Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 06-03-2008, 04:03 PM   #1
Winnebago Camper
 
Buster661's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Valencia
Posts: 18
Last trip out as we were coming home on I40 outside of Needles, CA we started to climb the long Needles grade. On each of the 3 long pulls the temp climbed to 220+ degrees. The warning came on the computer as well. On the longest grade it reached a max of 230.

My question is, what should I be checking to insure this does not happen next week when I make the trip again ?

I am new to desiels and pushers so any help would be great.

Thanks,
Mike..
__________________
Cheers,

Mike...
Buster661 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-03-2008, 04:03 PM   #2
Winnebago Camper
 
Buster661's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Valencia
Posts: 18
Last trip out as we were coming home on I40 outside of Needles, CA we started to climb the long Needles grade. On each of the 3 long pulls the temp climbed to 220+ degrees. The warning came on the computer as well. On the longest grade it reached a max of 230.

My question is, what should I be checking to insure this does not happen next week when I make the trip again ?

I am new to desiels and pushers so any help would be great.

Thanks,
Mike..
__________________
Cheers,

Mike...
Buster661 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-03-2008, 06:02 PM   #3
Winnebago Master
 
LK23's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 527
Mike,

I always watch the temp gauge when climbing. If it starts to go above 210 degrees, I downshift to 5th gear. Be sure to inspect your surge tank to see if you have adequate anti-freeze. Our coaches have a problem with the surge tank not holding pressure. You can read about this on the Freightliner forum. Bottom line: watch your temp gauge and anti-freeze level.
__________________
2017 Dutch Star 4369
Huey Pilot — Vietnam 1971-72
Author of ACE, The Story of Lt. Col. Ace Cozzalio
2016 Independent Publishers Book Awards Winner
LK23 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-04-2008, 03:09 AM   #4
Winnie-Wise
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 367
Another thing that might help is to shut off dash air, run the gen set and house air.

You might check the back side of the radiator too. Not really the back, but the HARD TO SEE and Hard to get to side.
__________________
Doug and Cassi

'05 Meridian 36G
CHIPPYSGT is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-04-2008, 03:27 AM   #5
Winnebago Owner
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 128
Keep another eye on the RPM's. When you down shift to fifth gear, RPM will increase but make sure to keep a minimum of 1750 with 2000 even better.
__________________
06 Itasca Meridian 36G, 350 Cat , Flnr XC-S Chassis

07 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited
Chief is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-04-2008, 04:56 AM   #6
Winnebago Camper
 
Buster661's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Valencia
Posts: 18
Thanks everyone. I will check the surge tank for AF as well as the backside of the radiator. Funny thing about the dash air is it would not blow cold air until I go closer to home where it was cooler (forgot to mention it was 110 degree's outside on my drive home). I will also try the higher RPM's (aim for 2000) as I climb the big hills.

I guess I should mention that I do this same drive twice a month (SoCal to Havasu) as I have a boat and a campsite on the lake so getting this handled is very important to my summer boating fun.

Thanks again everyone.
__________________
Cheers,

Mike...
Buster661 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-04-2008, 05:22 AM   #7
Winnebago Owner
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Posts: 57
All good posts, plus I would clean the radiator with a Simple Greem solution is a spray bottle. Be carefull not to use high pressure to rinse off as this will bend the fins which you don't want. Also everytime I climb the mountains, I have always cut off my dash air and keep my left hand ready to down shift to keep my RPM'S below 2000, it's just the nature of the beast. Just my two cents, Good luck
__________________
Bob & Dianne O'Brien
05 Horizon 40AD, 400 Cummins
07 Explorer 4 X 4 Limited
Bob O is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-07-2008, 06:37 AM   #8
Winnebago Owner
 
Lucchese1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Tehachapi, Ca.
Posts: 92
I had exact same problem with my coach and I also spend a lot of time in Havasu, another reason I installed a roof air to help the basement AC. I had the overheating problem checked a few years ago and I had a leaking surge tank plus they reset something with the fan speed the hertz or something I can not recall, but they said it was set wrong at the factory. I have not had a problem since as long as you keep an eye on the RPMS when climbing!
__________________
Ben, Maryanne, Dominic & Vincent Lucchese

2005 40KD Horizon 400ISL
Lucchese1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-07-2008, 08:12 AM   #9
Winnebago Master
 
John_Canfield's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Back at the ranch
Posts: 2,041
Assuming you have the ISL/side radiator:

You should be able to keep your temperature to 215 or below by keeping your engine RPM at 2,000 or above with or without dash air running.

Your fan will not even cut-in until 215 degrees.

Last fall, we had elevated temps on grades that we would normally not have problems. Freightliner measured the fan speeds at three different engine rpms and found we had low fan speeds. They replaced the fan motor and pump and we are back to normal operation.

I have found engine rpm management is typically necessary if the ambient air temps is in the 90s, and we are climbing a 6-7% (or greater) grade for longer than a few minutes.

I suspect Winnie specified a radiator that was a little on the small size since any system problem will result in higher coolant temperatures than I want to see without manually down-shifting. My opinion is the cooling system should be designed to operate at normal temperatures without operator intervention - unfortunately this is clearly not the case with our chassis as a result of the design.

We have had the coolant temp above 220 and while the Freightliner info center reported overheating, it didn't set a code in the Cummins brain.
__________________
--John

2005 Horizon 40AD, 2005 Jeep Liberty CRD
John_Canfield is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-07-2008, 11:06 AM   #10
Winnie-Wise
 
vicsryd's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Vancouver, Washington
Posts: 383
Send a message via Yahoo to vicsryd
From what I've read in various forums regarding side radiator chassis having overheating issues there is only one size of radiator on FTl chassis and therefore is not a Winnebago choice.

Apparently Spartan has a side radiator design that is at least 200 sq inches bigger and in the Tiffin forums many folks have selected Spartan over FTL for that reason (yes, Tiffin gives you a choice).

More specific to the issue Buster661 is having, one of my pals with a '04 Vectra Cummins ISC side radiator started to overheat on some grades on 90 degree days even with downshifting properly. The service shop he went to (not FTL) found the valve in the hydraulic line which opens at 215 degrees to provide oil to the hydraulic fan motors was not opening all the way. It turns out the thing is made of plastic and parts of it were melted.
__________________
Vicki & Jon Pritchard
05 Journey 34H - CAT C7 - Toyota RAV4
3 doxies, 1 chihuahua - WIT, Escapees, FMCA

vicsryd is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-07-2008, 11:19 AM   #11
Winnebago Camper
 
Buster661's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Valencia
Posts: 18
Thanks again everyone for the feedback and advice. I have my rig home today and I have checked the coolant and oil, they were both fine. I also cleaned the radiator (I pulled the front one off so I could get the main radiator) with Simple Green and water.

Since I live in Santa Clarita, CA I am going to make a quick run up the Grapevine to see what happens. It is in the 90's today so it should be a good test.

Thanks again.
__________________
Cheers,

Mike...
Buster661 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-07-2008, 08:04 PM   #12
Winnie-Wise
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 354
Hi Mike, while you're working on the coach pull the engine access panel and check the high-pressure AC hose that runs from the front condenser to the rear, in my case the side, AC fans. My AC hose was not secured and hung too close to the turbo and the engine heat actually burnt the hose in one section. The freon bled out and no AC, of course during the summer, towing a boat on I-5 over the Grapevine.

Winnebago reimbursed me for the repair without any problems. Any forum members that have not checked the security of this line may want to so to save yourself down-time.
Gary CA is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-07-2008, 09:04 PM   #13
Winnebago Master
 
John_Canfield's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Back at the ranch
Posts: 2,041
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by vicsryd:
From what I've read in various forums regarding side radiator chassis having overheating issues there is only one size of radiator on FTl chassis and therefore is not a Winnebago choice.--snip-- </div></BLOCKQUOTE>I think I remember reading that the Allegro Bus on the Freightliner chassis with the ISL/side radiator has a larger radiator and exhibits none of our propensities for the temp to climb. Maybe Mark (Cruzer) can set us straight.
__________________
--John

2005 Horizon 40AD, 2005 Jeep Liberty CRD
John_Canfield is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-08-2008, 08:52 PM   #14
Winnebago Master
 
SCVJeff's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Santa Clarita, CA.
Posts: 1,222
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Buster661:

Since I live in Santa Clarita, CA I am going to make a quick run up the Grapevine to see what happens. It is in the 90's today so it should be a good test. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>Greetings neighbor!
__________________
_______________________________

Jeff - WA6EQU
'06 Itasca Meridian 34H, CAT C7/350
SCVJeff is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Overheating problem - 330 Cummins Spooky General Maintenance and Repair 14 02-13-2008 10:04 AM
Cummins ISL overheating problem? John_Canfield General Maintenance and Repair 56 10-31-2007 10:23 AM
First Problem- False overheating ?? Lil'Darlin1972 General Maintenance and Repair 6 07-12-2007 06:34 AM

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Winnebago Industries or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 02:55 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.