Community Forums

panhandler62 · 01-18-2022, 07:06 AM

Hi folks!

This fall I was heading to the races and had the left, rear (inside) tire delaminate which not only cost me a tire bill but also took out the wiring loom that runs through that wheel well.

This left the coach with:

No 12v power from the front of the bathroom back (including the water pump.)
Loss of thermostat controls
Loss of water, LPG, holding, etc sensors

I have a few questions.

What ding-a-ling thought that running a major harness though a wheel well was a good idea?
Do detailed diagrams of actual routing of harnesses for these coaches exist?
Is this pretty much going to be a "dig in and see what's what" kind of job?

Side issue -- I'm pretty sure I'm going to need to tear the bathroom apart to get at, trace and fix everything so I was also thinking of doing a bit of a remodel. Has anyone pulled the tub/shower surround out of one of these and, if so, is that a monumental job or is it fairly straight forward?

Any ideas on any this are appreciated.

Domo · 01-18-2022, 07:30 AM

Your insurance should cover the repairs.

However, if you want to DIY it will be a dig in and repair issue - one circuit at a time.

You may want to check an RV junk yard and see if you can get those section of harness so that splicing into the ruined cables is easier.

I had a neighbor who's son's car had a similar flat in the LF wheel. When it took out the flimsy inner wheel panels it destroyed a harness from the dash to the engine compartment - must have been 40 wires in the bundle. Luckily, he could see both ends and spent a day splicing and protecting.

The kid still drives the car and checks the tires religiously.

jacwjames · 01-18-2022, 11:03 AM

My coach is the same way, the wiring harnesses, hydraulic lines, coolant lines, air lines all run adjacent to the rear wheel well. My main 12 volt power distribution is in the rear passenger side compartments so a lot of wires originate from there.

I spent a week under my coach fixing air leaks and kept thinking what would happen with a catastrophic tire issue. You pretty much answered my question.

A lot of my wires are labeled, some are also color coated. I'd get a good wire tracer, which may help identify some of the wires.

Dutch Star Don · 01-18-2022, 11:36 AM

I would peel back the sheathing and find undamaged areas at both ends of the damaged harness, match the wire colors and run new wire. That will fix about 90% of the issues if not all. If you turn it into insurance, they could total the coach since its 25 years old.

mr.tommy · 01-18-2022, 11:42 AM

When I bought our Class A, the first thing I did was went through the entire coach under the chassis and in the engine bay looking for possible failure points. Found several and fixed them. In the engine compartment, on the drivers side, right above the front tire was a HUGE bundle of wiring harnesses and I thought, "boy if I ever have a blowout on this tire it's going to wipe out all that wiring and it will be a catastrophic repair in addition to perhaps some body work". I wanted to prevent a major electrical redo if that ever happened.

So I moved all the wiring harnesses over some and had a fab shop make me a long 3/16" metal plate with 3 different bends in it so it would fit up in that area, then I drilled and fastened it to a solid steel rail in the floor way above the front tire with a dozen or so strong screws and a little blue loctite. Now that whole area is protected and could withstand a catastrophic event.

HarryStone · 01-18-2022, 12:39 PM

They don't design RV's to protect against failures, otherwise, it would look and drive like a tank.

bigb56 · 01-18-2022, 01:09 PM

I thought about adding some protection in case of a blowout but it would have to be some pretty heavy stuff, I mean I've seen a blowout rip a running board off, those heavy pieces of tire can do a lot of damage in a few seconds.
I think my rig had a blowout before I bought it as on the right rear the mudflap was gone, the exhaust hanger was broken and there was a metal cover over the LP line that was about to fall off. The LP line at that point is threaded pipe, much stronger than the sheet metal cover they put over it! Anyway I fixed it all and plan to be very careful with tires. A good heavy mudflap secured with bolts seems to add a fair amount of protection, behind the wheels anyway.