Climbing steep grades...

[Mrgunguy]

I have a 30’ 2003 Four Winds class C with the 6L, 8cyl Vortec engine. I’m planning on pulling a 2003 Jeep TJ (4cyl, straight drive) and had a question or two.

I’ve noticed that when I’m climbing steep grades (or even not so steep grades) the engine has a tendency to begin heating up. I’ve been told that this is due, in part, to the overdrive and if I simply kick it down to 3rd gear I should be able to mitigate some of that heating. So far, so good. It does heat up some but not as quickly as it used to and it has not left me on the side of the road with a smoldering engine.

Now I would like to flat tow a small Jeep so that I can run about when I get to where I’m going but I’m afraid that this will be too much and the coach will overheat when I’m 1,500 miles away from home and on the side of a mountain. Is there something that I should be taking into consideration or doing differently? We would like to go to see Yellowstone this year and, at an elevation of 5K+ feet, I’m feeling anxious over having to climb an awful lot of asphalt.

Any help or advice would be gratefully accepted.

[ppine]

Nine % qualifies as steep on American highways. In Canada, they can be 12% easliy and sometimes more. Small secondary roads can be really steep. Stay on the main roads and watch your gauges. Don't pull hills in overdrive.

[Mrgunguy]

Danka!!

[ronfisherman]

Mrgunguy wrote:

pianotuna wrote:
I would add a scangauge.

I was looking at those and I don’t see that the ScanGaugeII monitors transmission temps. The one for truckers does, but the standard one does not.

Yes it does. Some settings have to loaded using X Gauge input.

[Mrgunguy]

pianotuna wrote:
I would add a scangauge.

I was looking at those and I don’t see that the ScanGaugeII monitors transmission temps. The one for truckers does, but the standard one does not.

[Mrgunguy]

I’ve had a long talk with the wife about this and I’ve come to a conclusion...

We plan to take the trip to Yellowstone next year instead of this one. Pressure off.

In the meantime we will take a short trip for a short time. Afriend has an RV park about an hour and a half from my home, high atop Roan Mountain yet well within AAA range. We will give it a good shake down and determine (with the info gleaned here) what works, what does not work and how hot it gets. If everything is actually okay and I’m being a big weenie about it, then we might even go to Yellowstone this year. If, as I suspect, there is some heat issue that needs to be attended to, in whatever fashion my mechanic deems necessary, I have a year to get it done before we go on the big trip. I’m getting old, but I think I have at least another year in me. 😛

Personally, I see a transmission cooler in my not-too-distant future. Even if it’s not 100% needed, it would make me feel better. Thanks everyone for their two cents. It has been quite a learning experience.

[pianotuna]

I would add a scangauge.

[IAMICHABOD]

Mrgunguy wrote:

12th Man Fan wrote:
Do you hear your fan clutch engage?Might not be able to hear it on thet type of engine but on my disel it sounds like a jet taking off. Might check and make sure the fan is operating correctly.

I was told that the “jet taking off” sound is the overdrive kicking in and not what I want to hear when climbing. Whenever I hear that sound I know that I’m on a hill and I need to downshift. I’m guessing the fan is okey dokey.

That Jet taking off sound is is indeed your fan clutch kicking in and it is what you need to hear when climbing,On my old Class A with that same motor that was what you wanted to hear.

A fix for the over heating is to get a severe duty clutch fan to replace the stock one,did that it ran much cooler.

[BarabooBob]

I drove a Toyota bases Class C over 60,000 miles including up the west side of the Bighorn Mtns on 14A, the Beartooth Hoghway, Logan Pass, Independence Pass, Trail Ridge Road and almost every high elevation pass in the Rockies. My solution to running hot was to spin that little 22Re (115 horse engine w/6,000 pound coach) I frequently ran 4500 to 5000 rpms in second gear doing 45 mph. The engine never got hot. The tranny never got hot. I had an oversized radiator and an extra tranny cooler.
Even with you Chevy based Class C, don't be afraid of running the engine faster. Install proper gauges including engine temp, tranny temp, & tach. Don't worry about how fast you are going, shift down before anything gets hot and spool that motor up. Drive with the tach and temp gauges. You will still get there, just a bit slower without damaging your rig. Get used to the sound of your Vortex at higher rpms, it really is a sweet sound.

[time2roll]

Well whatever speed, you should not have to use just 30% to 50% of the power to go slow and keep from boiling over. There really is something wrong if this is the case. If this has been going on since the last cooling service consider a different shop. Need someone that can find the issue and repair. Anybody can swap most of the coolant, say they changed the thermostat and checked the fan and send you down the road. You need someone to really get in there and fix it.

240-250 should be top of normal with 260-280 is boil over range. I assume it should run 200-210 max on the flats at 65 mph.

[wolfe10]

WHAT goes above 225 degrees F? Coolant? Transmission?

What effect does going to a lower gear and less than WOT do for temperature?

[Lwiddis]

Five thousand feet elevation? Wow serious IMO. lol

Be ready for 10,000 in the Eastern Sierra and over 12,000 in Rocky Mountain NP.

[Mrgunguy]

Thanks guys, this is all very helpful. What it tells me is that I should bring it back to my mechanic and see if there’s anything that he can do, equipment-wise. The reason I am thinking this way is because this MH routinely goes above 225 when going up hills, and that’s when it’s empty. No water, gear, toad or wife. The heat seems to always be something I have my eye on and it’s disconcerting. If the mechanic can install a trans cooler and maybe double check the whole cooling system to see if he can make it more efficient/effective, that might make the difference.

[drmopar]

If you want to tow, add separate coolers. My dealership had the CHP account with those older Mopars with the 440's. They had Trans coolers, Engine oil coolers, Power steering coolers and a Max cooling package. These would never overheat going up a grade at 120mph. In your case make sure to switch off the A/C when going uphill. You don't need the additional heat from the A/C condenser. Add a trans cooler and disconnect if part of the engine radiator is used for trans cooling. Worst case, I helped a guy with a overheat issue. The radiator was too small to handle the heat, so we used an old windshield washer tank and pump to direct water on the front of the radiator when getting hot, old school but it works.

[Desert_Captain]

You will find Yellowstone a great deal higher than 5,000'... More like 6,800' to 8,500'{ I just spent a week there}. You should be a lot more worried about your transmission fluid temps than the engine coolant temperatures. Hopefully you have a gauge that displays trans temp {like a Scan Gauge} and if not you NEED one!

Your engine/transmission coolant temps should never exceed about 225 and then only in extreme heat and under a heavy load. So long as the temps cool back down as soon as the load is removed you should be fine. Your trans temps will be 12 - 20 degrees higher than they should be {and not in a good way} unless you religiously utilize your Tow Haul function. A Scan Gauge will demonstrate this quite clearly and if you are not using TH your are slowly but surely cooking your transmission {needlessly}.

We are In St George, Utah wrapping up a three week trip that will come in at around 4,000+ miles. Climbing the 8, 9 and even 10,000' passes we have encountered the coolant rarely saw 212 and the trans 206 and I am fully loaded and towing a 2,200# 10' X 6 ' {8' tall} cargo trailer with my 2012 E-350 V-10 24' Class C {I have my Indian Springfield - 875# and some misc gear in the trailer}.

I have had this rig for nearly 7 years with 62,000 miles on it and live in southern Arizona RVing year round the whole time. As soon as I bought the coach {used with just 6,208 miles on it} I changed out the oil, trans fluid and differential for full synthetic and yes, it helps a lot!

Keep good fluids and the temps in the proper range and your 6L or my 6.8 V-10 will last longer than we will.

As always... Opinions and YMMV.

:C

[STBRetired]

My MH normally runs at about 195 on the flats and will get up to about 220 when climbing grades. That is pretty normal and not much to worry about. 235 is a bit high, but if it comes right back down if you slow your assent or reach the top, I don't see it as much of a problem. that is assuming that those temps are while towing your Jeep. If that is without a tow, you will have issues when you add 4000 pounds of dead weight behind you. If your trans cooler is part of the radiator, you should install a separate cooler so that the trans is not pushing heat into your engine coolant. Would be better for the trans as well. My rig has separate trans and oil coolers mounted in front of the A/C condenser.