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?

[fourmat]

00 BUCK wrote:
2010 Gulf Stream Caribbean
The Lippert leveling unit never worked right from the start

Dealership looked at it twice and pronounced " nothing wrong "
It kept displaying low voltage , till it finally went belly up 1600 miles from home base .

A investigation reveled it had a old oil seal in it that let hydrolic fluid into the motor , more and more till it finally shorted out .

Lippert was great and sent me a new motor and the new type oil seal . After a 1 hour remove and install it runs fine .

Keep an eye on it I am on my 3rd one same issue fluid in motor could see it dripping out of end cap on motor

[corrine258]

hopeing it was a sensor we babied it the last few miles to pay phone, lifters were rattling by then. Had towed to workhorse contract dealer in Lompoc. Three weeks later picked coach up with new engine on warranty and a few personal items that had been taken from the coach while at the dealers service center, of course their employees had nothing to do with the ripped out stereo and greasy foot prints on the bed.

[00_BUCK]

2010 Gulf Stream Caribbean
The Lippert leveling unit never worked right from the start

Dealership looked at it twice and pronounced " nothing wrong "
It kept displaying low voltage , till it finally went belly up 1600 miles from home base .

A investigation reveled it had a old oil seal in it that let hydrolic fluid into the motor , more and more till it finally shorted out .

Lippert was great and sent me a new motor and the new type oil seal . After a 1 hour remove and install it runs fine .

[athenaemerson]

Interesting topic! Breakdown of Information Concerning High-Level Plenary Meeting and Round Table Discussions as Outlined in Resolution A/64/L.36.

[athenaemerson]

I agree.. Most of the time these are main causes of engine breakdowns.

Ames wrote:
Most diesel engine breakdowns are probably fuel delivery problems or elictrical.

Most gas engine breaksowns are overheating including vporlock or electrical.

Biggest cause for breakdown is flat tires.

[dennis45]

RV particulars: 40' Dutchstar, 3 Slides
Driveline (Engine, Transmission): Cummins 8.3ISC/Allison MH3000 Miles: 58,000
Year: 2003
Break Down Description: Check Engine Light, Loss of Power

Heading south on I25 in Nov/11 and check engine light came on resulting in a drop in power but engine did not die. Pulled over to side and found all pressure/temps normal. Shut off engine, check fluids & found coolant low in the plastic overflow tank. topped up coolant, started engine and carried on down the road. On the way north in March just out of Phoenix problem occured again. Pres/Temp all normal. Fluid levels good.
Had Cummins check ($200) and they could not find any faults. Diagnosis: Must be an electrical fault. Long story short, Removed, cleaned every chassis electrical I could find & reassembled with dielectric grease. Have not had a problem since. Touch wood..
One thing I found out is the Low Coolant Sensor does not have its own dedicated light and will show up as a Check Engine Fault.
The sensor is loacted on the "Flow" side of the expansion tank and I believe an intermitent fault may be happening due to a change in speed/load if there is a rush of fluid into the tank. It is just enough to "Bump" the system and cause a fault. Shutdown & re-start clears it until next time.
Ya, I know. Too much information, I'll quit now. Happy Trails!!

[GBomkamp]

RV particulars: (venerable)Safari Sahara
Driveline (Engine, Transmission): Cummins 5.9, Allison 6sp
Miles: 109000
Year: 1994
Break Down Description: warning read out on dash – – "Do not shift"
Symptoms: no go – – drifted to roadside
Effect: nonfunctional electronic transmission – – limped back to Harlingen, Texas on house batteries charged by the generator. Apparently, an Allison MD 3060 transmission will not function without electrical power. Who knew?
Cause: alternator failure followed by insufficient power in the battery to run the transmission.
Outcome: replaced alternator next day, good to go.

[popeye766]

Hello Rver's
I would like to give Class A folks a wise tip on 454 cooling as i notice many have cooling problems.
I no longer have my 87 allegro 454 but it could run hotter than i liked climbing Long grades 205+ at altitude pullung a car and would never give up pulling in 3rd gear. Maybe 35 but never give up. I never want an older 454 running over 200 degrees.
My solution that REALLY works is.....i built a water sprayer system to spray water on the rad. and trans cooler at the push of a button on the dash......It dropped the eng temp by 25 degrees almost instantly. i now had the confidence i needed that i would never overheat again. A 454 installation because of being burned up from overheating would cost 5 to 10 thousand...OR junk your Class A.
Common parts-- yard sprayer nozzels and 4 port manifold mounted in front of the Rad, from wallmart garden. Plastic tubing running back to the Rv main tank , and a Rv water pump, appropriate wiring.
Little investment.....Great insurance.
Popeye766 USN RET.

[Xpltivdletd]

watk69 wrote:
A bedroll of some sort flew out the back of some "spring breakers" pickup truck, unfurled itself on the roadway, our choice was to swerve and possibly roll the motorhome do to heavy traffic or run over it dead center. We chose the latter.

We saw that the bedroll exited out of the rear (we thought). Within 5 miles we found out differently, a portion of it had hung around the drive shaft, taking wires, hydraulic lines with it and the transmission ground itself to bits, bringing a 32,000 lb beast to a screeching halt

We called our Road Hazard outfit, they mulled it over--said call your insurance company (office closed)---we deem it an accident. Law enforcement shows up, helps us put out our flares and cones and said "bye bye", we aren't writing anything up or reporting it, you hit road debris---not an accident.

So glad we knew people in the truck maintenence and towing industry and a kind couple from Alberta, or we would still be sitting there beside the roadway while the 2 insurance entities argued who was going to come get us.

I am sure we have a long claim battle ahead of us, any suggestions from any of you veterans out there???. At least wife and I are safe and sound---thats what counts

Rig: 2003 Revolution 38B
Chassis: Freightliner
Powerplant Cummins 350
Outcome: Uncertain

Wow. Who'd have thought it? Suddenly a driveshaft guard doesn't sound silly at all! Neither does making sure you can stop for it soon as you see it. I wish you success in getting this mess sorted out. Best regards.

[okie-dokie]

Made the trip to Quartzsite,AZ this year. Caterpiller engine still running, heard a lot of noise from engine area. Turned the engine off and discovered the fan bearing was blown. I had the parts on hand. Took me 2 days to replace the fan bearing,bearing housing,serpintine belt & V-belt. Most of the work done from bedroom closet area. I have a rear radiator. I only have 28,000 miles on the coach. I learned from another forum that the cat C-7 engine was prone for fan bearing problems at around 27 to 39,000 miles. That's why I ordered the parts and had them on hand. Talk about being "LUCKY". All the work I performed myself. I had scratch marks,bruises,cuts. Looked like someone beat me up with an ugly stick and then ran over me a couple of times.

[2inAlabama]

It sure would help readers of this thread if postors would follow the format as originally suggested on first page! As below:

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:

[wickedinns]

It is a 2002 Winnebago Sightseer with a workhorse chassis / gas engine/ chev vortec 8 (?).... my hubby and I have a 2004 Winnebago (otherwise the same). Now we are wondering if we should do the same...put an extra coolant system on ours.....

[piku]

1998 Winnebago Adventurer on the Ford F53 Chassis with E4OD transmission
61,000 miles

Purchased motorhome at 58,000 miles.
Two things happened, neither of which caused us to need a tow.
At about 59,000 miles noticed that the radiator side tank was seeping. Decided to do a full cooling system overhaul as preventative maintenance and did radiator, water pump, fan clutch, thermostat, all hoses, ignition tuneup, etc. When the water pump was pulled we found that a chip was broken off of the timing cover causing us to have to replace the timing cover and increasing the price of the work significantly. This could have been caused by poor cooling system maintenance (using tap water or not performing enough coolant changes over the years).

At 61,000 miles a tapping sound got much noisier and was determined to be a leaking exhaust manifold. What actually had occurred was that a piece of the head broke off due to manifold warping on the back driver side manifold. The head needed to be replaced entirely. Very expensive job took a month and a half to get our rig back. The manifold on the other side was cracked the whole way through but wasn't making any noticeable noise. Replaced this manifold too.

Everything *seems* to be running well now though.

[RaviAuto]

Thanks dear for share the information. it really provide us to more help in future....

[gettinright]

I had a 2004 Discovery with the 330 CJ 7 and it left me 4 times and it was all fuel problems, they replaced the Pump,injector,all he fuel system several times.

Finally I got rid of it.

They finally fixed it in Albuquerque, NM at Wagner Catipillar.