Just made our maiden family trip in our 26' Jamboree

[DaHose]

Hey, everyone! I am so very pleased to report that our first official family RV trip went GREAT!!!!

We towed a '94 Wrangler up a couple of pretty steep grades (11% and then 8%), which caused the old girl to heat up and start running pretty rough. She was down to a crawl, so I had to pull over and let her cool down. Once the temp. was back in the lower part of normal, she pulled strong again and happily got us to the camp ground. I'll have to see about improving cooling before we tow on any other mountain.

It was the first time ever on an RV trip for my wife and daughter. We went to Yogi's Jellystone park in Cobb, Ca. along with another family. Our combined 3 kids had HUGE fun riding the pedal cars and playing around all weekend. We did some mini golf and just relaxed at the camp site, enjoying some s'mores and telling tales by the fire pit late into the evening.

I am not one to name all his vehicles, but the old girl spoke to me and I have started calling her Mabel. Mabel might not be the prettiest gal at the ball, but she's sturdy and she will take care of ya. 😉

Some of you know that I have put a pretty HUGE amount of hours into rebuilding the cabover and lots of other repairs. There is still more repair and maintenance work I need to do, but I can honestly say it has all been worth it. We got some serious smiles to the gallon on our trip (but only 6 mpg) and we can't wait to get away for the next RV weekend.

Thanks again to those who have helped me out with information and moral support as I have rehabilitated old Mabel this past year. She can now have quite a few more years of being loved and cared for as we build fond family memories.

Jose

[Gunner45]

Glad you had a great maiden trip 🙂


~ Dori ~

[TyroneandGladys]

Would check that fan clutch

[DaHose]

Good point, Sloop. I have used a loose rolled newspaper to stop fans and confirm clutches aren't working. Good old Mable is a 1983 Ford E350 based chassis with a 460 and C6? 3 speed.

I'll check that fan. Looks like it would come out without pulling the radiator.

Jose

[Sloop_Smitten]

Jose,
You don't state the year or chassis your Class "C" is but I have the Ford 460 and when I first got it I could tow my trailered dune buggy through the mountains with no overheating but lately it has been heating up climbing mountains without anything in tow. Did some reading and decided to check the fan clutch. The fan clutch only fully engages when the vehicle is actually heating up beyond the normal operating range. Before then it partially engages but is pretty much coasting. As the temperature rises the spring on the clutch restricts and this opens a valve in the clutch allowing the viscous fluid to move to an inner channel which allows the fan to more closely match the engine speed. This accounts for why it roars when engaged. It is pushing a lot more air. I put a piece of cardboard with a hole in the center in front of the radiator to restrict airflow except for where it passes over the clutch. This is because you have to have the heated air flow for the clutch spring to compress. Once the engine started overheating the clutch never engaged, so I am reasonably sure that is the problem. If it had engaged the amount of noise from the fan would have risen sufficiently to easily hear the difference. The clutches are not that expensive, $35 or so, but the labor to change it can be extensive, including possibly needing to have to remove the radiator to gain clearance. So the test is a worthwhile step to verify if the clutch is operating normally or not before replacing it.

[DaHose]

In the Corps. we can actually link up the PTO's of the trucks to make a "truck train" that lets us pull godawful heavy equipment up rough terrain.

So don't think think the "car train" idea didn't cross my mind. 😉

I did let the transmission do its job, but appreciate I appreciate the reminders, Fred. Good advice is always worth posting.

I figure that since I haven't flushed my coolant (missed that maintenance item), I could drain the system, pull the radiator and have it re-cored. I would also do the fans while it's out and put in a dual stage temp. config. so that both fans only run when she heats up. Seems like small levels of work for potentially big returns.

DW can't drive standard transmission, so stopping for a few minutes with the Jeep in tow was reasonable. We had been on the road for a couple hours, so it was a nice break too. Definitely don't want to repeat that, though. I need to get DW comfortable driving the rig so that we can unhitch a toad on steep climbs, though.

Jose

[Heish]

Hotbyte, It sure sounds like if someone unhooked the Wrangle and drove it through the Mountains problem could be solved. Good solution to the issue...although I assume you were joshing us.

[regis101]

hotbyte wrote:
Put somebody in the Wrangler to help push 🙂

Now that's Laurel and Hardy funny

[hotbyte]

Glad you had a good maiden voyage. Put somebody in the Wrangler to help push 🙂

[Golden_HVAC]

Hi,

In a Ford, if you shift to 2 gear, the transmission will not try to shift to 1 gear even if it needs to on a steep hill. If below about 35 MPH, leaving the shifter in D will allow the transmission to change to gear 1 if needed to increase engine speed to get up that mountain.

I understand completely the desire to leave the motorhome transmission in 2 gear while driving on a 30 - 40 MPH highway with curves, so it will not hunt back and forth between second gear required to have adequate horsepower to make it up the mountain, and each time you release the gas a bit for a upcoming curve it might be shifting back to drive for only a couple of seconds, that can overheat the transmission. Locking out overdrive is a good idea while the transmission is "Searching" for the correct gear in such a situation.

Also going back down that hill, I hope you used 2 gear, it is steep, and slowing to about 40 then shifting to 2 will help avoid using the brakes, and keep them much cooler.

You might need to wash the radiator to help it run cooler. If you did not hear the engine fan clutch engage (ROAR) on the mountain grade, then you need to replace the fan clutch. It is simple enough, the item between the fan blade and water pump.

While the radiator shield is off to remove the fan blade, washing the radiator from both sides is really easy. Use some simple green or 409, or something that will not attack the plastics and metal in there.

Good luck,

Fred.

PS: With a GM based van motorhome, it should shift from 2 to 1 gear in the 2 position while climbing a really steep or slow grade.

This increases fan speed, and airflow across the radiator, as well as increases HP the engine can make. For a given RPM, there is a maximum amount of HP any engine can make. RV engines can only make about 75 HP at 1,400 RPM, but get well over 150 at 2,200 RPM and upwards of 300 HP at 4,000 RPM redline.

Also try some higher octane gas. You probably will get better mileage, I went from 7 to 8.8 in my 97 F-53 based class A motorhome with a 460" V8.