Do any Breakaway models have side radiators? The ones I have seen have rear engine access door but the opening seems to be pretty well blocked by the radiator.

Maybe others on this site might know if there is variation of radiator location with engine maker or size. I have seen commentary (somewhere) that rear is common in coaches with lower hp rating and that by the time hp is 350 or more, that side radiator configuration is the norm. This however may not have been the case for Barth, as ours, is a 250 hp Cummins 8.3, with a side radiator configuration.

Bud

Hi Bud,

Thanks for the info. The side mount for the radiator would be better for me. Even changing belts can be a PITA if you are upside down under the bed.

We have been to Whitehorse a few times. We lived in Alaska for around 15 years and traveled through the Yukon some. I went up the Dempster Highway to Inuvic (SP?) once. It is 500 miles of gravel with only one service facility at Eagle Plains. Two river crossings on barges as I remember. Quite a fun trip with our Alaskan camper on the back of a 1992 Dodge truck.

Don

Don, I know I sound like a broken record with the disclaimer of never say always or never when talking Barths. now with that out of the way.

Most Breakaways have a rear radiator. The exceptions seem to be some of the 33 foots on Gillig chassis have the side radiator. Also "most" Regencies have a side radiator. This includes the earlier 250hp Cats in the Gillig chassis.

I have a side radiator and it does make access to the engine a lot easier. I had to change the fuel shutoff solenoid on the CAT and it rally took about as long to open the doors as it did to change the solenoid.

Nick

Nick,

I suppose that is one of the problems with "custom coaches".

I have always been a sort of DIY type and actually was a professional mechanic for about 10 years so I am looking for potential problem areas especially when mechanical work is up to about $100/hr in our area. A belt change could be done in <1 hour with rear access but may take >3 hours without easy access.

Thanks for the reply.

Don

quote:

Originally posted by Cantrade:

We have been to Whitehorse a few times. We lived in Alaska for around 15 years and traveled through the Yukon some.

I too was in Whitehorse once, not by choice but by diversion. I was awakened by all manner of commotion in my area of the airplane. Seems we had a heart attack victim across the aisle from me. A call went out for a doctor and nearly everyone but me and the relatives of the victim were docs. We landed in Whitehorse, unloaded the victim. The folks on the ground were great. We had a Yukon Bar and took off for Anchorage. Wish it could have been more, looked good from the air.

My Breakaway has the AMG 6.5L TD with a serpentine belt and a rear radiator. I can change the belt from inside in 5 minutes - I've done it twice.

"They're all different" should have been the company motto.
Ours has a front rad and wide open access to the engine by opening the big rear doors. The battery banks are on either side at the rear of the engine and can be reached from the rear or by opening the side doors at the rear of the coach.
Servicing everything is a breeze since belts, air and oil filters are right in front of you.
Don ad Patty ... on the road in Cullman Alabama.

quote:

Originally posted by bud@YXY:
Maybe others on this site might know if there is variation of radiator location with engine maker or size. I have seen commentary (somewhere) that rear is common in coaches with lower hp rating and that by the time hp is 350 or more, that side radiator configuration is the norm. This however may not have been the case for Barth, as ours, is a 250 hp Cummins 8.3, with a side radiator configuration.

Bud

The placement of the radiator was a function of the chassis builder and not the coach builder. The breakaways were (normally) built on the Spartan ES2000 chassis which was a rear mount. This was done to save money.

When I last changed the big serpantine belt it took longer to crawl into the engine bay than it did to change the belt. Belt took about 5 minutes for main, another 5 for the aux (ac). To get my big fat butt in we will ignore.

With a rear radiator you also may not need a fan going down the road. The vacuum pocket at the rear will pull enough air thru to keep the engine cool. Also since the fan is turning in moving air it takes very little HP to turn it. So in theory it should eq better MPG.

After saying all that, a side radiator would be nicer (have had them), but not a deciding factor.

My '94 Breakaway has a rear radiator and as Gary has said those Breakaways that were built using the EC2000 Spartan chassis will have a rear radiator.

The engine access is not all that bad although changing things like the injection pump will be a challenge. The main fan belt is changed fairly easily but the A/C belt has to be removed first and the sepentine belt has to be threaded around the fan. Hardest part is releasing (and holding) the tensioner to get the belt on or off.

I wish the theory of a vacuum pocket at the rear to pull the air thru were true. I have done extensive research and testing with tufts (pieces of yarn) and found that there is so much turbulence in the area of the radiator it actually is blocking the radiator airflow and without flow directors there is a high pressure area right at the area of the radiator opening. I have 3 radiators that the air must go thru, and I can assure that no cooling air will go thru without the fan. (first the turbo intercooler, then the trans cooler, and lastly the main engine radiator.)

Will write more of my efforts to improve the cooling after I return.

I am using information gained from our Newell which also has a rear radiator. I installed a Horton fan clutch and driving down the freeway at 60mph the clutch never comes on. I have a light on the dash the illuminates when the when the clutch entergizes. It does appear the help mpg but at 6.4 mpg almost anything will help.

One thing I learned about rear radiators is that they need to be cleaned. My coach started to run hot last year so I mentioned it to my mechanic. He asked me if I ever cleaned the radiator. I used degreaser and followed the directions. The overheating went away.

Amen! I clean my radiator before every road trip. On this last one, I ran into rain or drizzle for about 2500 of the 3000 miles. That resulted in a lot of road grime carried by the spray up into the radiator (in fact, the paint was worn off the leading edge of the fan blades). Coming back through of Alabama, temps ran warm (but not overly hot) up the hills.