jleamont

Carl, the ProOne XPL101 is also an insulator. Get a can and keep it in the coach for stuff like that. Watch the video where the guy sprays an electrical extension cord, sticks it in a cup of water and puts his hand in the cup with it. He pulled that here I almost went running for the AED . I am one of the CPR certified staff, All I could think was OH...NO.....

Bill, sorry to hear about your mother. Be careful heading into FL.

I second that!! Recheck the battery voltages, make sure they didn't die while sitting there.

Yea, I missed that, I was looking for a signature. If he was a retired mechanic I'd say go for it. Otherwise that is one for the experts to tackle. Funny I never had a copper one fail on a CAT, Just Ford and Navistar (same design). Carl, that's why I don't gamble, I'm terrible at it and have no luck . So...here is the copper one;

3126 CAT would be my guess? What year? The depending on the year some are copper (earlier years) and some had Stainless Steel sleeves (later years after 1999-2000). I'm betting on the 3126E. Very common outside problem of the RV world. Depending on the accessibility of your engine will determine how bad of a job it is. In a truck I had them down to 6 hours, RV will really depend on access to remove the valve cover. I still have the removal, installation tools and the slide hammer in my tool box. here is a link on the tooling and how it all looks with a cut away photo; http://www.irontite.com/PDF/451-6581-00 CAT 3126B Instructions_141203.pdf Here is the sleeve photo if Stainless;

Dean, sorry to hear about your loss.

Just hold onto the handles when you release it, not all are hinged, some will fall out or at a certain point when raised they fall.

You could have them do that, but at $125hr it just adds to the bill.

Trish, can you ask them for the make and model of the failed pump? Maybe snap a photo of the ID tag and crack? I remember reading something similar to this before, it could give another person a heads up to keep an eye on it do this doesn't happen to them.

Trish, what is the full test they are asking for approval on? Do you have any details?

Trish, sorry to hear about your problem. The fluid looks like antifreeze to me, I would suspect it came from the overflow rather than an external Head gasket leak as a result of the boiling antifreeze high temperature, the radiator cap would release that pressure and if its like my coach it is on the left rear above the trailer hitch is where the overflow tube discharges. At the temp you reached there is a possibility of engine damage, the only way to tell would be to fix the pump, refill with coolant and run the engine, white smoke from the exhaust or crankcase breather would indicate a concern, if nothing from either they should pressure test the cooling system hot and cold to see if it holds pressure to check for any internal engine leaks. My Cummins rep just dropped in my office after a meeting with our parts manager, I asked the question, his reply "Almost never, and usually at higher temps than 240 when we would see a problem". Hopefully your gauge is accurate and you were really at 240 and not 300 and you don't have the engine that failed earlier than most.

https://www.lazydays.com/rvs/?query=used_flag%3A1%26vehicle_class_group_id%3A1%26make_id%3A605031&page=1&limit=12 No pictures yet

Kay, please send me pics also. Just curious always like looking at other coaches.

Herman, that is a great idea! Often at night sitting around the dinner table our girls (still do that, required in our house) will bring up a trip from a few years ago. Since we bought our first coach when they were 6 and 8 some trips tend to run into others. DW and I sit and stare at each other and we try to remember which trip that was from, it usually turns into remember that time...... My DW is big into crafts and scrapbooking, so each trip is documented in a scrapbook, she can figure it out from there since the CG sign is always in the beginning with a picture of the kids standing out front. I love your idea of the journal, that will help tighten up some of the little details of a trip that we tend to forget about until mentioned a few years later and cannot make the connection i.e. remember that restaurant with........

Erniee, reach out to Kaypsmith, he lives only a short distance, could probably give you the phone number. He and I drove past it back in August while I was down there, looked nice, but hard to tell from the distance.

rlbarkleyii, have you read this?

Tom, that was interesting. My DW and I enjoy your blog, it gives her ideas for the next excursion, I enjoy reading them and visualizing what I am reading. The only down side to reading them....when I do I want to retire tomorrow or jump in the coach and take off . My oldest daughter wants to be an author, she is drawn to it and has been writing short stories since she was 10. It all started when she was 8 reading the entire Harry Potter collection.

Jim, I have some experience with their tech department, they were top notch in my opinion. Not the usual reading from a screen, the person I spoke to even told me what size sockets to have and how to remove the valve as if he had done it a few times in the event I got lucky and found new old stock somewhere.

Herman, you have just ruined Donuts for me . Don't eat them much anyway stereotype shy'd me away from them 24 years ago.

We had the same model and the same problem. Ours would also fill itself while driving down the road if someone turned on the water pump. The valve in question is discontinued, or in our case it was. Call splendid and talk to their tech department. tel:1-800-356-0766

If equipped, make sure your air horns have the end caps on them. anywater leaks and have you inspected the roof area?

Carl, drive one of the Foretravels at MOT without a tag. Or take a road trip up and drive mine. I have nothing to compare it to but my road trips are not exhausting, no sway and I push trucks into their shoulder when they pass me. I believe coach height, weight, length and suspension design all play a part in this. Our old coach before mods it was uncommon for the steering wheel to be at 5:00 with a slight cross wind. After it wasn't so bad but you knew when it was windy and a truck or large SUV was approaching along side of you.

Frank, CAT used a different design for the regeneration process (sending fuel down to the filter for cleaning) it was a terrible design that is very problematic and expensive to keep operating properly. It's basically a heating oil furnace head with a spark plug. Do a web search and read all of the class action law suites. This ultimately resulted in them backing out of the on-highway engine program. They claim it was for other reasons but you know how that goes.

Frank, since you have experience with Diesel power you are probably aware of the last generation of CAT engines with a diesel particulate filter. I would avoid them at all costs. They were manufactured in 07 and part of 08. The older CAT products had a few blips in different models and years but so do all engines. From testing I have done and my career they were great engines a little noiser and a little harder on fuel then their competition but solid. I believe you are on the right track with the list of brands above. One thing I always tell people, compare the engine compartment layout and access to each brand. If you can't access it the repair and maintenance of cost will escalate, if you are doing it yourself you will appreciate doing your homework upfront. If it were me I would not be searching cookie cutter coaches. In my opinion the quality is lacking to keep costs down, with depreciation the way it is it's much easier to step into a high end coach with a few years on it for not a lot of money. Again in my opinion these coaches will last longer and cost less to keep on the road. enjoy the road

Thanks Bill