baileysmom

Sorry, I forgot some of the details. Its a diesel pusher. A 2011 Forest River Coachmen Cross Country with a Cummins 340 HP and Allison 2500. It has 18K on it and I just had it serviced in San Antonio three weeks ago. I had a hose clamp come loose on my CAC about two weeks ago and had it fixed in Odessa at the Cummins shop there. The coolant appeared to be coming from the fan area but I can't find the origin. I just started it and ran it for a few minutes and then got a check engine light and a read out on my console saying low coolant. I'm thinking im gonna have to call a service guy out of Santa Fe! I'm not sure I want to be sitting on the side of the road broken down. I'm goin in to Walmart to get some more coolant and fill up the reservoir. So, what are your thoughts?

Hey Guys, Well, I'm back with more issues!! Yesterday we drove from North Platte, Nebraska to Las Vegas, NM. to beat the winter storm that was coming in. We arrived at a Walmart in Las Vegas, NM around 7 pm. When we went back to check the toad, we noticed coolant leaking from under the engine. The reservoir looks just a little lower than earlier in the day and we stopped and checked everything at different times thru the day without noticing anything wrong. The amount of coolant was probably about 8 ounces. it eventually stopped leaking. It was getting dark so we decided to wait till this morning to check everything. We opened the hatch in the bedroom and couldn't see anything. We checked under the engine and did not see anything loose, no broken hoses or broken clamps. We are now trying to figure out what to do next. Do you think its safe to drive? We have a number for a roadside service down in Santa Fe. We were thinking of having him come up and check it out before hitting the road to Southern Arizona. So, what are your thoughts? IS this normal? We've never had this happen before. What are your thoughts on the cause for this? is this because we were driving in the mountains all day. We never noticed anything like rising engine temps. We watch them real close now that we've learned a lot from our last issues. We appreciate your input and feedback!!! Thanks!!

Here's an update...... Well we washed the radiator with some simple green and left Alpine for Odessa where we were going to a Freightliner shop to have it checked out. The washing made a tremendous improvement on the performance of the engine however, it was still running hot. The next day we took it to the Freightliner shop who apparently forgot we were coming. After sitting around a couple hours, they told us they would not be able to get to us that day and then told us they really don't work on RV's much and are more or a BIG TRUCK shop than anything. I quickly bowed out very nicely and left. We drove about a block away to a Cummins Shop. We only waited about an hour when they took us in and hooked us up to a computer to run the codes. After some checking, they found the culprit. It was a CAC hose clamp!!!! yep that right!! some kind of hose running in or from the CAC caused the exhaust system to overheat. The clamp was about six inches in diameter and was spring loaded. The clamp had broken and become disconnected. They replaced it and ran more tests to make sure that was all that was wrong with it. They even took us out on the highway for a test run. These people were some of the most professional and friendly people ive come into contact with for some time. Well, the clamp cost $15.10....labor was $448.20. We joined the Cummins Power Club right on the spot, which cost $19.95 a year. That membership gave us a discount so the final cost was $418.64. We have learned quite a lot from this experience and we want to thank all of you for your input and help along the way. You guys are great!!!! Thanks again!!!

Hey guys, I just climbed up in there again with a better flashlight. The fan blades do not move or wiggle. They will turn if I turn them and they do not appear as if they are scraping the sides of the housing......whew!!! Now for the good part!!! I used a much better flashlight!! I can see how dirty it is now!!!!! The RV park we are in has an RV Wash Area. I am going to find some simple green and a wash wand and "getter-done". In addition, I am going to call the Freightliner place up in Odessa and try to make an appointment to take it in to have it checked.....just in case!!!! You guys have been great help!!!!! I truly appreciate your time! Take Care!!

Oh one more thing..... I don't think.....actually I'm sure! We have never cleaned or had cleaned the CAC. I suppose I should have that done regardless.....

Hey Guys, Well, I did as you suggested and opened the hatch in the bedroom to check the CAC. Well, its too far back to even see the fan. I'm not a mechanic but I have no idea why its there. I'm sure someone knows. However, I did open a rear side panel door near the engine and climbed in there as far as I could go to get a look at the fan and the shroud surrounding it. The fan looked ok not very much dirt. The housing looked a little dirty all around the outside of it but I couldn't tell how dirty really....and I was using a very strong flashlight. HOWEVER, I did notice what looked like fresh scraping or scratched on the fan housing where it appears the blades were/are making contact with the housing. IS THIS NORMAL? Other than that I can't really see very well in there. What are your thoughts?

Hi Brett, I have never had the CAC or radiator cleaned. Unfortunately, until lately the MH sat in my driveway. I took a few short trips with it but never had a problem with it. We left Kentucky the fist of February. Went to Myrtle Beach, Savanah, Mobile, Baton Rouge, Houston and in between Houston and San Antonio it started slowing down. HAHAHA now here's the best part!!! I thought we were over weight.....so I shipped back 500 pounds of STUFF.....traded the pickup for a small car and dropped our overall weight by 2500 pounds. Got all the fluids and filters changed and thought that would be it. WELL, on the way west out of San Antonio we his some small hills and some really nice steep hills. We could barely get up the hills. At one point we slowed to 35 mph. I just let the cruise control drive it and sat back in the right lane and let everyone go by staring at us. So, now we're sitting in Alpine, Texas trying to figure out what to do next. Obviously we need to go to a Freightliner or Cummins shop somewhere soon. There isn't anything in Alpine so I suppose we'll work our way to Odessa and try to get it checked there. I hope its just a cleaning job or a fan clutch and nothing serious!!! I will wait till it gets dark here in a little while and check the engine through the hatch in the bedroom. I will let ya know what I find. Thanks for your help and guidance!!!!! Take Care!!!!

Hello Everyone, I'm new here and thought I would try to get some guidance on a problem we seem to be having. We have 2011 Coachmen Crosscountry with a 340hp Cummins and a 2500 Allison. We now have 16K miles on it and have enjoyed it tremendously. We recently went full time and after a few months of travel began to think we might be over weight. So we shipped things back home and traded our toad for a lighter one and then this week we found a whole new set of problems. Driving along I-10 westbound from San Antonio to Fort Stockton we started slowing down tremendously from about 65 to 40 mph when going up hills. I understand things get a little slower on steep grades but this was even on long slow inclines. And if we didn't watch it carefully and let the cruise control take us up and over the hill, we would overheat. The temp would go from the normal 194 to 201, 201, 203, 204 and then the stop engine light would come on. We would simply take the cruise control off and let it slow down and the temp would start dropping back down. Now we recently had all the fluids and filters changes in San Antonio before making this trip so its not a fuel filter. We have done a lot of research on the forums and we now know we'll need to get it into a shop as soon as we can to really tell what the problem is....but we were just wondering if anyone had an idea of what it could be......thermostat? or something more serious? We appreciate your help and your time with your responses!!! Take care!!!