Community Forums

Cable Guy · 04-20-2016, 06:22 AM

I'm new to diesel pushers and I have a 2003 Tradewinds 375LE on a Spartan chassis. I wish to replace the belts on the Cat 330 Turbo. The bedroom engine access is just large enough for a midget to access the fuel filter. How do I gain access to the belts? Drop one or both radiators? Drop the exhaust muffler?

Skip426 · 04-20-2016, 08:28 PM

Welcome to iRV2.

Sorry I can't help with your belt change situation , but most rear rad units, the belts, can be accessed from under the coach. Most being the operative word.
Can you post a picture from under the coach so we can see what you;re up against?

Cable Guy · 04-22-2016, 08:37 AM

I've considered going up from the bottom, but I have a mud guard and trailer hitch that appears to be in the way. I'll include some pictures this weekend when I have more time.

Don and Kim · 04-22-2016, 04:20 PM

Hi Cable Guy,
I just did the belt change on our Freightliner chassis Tropical. Not sure how much difference there is between it and Spartan. It was not terribly difficult but did take me quite a while to complete because of having to work "blind" and the limited access. I followed a procedure posted online and edited w/my notes if I need to do it again. I accessed the serpentine belt & tensioner through the bedroom hatch from above, and the water pump belt from below.
I attempted to attach the document I used but the file was too large. If you're interested I could send it to you direct.

Don

jonathon51 · 04-23-2016, 07:11 AM

Don..saw your reply re: belt changes. Could you also send them my way if possible.

Thanks in advance

Jonathon51
slakajs2002@yahoo.com

Plasticman · 04-24-2016, 02:14 PM

I'd like to know too. I have the exact same year, make and model RV.

Rob

Don and Kim · 04-25-2016, 04:08 PM

Replacement of Serpentine and Water Pump Belts 2006 Freightliner Chassis w/ CAT C7

NOTE: This information was gathered while changing the belts on our 2006 XC chassis with the CAT engine. Gain access to the belt area by removal of necessary engine access covers. On my 2006 I removed the bedroom floor hatch in front of the closet. Working from the top of the engine, install a 1/2" Breaker Bar in the tension adjuster’s face, (there is a 1/2"square opening).
Move Breaker Bar to left(towards pass. side) in order to relieve tension on the Serpentine belt.
While holding the Breaker Bar to the left, remove the Serpentine belt from the Alternator pulley, and then move Breaker Bar to right until all tension is off the adjuster.
With the Serpentine belt off the Alternator pulley, it will now be possible to remove the belt from all the pulleys, and thread it through the fan blades for complete removal.
The tension adjuster is mounted directly above the belt for the Water Pump, and must be moved outward in order to remove the Water Pump belt. In order to do this, loosen the tension adjusters mounting bolt, using a 5/8” box end or socket wrench. It is not necessary to completely remove the tension adjuster, only loosen it until enough clearance is gained to clear the water pump belt.
Working from below the engine, loosen the Water Pump’s tension adjustment locking bolt, using a 3/8 drv shallow socket). This bolt is on the pulley-mounting bracket; however, it is behind the crankshaft damper and is a bit hard to gain access. (There is also another bolt above the idler pulley that needs to be loosened)
Once the adjustment bolt is loose, it will be possible to rotate the tension pulley bracket to free the Water Pump belt, and it can be removed from the Water Pump, and worked over the Crankshaft Damper.
Install a new water pump belt, making sure to position it in the correct pulley slot on the Crankshaft, and then work it over the Water Pump and the tension pulley.
From the top of the tension pulley’s bracket, insert the head of a ½” breaker bar( I used a short extension & ratchet) into the square slot in the pulley housing, and apply tension on the Water Pump belt, while tightening the adjustment hold down bolt with the 1/2" wrench. When there is sufficient tension on the belt, make sure to tighten this bolt tight, or the Water Pump belt may slip in operation. I struggled w/ this step as I could not move the idler pulley far enough down to be able to get the socket over the adjuster bolt head. After researching forums I determined there is another hole tapped hole about ¾” above the existing tapped hole. Working from above I was able to remove the bolt & move it to the upper hole. Then it was a simple procedure of applying upward force on the ½” ratchet while I tightened the adjuster bolt.
After replacing the Water Pump belt, tighten the mounting bolt for the Serpentine belt tension adjuster using the 5/8” wrench. Work the new Serpentine belt over the fan blades, and position it in the proper groove in the Crankshaft pulley. Then, move the 1/2" Breaker Bar to the left and thread the serpentine belt behind the tension adjuster, over the Compressor and Alternator pulleys and under the upper idler pulley.
Release the tension on the adjuster, and inspect the Serpentine belt to insure it is in the proper grooves on the Crankshaft pulley, as well as the Compressor and Alternator. Inspect area for tools, equipment. Run engine to test for proper installation.

C4thMnman · 04-25-2016, 07:15 PM

Howdy:
Does anyone have a set of electrical drawings for a Tradewinds LE M370. Since they went out of business does anyone have a source for that kind of information. I have a trailer plug that has no power to the aux pin on a 6 pin plug.and was trying to find the cause. I need it to charge the toad battery on long trips.

Skip426 · 04-26-2016, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by C4thMnman

Howdy:
Does anyone have a set of electrical drawings for a Tradewinds LE M370. Since they went out of business does anyone have a source for that kind of information. I have a trailer plug that has no power to the aux pin on a 6 pin plug.and was trying to find the cause. I need it to charge the toad battery on long trips.

Welcome to iRV2..

It's always best to start your own thread when asking for information that isn't covered by the heading/ question posed by the original poster as most people see the original heading and don't read all the posts in the thread.
I'd say please start your on post either in the National owners forums or in the forums of the chassis manufacturer that your coach rides on, and include your chassis/coaches year.

JEEPOHOLIC · 04-26-2016, 07:26 PM

another reason to avoid a rear radiator motor homes, not saying there's anything majorly wrong with them, but I'm a PM type of guy, and that requires the availability of the running gear, and while we are on it, why did they ever put the storage door attached to the slides, you just lost all that room that a pass through bay provides by attaching those small little "buckets" to the slides, OK rant over carry on

Cable Guy · 05-02-2016, 09:41 AM

I'm sorry that it took this long to respond to Skip426 and everyone else. To Jeepoholic, I too like to do all my own work. This is my third Class A RV and I'm always amazed at the little thought given by the manufacturer to engine maintenance. As far as Engine access on my Tradewinds 375LE, looks like I'll need to drop the turbo radiator to access the belts. The access hole in the bedroom is a joke and there's just no access from the bottom due to the frame plus hitch and mud guard.

My project this weekend is to replace the Winegard antenna for a King. After that, a fire suppression system.

Cable Guy · 07-01-2016, 05:45 PM

Well, I finally solved my access problem. Removed the exhaust muffler and pipe to gain enough access to change the belts. Good thing that I did because the belt tensioner was bad and I replaced that too. Only 40k on engine.

Now I'm adding engine diagnostics to the dash, a Windows 10 Stick PC to the T.V. and an air pressure hose access in the generator compartment.