at least we thought. Oh did I mention this was during a down pour with winds gusting to 40 mph. We made it to our camping area but decided to call GS as we continued to have the same problem. If you let off on the pedal you did not know if you would have power or not when you stepped back on it! Roadside mechanic showed up what a waste of hard earned cash 30 min. of trouble shooting and 60 min. of BS. per his suggestions stopped in OK City which we were passing through to have repairs. A day and half later we left with a new computer and headed into another storm with tornado warnings. After 4 days of camping left for Yellowstone and made it north of Denver same problem except now it did it regardless of whether we were under power or not. Not sure if we could make it to a garage which we located about 9 mi. from where we were, so we called GS after waiting 45min for call-back we were told it would be 1-1/2-2hrs for tow truck. Yes we opted to limp along the interstate for 9mi this only took us 45 min. After another day and half camping at a garage a young mechanic found that 2 wires that go to the foot throttle had worn through and were causing a short. Which is what the engine computer was trying to tell them. Over 2500 miles later and no problems. Thanks to Charles at Transwest to troubleshoot the problem the right way.

2003 Newmar Dutch Star with 24000 miles 350 hp ISC Cummins

[jdewellz]

speaking of breakdowns.......... have had good sam emergency road service for about 5 yrs. 2 flats and one stuck in sand..... great response and service. have become aware of coach-net road service. any opinions about difference in these two co's and their service? thanks.........

[barney42]

Coach: 1998 Country Coach Magna w/ DD Series 40 engine
Date: May 2008
Location: US67 near Cleburne Texas
Problem: Engine lost power and began to smoke very badly. Smoke was white. Engine continued to run at idle but had no power. Any increase in RPM generated hugh volumes of smoke.
Resolution: Had coach towed to local diesel engine facility. They diagnosed problem as failed turbo. Replaced turbo, replaced all injectors and changed oil and filter. Problem resolved but at major cost.
Cause: Coach sat for extended time in early 2000,s and turbo was evidently rusted from lack of use. I purchased vehicle in 2005 and had driven it regularly since then for 15K miles. Failure happened at 47K miles.

[RVPappy]

RV particulars:
Driveline (Engine, Transmission): Cummins 275 hp, Allison 6 speed
Miles: various
Year:1997 Fleetwood discovery
Break Down Description: I had several fuel lines break on my old Discovery over a 4 year period. Finally, in El Paso, tx one night, a young hispanic mechanic, who spoke no english, was able to show me that the engine was missing the brackets/clamps that held the fuel lines on the engine so the engine vibration wouldn't break the lines. There should have been several brackets, and all were missing. Four years of grief, with 28 warranty claims on the engine for broken lines or related issues, like fuel damaged gaskets, oil seals, fuel soaked turbo sensor, etc.
Effect: much disgust...
Cause: poor engine assembly/mechanic error.
Outcome: After four years, problem was solved with the fuel line clamps.

[Old_Cape_Codder]

Lil Truckr wrote:
Unfortunately I have to be a contributor to this thread.

Last August when we were north bound on I-39 somewhere between Bloomington, Ill. and Rockford, Ill. I went over a bump in the road caused by road construction.

All of a sudden my coach had no power. No electrical, no transmission, no engine, no nothing. I managed to coast to the side of the road and their we sat. When I turned my ignitions switch, to attempt to start the coach, nothing happened. I waited a few minutes and tried again and it started only to stop running again. I then went and looked into the battery compartment to see if maybe a battery had came loose and was shorting out against something but they were okay.

I then went back and attempted to start the coach and it started right up. It kept running so we headed out and made it back to Stevens Point, Wisconsin without further incident.

I took the coach up to my dealer who looked the coach over from front to back but they couldn't find a thing wrong with it. So, somewhere in my coach I have a problem waiting to jump out and bite me and there's nothing I can do to prevent it. Scary ain't it.:(

I also had a similar problem, Started my coach to warm it up before a trip. After 3 or 4 min, it shut down no power to any engine or fuse panel. Coach batteries were OK so tried to jump it with no luck. Then I got my volt meter out, Should have done that first but it was in my other truck at home. Anyway found a dead short in + cable to ground. Traced out wire and found underside of coach most wires and hoses run on frame members but on my 95 Vectra the positive wire from the inverter to the batteries j block is run on the bottom of the floor panel with 2 1/4" screws clips that came loose after hitting a bump in the road the previous day . Here is the kicker it was laying on the drive shaft, so while I was moving it would bounce on and of but when I put it up the night before, it welded itself to the drive shaft, DEAD SHORT. So I lost the engine battery but it could have been worst. If I had moved the coach it would have riped the cable out of the inverter. I will have to get a longer cable to run along the frame members the way it should have been done at the factory but for now I installed new clips and more of them:W

[kjames90755]

Phred42044 wrote:
2000 HR Endeavor DP 46000 miles.
Cat 300 HP w/ Allison 6 Speed Tranny.
Problem: Driving along and engine was losing power. Would idle and sometimes get up to full power but would ultimately "chug chug" down the road. Finally made it to a rest stop and got some family to come help me. Chugged it to the nearest diesel mechanic who immediately diagnosed the problem as a fuel separator (filter?). Changed separator and the thing ran like a champ. The mechanic said it is good practice to change the fuel separator once a year under normal driving conditions as diesel fuel is mighty nasty stuff. He also mentioned that when taking off the old filter there was visible trash in and around the filter. I got off luck with a $20 filter and $75 in labor.

The fuel separator is actually a filter to separate water from the diesel oil fuel...when they get full, the water has to be released, and the filter changed--most engines mfrs. recommend doing this whenever you have an oil change at a minimum, whether it needs it or not--you don't want water in a diesel engine...

[newxmar]

2003 Winnebago Adventurer on W-22 Workhorse chassis belonging to neighbor:

Tried to start after sitting for two months in an Arizona RV resort.
Nothing!

Found 2 black boxes under the dashboard with "reset fuses" on them. Pushed both reset fuses. Started fine and still starts fine. Had tried many things, don't know what these black boxes are or the reset fuse deal, but for some reason this worked.

[jtessnm]

1995
Newmar Mountain Aire
21000 miles
Cummins c8.3
Spartan chassis
Problem. Shift lite inop, Tail id lites inop. Found worn broken wires in the harness that connects the instrument panel to the front electrical box. When the left headlite assembly was installed the harness was pushed and pinched against the air fitting on the front air manifold. Travel vibration caused the harness to wear through the harness wrapping and two wires causing the problem. The broken wires were spliced, the harness rewrapped and repositioned.

[Phred42044]

2000 HR Endeavor DP 46000 miles.
Cat 300 HP w/ Allison 6 Speed Tranny.
Problem: Driving along and engine was losing power. Would idle and sometimes get up to full power but would ultimately "chug chug" down the road. Finally made it to a rest stop and got some family to come help me. Chugged it to the nearest diesel mechanic who immediately diagnosed the problem as a fuel separator (filter?). Changed separator and the thing ran like a champ. The mechanic said it is good practice to change the fuel separator once a year under normal driving conditions as diesel fuel is mighty nasty stuff. He also mentioned that when taking off the old filter there was visible trash in and around the filter. I got off luck with a $20 filter and $75 in labor.

[SEEKER_II]

454 chevyengine--Backfired and quit while traveling at 60mph on us90 traveling thru South Carolina.Would not restart.Assumed out of gas(because of offset in tank and gauge readings).Added gas still no start.

Good old boy mechanic replaced ignition control module and we were on our way.

I never even knew I had one of those thingies.

Matt

[RVPappy]

Bev&Dan wrote:
WORKHORSE BRAKE FAILURE On February 7/08 we left Lazy Days in Seffner, FL, drove North about 55 miles to our destination - an RV park in Port Richey, FL. We drive a 2004 Pace Arrow 37C towing a Malibu Maxx with a Brake Buddy. A few miles before our destination we started smelling something (smelled like melting plastic to me), wern't sure if it was something outside or coming from the coach. A couple of miles later ABS light came on and brakes went to the floor. We managed to get into the park by pumping brakes. Diagnosis was left rear caliper locked up, causing master cylinder fluid to boil over onto radiator, abs sensor melted, heat caused damage to hoses, pads,wheel bearings, rotors and differential fluids. All was replaced on both rear.
This coach had only 22,000 miles on a Workhorse 22 chassis. Searches on this and other forums show this to be a serious problem and there is an open investigation by NHTSA. If you have had a similar problem, please report it.

I'm curious... have you ever had the wheel positions weighed (4 corners)? Somewhere I read that with ABS brakes the weight distribution of the chassis must be well balanced for the ABS to function properly. If the coach is overloaded or out of balance on one side or the other, I am wondering if that would affect brake function.

For years the tire manufacturers have been blamed for tire malfunction when the culprit was/could have been an overweight axle at a wheel position.

DennyM

[kjames90755]

zmotorsports wrote:
Last February with our new coach we were about 1/2 mile from home just leaving for a weekend shakedown run with the new coach and it died. We coasted to the side of the road and started to troubleshoot. After about an hour and a half of diagnosing and testing I found the wire that goes to the front television lockout was shorted and kept tripping the circuit breaker for the main power soleniod. I unhooked it and off we went. By this time it was pitch black outside and I was frozen, my wife was sitting in the nice warm coach reading a magazine and I asked her if she still wanted to go and she said hell yes we are on vacation(even though I could have thrown a rock and hit our house). So off we went and had an enjoyable weekend. I guess you take the good with the bad. Still wouldn't give up my RV. Mike.

Sounds like my grandmother...we told her we were looking at motorhomes and she said, "You don't want to buy one of those things, they'll nickel and dime you to death."

But when we told her we were buying one (no longer looking) her words turned into, "Will you take me camping with you??"