RV and coach
Diesel Service for RVs and Coaches
This page is the diesel coach: the pusher with the engine at the back, and the diesel chassis under a big Class A. It is a different animal from a diesel pickup, mostly because of size and access, and it is the rig that has to fit through a door before anyone can start. Everything below is written 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, at the turbo and its plumbing for a boost leak, and at the radiator and charge air cooler for packed debris, which is a genuinely 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
Worth saying early: if your coach has air brakes, tell us when you call. Air and hydraulic are different systems with different service, and it changes the answer to whether the job is ours before you drive over.
You are about to do a long trip and want it looked at first
The most sensible call on this page. A pre-trip look at fluids, belts, hoses, the cooling stack, the tires and the brakes costs a fraction of what any of them cost when they let go somewhere with no shoulder. Book it with time to fix what turns up, not the day before you leave.
What we do
- Diesel injection service
- Engine repair and overhaul
- 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 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, and on a diesel coach that is not a preference. The rig has to be in a building before anyone can properly get at the engine, and several mobile operators draw exactly this line themselves and say so on their own websites.
- 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 an aftertreatment or emissions-system claim on this page. It is the thing diesel pusher owners ask about most, which is exactly why we are not going to guess at it in public. Ask us about your specific problem.
- We do not claim to be a diesel engine machine shop. Injection work, service and repair are one thing; a full engine rebuild program is another, and where the line falls for your job is a conversation.
- This page is the coach. A diesel pickup or work truck is a different page, mostly 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 is actually in the back, and what it sits on
The engine and the chassis are two different badges, and the coach maker is a third. It is usually on a plate inside the driver door or on the frame rail. If you cannot find it, the year, the coach maker and the length get us close enough to talk.
Air brakes or hydraulic
Many diesel pushers run air. It changes the service 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 pusher fit?
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 and height before you set off and we will tell you straight.
Do you come to me?
No. This is shop work. Several mobile operators around here do good work on the house side of a coach and say on their own sites that chassis and engine work is where they stop. That is the line a building crosses.
Can you deal with my emissions system?
Ask us about the specific problem rather than taking an answer from this page. It is the question diesel coach owners ask most and it is the one we are least willing to answer in general terms, because the general answer is usually wrong for the particular 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.