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Caterpillar Diesel

Fer2005
Explorer
Explorer
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!
2009 Winnebago Journey 39Z
2012 Ford Taurus Toad
29 REPLIES 29

fighterpilota
Explorer
Explorer
Suggest you check parts costs and service availability. We have Cats in two boats and have found parts are more expensive, one source for us in the Pensacola Fl. area, and knowledgeable mechanics limited. Many more Cummins engines in use than Cats around here. For that reason when we shopped for a DP we ruled out Cats.

wolfe10
Explorer
Explorer
Kind of "Ford vs Chevy" question.

There has not been a bad diesel engine in the last 15+ years.

Buy the coach you like. The likelihood of engine problems on any of them is quite small (assuming it has been maintained).
Brett Wolfe
Ex: 2003 Alpine 38'FDDS
Ex: 1997 Safari 35'
Ex: 1993 Foretravel U240

Diesel RV Club:http://www.dieselrvclub.org/

msmith1199
Explorer II
Explorer II
Mine has a Cat and I've done nothing to it other than regular service. Never had a single problem.

2021 Nexus Viper 27V. Class B+


2019 Ford Ranger 4x4

HobbsHauler
Explorer
Explorer
330 CAT here, purrs like a kitten. 42k miles.
Him and Me
'07 Fleetwood Discovery 40X
Tundra Toad
Tandem Tow Dolly
Harley, Road King
Klancy Mae, our Irish Setter

RayChez
Explorer
Explorer
Yes Caterpillar is back with road trucks with Caterpillar CT660 engines. Most powerful diesels produced yet. Have several operating out of Garden Grove, California.

CT660 might be a little too powerful for a motorhome.
2002 Gulf Stream Scenic Cruiser
330 HP Caterpillar 3126-E
3000 Allison Transmission
Neway Freightliner chassis
2017 Buick Envision

UsualSuspect
Explorer
Explorer
Fer2005 wrote:
now Cat is out of the over the road business.

They started making their own equipment for on highway usage again. My understanding is the engines will be available soon for chassis manufacturers once again. LINKY to CAT trucks
2007 Fleetwood Excursion 40E Cat C7 350 HP
2007 Chev 2500HD D/A Long bed CC (Yes, it is my TOAD :B)
2011 Toyota Tundra
2013 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara (Backup towed)
Gone but not forgotten, 2008 Jayco 299 RLS

Fer2005
Explorer
Explorer
Thanks for all the info. I've driven a cummins diesel all my adult life in a pickup. Used cat diesels in other applications and loved them both. I know cummins can have problems as well. The issues I heard about were the ones in mid-2000 and now Cat is out of the over the road business.

I see several MH for sale with around 20k and wondered where the good stories were. You normally only of the bad ones I know, just wanted to hear the good ones!

Thanks again for the input.
2009 Winnebago Journey 39Z
2012 Ford Taurus Toad

RayChez
Explorer
Explorer
I have the 3126-E Cat engine and it has been a good engine through 50K miles. Had two Cummins engines before that and blew a hole on both through the block. But that was the 5.9 Cummins engines.
2002 Gulf Stream Scenic Cruiser
330 HP Caterpillar 3126-E
3000 Allison Transmission
Neway Freightliner chassis
2017 Buick Envision

Passin_Thru
Explorer
Explorer
I ran one 425,000 miles. 1 injector, under warranty, filters and oil changes. Seemed to like to be run hard, 65 and over. They can be expensive to fix/overhaul but seem like good engines with thousands running in boats.

J-Rooster
Explorer
Explorer
I'm retired from the trucking industry and I was behind the wheel of CAT engines most of my 44 years. 1.2 million miles was the furthest I drove one engine before a rebuilt. And 750,000 was the least amount of miles before a rebuild. This past spring I had my Workhorse in Joe's RV Lake Havasu City, AZ. (Workhorse dealer in L.H.C.) and one of the mechanics was working on a DP with a CAT engine. I quipped nice engine and he replied back to me, all the CAT's are nice except the 330 H.P. I didn't ask any other questions as I was leaving but he told me they work on a lot of 330 H.P. CAT's in that shop.

Acampingwewillg
Explorer II
Explorer II
'96 coach with a Cat 3176B engine, closing in on 100,000 miles and so far, knock on wood, the alternator has been the only issue. As far as servive goes, I find the comment regarding CAT/Cummin's mechanics interesting.... Ive taken my Cat to a Cummin's service center(Cummin's Cal Pacific in Ventura, Ca) without any issue whatsoever, matter of fact, the Cummin's guys were very comprehensive and competent in their knowledge of my particular engine.
96 Vogue Prima Vista
The Kid's: Humphrie, the Mini Schnauzer and Georgie,wire haired dachshund.
Rainbow Bridge: Laddie,Scoutie,Katie,Cooper,Kodie,Rubie,Maggie, Cassie, Mollie, Elvis, Potter and Rosie Love You! (40+ years in all)

FIRE_UP
Explorer
Explorer
jrp wrote:
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.



That's pretty much the norm!

People will write and talk about "issues" way more than just coming out and posting, "man, we've got a 20xx series CAT and it's been working flawlessly for all the time we've owned it." I am not an expert on Diesels but, have been driving them for my entire career in Fire Department related use. We've had CATs, Cummins, Detroits, and even a few Internationals. While each has worked for us over the years, we chose as a base engine for the last 15+ years, the Detroit series 60.

But, in motor home use, if anyone who's been into any research of the diesels used in them for the last few years has found out that, both Cummins and CAT has had issues. Certain models of Cummins have had and, maybe still are for all I know, "Wrist Pin" issues. And, from what I've read and heard, the remedy for that is not pretty in the eyes of the present owners.

And as for CAT, yes the C-7 has had some issues. Namely the HEUI pump. Hydraulic Electronic Unit Injector pump. When it decides to go south for the winter, it takes the injectors with it. That, as an average, is pretty close to about a $6500.00-$7,000.00 repair. The predecessor is the 3126 Series CATs and, seem to have a tad bit better durability/longevity record for CAT than the C-7. But, that's not to say the C-7 is a bad engine. There's only a few hundred thousand of them still running flawlessly in not only motor homes but dump trucks, delivery trucks, some over the road trucks and more.

So, while CAT decided to pull out of the "On the road" diesel market a few years back, I'd not hesitate to own another CAT engine. We presently have an '04 Itasca Horizon 36GD with the C-7 330 CAT. I'm not too fond of the non-lube fan bearing but, it is what it is and, so far, it's doing just fine. About the only thing I like better about the Cummins than the CAT is, HP for HP, the Cummins has a higher torque rating.
Scott
Scott and Karla
SDFD RETIRED
2004 Itasca Horizon, 36GD Slate Blue 330 CAT
2011 GMC Sierra 1500 Ext Cab 4x4 Toad
2008 Caliente Red LVL II GL 1800 Goldwing
KI60ND

wny_pat1
Explorer
Explorer
Fer2005 wrote:
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!
I'm not a big Cat guy, cause I cut teeth with Cummins in the trucking industry. The only negative press about Cat that I know of is the fact that they are getting out of building and servicing over the road engines. But then I remember when they started building over the road engines. Their engines were noted for major hill climbing torque when pulling heavy loads. But when they started building over the road engines, you had to go to a construction site to find a mechanic to get them worked on, cause there were no Cat mechanics to be found in heavy truck garages. Today there are all kinds of Cat mechanics out there. Would I buy a motorhome with a Cat??? No, but only cause I know my way around the Cummins diesels, and not Cat diesels. It is kind of like the Ford pickup Chevy pickup thing.
โ€œAll journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.โ€

cbigham
Explorer III
Explorer III
Running 71k on a 2004 c7. HEUI pump and injectors replaced under warranty at 42k. Apparently a bad batch of pumps on early C7 models. Been fine since. I studied the HEUI system after that, looks like oil and fuel cleanliness is critical. I change oil at 5k. People will argue the 19 quarts of oil isn't close to used up then, but with the HEUI pump pressurization to 4000 psi - thats got to wear the oil, and tolerances are tight to create those pressures. Do my best to maintain it myself after some disappointing services.