One year old, checked fluids a week ago, going up the Grapevine from Bakersfield to LA, 100 degrees, it just over heated, let it sit for an hour and dumped in water, overheated again in one mile. Towed in, its under Ford 3yr/36K mile warranty, and an extended warranty with a $100 deductible to a local trusted place.

Turned on the generator, the A/C and the TV and also took a nap, four hours on the side of the I-5.


Could have been a whole lot worse.

I am really sorry to hear that. I remember in the 60's they had the water stations on the 'Vine, "Turn Off Your A/C" signs, etc.

Hope it all works out.

Considering the nuttiness of 2020, you’re looking pretty wise right now Hugh!

[QUOTE=Seahawk;10935480]I am really sorry to hear that. I remember in the 60's they had the water stations on the 'Vine, "Turn Off Your A/C" signs, etc.

Yes, I also remember those watering stations from in the '50's and not many people had AC at that time. I thought modern vehicles wouldn't have heating problems, although I imagine they can be pushed to a limit. That is still a steep trip. I remember a GM RV once passing me coming out of Death Valley from Stove Pipe Wells. He was really going. Up ahead it spewed transmission fluid all over the road.

There are still water stations, one going each way. But they're close to the tops of the climbs. Or at least there are large round tanks that proclaim they hold water. Have never stopped to verify for myself.

Sorry to hear, Hugh.

Sucks having vehicles issues while on the road!

At least your vehicle had those creature comforts!

I don't understand how an RV that new could over heat like that.

Please keep us posted on what transpires with the repairs.

Thanks!

Unfortunately modern recreational equipment, be it boats, RVs, ATVs, etc aren’t exactly known for being well made and reliable. I considered buying a 5th wheel and the reviews are scary to say the least.

Took the Grandkids hiking to Mt. Pinos on Friday since Gov. Gruesome closed the beaches. Went south to north up the grade and must have seen 8-10 cars/trucks, some with toy trailers overheated on the side of the road. A lot of spoiled 4th weekends.

Thanks, Matt.

I wonder how that applies to pickups?

My '02 Silverado with approx. 230K miles on her certainly is looking her age here and there....but she's been so reliable I'm reluctant to even consider getting something newer.

Sorry for the slight thread drift, Hugh.....

I wonder about this as well. Been following Hugh all along, and while things have been generally ok, it seems like “nickel/dime” and inconvenience things are kinda common.

I’d like to drag a camper back and forth to Tenn in a few years.

When we first started looking into a travel trailer for my Mom we went to a local RV dealer to look at new. From a distance they look great, but once you put your hands on stuff it quickly becomes apparent that these are mass produced on a staple gun conveyer belt. Hell the salesman offered a "have a sense of humor" regarding stuff falling apart with each tow. Nothing of real quality is used all in the sake to save weight. Lots more sales if a regular F-150 can tow it. We ended up buying used for an out the door price that was 75% less than new. I grew up in a RV family so have seen a-lot. Of course there a quality units out there for absurd prices...butt for every seat. The reality is that those brands/models suffer an even steeper depreciation scale. Dad bought a $400K new Monaco with under 20K miles and 4 years old for $150K. Drove it all across the US and Canada for 3 years and sold it for $90K, a better outcome. YMMV.

Sorry to hear of your troubles Hugh. As already said at least you were not baking the heat with no beverages and food!

It’s more of an inventory problem there Baz, the plants have been shutdown so there’s limited supply. Couple that with strong incentives, free government money, and cheap financing and many of the lots are pretty bare. My neighbor works for Subaru locally, he said they are very low on inventory and there’s no more cars to order right now. Because new inventory is down it’s driving up used car pricing.

Hugh, I'm curious, on the Ford warranty, mine is a 2019 E450 V10. I can't exactly just drive into the Ford dealership and get it worked on. Where do you go?

The only way to own a new RV is to keep a spare Tim Hancock on board at all times.

Sad to see this Hugh and quite honestly, very surprised. You would think a Made in the USA top of the line RV would be, well, top of the line in all aspects.

I own an R-Pod made by Forest River. Being west of the Mississippi, ours is "Hood River" edition made in Oregon. It has a 1.5" lift so it looks a bit "off roadish".

The others east are made in Indiana at the FR plant as are other RV's and trailers from other manufacturers. After being on some RV/ trailer forums it seems the Indiana stuff has a few more build issues.

Not to bag on Indiana folk but let's just say they need to do a little more drug testing when hiring.

^^^ those are adorable! spendy! what do you get for $20k?

I think I paid $17k new on a $22k trailer. They were discounted $4-5k everywhere when I bought in 2017.

This is the one I have. There's a FB page where people sell them used, figure around $10k. Easily towed with a smaller SUV or truck with 5k tow capacity....

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bGG4S01T-7Q" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Ok thanks, Matt. Good to know.

But I was mostly responding to the question of build integrity, given your comment:

"modern recreational equipment, be it boats, RVs, ATVs, etc aren’t exactly known for being well made and reliable"

My wife wanted to see what an Rpod looked like on the inside. We hit up a dealership. The dude damn near had a boner when I asked to see a Rpod. He started stammering about deep deep discounts. We waded thru an ocean of RV’s. It was a fun hour spent. The guy told us he would need a week to get the Rpod out. It was buried. Very cool trailer.

It is one thing if your cabinet door starts rattling in a new RV but breaking down climbing a moderate pass and leaving you stranded? That's a bummer. At least it wasn't far from home and the a/c worked. That's a hell of a tow truck! :eek:

That rpod looks like the perfect size trailer. There are some smaller retro ones I could not stand in, but this one lists at 6'5", which is pretty nice!

G

Hugh, you should have bought a R pod and a Cayenne.

These longer threads surve a good purpose. I was thinking about all of the challenges that Hugh has gone thru in his RV experence. Being hit twice by other vehicles, breaking down on the road. Etc.

But looking back in this thread shows nice pics taken on fun trips. That brings some ballence to the picture.
I think that Hugh's comments about waiting in comfort for that serious tow truck to arrive reflect his calm attitude while using his RV.
A reflection of generally positive experience.

Hang in there Hugh, this too shall pass.
Good luck in finding the overheating issue. And getting back to some fun trouble free trips soon.

Cheers Richard

I will have about 30k and a year of part time work in the rebuild of my wrecked '04 Monaco diesel pusher. I just sold our barely used 31.5' 2013 camper. I can tell you that our '04 Monaco is built way better than our '13 camper in every aspect from frame to interior to electronics to water etc.... Hopefully the Cummins diesel and Allison trans w/ 60k on the clock proves to be as reliable as I have been told by other owners. I was told by many that the gas coaches just do not hold up like the diesel pushers.... We will find out soon enough. Hopefully you will get all the bugs worked out before the warranty expires Hugh.

Don't know, first time out for Winnebago non warranty. I've taken it to my local RV shop, which I trust and I think he can do Ford warranty, but if not I'll use the Xtra-Ride 7 year warranty I bought with a $100 deductible. I'll ask him what he knows about using the Ford warranty.

The RV has gauges for water, engine oil, trans oil, and head temp right? At least our old one did. Wondering about the overheating.

It has oil pressure, water temp and trans temp gauges, it has other message on the display that come up like "Reduced Engine Mode" and "Check coolant" or something like that. It was a Winnebago installed heater control valve that exploded and it overheated in a few seconds. Should be fixed in a few days, not a Ford part, so it goes to my xtra-ride extended warranty with $100 deductible.

I would be interested to know why it failed and how the rest of that heater system is screwed together.

I wonder if a simple ball valve shutoff can be installed for summer months operation.

Update, it was indeed a plastic water heater mixer valve, under the hood installed by Winnebago, my cost $100 deductible under the extended warranty (would have been around $600 otherwise) and zero cost of the 50 mile tow. The tow guy told me it would have been close to $1,500 without AAA extended RV towing. (About $80/year). So I "saved" around $2,000 without tow and extended warranty insurance.

I'm appealing to AAA because the tow truck guy disconnected the driveshaft (necessary so they don't burn out the trannie) he didn't reconnect it so the shop charged me $150 to reconnect it. Apparently its standard practice to disconnect it if they are towing more than 5 miles and standard to reconnect it as part of the tow.


Anyway, leaving tomorrow for a month to NV, UT, MT, ND, & SD towing the 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee, hitting Bryce, Zion, Canyon lands, Capital Reef and Arches in UT, plus Yellowstone, and Grand Tetons and a few more. I'll post pics.

2nd update: the scrape on the left side was repaired by a first rate RV repair shop actually here in Santa Clarita, the guy has two RV sized paint spray booths, its a full paint RV and his work was excellent, I mean really excellent, you run your finger over the different paint and you can't feel the transition. $7,500 but the guy who hit me's insurance paid, so I'm happy. He told me his paint and clear would outlast the original Winnebago job, and I'd believe it.

3rd update, the Ford engine/chassis warranty is also covered by my extra ride 7 year warranty, and they say I don't need to go to Ford for it.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1596084909.jpg


Yep, my son gave me this, I'm working on something else.

Wow... $600 to replace a heater control valve? I think I found mine on-line for about $20. I just replaced the broken plastic actual valve portion.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1596104053.jpg

Yeah, but he did not have you with him.

Hugh, I think you need to hire a riding mechanic, like they used to do in the Indy 500

Hugh - thanks for the detailed update and well done on getting that warranty and the AAA towing coverage - and love the part about holding them accountable for re-attaching your driveshaft.

Have fun on your adventure and please post updates and pics when time allows!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1596165227.jpg
Baker Ca

Mine came w those from the factory. A must-have, IMO. :)


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1596165392.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1596165392.jpg

Looking good there Denis!
Is that pic at your family place with the shiny new windshields installed?
I see that you also have the aimable searchlight mounted on top too.

Those horns do have a great sound. Not quite train like but plenty loud.

Hugh, great sounding trip you are planning, share pics and stories as you can.

Cheers Richard

Glad I’m not in Baker, CA., or really anywhere else right now. :)
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1596211621.jpg

Yep. Wasn’t sure if it would make it down the driveway, which is sort of a goat path, but here it is. I’ll post more pics in the other thread, since I’m cleaning it up. :)

Eff' me running that is cooler than the dark side of the moon.

I see me in that.

BTW, Hugh, have a great trip with the TW. You folks are always welcome here!