Cat repairs

[kengardner]

Hi all, I’m curious as to whether there are any problems getting parts or service on the cat engines since they are out of business. I’m looking at several pre 2008 coaches and a few have cat engines. I know there are fans of the Cat and fans of the various Cumming motors . Any opinions on motors here ( on the Cat forum ) ? !! I’m wondering the same thing about some of the manufacturers like Alfa that have folded. Thanks , Ken

[twinboat]

Cat is out of business ?

The patricular engine may be out of production but Cat is a strong, world wide company.

[gatorcq]

What Happen to Searching on the WWW

[kengardner]

Never mind, I guess I received bad info. Maybe THATS why I couldn’t find ANYTHING about it on the www. Won’t bother you again

[Bigd9]

I had a good experience at a Cat dealer in Lexington KY this past winter on my Cat C7 engine. They had a experienced technician who found a solution to a nagging problem my engine was having, and fixed it quickly. Then he gave me a short list of other things he noticed that I should pay attention to soon. No pressure, no surprises. I was also pleasantly pleased with the total bill as it was less than I thought it was going to be!

[Talloaks]

I have a Cat C9 in my 40' DP which has needed no significant maintenance during my 5 years of ownership. It's a 2006 year of manufacture engine in a 2007 coach, so less EPA mandated complexity than later engines. Engine maintenance has consisted almost entirely of routine seasonal preventative maintenance.

I am fortunate that I have an RV/Bus company within an hour of home that was a Country Coach dealer and still has personnel that know these rigs, both Cummins and Cat-powered, rather well.

In addition, there are plenty of Cat shops anywhere you want to look that should be familiar with these engines, because the same or slight variations of the over-the-road engines were used in offroad applications, i.e., mining/construction/other heavy equipment. Some of the shops I hear may not prefer to work on motorhomes because the engines are more difficult to physically access than, say, on a tractor.

As far as this forum goes and the quality of responses, my experience is that about half or more don't add value, or in some cases seem disrepectful. One has to disregard much of what gets posted. You really are after the small handful of gold nuggets that will eventually appear.

And as far as searching the "www" goes, when I enter an RV related topic into my browser's search engine, typically a good share of the hits refer me to ... guess where... IRV2! Believe it or not, IRV2 is part of the 'www."

[docj]

Originally Posted by kengardner

Never mind, I guess I received bad info. Maybe THATS why I couldn’t find ANYTHING about it on the www. Won’t bother you again

To clarify what you had probably read, CAT exited the on-highway truck engine business around the time DEF was being introduced. It was purely a business decision to leave a particular market sector and focus on heavy equipment (and other sectors) in which CAT has a major position in the US and world-wide markets.

There are still hundreds of thousands (millions?) of CAT-powered vehicles on US highways and part are available through CAT's network of dealerships.

[kengardner]

Originally Posted by Talloaks

I have a Cat C9 in my 40' DP which has needed no significant maintenance during my 5 years of ownership. It's a 2006 year of manufacture engine in a 2007 coach, so less EPA mandated complexity than later engines. Engine maintenance has consisted almost entirely of routine seasonal preventative maintenance.

I am fortunate that I have an RV/Bus company within an hour of home that was a Country Coach dealer and still has personnel that know these rigs, both Cummins and Cat-powered, rather well.

In addition, there are plenty of Cat shops anywhere you want to look that should be familiar with these engines, because the same or slight variations of the over-the-road engines were used in offroad applications, i.e., mining/construction/other heavy equipment. Some of the shops I hear may not prefer to work on motorhomes because the engines are more difficult to physically access than, say, on a tractor.

As far as this forum goes and the quality of responses, my experience is that about half or more don't add value, or in some cases seem disrepectful. One has to disregard much of what gets posted. You really are after the small handful of gold nuggets that will eventually appear.

And as far as searching the "www" goes, when I enter an RV related topic into my browser's search engine, typically a good share of the hits refer me to ... guess where... IRV2! Believe it or not, IRV2 is part of the 'www."

Thanks all (except for 1 rude answer ) for your information. You are exactly right
my web search sent me to IRV2 in multiple responses. I now will lean heavily towards the Cat models. Ken

[ftodaro]

I have found my local Cat dealer well stocked and have never been denied a part that i needed. Now that great service comes at a cost.

[CountryB]

Originally Posted by kengardner

I’m looking at several pre 2008 coaches and a few have cat engines.

Any opinions on motors here ( on the Cat forum ) ? !! I’m wondering the same thing about some of the manufacturers like Alfa that have folded. Thanks , Ken

CAT makes a great heavy duty engine (C12, C13 and C15). They don't use EGR, like used similar year Cummins engines, which is big problem with modern diesels.
The medium duty engines are good (C7 and C9) too, but they have the HEUI fuel injection system which can be expensive to fix.

So my advise is get a C12 or C13 (from 1994 to 2006) if that is the size Coach your looking for. Note that I am talking about engine years not Coach years (a 2007 Coach can have a 2006 engine).

Before CAT left the highway market, then made a couple of engines that should be avoided at all costs. These are the C7S, C9S, and the C13 "Reg engine" which have the LEE serial number. These only came out for a short time -- 2007 to 2010.

More info on this in my link below in my signature line (top link see "Part 2" of my paper).

[kengardner]

Thanks CountryB. That information is very helpful. Wife is more interested in a newer model (2014-2018 ) or so , I would rather have a 2000-2008 higher quality model so we still have to work that out. Any information on the Cumming engines from those years ? I’ll post on that forum but thought you might have some knowledge on that subject also. Ken

[docj]

Originally Posted by CountryB

So my advise is get a C12 or C13 (from 1994 to 2006) if that is the size Coach your looking for. Note that I am talking about engine years not Coach years (a 2007 Coach can have a 2006 engine).

X2 for the C12. We have >125,000 miles on our C12 and she runs beautifully. Nothing beats the huge 1550 ft-lbs of torque. IMO people worry too much about HP but don't understand the importance of torque.

[FIRE UP]

Originally Posted by kengardner

Hi all, I’m curious as to whether there are any problems getting parts or service on the cat engines since they are out of business. I’m looking at several pre 2008 coaches and a few have cat engines. I know there are fans of the Cat and fans of the various Cumming motors . Any opinions on motors here ( on the Cat forum ) ? !! I’m wondering the same thing about some of the manufacturers like Alfa that have folded. Thanks , Ken

Ken.,
Sometimes interpretation can can get all fowled up. CAT did not get out of business. CAT did stop producing over-the-road engines back in and around 2009 due to the fact that they didn't want to hassle with all the changes in smog regs and equipment. They did keep producing off road equipment and engines. The parts supply for existing older CAT engines is strong and reliable.

Our coach, an '04 Itasca Horizon 36GD with the CAT C-7 330HP, has at present, 98,900 miles on it and runs like a top and, has had quite a few replacement parts put on it, by me, in the last few years. I've not had any issue acquiring any part I needed. If my local (about an hour away) Freightliner Service Center did not have the parts I needed in stock, which was rare, they'd have it for me the next day.

And yes, there are many, many CAT powered coaches still roaming the good ole U.S.A.
Scott

[Bobby F]

Originally Posted by gatorcq

What Happen to Searching on the WWW

That's where we are, isn't it?