RV and coach
RV Chassis and Drivetrain Service
A motorhome is a truck carrying a house. The truck half needs the same brakes, cooling, driveline and alignment work any heavy vehicle does, only bigger, and it needs a shop with room to get the coach inside. That is what we are.
What it usually turns out to be
You do not need a diagnosis to call. Describe what it is doing and we will tell you whether it is a shop job.
It wanders, and you are correcting the wheel the whole way
Usually steering and front end before it is anything exotic. We look at tie rod ends, the kingpins or ball joints depending on your chassis, shocks, ride height and tire pressures, then alignment. On a long coach a small amount of play at the front turns into a lot of work at the wheel.
A vibration that shows up around 55 and smooths out again
Speed-dependent vibration usually points at the driveline or at wheel balance. We check u-joints, carrier bearings and driveshaft phasing, and we balance the wheels. Duals hide a lot, because a bad inner tire is not something you see walking past.
It pulls to one side when you brake
A pull under braking is a hydraulic or a friction problem on one corner. We pull the wheels and look at pads, rotors, calipers, hoses and the condition of the fluid, on the coach and on what you tow.
Brakes that fade on a long grade
Common on the Kingsbury and Spooner descents. Fade is heat, and heat usually means the brakes are carrying a load the engine should be helping with, on top of friction material or fluid that is past its best. We look at pads and shoes, fluid condition and how the rig is loaded, and we talk about gearing down before the grade rather than riding the pedal down it.
The temperature gauge climbs on a hot day or a long climb
Cooling on a motorhome has to work in the worst case, not the average one. We check the radiator, and on a turbo diesel the charge air cooler, for packed debris and bent fins, then the fan and its clutch, the thermostat, the belts and the coolant condition. When we flush a system we look up the technical service bulletins for that chassis first.
A clunk over bumps, or a shift that hits harder than it used to
Clunks are usually suspension or driveline slack. A shift that changed character is a transmission conversation, and it is worth having early. Fluid condition and how it has been towed and loaded tell us most of what we need before anything comes apart.
What we do
- Oil, lube and filter
- Brakes for the coach and for what you tow
- Transmission service and repair
- Cooling system flush, exchange and rehose
- Exhaust work
- Engine repair and overhaul, gas and diesel
- Driveline service and wheel alignment
- Tire rotation and balancing
- Belts, hoses and batteries
- 30, 60, 90 and 120K scheduled service
Will it fit
The question owners ask first and almost nobody answers on a website.
- Service bays
- 7
- Sized for a Class A
- 4
- Yard entrances
- 2
Two yard entrances is what makes a long rig easy to get in and back out of. Call with your length before you drive over and we will tell you whether it fits and when the bay is free.
What we do not do here
- We are a shop, not a mobile service. We do not come to you, and that is the trade: the work can run past dark, past the weather, and past what fits in a service vehicle.
- This page is the chassis, meaning the part of the coach that drives. The refrigerator, the water heater, the furnace, the roof air and the house batteries are the house side, and they have their own pages.
- Chassis batteries are ours here. House batteries and the charging system that feeds them belong with house systems.
- We do not quote chassis work sight unseen. Anyone who gives you a firm number for a brake or transmission job over the phone, before looking at the rig, is guessing.
Before you call, have this handy
None of it is required. It just gets you a real answer on the first call instead of the second.
The chassis, not just the coach
A coach badge and a chassis badge are two different things. Freightliner, Spartan, Workhorse and Ford F-53 are the common ones under a Class A; a Class C is usually on a Ford or Chevrolet cutaway. It is normally on a plate inside the driver door or on the frame rail. If you cannot find it, the year and the coach maker get us close.
Length, and whether you tow
Overall length tells us which bay you go in and how we stage the yard. If you tow, say so, because we would rather look at both ends while the rig is here than have you come back.
Gas or diesel
It changes the service, the parts and the time. If you are not sure, tell us the engine on the badge or where the engine sits, front or rear.
What it is doing, and when it started
Speed, temperature, load, uphill or down, cold start or after an hour. A symptom with conditions attached is worth more than a diagnosis. If another shop already looked at it, tell us what they did.
Questions
Questions we get asked
Will you take a 40 foot coach?
Four of our bays are sized for large RVs and fifth wheels, and the yard has two entrances, which is what makes a long rig easy to get in and back out of. Call with your length before you drive over and we will tell you straight whether it fits and when we have the bay.
Do you come to me?
No. This is shop work. Mobile operators do good work on the house side of a coach, but chassis and drivetrain is the line several of them draw, and they say so on their own websites. It needs a level floor, room to work around the coach, and tools that do not travel.
How long will you keep it?
We tell you the soonest realistic date when you call, rather than booking you in and holding the coach while it waits for a bay or a part. If a part has a long lead time we would rather you keep using the rig until it lands.
Do I need an appointment?
Call first. We are open Monday through Friday 8:00 to 5:00 and Saturday morning 8:00 to 12:00, and knowing you are coming is what gets you a bay that fits instead of a spot in the yard.
Can you do the brakes on my trailer too?
Yes. Brakes on the coach and brakes on what you tow are the same visit. Doing them separately at two places is how one end ends up doing more of the work than it should.
My problem is the fridge, not the engine. Is that you as well?
It is. Chassis and house systems are both under this roof, which is the unusual part. Most shops do one or the other and send you elsewhere for the rest.
Do you work on a coach that is out of warranty, or an older one?
Any make, any age, in or out of warranty. Older coaches are a large part of what comes through here.
Talk to someone who works on these
Call the shop and we will tell you the soonest realistic date rather than book you and hold your rig. Mon-Fri 8:00 - 5:00, Saturday 8:00 - 12:00.