Glad I bought that fire extinguisher

[baughhumbug]

headed out for the maiden voyage with my 85 chieftain after a little more than 2 months of fixing up the inside. Plan was to go to a lake about 40 miles away. Low key camping close to home just to be able to plug her in and see how everything worked. I’d gotten new tires and had a professional tune up since she sat for a couple years before I bought it. Had made short trips to the gas station and just to let her run and everything sounded good. Got 4 miles down the road and the engine caught fire under the dog house while exiting the highway. Thanks to a quick reaction from my boyfriend, he grabbed the fire extinguisher I had put in the day before and put it out. I was in a car in front of him with my daughter and had to do a u turn, get back on the highway and go several exits down before turning around. By the time I got there a good samaratin was holding the dogs on the side of the road and the fire dept on the way. Firefighters said when they inspected if he hadn’t gotten to it so fast the whole thing would have gone up. Damage looked minimal. Think maybe we blew a fuel line. Had her towed but the place the tow company recommended ended up saying they don’t work on RVs. Looking for a new place to have it checked out and an estimate for repairs. Wasn’t the weekend we were expecting but so glad it didn’t end worse. Ended up unloading what we could into the car, throwing a couple tents in the car and camping anyway needless to say I’m seriously second guessing this decision  D:oH! what an emotional roller coaster

[tmsnyder]

Wow, lucky!


What ended up getting burned?  Can you just get it patched up and back on the road?


I wouldn't give up on it so fast, just figure out what happened, what needs fixing, and move forward.  There's always troubles with these things and imo they are not that hard to work on.


Did it stop running, and then caught fire while he was trying to coast over to the side of the road?   I wonder if the rubber fuel line came off and started pumping fuel all over the engine, then the carb ran out of fuel and the motor died causing the fuel pump to shut off when the oil pressure switch opened.  Although limiting the amount of fuel spilled, that still would have caused quite a bit of fuel to go all over the engine and catch fire, I can't believe he was able to get it put out in time. 

[Rickf1985]

I always preach that if it is rubber to replace it. Rubber degrades and ethanol fuels make it ten times worse since the fuel lines that were installed back then were not made for alcohol. The rubber rule goes for fuel lines, heater lines, radiator hoses and brake lines. All critical to keeping you moving or stopping. And add in tires if they are more than 5 years old.
You are VERY lucky because the access to the engine on these is so hard that fire usually get going beyond what a fire extinguisher can handle before you can get access to it. Oil leaking from a valve cover onto an exhaust manifold is another fire source if the leak is bad enough. There should not be any rubber fuel lines on top of the motor but the lines going to the pump which on a normal vehicle are not under pressure are under pressure on these since there is an electric pump in the tank. The line with the extreme formed bends in it coming into the pump is a favorite for cracks and with the pressure of the electric pump may have sprayed gas on the exhaust. If this were the case though the fire would have been much bigger than a small extinguisher would have contained.
It is unfortunate but past experiences from members have shown that with few exceptions most garages are going to say no to RV's or they are going to rake you over the coals. Let us know where you are and someone here may know of a reputable place.

[skloon]

Also double check that any fuel lines you get are really fuel lines- I had one on my Dodge Class C that I bought from a reputable supplier and was actually a vacuum line- not fuel resistant- caused many leaks that luckilly never caused a fire

[baughhumbug]

Wow, lucky!


What ended up getting burned?  Can you just get it patched up and back on the road?


I wouldn't give up on it so fast, just figure out what happened, what needs fixing, and move forward.  There's always troubles with these things and imo they are not that hard to work on.


Did it stop running, and then caught fire while he was trying to coast over to the side of the road?   I wonder if the rubber fuel line came off and started pumping fuel all over the engine, then the carb ran out of fuel and the motor died causing the fuel pump to shut off when the oil pressure switch opened.  Although limiting the amount of fuel spilled, that still would have caused quite a bit of fuel to go all over the engine and catch fire, I can't believe he was able to get it put out in time.

From what I understand it died and started with a white smoke coming out which quickly turned to a black smoke as he was coasting over to the side of the road. Not sure what all was burned within the dog house but the fire didn't extend past that, just a little melting of the carpet immediately surrounding the cover. I was so shaken up I didn't even really take a close look at it or take any pics. I can't believe he was either, and the fire chief even called an hour later to make sure we got towed out ok and reiterated how lucky we were. Not sure about "patched up and back on the road" haha guess we'll see what they say.

[baughhumbug]

I always preach that if it is rubber to replace it. Rubber degrades and ethanol fuels make it ten times worse since the fuel lines that were installed back then were not made for alcohol. The rubber rule goes for fuel lines, heater lines, radiator hoses and brake lines. All critical to keeping you moving or stopping. And add in tires if they are more than 5 years old.
You are VERY lucky because the access to the engine on these is so hard that fire usually get going beyond what a fire extinguisher can handle before you can get access to it. Oil leaking from a valve cover onto an exhaust manifold is another fire source if the leak is bad enough. There should not be any rubber fuel lines on top of the motor but the lines going to the pump which on a normal vehicle are not under pressure are under pressure on these since there is an electric pump in the tank. The line with the extreme formed bends in it coming into the pump is a favorite for cracks and with the pressure of the electric pump may have sprayed gas on the exhaust. If this were the case though the fire would have been much bigger than a small extinguisher would have contained.
It is unfortunate but past experiences from members have shown that with few exceptions most garages are going to say no to RV's or they are going to rake you over the coals. Let us know where you are and someone here may know of a reputable place.

So overwhelmed by all of this information haha I'm in central Iowa. After calling a number of places, I talked to someone yesterday who said they'd work on it about 30 miles away. They were recommended by a large RV retailer who doesn't do engine work but said they use this shop to do it for them. Totally open to recommendations if anyone is familiar with the area though. I upgraded my AAA membership so I can have it towed anywhere within 100 miles and it will go into effect Friday so hoping to get it moved then.

[Rickf1985]

Be aware that triple A does not cover towing from one shop to another. They only will tow a breakdown. So if you are "broken down" in front of that shop.................................... W% W% W% W% .
Most Triple A drivers are not going to question it since it is a tow that they are getting paid for but there is always the chance. So if your rig is in the shop or in the impound yard out back see if they would be nice enough to pull it out to the road before calling for the tow. Better safe than have your policy cancelled or the tow refused.

[TerryH]

     A bit off topic, but regarding your fire extinguishers (of course you have more than one and strategically located) a good 'once a month' habit is to smack them.
Invert and hit the bottom a few times with the flat of your hand, a rubber mallet, chunk of fire wood or petrified baked potato.
The dry chemicals tend to settle in the bottom and reduce the effectiveness.
Do it in private. You do not want to be arrested for abuse! D:oH! :)rotflmao

[baughhumbug]

Be aware that triple A does not cover towing from one shop to another. They only will tow a breakdown. So if you are "broken down" in front of that shop.................................... W% W% W% W% .
Most Triple A drivers are not going to question it since it is a tow that they are getting paid for but there is always the chance. So if your rig is in the shop or in the impound yard out back see if they would be nice enough to pull it out to the road before calling for the tow. Better safe than have your policy cancelled or the tow refused.

Interesting. When I called to upgrade my policy they said it was not a problem at all and would be covered. They were also aware I was specifically upgrading because this had already happened and just said I needed to wait the 3 days for the upgrade to go into effect.

[Rickf1985]

Be very careful, I have had some bad experiences with "Covered" towing with triple A which left me on the side of a very bust interstate at night with a broken trailer, TWICE! It was covered until I needed it. I still have them since they are the only game in town that will tow you to more that their own repair shop (Good Sam). Just a precautionary warning. By the way, I had to pay out of pocket both times. I JUST had to pay a 700.00 tow bill due to an accident because of the same trailer, if I had quads or dirt bikes on the trailer then they would tow it but I had a tractor on it so they would not tow it. Same damn trailer!!!

[skloon]

Be very careful, I have had some bad experiences with "Covered" towing with triple A which left me on the side of a very bust interstate at night with a broken trailer, TWICE! It was covered until I needed it. I still have them since they are the only game in town that will tow you to more that their own repair shop (Good Sam). Just a precautionary warning. By the way, I had to pay out of pocket both times. I JUST had to pay a 700.00 tow bill due to an accident because of the same trailer, if I had quads or dirt bikes on the trailer then they would tow it but I had a tractor on it so they would not tow it. Same damn trailer!!!

- Had that happen with a stock trailer- took the horses off and they would tow it- even though I had a special endorsement or whatever that included agricultural trailers but they wouldn't touch it with livestock