Motorhome fires

[n4hwl]

I recently visited an RV junkyard in London Kentucky. I believe at least three fourths of the motorhomes that were there were because of fires in the rear of the diesel motorhome. What is the deal with diesel motor homes catching on fire back around the engine.? I am in the process now of repairing my 2004 Phaeton where the exhaust pipe has melted the floor above it. This easily could have caught on fire I just was lucky. Are these Builders not building these things correctly? There is no heat shielding or anything around this exhaust where it comes close to my floor or the foam insulation along the sides. These fires did not seem to be in any particular brand or model. Looking at the way mine was built I'm surprised they're not more fires.

Ken

[J-Rooster]

Water damage is the #1 culprit in motor homes when damage is reported to insurance companies.

[Mike_Hohnstein]

Low tire pressure, inner dual rear causes quite a few fires, real tough to put out a burning tire.

[supercub]

Just for a little added insurance, a couple years ago, I purchased an extinguisher for the engine compartment from Mack the fire guy. I also installed one in the back of my Norcold Refrigerator. I also have a small extinguisher mounted next to my bed and one next to the door. I didn't like the strap mounting that came with the extinguisher for the engine compartment, so bought a piece of aluminum angle and mounted it so the extinguisher lies on the bottom of the L and mounted it with bolt running thru the vertical of the L and then used hose clamps to secure the extinguisher to it.

[SCVJeff]

kfriceman wrote:
I'm thinking that a majority of these fires can be traced back to a poor maintenance history.

-Kevin

thats what I was recently told by a Diesel field mechanic. Problem being that the engine isn't necessarily easy to see or get to and people become complacent. He said often the problem is excessive grease and oil build-up, something ignites it and viola.. I'm way better than most and still find buildups even after ~3000 miles. What about the folks making 15000 mile loops around the country and never give the engine a glance?

[Tntman]

The cheap exhaust system pipes Freighter uses and the motorhome manufacturer should share the blame for these fires. I acquired a hole in the elbow turning to the outside. The heat built up in the rear cap to the point of melting the reflectors in the tail lights. This was as close to a fire as you can get. The second elbow that got a hole in it cooked my alt. Next time it is going to be a straight pipe out the back under the rear cap. Problem will be solved.

[DryCreek]

Lwiddis wrote:
Scary to hear...a little TT guy.

It can happen to anyone.

I owned a 2001 Dodge Ram 2500, and the cowl insulation (made from foam rubber) had slipped and landed on the turbo. We had just gotten in our driveway hauling a load of hay and smoke started billowing out from under the hood. I grabbed my fire extinguisher, and the wife grabbed the one from her truck and we popped the hood. Of course my extinguisher had gone dead, so it's good we had a backup. I saw the exact same thing happen to another second-generation Dodge HD in front of our house. The rig stopped across from our house with flames streaking halfway up the windshield. Luckily he was hauling a fifth wheel and a boat, so we had two extinguishers to battle the flames with. The amazing thing? Once we pulled the foam insulation piece off and got it out, he drove that truck home.

So, vehicle fires can happen. Any where, any time.

[msmith1199]

Branson N Tucson wrote:
I was at same yard and a gentleman stated most of them were insurance fires because they were upside down on them.

I'm going to guess he's just speculating on that. But it's likely some are.

[Mr_Mark1]

Branson N Tucson wrote:
I was at same yard and a gentleman stated most of them were insurance fires because they were upside down on them.

I wonder if that would have made them any less 'upside down' unless they had gap insurance.

Safe travels,
MM.

[Branson_N_Tucso]

I was at same yard and a gentleman stated most of them were insurance fires because they were upside down on them.

[msmith1199]

I don't know how many this accounts for, but I know motorhomes in storage tend to accumulate birds nests and rat nests and things of that nature and these critters don't seem to understand that the parts they are building their nests on get real hot when that motorhome gets started up. You'll even get nests directly in the flame tubes in your water heater.

[rgatijnet1]

Motor home fires happen and we should never be complacent to the point where we become a victim. Even if they happen very infrequently, we must remain vigilant so that we can do what we can to prevent a fire or know how to deal with it if we become the next incident.

[10forty2]

There are likely hundreds of thousands of motorhomes on the road today and in relative comparison, there are very few fires. It peaks our interest because we have one, but the statistics are not staggering when you put them into perspective. Example....I remember several years ago there was a push to ban waterparks because 3 or 4 people had been injured and/or killed while riding the slides. Well, how many hundreds of thousands of people have gone down those slide without injury? An airplane crash can kill hundreds of people at one time. BUT, people fly everyday without incident. It's tragic for anyone to get hurt or killed, but the overall picture must be painted according to the larger perspective of the view.

[tinkerer]

A couple of years ago while inspecting the top of the engine, I noticed the exhaust pipe had a hole burned in it on an elbow coming from the turbo. It was blowing against a support beam. I didn't notice any burnt areas though. It seems that Freightliner uses poor exhaust pipe material.

[bobkatmsu]

Lwiddis wrote:
Scary to hear...a little TT guy.

Be careful what you say. If you are not a DP owner and say anything remotely negative of a DP be prepared for some scathing retorts...from a voice of experience.