Getting the Most enjoyable miles from your RV

[John H.]

For many, keeping the engine in good running condition and increasing longevity is the only viable option !

I see so many times that engines have been replaced 1 or 2 times with fairly short Miles ! Under 150,000 to 250,000 is what i would call short.

Service, service, service. This is a truck performing exceptional duties and under great stress much of the time !

HOW You Drive and Service your RV will determine the Enjoyment, Usage of said RV

Many mechanics will tell you that Blown ! RV engines, transmissions come in LOW ? or with No Lubrication, Oil and or fluid.

EVERTIME you leave the camp site or Home for a trip

Go over the vehicle, Tires, Oil check, Transmission fluid check, Lube job, Coolant check, flush change regularly !

If you are going to Own, enjoy and Use a Motor home ??? A great deal of service work is required !

A well maintained 454 or big block Ford should run 4 to 6 hundred thousand miles if kept cool and regularly maintained Adequately

REGARDLESS Of Miles driven, every 18 to 24 month's, Drain and flush the coolant, check the freeze plugs, check the Fan clutch, Belts, hoses, radiator cap and re fill with the proper blend of coolant and water for your area and driving conditions.

Drop the transmission oil pan and replace the filter and install a heavy duty gasket. properly tighten the pan screws. Install and watch the transmission temp. very closely at ALL times.

Many recommend a heavy duty transmission pan gasket and a Alison filter screen? also put a drain plug in the pan so that you can change some transmission fluid EVERY Time you do a TRIP, or 3,000 miles ?

or a timely oil change. When you park the RV for storage, DO an OIL change, if you leave it 6 months or more ? Do an oil and filter change before you leave the storage plus a thorough inspection OF ALL Fluid levels

THIS is a truck !!! Not a car driven each and every day to work !!!

Service, Service, Service !

IF you think you can not afford the time and or $$$ for service ? You can not afford a TOW and engine, transmission re build on the road !!!!

As many of us do that can not afford to have a full time mechanic as some of my friends do that own and maintain fleets of trucks and bring in the RV before and after every trip.

Or have a fleet of farm trucks with service skills, facilities at hand like some do ! AT times ???

Read, study and learn to tackle the job of doing it yourself or become good friends with a good old school mechanic that worked for a trucking Co or raced in the day ????

I do not have the $$$ to roll over a 500,000 coach every 3 to 5 years and keep it under warranty !!!

Keep that engine and tyranny COOL and CLEAN, Fluids and Service, filters are CHEAP !!!! compared to Rebuilding, Replacing, or the RV sitting unused because of

Un Affordable repairs !!!!


copied from this oldRV

[scf31]

AMEN !!!! Keep it clean, its amazing what you can see on a clean engine,

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, pretty good report, but 30,000 miles for a trans service is proper, 3,000 miles is just wasteful. RV means Recreational Vehicle, Not Motorhome.

[John H.]

Hi Robert, I agree if the RV was used consistently ? or even driven a few hundred miles each Month.

The article says to change ,Some transmission fluid, at each oil change with a drain plug in the pan. and every 3,000 may be extreme ? But even some at 10,000 or every 12 months will give you an Idea of the condition of said fluid and inspect for shavings, odor.

The point is that some of these Rv Motor homes are 20 plus years old with under 30 thousand miles on the chassis ???

So changing some fluid, radiator coolant, transmission fluid and brake fluid on a Time schedule, rather than a Millage schedule is more critical.

I assume when these RV's set for 3 to 6 months Moisture can erode the integrity of some viable internal parts. and fluids, Brake, power steering, cooling fluids can deteriorate, draw moisture into the system.

John

[DaveFL]

Originally Posted by ROBERTSUNRUS

Hi, pretty good report, but 30,000 miles for a trans service is proper, 3,000 miles is just wasteful. RV means Recreational Vehicle, Not Motorhome.

I agree, there is an old adage, if it ain't broke don't mess with it. This would be changing filters and oil when not needed. If you let a grease monkey with a lack of training for your specific vehicle attend to your MH you will have things to fix when he screws up. Simple things like cross threading bolts for the doghouse, over torqueing filters, using air impact wrench to put the pan back on, stripping bolts, misaligning gasket, leaving o-ring on engine and installing second one.
If you talk to owners who now take care of their mh themselves, a lot have experienced failure due to the tech cutting corners, and just plain stupidity in what they do. PO was proud to say his vehicle was maintained by professionals, but the only part professional was the bill they could assemble.

[John H.]

Originally Posted by DaveFL

I agree, there is an old adage, if it ain't broke don't mess with it. This would be changing filters and oil when not needed. If you let a grease monkey with a lack of training for your specific vehicle attend to your MH you will have things to fix when he screws up. Simple things like cross threading bolts for the doghouse, over torqueing filters, using air impact wrench to put the pan back on, stripping bolts, misaligning gasket, leaving o-ring on engine and installing second one.
If you talk to owners who now take care of their mh themselves, a lot have experienced failure due to the tech cutting corners, and just plain stupidity in what they do. PO was proud to say his vehicle was maintained by professionals, but the only part professional was the bill they could assemble.

Point well taken Dave, we do all of our own service work Because of all the above issues you bring up.

and every time we crawl under the chassis we Cary some cleaner, WD-40 , grease gun and some shop towels to clean and inspect.

[John H.]

Originally Posted by DaveFL

I agree, there is an old adage, if it ain't broke don't mess with it. This would be changing filters and oil when not needed. If you let a grease monkey with a lack of training for your specific vehicle attend to your MH you will have things to fix when he screws up. Simple things like cross threading bolts for the doghouse, over torqueing filters, using air impact wrench to put the pan back on, stripping bolts, misaligning gasket, leaving o-ring on engine and installing second one.
If you talk to owners who now take care of their mh themselves, a lot have experienced failure due to the tech cutting corners, and just plain stupidity in what they do. PO was proud to say his vehicle was maintained by professionals, but the only part professional was the bill they could assemble.

I found this post today Dave ! and I think this is More common than not !!!! and why so many excited Motor Home enthusiast's become disillusioned so quickly
Tripp
3 Rivet Member

Profile: Posts: 184
Images: 55


Ditto John on the valve cover baffle. I does sound like you have ring problems though. If the baffle is in place and you are getting that much oil in the filter housing, then you probably have more than one piston with bad rings.

On the other hand, if you are missing the baffle, it is quite possible that you could have a relatively healthy engine. One of my muscle cars had a set of unbaffled valve covers on it and it would completely soak the breather in short order-the motor was fine (new), the lack of a baffle was the issue. I would still recommend your mechanic to check it out as most motor homes are abused rather than cared for. . .ie. long trips, no oil change, put up for months at a time and then expected to do it all over again.


Tripp
Tripp View Public Profile Send a private message to Tripp Send email to Tripp Find More Posts by Tripp Add Tripp to Your Contacts View Gallery Uploads
02-09-2004, 06:37 PM #17 RonJudi
2 Rivet Member

Profile: Posts: 57
Images: 3


Well thats all folks! Engine has been diagnoised as terminal. And at such a young age of only 63000 miles. Even a wonderful engine needs maintenance such as regular oil changes and a owner who makes sure that overheating does not occur. Second mechanic says it is a classic case of neglect. An old probe under the cover was obviously used to check a known overheat condition which was not corrected in time. Sludge and oil marks suggest negeleted oil changes. Who would believe an owner would buy a Beautiful Airstream Motorhome keep it immaculate inside but totally ignor the engine compartment. Engine flunked all tests as suggested in all of your comments and defied all odds by only making it to 63K. Or maybe that is what one can expect without appreciable service. May that engine rest in piece and short life remind to all that engine oil changing, antifreeze change out and other normal engine service is absolutely essential.

A new RV Jasper Engine is on order and though it is a tough financial pill to swallow, it is approrpriate that the Airstream Receive her new heart in time for Valentines Day! Estimate about $5K. Ron

[John H.]

Originally Posted by John Haggard

Hi Robert, I agree if the RV was used consistently ? or even driven a few hundred miles each Month.

The article says to change ,Some transmission fluid, at each oil change with a drain plug in the pan. and every 3,000 may be extreme ? But even some at 10,000 or every 12 months will give you an Idea of the condition of said fluid and inspect for shavings, odor.

The point is that some of these Rv Motor homes are 20 plus years old with under 30 thousand miles on the chassis ???

So changing some fluid, radiator coolant, transmission fluid and brake fluid on a Time schedule, rather than a Millage schedule is more critical.

I assume when these RV's set for 3 to 6 months Moisture can erode the integrity of some viable internal parts. and fluids, Brake, power steering, cooling fluids can deteriorate, draw moisture into the system.

John

Many others have addressed the issue of Millage verses Time and usage, Non Usage conditional fluid changes


Rick Alston
3 Rivet Member

Profile: Posts: 132
Images: 2


Ron
A classic mistake made by many motorhome owners is to neglect the engine.

I met a man that was proud because he changed the oil once a year simply because he drove it about 3K miles each year! I cannot attest to the condition of his engine, but I bet it is nowhere near "good" for 40K miles.

I also witness people run the engine <10 minutes or so "every so often" during the off-season period. I have been told that this just makes the engine run under severe conditions caused by thick oil not warming up the optimal viscosity.

I believe the right way to do it is to drive the MH for 20 minutes at least once each month. This will allow the engine to heat-up to operating temperature and burn off any moisture that may accumulate in the engine.

I am glad you are going to use a synthetic oil. I have found the small additional cost to be worthwhile as I am approaching 140K (Suburban) without a problem. In fact, I use synthetic transmission fluid (about $5/quart at Autozone), too.

Rick

[GlenCoombe]

By far the best maintenance, not to mention least costly, is changing fluids. Especially the oil. Keeping the engine clean, and cool inside and out is a great way to keep it running right for a long time with the least amount of money spent.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, I have and old saying that I have been telling friends and customers for decades. "Dirty oil, is liquid sand paper" No further explanation needed.

[John H.]

Hehehe, Yes Robert, and I am annal at times !!!

I just changed the Oil and Filter ! after about 3,000 miles from the last change in July

But after we drive the coach to Florida later this month !

I will drain and change Oil and Filter again as a cleansing process ! Before we come back North in May ! I also want to Install a remote twin 2 Qt. oil filter system for Oil and engine cooling purposes ???

Especially after seeing what a new Jasper RV Engine would cost !!! and the Inconvenience is HUGE compared to a few engine Oil and transmission fluid changes each season !!

Then By this October we should be at 3,000 Miles so I will repeat the process over again.