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Anyone souped up thier 24v pusher motorhome?

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One of my uncles has a 1999, 38' Holiday Rambler motor-home. It's on a Frieghtliner chassis and has a mighty 24v 5. 9 (275hp), the unit weighs a hefty 22,500#'s empty. It pulls decent, but he is looking for a little more umph, to those of you that have BOMBed your motor-home, what do you recommend?



Thanks, Rob
 
Word of advice, that chassis has a rear radiator and will be the cause of many head aches, specially if you increase HP. The radiators (Rad) and charge air coolers (CAC) have a bad reputation of getting externally plug, causing engines to over heat and many times sticking pistons. One of the most common cause is the engine's crank case breather tube (draft tube) not been extended below the radiator shrout. The oil fumes coming from the draft tube, when not extended, get blown into the radiator leaving an oily film on the CAC and Rad fins. With the engine in the rear and the fan blowing through the CAC and Rad, road debris gets suck up into the engine compartment and then blown into the CAC and Rad. With the coolings fins having the oily film on them, dirt sticks on the fins, plugging them and cutting air flow to cool down the coolant in the RAd and air in the CAC. Even those that have the extension have the same problem with plain water, making mud on the fins and plugging them. The best thing to do is to make sure the extension is there and that there are no fluid leaks from the engine compartment. Inspect the fins on a regular basis specially after driving through dusty areas or deserts. If caught early it can usually be clean, with a spray detergent and low water pressure. In worst cases the Rad and CAC have to be remove to be properly clean and many warranties do not cover this. These cooling systems are at the limits for cooling capacity, you add HP and you end up with an over heat. I stay busy at work dealing with this type of over heat. The companies who make the HP up-grades make good products but the combination of un-educated driver about the product and the poor cooling capacity lead to many engine problems. There are good ways of getting the extra HP safely but it usually has a high cost.
 
Is there enough room under those things to bomb the cooling systems?

I'm not sure how much this would help, it sounds like a bad design.

Eric:D
 
Most of the time there is enough room to put a bigger core radiator. It all boils down to money, save a little here and some over there and they have a chassis that is cheaper than the other companies. You add the cost of a bigger radiator the labor to replace it and then the HP up-rate and the customer runs when he sees the estimate. I have seen some well done set ups but the owners have done most of the labor. Many times labor is what kills every one and not the product . I'm not saying don't do it but know the limits of the RV and how the HP up-rate will affect the over all performance. You also need to consider the transmission, YES, even the small Allisons have their limit, torque can kill them real fast since RV set ups will produce way higher torque than our Dodges.



Pablo
 
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