Motor Home Disaster

[RevRon]

We started for Florida from Vancouver B.C. a week and a half ago in our 2006 Newmar Kountry Star 40’. We love it. We were really enjoying ourselves until a cloud of blue gray smoke and the MH stopped - fortunately we were at an exit ramp. We were towed back to Billings MT to the cummins dealer. It took a couple of days for them to let us know they thought the engine was blown. A week later and the news is a new engine (50-70,000 dollars) that will take 10-12 weeks to obtain. We are seniors and that is not in our budget. The engine we are going to need is this:
Engine Serial Number – 46507653
Engine Model Number – ISL CM850
CPL – 8717
What I need is advice on other options. I have found a website called Truckpaper.com with a lot of used and rebuilt motors but will have to talk to them to see if it is the same as the one in my MH. We are not interested in selling but neither are we interested in paying 70,000 U.S. dollars for a new engine. I am in Florida (we drove our car) and am wondering if I should have the MH shipped here or an engine shipped there. HELP!!!!!!

[2cyber71]

Oh no

[computerguy]

That was always my fear and why I went to a gas motorhome. I had a diesel before I retired.
But the story doesn’t end there. The gasser with 33,000 mile self destructed. So it happens. Mine cost $17k to replace. Plus 4k in expenses staying in a hotel. Happened in May and I got it back a few weeks ago.
Best of luck to ya and wish I had better news for you.
There’s more threads in the full time forum too of similar problems. You’re not alone.

[bhammond1980]

I would have it rebuilt if possible, rebuilds run $10 to $20K. Otherwise, a good used motor will most likely last for a long as you own your RV.

[jacwjames]

Need more information as to what happened to the engine. Was it a catastrophic type failure.

Cummins does offer a remanufacture option, you might check on that.



Having your rig shipped to FL would be verrrry expensive.

[mlpeloquin]

You may have to pay to have it towed to an independent shop to have a used or rebuilt engine installed. That is the path that several have taken. Baring a catastrophic failure, the Cummins engine should last 500k miles.

[Crasher]

Find out the cost in labor to replace the engine once one has been located. That would be a constant number to include for the overall cast to be made whole. As mentioned, a rebuild, if possible, or a used engine would be my choice with a coach that age. With it being in the hands of a Cummins facility, there is no advantage in having it shipped to FL. Best of luck in an unfortunate dilemma.

[Scepter40]

Originally Posted by bhammond1980

I would have it rebuilt if possible, rebuilds run $10 to $20K. Otherwise, a good used motor will most likely last for a long as you own your RV.

This^^^

I hope that you figure out a good path that works for you. As others have said, need to know what happened exactly. Seems like I read here all the time that any time members have a failure and they go to a Cummins shop they get told to replace whatever broke. Engine, turbo, CAC’s. The list goes on. I’d be willing to bet a person (shop) could do an inframe on a DP pretty easily. Heck, even if you bent a rod or trashed a piston, that can be repaired, and probably in frame. The only real challenge is the fact that you probably have a bed or closet on top of the motor. In that case, and in the case of a replacement motor, you have to pull it regardless so the labor is the labor. I bet the rebuild cost in parts and labor for just that activity is less than the cost of new and maybe less than used.

[JohnLoves2Sk]

I would go used, or rebuilt. Those engines will last 250K Miles if driven hard, 500K if treated well, barring a catastrophic failure.
You may wish to have a mobile mechanic visit the rig and give you a second opinion!

Your other options to save $$ is to find an independent shop that will do the motor swap for you. It may or may not be a bunch less expensive.

Did the shop tell you what the nature of the failure is?

Be aware that some heavy truck shops will charge a little more for RVs because they don't like working on them. So check independent shops, RV Repair shops, and mobile mechanics (some of them have a shop to work out of)

Ask about warranty on everything you discuss - parts, labor, etc.

So sorry this happened to you. Good luck!

[jpstakun]

Diesel.

[shootist]

That is possibly a wrist pin defect motor looking at the serial number. Go to the Cummins section, look at the recall sticky near the top. The shop must know it. Cummins may be willing to help out. You failed to state the mileage on the coach. The bad motors started blowing at 50,000 kilometers or so.

[95f5334j]

Here's two of several sources for used Cummins motorhome engines.

https://rvchassisparts.visonerv.com/...eselmotors.pl?
https://colawrvsalvage.com/product-c...illar-cummins/

Prices range from $12,500. With shipping and installation, you're looking at almost $20K

[Dodge Guy]

I would get a second opinion. A Cummins doesn’t and rarely ever fails. Sounds like maybe it’s a bad injection pump.
But even if it needed a new motor, $50-$70k sounds like a huge stretch! Labor alone is probably around 30 hours. And at $200 an hour that $15k. I find it hard to believe a new Cummins is $35k!

[Wild Card]

You could save 30-40k just getting it out of a Cummins shop and to an Independent.