RV and coach
Diesel Service for RVs and Coaches
This is the diesel motorhome, wherever the engine sits. A pusher with the engine at the back, which is most diesel Class A coaches. A front engine diesel with it up front, and some Class C rigs are built that way too. Or a Super C on a medium duty truck chassis. All of them are a different animal from a diesel pickup, mostly because of size and access, and all three have to fit through a door before anyone can start. We write for the grades around here, because that is where a diesel coach finds out what it is made of.
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 loses power on a long climb and the temperature comes up with it
The most common thing we hear from coach owners around here, and the grades are why. A diesel pusher climbing Kingsbury or Spooner in summer is asking for everything at once: fuel under full demand, boost, and a cooling system working at its limit behind a lot of coach. We look at the fuel side, and at the turbo and its plumbing for a boost leak. Then the radiator and charge air cooler for packed debris, which is a common answer and a cheap one.
It is harder to start than it was, especially cold
On a diesel that usually points at fuel delivery or at the glow and preheat side, and which one shows up in how it behaves once it catches. Coaches that sit between trips are more prone to it, because fuel that has been in a tank for months is not the fuel that went in.
There is smoke that was not there before
Color and when it appears are genuinely diagnostic. Black under load points one way, white on start-up another, blue somewhere else again. Tell us which and under what conditions, because that alone narrows it a long way before anything comes apart.
The engine is fine but the coach will not stop the way it used to
Tell us when you call whether it has air brakes. We service and diagnose them, but air and hydraulic are different systems and knowing which you have changes what we set aside for you.
You are about to do a long trip and want it looked at first
The smartest thing on this list. A pre-trip check of fluids, belts, hoses, the cooling stack, the tires and the brakes costs a fraction of what any of them cost when they fail somewhere with no shoulder. Book it early enough to fix what we find, not the day before you leave.
What we do
- Diesel injection service
- Engine repair and overhaul
- Engine replacement and full engine swaps
- Air brake service and diagnosis
- Cooling system service on diesel chassis
- Fuel system diagnosis
- Scheduled diesel maintenance
- Pre-trip inspection before a long haul
Will it fit
The question owners ask first and almost nobody answers on a website.
- Service bays
- 7
- Sized for big rigs
- 4
- Sized for cars and light trucks
- 3
- 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
- This is shop work, and on a diesel coach that is not a preference. The rig has to be inside and level before anyone can properly get at the engine, with room to work around it.
- We are not publishing a list of diesel engine families we specialize in. Tell us what is in the back of yours and we will give you a straight answer about whether it is work for us. A list on a website is easy to write and we would rather you got a real answer before you drive a coach across the valley.
- We are not making a claim about emissions or aftertreatment systems. It is what diesel pusher owners ask about most, which is exactly why we will not guess in public. Ask us about your engine and year and we will tell you whether it is work for us.
- How far the work goes is not the limit here. Injection, service, repair, and a full engine swap when that is genuinely the better answer, are all work we do. What we will not do is tell you which one your coach needs before we have looked at it.
- This is the motorhome, front engine or rear. We work on diesel pickups and work trucks too, and that is different work, because size and access change everything about the job even where the engine work overlaps.
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.
What the engine is, and what it sits on
The engine, the chassis and the RV brand are three different names. Look for a label inside the driver door or on the frame rail. Tell us whether it sits at the front or the back, because that changes how we get at it. If you cannot find a label, the year, the RV brand and the length get us close enough to talk.
Air brakes or hydraulic
Many diesel pushers run air. We service and diagnose both, but they are different systems and it changes what we need to have ready, so it is worth checking before you call rather than after you arrive.
Length, height and weight, and whether you tow
Which bay you go in and how we stage the yard. Height matters more on a coach than people expect. If you tow a car behind it, say so, because we would rather look at both while the rig is here.
Where it has been and how it is stored
Grades, heat, altitude, and how long it sits between trips. A coach that does two long trips a year has different problems from one that is out most weekends, and fuel that has sat is behind a lot of what we see.
What another shop has already said
Especially on a diesel, where diagnosis is most of the cost. If somebody has already looked, bring the paperwork and we will build on it rather than charge you to repeat it.
Questions
Questions we get asked
Do you work on my engine?
Tell us what you have and we will tell you honestly before you drive over. We are deliberately not publishing a list of engines we claim to specialize in, because that list is easy to write and hard to stand behind, and you deserve a real answer rather than a webpage.
Will a 40 foot diesel coach fit?
Four of our bays are sized for the biggest rigs on the road, Class A, Super C and fifth wheels alike, 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 and height before you set off and we will tell you straight.
Do you come to me?
We do have a service truck and we do go out. Diesel work is the harder case, because it needs the coach inside, level and still for as long as the job takes, with the parts store in the same building. Call and we will tell you straight whether it is something we can do where you are.
Can you deal with my emissions system?
Ask us about your specific problem instead of trusting a general answer. It is what diesel coach owners ask most, and the one thing we will not answer in general, because the general answer is usually wrong for one rig.
Can you do the house side while it is in for the engine?
Yes, and that is the unusual part of this shop. Chassis and house systems are under the same roof, so a coach here for diesel work can have the refrigerator or the roof looked at in the same visit instead of a second trip somewhere else.
I am heading over the Sierra next month. Worth a look first?
Yes, and book it with enough time to fix whatever turns up rather than the week you leave. Fluids, belts, hoses, the cooling stack, tires and brakes. The grades around here find all of them, and they find them a long way from a shop.
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.