Caterpillar Diesel

[Fer2005]

I'm looking to buy a DP and see a lot of negative press about the Cat diesels. I haven't seen much positive press and there may be a reason for that. Has anybody had a good experience with the Cat?

I've done the searches, may not be looking in the right spot. Any good opinions would be great. Thanks!

[lj2654]

I have a CAT 3126 B in my Beaver DP. 34,000 miles and running strong. Keep up the maintenance and I have had "0" issues with it!

[gswcgi]

I have a CAT 3126E now and have had 3 Cummins engines as well. One current Cummins. I would not make the decision to buy an RV on whether it has a CAT or Cummins engine. They are both bullet proof if you do the maintenance religiously. You can get a dog in anything mechanical. I have also had a Mercedes diesel and was not fond of it but it was ok, not b great. Get the serial number of the CAT engine and call the CAT RV line, 1 877 777 3126, and ask them for any history they have on the engine. The techs on the hotline are super and very helpful.

[docj]

CAT will give you a hat if you can show you've run a million miles on a CAT engine. At our mileage rate I plan on getting my hat for my 150th birthday! 🙂

In all seriousness, they are great engines if you maintain them, like any other sophisticated piece of equipment. Unfortunately, some RVers assume that "diesels run forever" and don't maintain them. That is a recipe for disaster.

[Jarlaxle]

bluwtr49 wrote:
Yeah, you might be right if the ones you're looking at have more than 500,000 miles....anything less than that you should be good to go.

Joking aside they are awfully good engines although I've heard some reports that the ACERT models had a few problems. I sure do like our 425 hp C-12.

We have four C7's at work, two failed, none with more than 160,000 miles! One failed catastrophically (threw a rod), one had to be in-framed due to having no compression. We also had another need an IP and all 6 injectors with ~150K, about a $4500 whack!

[ncrowley]

When I was researching which coach to purchase, I was told by professional sources that the engine (Cat or Cummins) should not be the deciding factor, since they were both good engines. I ended up with a Cat C7 and no issues yet.

[Valkyriebush]

I have 3126E/3000 allison and never ever had a problem. 60K. Did have to change coolant surge tank because of spider cracking. And that's it! I do have it serviced on schedule by Freightliner or Rush Trucks with oil and trans fluid analysis.

[jrp]

If you gather your input from internet forums, you only hear the bad stories. The thousands of Folks who are happy with no problems don't feel the need to go post on a forum.
I have a 2005 C7 that's been flawless and very reliable. There were a few initial issues mainly caused by Freightliner the chassis builder, but were easily worked out.

Fer2005 wrote:
I guess most of the problems have been with the mid-2000 models, C7 and others. Most of the complaints have been with the fans seizing, fuel pumps going bad, blown head gaskets and other problems.

I haven't seen any problems on earlier models and very few people have posted as Dolan did, no problems.

Just wondering if it was a short period where the problems came from and then the problems were fixed. Thanks again.

[Big_Katuna]

I have a C7 since 05, no problems, not one. I have never heard of any problems.

[Peralko]

We have a 10-liter Caterpillar in our coach. We have almost 160k miles on it. The only issues were a burst hydraulic hose, and recently we had a corroded fuse holder going to the engine ECM that caused a shutdown. Easily fixed once the Cat shop found it. The engine purrs like a Cat (;)) and doesn't hardly use oil at all.

[UsualSuspect]

Fer2005 wrote:
I guess most of the problems have been with the mid-2000 models, C7 and others. Most of the complaints have been with the fans seizing, fuel pumps going bad, blown head gaskets and other problems.

I haven't seen any problems on earlier models and very few people have posted as Dolan did, no problems.

Just wondering if it was a short period where the problems came from and then the problems were fixed. Thanks again.

I have a C7, have had zero issues with it. My BIL has a C7 in his rig and has had zero issues with his, so we must be exceptions? I would not hesitate to buy a rig with a Cat C7 again, or any Cat, Cummins, or Detroit, they are all good motors and have their strong and weak points. I keep in mind when reading the forums folks don't usually post I went out this morning, drove it and everything worked. When folks have issues you don't know if they drove it like they stole it, serviced it regularly or not.

[Fer2005]

I guess most of the problems have been with the mid-2000 models, C7 and others. Most of the complaints have been with the fans seizing, fuel pumps going bad, blown head gaskets and other problems.

I haven't seen any problems on earlier models and very few people have posted as Dolan did, no problems.

Just wondering if it was a short period where the problems came from and then the problems were fixed. Thanks again.

[Dolan_Brown]

I have a CAT 350HP in my 2006 coach. No problems, runs great, easy start, good pulling power in the mountains.:) It has app. 33K miles and get service yearly by Freightliner at Gaffney SC

[bluwtr49]

Yeah, you might be right if the ones you're looking at have more than 500,000 miles....anything less than that you should be good to go.

Joking aside they are awfully good engines although I've heard some reports that the ACERT models had a few problems. I sure do like our 425 hp C-12.

[Ranger_Smith]

I've had 2 cat's with the 330hp. Only issue was an AC compressor seizing up. Have put around 80k miles between the 2 and that was it.

[moisheh]

That is a very general statement. Just what problems have you read about and which engines?

Moisheh