I finally understand what happened to me when I broke down in Augusta, GA. When I ran over a large piece of tire in the road, it flew up into the exhaust area of the MH. It hit a hose that runs from the radiator to the doser and broke the plastic quick connect off the doser. By the way, the doser is a DEF injector for the Decomposition Reactor Tube. The water that goes into the tube acts as a coolant. Therefore, the engine lost all of its water and shut down on High Temperature. Freightliner gave me some very good information which I want to share with Diesel Engine owners.
The first picture a sheet containing all of my major component data of my chassis components. It is an invaluable sheet of information you can get from Freightliner by giving them your VIN number. This will save you hours of time trying to locate parts for your chassis & engine.
The second picture is the Decomposition Reactor Tube that the DEF is injected into. These hoses were hanging down low and the piece of tire hit them causing my damage. Had these hoses been tied up out of the way, I probably would not have broke down. You would do good to have a mechanic tie wrap these hoses up out of the way of debris. I plan to put an aluminum plate under mine to protect them from debris.
The third picture is the Doser that injects the DEF into the tube. You can see where mine was rigged with a hose clamp to reattach the hose to the Doser. You can partially see the plastic quick connect on the upper hose.
Nobody at Cummins or Freightliner in Augusta knew what this part was. Therefore, my country boy mechanics rigged a solution for me.
The forth picture shows the hoses that goes from the Doser to the DEF tank and radiator.
The fifth picture shows the DEF to Doser line.
The sixth picture shows part #13, the plastic quick connect that broke off.
The last picture shows the part numbers for the DEF to Doser line and the
plastic quick connect.
I hope none of you ever has to use this information because debris broke off a hose on your MH. It is not a pretty experience to be broke down because of road debris for several hours and hundreds of dollars out of your pocket. I got off easy compared to what other mechanics probably would have charged me.
I am a new MH owner and I have a lot to learn about traveling in a MH.
I know I learned a lesson with this experience. If I ever hit another piece of debris on the highway, I will be stopping as soon as I safely can and checking under the MH for any kind of damage or liquid leakage.
If you ever have a problem with your motorhome or RV in the Augusta, GA area, these two mechanics were great and not expensive. It's a father & son team. Their names are James (son) and Summie Richards. James phone number is 706-536-1983. They are very good roadside mechanics.
I hope this information helps. May your travels be fun, safe, and uneventful.
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