First Experience - Horrible - Help!


Seasa

New Member
After researching RVs for several months, we finally bought one. So excited to take it on our first long weekend only to run into all sorts of trouble and make our first experience a nightmare.

We have a 2005 Gerogieboy Pursuit with a Ford V10 engine. We were told that it shouldn't have a problem towing our Jeep Wranger that would sit on a trailer. Well, we didn't have a problem driving out of town, but as we were getting into the foothills (we live in Colorado) our RV struggled and slowed down a bit. No big deal, we go slow. Well, after crawling up the mountains at a top speed of 25mph, right before Breckenridge, the transmission gave out. We were going up a hill on I-70 at 10pm at night and the darn thing stopped! No gears, it started to roll backwards. We put the breaks on and looked horrified. What if somebody was going to slam into us. Quickly I turned the flashers on the Jeep on (we alread had the flashers for the RV on since we hit the mountains) and lit one of those glow sticks behind the trailer so that oncoming traffic would be able to see us well in advance. Next we called Roadside Assistance and a State Trooper to secure the lane so make sure no accidents would happen. To make a long story short, we got towed. The transmission was blown.

What did we do wrong? It didn't say that we couldn't tow anything and the Ford people said that towing a Jeep on a trailer shouldn't be a problem. Does that mean that we just can't tow anything up the Colorado mountains? The manual also is not specific on whether or not you should keep it in overdrive when towing up hill.

Can you all give me some feedback on any kind of RV tips especially to tow in the mountains?

Thanks.
Seasa
 

C Nash

Senior Member
First Experience - Horrible - Help!

Seasa, Bet you are at your max or over on the tow weight. Weigh the rv fully loaded with toad and trailer.To much for the Colorado mnts IMO. Transmission probably overheated and that killed it. Do not tow in overdrive in the mountains. Install a transmission temp guage and ck to see what size cooler is installed in front of the radiator.
 

Kirk

Senior Member
First Experience - Horrible - Help!

Have you checked your weight ratings for the motorhome? We are fulltime in a Cruise Master on the Triton Ford chassis and our GCWR and GVWR are not large enough to allow us to tow what you were without being very much over weight. The Jeep would probably be fine without the trailer, but I would bet that the trailer tongue weight exceeds what you are rated for, as well as the total being more than your gross combined. Mine isn't a 2005 so your weights may be different.

The other possible problem may be the history of your transmission could be bad. The greatest problem of buying used is knowing the condition and maintenance history of the unit.
 

hertig

Senior Member
First Experience - Horrible - Help!

Yes, a tranny temp guage is invaluable. At normal temps, tranny fluid is good for many thousands of miles. Enough over 'normal' temp, and it breaks down in just a few miles. And once the fluid breaks down, the transmission is sure to follow...
 

Seasa

New Member
First Experience - Horrible - Help!

Thank you for all your tips. We will definitely be checking into getting a temp gauge. However, we just heard from the Ford garage today. They said that transmission had a problem to begin with and that was the reason it overheated and eventually burned up.They said that even with a temp gauge we wouldn't have been able to detect the problem. They will be replacing it. That is pretty scary considering that it is a brand new RV with only 1660 miles on it.
 

Risky_business

New Member
First Experience - Horrible - Help!

Sorry to hear about your bad experience. Just one question, why do you have your Jeep on a trailer? Is it a rock crawler that forces you to put it on trailer? I have a Wrangler and we just tow it 4 down, no problems.
 
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