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?

[jtessnm]

Newmar Mountainaire 8.3 Cummins Intermittent Electrical problems, Engine would stall, Voltage would fluctuate. Found that the exhaust manifold heat shield bracket broke allowing the heat shield to fall on to the starter solenoid causing an intermittent short I removed the bracket welded it and added reinforcement gussets. The original design was poor as all the flex stress was concentrated on a small strap.

[robertbenita]

2001 American Coach Tradition 8.3 Cummins Spartan Chassis (52000 miles) towing 2013 Ford Fiesta:
Got back from trip to northern California. First trip with new to us RV and had a blast. Parked in driveway and will leave for next trip in two weeks. Couple days out from trip and start engine, air up and get everything ready. As I walk out of coach...man that puddle underneath the engine couldn't be diesel could it. Lift Fuel Pump gasket leaking even when shut down. Can't get old style gasket so a new lift fuel pump is installed and everything is right again. So the one story I have is how my new to me RV stranded us a little before the trip in my side yard driveway! Not a bad lick if you ask me!

[gettinright]

GOD was good to you.

I am happy you were able to get help.

[billhrln]

We recently purchased a 92 Pace Arrow by Fleetwood. Overall the unit is in excellent condition, but being a newbie to motor coaches and this one has 70,000 miles. Starters don't last forever. We lucked out and it failed in a campground in Fossil,Oregon.Luckly there was a Chevy dealership there and even though this is on a Ford chasis, they were able to obtain and install new starter the next day.

[Jaybird]

deleted

[dakdave]

o4 sportscoach,5.p cummins 300 hp.Quit in campground in Deming,nm.Had towed to las cruces,after 2 days of troubleshooting am told head must come off.Either dropped valve or valve seat mashed injector loaded with fuel. After getting bad news this am went to have breakfast.On way we stopped at traffic .Lite turned green cars ahead pulled away,one stopped and so did we,lady behind us did not stop,pushed us into car ahead.Now have smashed car and Broken motorhome.Am hoping to hear tomorrow that cylinder in cummins is okay and not scored.
Can hardly beleive this happened with only 42000 miles. Oh well happy trails

[DryCamper11]

1973 Sportscoach w/ Chevy 454 and 55 gallon primary fuel tank (for gen and engine) and 45 gallon auxiliary fuel tank (engine only). The tanks are switched/selected with a 12V fuel selector valve (I carry a spare valve). The valve feeds the engine through an oil filter sized main fuel filter #1 which has a water drain. (I carry a spare #1 fuel filter.) The auxiliary tank feeds the fuel valve through a remote electric fuel pump (Yes, I carry a spare pump). That electric pump uses a required prefilter #2 ( I carry a spare prefilter #2).

Since I run lots of fuel from the aux tank and the required prefilter #2 that protects the pump is small, I have a medium sized filter #3 (yes, I carry a spare #3 filter) located between the aux tank and prefilter #2.

The engine began to miss as though it was being starved for fuel. It was starved when switched to either tank, which made me think it was in the main filter #1. I limped to my destination and replaced main filter #1. I found water in that filter as well as debris making me think the problem was solved.

The next trip out, it starved on only the aux tank. I replaced the medium filter #3. That seemed to fix it for 200 miles.

The next trip out the electric fuel valve failed. It wouldn't switch between tanks. I limped to a gas station to fill that tank and I replaced that valve at my destination. After 400 miles it began to hesitate again and died at a toll booth, but started up and I was able to limp home by repeatedly switching between tanks.

There was one last filter #4 - a tiny final one in the carburetor (yes, I also carry spare for #4 in my kit). It looked fine, but I couldn't blow through it, so I replaced filter #4. It's run fine for the next 500 miles, knock on wood.

It's hard to say which filter or valve was the problem. I know the valve was bad and that filter #4 was bad, but regardless of the problem, "Carry spares and build redundant systems" is my motto. None of the failures stopped any of the trips, but the DW does get a bit nervous when we see a series of issues like that.

[mhepburn]

Good question, my vehicle insurance did cover the costs, less my deductable; we negotiated the betterment coverage applied to the lost fluids…...Malcolm

[Mainship]

How did your insurance co treat you?
Good Sam would have picked up the tow, my insurance would have paid for the motel if it happened at a distance from home, road hazard insurance should have kicked in for damages to engine.

[mhepburn]

This was a tough, expensive lesson to learn and fits the opportunity to learn in this post...........


Driveline (Engine, Transmission): Cummins ISX 525HP, Allison 6 speed
Miles: 65K
Year: 2003

Break Down Description: Road debris was deflected off the rear tires towards the radiator and was deflected into the radiator by the rotating cooling fans.

Symptoms: Coolant release (steam), as seen in the driver's side mirror
Effect: Overheated engine, shutdown on mountain summit.
Cause: Punctured radiator core.

New rad: $6K
Removal and Replacement: $2K
Breakdown rescue/tow: $1K
Additional travel costs & unplanned expenses: $2K

$11 thousand dollars later, because a piece of tire rubber from the road deflected up off the road and hit the cooling fan………and was unfortunately deflected into the rad.

Solution: Install expanded sheet metal covers over the fans. Engine cooling isn't compromised and the radiator is fully protected. IMHO this problem is particularly significant for those coaches with tag axels. Single axle coaches don’t have the same open chamber where the deflection and damage can occur.

Outcome: Serious, expensive Lesson Learned. I’m told by the rad and service shops......this is a common mode of failure for many coach owners...Malcolm

[BluesLover]

2008 Hurricane 34B on Ford V-10 Chassis
35,900 miles

Problem- Chassis battery disconnect solenoid failed.

Immediate loss of all power, lights, engine, power steering and braking while on interstate highway on-ramp. Shortly after the break-down, a tractor-trialer sideswiped cargo trailer and RV, causing considerable damage to RV rear, bedroom slide and awning. Had Hurricane towed to local RV, where Thor tech support advised them to jumper around the solenoid to get me back on the road. Cut the remains of the awning off the coach. Back on the road, the coach bounced horribly due to bent rims.

Thor says they will replace the control center that houses the disconnect solenoid. Thinking seriously about jumping around the solenoid anyway. If one can fail, so can its replacement.

Luckily no loss of life. I can't imaging what could have happened if it had failed a minute or two later at interstate speeds in heavy traffic, since the failed solenoid LEFT ME WITH NO LIGHTS TO WARN ANYONE...

[Dave_T_]

2001 Bounder Ford 34D
30,000 miles

Problem - gearshifter was free moving and would not shift from Drive.

Parked a month at in-laws. Moved it 100 feet to use it for Labor Day weekend and when I went to put it in park, the gearshift was loose and not moving MH into any gear except Drive. Put on parking brake, chocked the tires and had wife put foot on brake peddle. Found the shifting cable in free play due to the Cable sheath coming out of retainer bracket due to missing retainer clamp. Repaired with new fabricated clamp. This is the first bracket for the cable from the side of the transmission. Glad it was something easy. No idea what the missing retainer was made of.

[bikerider58]

96 Itasca 34ft
F53 chassis - 460 w/ overdrive
111K miles
Trans failure - burnt the oil

This past week going south on I5 started up the grapevine after gasing up in Bakersfield.

Long slow pull, engine got to the top of the "normal" range. A short stop and some water spray got it cool enough to continue.

I didn't think about the trans baking and continued for a bit (slower with more rpms) until is started to slip. It was dumping fluid fast. Leak appears to be from the front main seal.

Got towed, no fluid in trans. Added 6 quarts to test it, seemed to work with no leaks, but agreed with shop to drop the pan for a look see....what are those chunks?

Anyway, used a rental to get home and the new trans will be installed this week.

I was thinking a sprayer using a windshield washer tank and pump would work nicely.

popeye766 wrote:
Hello Rver's
I would like to give Class A folks a wise tip on 454 cooling as i notice many have cooling problems.
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. Popeye766 USN RET.

[CallThisCamping]

2011 Winnebago Adventurer 32H
on the Ford F53 V10 chassis
around 6800 miles

Driving back to San Diego from Sequoia NP. Pulled into the Bakersfield Costco to fill up. After filling, wouldn't start. No click, crank, or any other indication that I had turned the key to the start position, although all the lights came on as normal. Batteries were fully charged as expected after driving for 4 hours. After calling Ford roadside assistance, (of course), the MH started as normal. I thought it was pilot error. We drove to Bakersfield RV Resort to spend the night (wonderful place, BTW) and after registration, wouldn't start again, so I couldn't get to my space. Called Ford again and was towed to the Ford dealer. After some time, they replaced the starter motor/solenoid. They said the exhaust pipe was too close to the starter motor and caused overheating and failure of the motor. The time from the second call to Ford roadside assistance until I was back to the resort was around 4 hours, and of course, there was no charge. After the repair, the service manager told be he could see there being a recall for this issue for 2011 F53 chassis to install a heat shield.
So, if you're in the middle of nowhere and experience this problem, whack the starter motor with the handle of a hammer while someone turns the key for a temporary fix, then replace the starter motor under warranty.

[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 I could see it dripping from end cap