2006 HR Scepter 40PDQ-Engine Bay Door Replacement

[Bob Wightman]

Hello Group.  I just took the first trip in my new (to me) 2006 Holiday Rambler Scepter 40PDQ, totally happy with my new rig but there is something I think needs to be fixed.  The problem is engine bay heat, particularly concerning transmission temperature at slow speed or trying to get parked at a campground.  Trying to manage this from knowing of the problem with previous test drives I have already: Had the transmission serviced with new fluids and filters, had the radiator stack cleaned, replaced the hydraulic fan motor, and had transmission & engine scanned for any error codes.  My trip over the holiday weekend was three hours each way, while driving the temperatures of both the engine and transmission were stable, and what seems to be normal is the needle at the top hash of the normal range on both gauges.  When we arrived at the campground there was a line to get in that required much backing and turning around to get the rig in line and then into the campground and into the parking spot.  During those manuvers the engine temp stayed stable but the transmission temp spiked into the red line area.  It cooled down quickly when the transmission was put into idle and motor kept running, but the high temp concerned me.  I have already contacted my mechanic to plan for adding an additional transmission cooler with an electric fan, which would have to help.  My other thought is how to get the heat out.  My last RV was a Monaco Knight with a rear radiator, so my engine bay doors were louvered.  What i'm wondering is if anybody knows if Monaco/Holiday Rambler use the same size rear doors on rigs with or without side draft radiators?  I was thinking that they look like they are the same, and it would make sense to use the same mold for both side draft and rear radiator applications, and if I could find a pair of louvered doors from a similar year make/model I would swap the solid doors I have out to louvered doors and possibly add electric fans on them to pull the heat out.  I also am considering adding a linear grill above the doors and below the center stop light LED to help with the heat....just not sure it will be big enough to do the job.  While at the campground I drove around in my golf cart and looked at all the newer model DP's with side draft radiator...they pretty much all had vent grills in the back too.  I live in South Florida, and this trip was during the cool time of the year, trying to get her ready for the trips during the summer when its almost 100 degrees outside and hotter on the pavement.  If anybody has a resource for for finding out door size and exchange ability i would appreciate your sharing the link.  Also, any other ideas of how to accomplish cooling the engine bay and still keeping the rig stock (I like the way it looks now) would also be appreciated.

[96 EVO]

First thing to check regarding trans temp creeping up, is that your idle RPM is set to Cummins recommendations.

My 400 ISL is 700RPM.

[Tom Cherry]

2 hours ago, Bob Wightman said:

Hello Group.  I just took the first trip in my new (to me) 2006 Holiday Rambler Scepter 40PDQ, totally happy with my new rig but there is something I think needs to be fixed.  The problem is engine bay heat, particularly concerning transmission temperature at slow speed or trying to get parked at a campground.  Trying to manage this from knowing of the problem with previous test drives I have already: Had the transmission serviced with new fluids and filters, had the radiator stack cleaned, replaced the hydraulic fan motor, and had transmission & engine scanned for any error codes.  My trip over the holiday weekend was three hours each way, while driving the temperatures of both the engine and transmission were stable, and what seems to be normal is the needle at the top hash of the normal range on both gauges.  When we arrived at the campground there was a line to get in that required much backing and turning around to get the rig in line and then into the campground and into the parking spot.  During those manuvers the engine temp stayed stable but the transmission temp spiked into the red line area.  It cooled down quickly when the transmission was put into idle and motor kept running, but the high temp concerned me.  I have already contacted my mechanic to plan for adding an additional transmission cooler with an electric fan, which would have to help.  My other thought is how to get the heat out.  My last RV was a Monaco Knight with a rear radiator, so my engine bay doors were louvered.  What i'm wondering is if anybody knows if Monaco/Holiday Rambler use the same size rear doors on rigs with or without side draft radiators?  I was thinking that they look like they are the same, and it would make sense to use the same mold for both side draft and rear radiator applications, and if I could find a pair of louvered doors from a similar year make/model I would swap the solid doors I have out to louvered doors and possibly add electric fans on them to pull the heat out.  I also am considering adding a linear grill above the doors and below the center stop light LED to help with the heat....just not sure it will be big enough to do the job.  While at the campground I drove around in my golf cart and looked at all the newer model DP's with side draft radiator...they pretty much all had vent grills in the back too.  I live in South Florida, and this trip was during the cool time of the year, trying to get her ready for the trips during the summer when its almost 100 degrees outside and hotter on the pavement.  If anybody has a resource for for finding out door size and exchange ability i would appreciate your sharing the link.  Also, any other ideas of how to accomplish cooling the engine bay and still keeping the rig stock (I like the way it looks now) would also be appreciated.

This was a known issue, after many complaints.  Monaco did some “customer service” fixes…..nothing that was documented.  They added louvers to the rear hatch. They also installed a recirculating or exhaust fan with a thermostat controller.  Circa 2008, the rear door was redesigned and it has molded in louvers.

UNFORTUNATELY, there was no documentation on what they did.  They had three “authorized” service centers in Oregon, Indiana and Florida.  

Do some Googling….”Monaco Scepter (or try Camelot) engine door overheating”.

https://www.irv2.com/forums/f115/air-louvers-on-engine-bay-doors-98726-3.html

There is some info out there.  I search our topics but no joy.  

Generally speaking….you need to verify the proper thermostat.  Cummins can tell you that from the engine serial number.  There were posts that said that the wrong one was installed.  I have the 425ISL and it has a 195 DegF.  

OK….suggestions…

Swap out the thermostat.  If the tranny is spiking, then that is a sign, at least to me, of a problem in the cooling system.  Which would obviously manifest itself in higher ”underhood” temps.  My engine and tranny run within 5 DegF or less (have a digital readout that was standard later).

Have the ECM scanned. I THINK that the temps and such are stored. @Frank McElroy may chime in.  He is our ECM Guru.

Partner up, offline, with a member that has a Camelot or Scepter, 2006….and seeif they have a laser thermometer.  Many of us carry them.  Get some reading in the same spot and compare.

The Electronic Danfoss controller has been known to be troublesome, however, it typically FAILS and goes to FULL BORE and you can hear it run all the time.

Even with the 2006/7 engines cooling properly…..there was a “bedroom heat buildup” issue.  The new rear hatch did a lot to solve that. BUT, if you shoot the surface temperature of the rear engine hatch locks, they will be as much as 135 DegF.  They will, per a buddy that had a 2009, actually melt a plastic “dry cleaner” shirt cover.

Get the engine cooling properly or determine if it is OK…..then address the heat buildup….

EDIT….Brett Howard ran the Wildwood Center in Florida.  He is the GM of a North Trails store there.  Do a little bird dogging and chase him down. He will remember or give you insight into the fixes …..but that is the second priority to having a correctly operating cooling system.

I THINK there is an ECM engine temp sensor….but Frank will know…..knowing the temps the ECM, digital data, would be invaluable….

 

[Bill R]

@Bob Wightman Curious to know, what was the actually temp you saw on the transmission?  Was there a digital read out on your Aladdin?

[timaz996]

My brother made brackets to hold the door open about 6" because climbing grades out of Phoenix in the summer my A/C breaker would pop. (The wire loom goes up through the front of the engine compartment) The engine compartment heat would heat the wiring. This happened even with my engine temp staying below 195F.

See pictures.

[Bob Wightman]

5 hours ago, timaz996 said:

My brother made brackets to hold the door open about 6" because climbing grades out of Phoenix in the summer my A/C breaker would pop. (The wire loom goes up through the front of the engine compartment) The engine compartment heat would heat the wiring. This happened even with my engine temp staying below 195F.

See pictures.

I have double doors on the back of my Scepter.  This bracket idea is a good one, it just wont work for me.

[Tom Cherry]

Start looking for large louver panels or inserts.  You are going to need one on each door, mostly square or close and a long rectangular one up top.

Concentrate of getting your coolant system 100%, but the interior heat, despite adding more foil backed insulation will be needed

[Bob Wightman]

8 hours ago, Bill R said:

@Bob Wightman Curious to know, what was the actually temp you saw on the transmission?  Was there a digital read out on your Aladdin?

I don't have an Aladdin system on my RV, I only have analog gauges.   I added a BlueFire engine monitoring system trying to read actual trans temp., the problem is that my port is only a 6 pin and so the BlueFire only reads coolant temp.  There is a port for the transmission that I had scanned, which showed that the high end of the normal range was about 180 degrees so I'm guessing the trans temp went up to around 230-250 when manuvering at low speeds.  I'm trying to figure out how to get both engine and transmission into the same diagnostic port so the Bluefire can display both, trying to get my 6 pin port to function as a 9 pin port.

[timaz996]

10 minutes ago, Bob Wightman said:

I have double doors on the back of my Scepter.  This bracket idea is a good one, it just wont work for me.

I Didn't realize your doors were different.

[Bob Wightman]

3 minutes ago, Tom Cherry said:

Start looking for large louver panels or inserts.  You are going to need one on each door, mostly square or close and a long rectangular one up top.

Concentrate of getting your coolant system 100%, but the interior heat, despite adding more foil backed insulation will be needed

My coolant system seems to be fine.  Even when the trans temp went up my coolant temp never went over 200 degrees.    I had considered cutting in and adding louvered vents to each door (still not out of the question), which is what got me started thinking that the doors on my 2004 Monaco Knight would be perfect for this application.  I then started looking at the size and they appear to be the same size as my Scepter.  I figured I could find a pair at Visone RV Salvage, and their website shows some that look great, just need to call them to see if they actually have any of what they show online (tried to buy a basement door for the Knight from them before and they didn't have ANYTHING they showed online available).  I was hoping somebody would know if they are the same size and interchangeable, if they are then that would be the best looking and I think best working solution...just have to have them painted to match my rig.

[Tom Cherry]

2 minutes ago, Bob Wightman said:

I don't have an Aladdin system on my RV, I only have analog gauges.   I added a BlueFire engine monitoring system trying to read actual trans temp., the problem is that my port is only a 6 pin and so the BlueFire only reads coolant temp.  There is a port for the transmission that I had scanned, which showed that the high end of the normal range was about 180 degrees so I'm guessing the trans temp went up to around 230-250 when manuvering at low speeds.  I'm trying to figure out how to get both engine and transmission into the same diagnostic port so the Bluefire can display both, trying to get my 6 pin port to function as a 9 pin port.

From the top.  Most of the time, on level ground, the tranny will mirror within a few degrees, maybe 5 at max.  The only time the tranny goes up is on heavy grades as you start to climb into a mountainous area or, conversely, descend.  The key to keeping the Tranny happy in that scenario is to keep the RPM’s as close to 2000 as you can when climbing.  Folks make a mistake letting the Allison do it’s trick.  Shift back and forth or down to keep the engine whining and the coolant flowing.

But, rarely will you see a 20 deg Delta T between the engine and tranny.  What you really need to know

What is the cruising down the highway temperature? That will be the Thermostat setting.  
Where is that on the analog, but not calibrated engine coolant gauge?

THEN, you will have a reference mark.  You can start out with a cold engine.  Then watch the engine coolant.  Mark, using a “sharpie”. The 150, 175, 200 and 225 points on the gauge face.  Then transfer those marks to the tranny.  NOW at least you have a reference point.  Hard to guess without a scale.

 

[Bob Wightman]

4 minutes ago, Tom Cherry said:

From the top.  Most of the time, on level ground, the tranny will mirror within a few degrees, maybe 5 at max.  The only time the tranny goes up is on heavy grades as you start to climb into a mountainous area or, conversely, descend.  The key to keeping the Tranny happy in that scenario is to keep the RPM’s as close to 2000 as you can when climbing.  Folks make a mistake letting the Allison do it’s trick.  Shift back and forth or down to keep the engine whining and the coolant flowing.

But, rarely will you see a 20 deg Delta T between the engine and tranny.  What you really need to know

What is the cruising down the highway temperature? That will be the Thermostat setting.  
Where is that on the analog, but not calibrated engine coolant gauge?

THEN, you will have a reference mark.  You can start out with a cold engine.  Then watch the engine coolant.  Mark, using a “sharpie”. The 150, 175, 200 and 225 points on the gauge face.  Then transfer those marks to the tranny.  NOW at least you have a reference point.  Hard to guess without a scale.

 

When I had the transmission scanned it was just below the top hash of the normal range and it was 180 degrees, so I then had some understanding of my gauge calibration, figured from that redline top must be about 250 degrees.  Driving down the road both coolant and trans temp show the same on each gauge, solid at the top hash of the normal range.  My BlueFire says the coolant temp is about 195 degrees, so I figure the trans must be about the same temp.   It also seemed the faster I traveled the cooler the gauges read.  When I had the trans temp spike parking I put it in neutral and held the RPM's up on the motor and she cooled right down.  I plan to add a second trans cooler with electric fan as I tow everywhere I go, figured it could only help.  The engine bay venting just seemed like it was also a good idea, and if the engine doors were exchangeable from another rear radiator rig it just seemed like a less "Rube Goldberg" way of doing it then cutting in grills.  I'm meeting my paint & body guy this weekend to see if there is anything he can do to modify the existing doors and still make them look great.  I would have thought there would already be a plug & play fix for this that I could just buy, but it seems like i'll have to do it the old fashion way and "Find a way" to make it work.  

[Tom Cherry]

1 minute ago, Bob Wightman said:

When I had the transmission scanned it was just below the top hash of the normal range and it was 180 degrees, so I then had some understanding of my gauge calibration, figured from that redline top must be about 250 degrees.  Driving down the road both coolant and trans temp show the same on each gauge, solid at the top hash of the normal range.  My BlueFire says the coolant temp is about 195 degrees, so I figure the trans must be about the same temp.   It also seemed the faster I traveled the cooler the gauges read.  When I had the trans temp spike parking I put it in neutral and held the RPM's up on the motor and she cooled right down.  I plan to add a second trans cooler with electric fan as I tow everywhere I go, figured it could only help.  The engine bay venting just seemed like it was also a good idea, and if the engine doors were exchangeable from another rear radiator rig it just seemed like a less "Rube Goldberg" way of doing it then cutting in grills.  I'm meeting my paint & body guy this weekend to see if there is anything he can do to modify the existing doors and still make them look great.  I would have thought there would already be a plug & play fix for this that I could just buy, but it seems like i'll have to do it the old fashion way and "Find a way" to make it work.  

I can’t speak to any issues, or not, with the older Scepter cooling system.  But, if you have a “calibrated” set of marks on yiur gauges, then great.  If you are running 195 on engine and the tranny is around the same point…ALL is well….and your thermostat would be good.  You DO need to make sure the tranny stays cooler.

I did some searching.  Allison says to not get in the 230 range, or downshift to get out.  The Transynd is OK for maybe 250, but you start or can potentially damage the shifter solenoids when you’re close to 250 or so.  I reread a post that I made…and I might have got to 210/215 climbing into Sequoia….but I downshifted… Allison said not to sweat it. 

NOW, from your inital posts, my take was you thought you had a cooling system issue.  But the ensuing posts and comments sound like things are pretty normal.  As to adding an additional tranny cooler or bypassing the radiator section and using a dedicated cooler, that is not cheap and many don’t have issues.  If you are really concerned, before I spent the big bucks…just for parts and the grunt labor, I would install a T and run dual sensors and have dual digital gauges up front.  But thats my take…it doesn’t sound broke…so why attempt to fix.

That then retraces the crux of the original post….  You have a closed box system and it needs some relief.  There is not, as I said, a plug and play or kit.  Many folks don’t sweat it or just live with it.  The logo on your Rig is North Trails.  Brett Howard is the most knowledgeable person I know and have chatted, several times, with and has a fantastic memory.  He was involved in the  “OK, what do we do?” process as well as having to help his crew fix something.  A DC powered fan, like those used on Aux Coolers would be my thought.  Air would come in from the lower doors, with plain, unfiltered, grills.  There are many suppliers of SS or ready to paint louvers.  Cut and fit them.  Then match the intake grill area with a large rectangular grill or vent in the top.  Use a 175 DegF thermostat and let the fan(s) exhaust the heat.  You may need a louvered upper grill with the louvers pointed down….then you should get the vacuum or Venturi effect while driving to help the fans.

That’s just my thoughts…

 

[jacwjames]

14 hours ago, Bob Wightman said:

I don't have an Aladdin system on my RV, I only have analog gauges.   I added a BlueFire engine monitoring system trying to read actual trans temp., the problem is that my port is only a 6 pin and so the BlueFire only reads coolant temp.  There is a port for the transmission that I had scanned, which showed that the high end of the normal range was about 180 degrees so I'm guessing the trans temp went up to around 230-250 when manuvering at low speeds.  I'm trying to figure out how to get both engine and transmission into the same diagnostic port so the Bluefire can display both, trying to get my 6 pin port to function as a 9 pin port.

I believe I only have a 6 pin connector that I plug my Silverleaf into and I'm able to get transmission temps.  I don't hardly look at my dash gauges as they are slower to respond and not as accurate.  With the Silverleaf it's pretty much instantaneous AND I have alarms set up for critical readings (volts, engine temp, tranny temp, oil pressure).

Is there not a way to scan for available data inputs for the Bluefire??

My tranny temps were always good until I had to have my radiator changed due to road debris damage.  Good or Bad I went with a CG&J radiator and after that I was seeing higher tranny temps.  I checked everything and ultimately I pretty much decided that it was the internal tranny cooler, I contacted CG&J and they could not tell me how they size the cooler, their only suggestion was to add a secondary cooler.  So initially I did, went with a Derale that I put in line with the radiator cooler, that worked great until it failed.  Finally just completely bypassed the cooler and installed cooler that I bought from Visione but did add the fan from the derale cooler.  https://rvchassisparts.visonerv.com/cgi-bin/md/M120007/s1.pl?

Disclaimer is that I have not been on a long trip yet but a local test drive the cooler did what it is designed to do.  The real test for me is when I back into my garage, I have to approach slow at and angle and the crank the steering wheel when the rear tires hit the concrete threshold at the door.  Backing up causes the transmission to essentially lock up and build heat.  Previously it would heat to ~230F, with the new cooler it got to ~185F.   There is a warning in the Allison Manual about be careful when using reverse due to potential for heat. 

[Bob Wightman]

6 minutes ago, jacwjames said:

I believe I only have a 6 pin connector that I plug my Silverleaf into and I'm able to get transmission temps.  I don't hardly look at my dash gauges as they are slower to respond and not as accurate.  With the Silverleaf it's pretty much instantaneous AND I have alarms set up for critical readings (volts, engine temp, tranny temp, oil pressure).

Is there not a way to scan for available data inputs for the Bluefire??

My tranny temps were always good until I had to have my radiator changed due to road debris damage.  Good or Bad I went with a CG&J radiator and after that I was seeing higher tranny temps.  I checked everything and ultimately I pretty much decided that it was the internal tranny cooler, I contacted CG&J and they could not tell me how they size the cooler, their only suggestion was to add a secondary cooler.  So initially I did, went with a Derale that I put in line with the radiator cooler, that worked great until it failed.  Finally just completely bypassed the cooler and installed cooler that I bought from Visione but did add the fan from the derale cooler.  https://rvchassisparts.visonerv.com/cgi-bin/md/M120007/s1.pl?

Disclaimer is that I have not been on a long trip yet but a local test drive the cooler did what it is designed to do.  The real test for me is when I back into my garage, I have to approach slow at and angle and the crank the steering wheel when the rear tires hit the concrete threshold at the door.  Backing up causes the transmission to essentially lock up and build heat.  Previously it would heat to ~230F, with the new cooler it got to ~185F.   There is a warning in the Allison Manual about be careful when using reverse due to potential for heat. 

my BlueFire has all the data inputs available, its just not getting any transmission Info because its a separate diagnostic port on my RV.  Being a 2006 all the mechanics are surprised that its not a 9 Pin plug, and most of their scanners won't even read the 6 pin plug.  There was one mechanic that scanned it that thought he could get the transmission data lead up into the drivers engine diagnostic port so the BlueFire could see it and then display that info.  I'll have to get back to him now that i'm back from the trip to see if he can actually do it.

What you did with the external transmission cooler is exactly what I have in mind.  After reading input from others I was considering using only an external cooler for the transmission.   On another toy I have (a swamp buggy I built) had to make the tranny cooler separate both to remove the heat from the radiator caused by the transmission so the engine ran cooler, it also removed the radiator heat from the tranny cooler so it ran cooler too.  On that rig I used two Derale coolers in line with each other (one probably would have been fine but I only wanted to do the job once) and that finally solved the heating problem there. I'm sort of using that experience on the Scepter to fix the tranny heat problem.  Could you provide the model number of the tranny cooler you used please? 

[96 EVO]

14 hours ago, Tom Cherry said:

   The only time the tranny goes up is on heavy grades as you start to climb into a mountainous area or, conversely, descend.  

 

Nope!

Transmission temperature will climb with torque converter slipping at very low speeds! The higher you have the RPM's set above engine manufacturers spec, the faster and hotter the tranny will get!

Been there!

[jacwjames]

15 minutes ago, Bob Wightman said:

  Could you provide the model number of the tranny cooler you used please? 

The Derale that I used was this https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008VQGVSU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Installed in Feb 2022, I went on several long trips and thought all was good until last Oct I was in Utah and it started leaking so I had to bypass.  I did contact Derale and they did send me a new core but I was leery.  They suggested it was due to hose vibration/weight but I had the hosed zip tied pretty good and there was no weight on it. 

So I decided to go with the one I provided a link to from Visione RV, $300 and I live close enough to make it worth my while to go pick  up.   This cooler is used on Monaco rear radiator coaches. 

But if you want new you can buy one here.  https://radiatorsupplyhouse.com/products/monaco-transmission-engine-cooler-rsh-4635-oc-rs-4821-rev-a-s01803904-724635

[jacwjames]

But my transmission cooling fan will do nothing to dissipate heat from the engine compartment.

But I also thing that adding louvers to the rear engine hatch door will help tranny heat that much since the radiator is pulling in cool air from the oustide already. 

[timaz996]

21 hours ago, Bob Wightman said:

My coolant system seems to be fine.  Even when the trans temp went up my coolant temp never went over 200 degrees.    I had considered cutting in and adding louvered vents to each door (still not out of the question), which is what got me started thinking that the doors on my 2004 Monaco Knight would be perfect for this application.  I then started looking at the size and they appear to be the same size as my Scepter.  I figured I could find a pair at Visone RV Salvage, and their website shows some that look great, just need to call them to see if they actually have any of what they show online (tried to buy a basement door for the Knight from them before and they didn't have ANYTHING they showed online available).  I was hoping somebody would know if they are the same size and interchangeable, if they are then that would be the best looking and I think best working solution...just have to have them painted to match my rig.

That sounds like a perfect idea. Evacuation of the heat is the way to go.

[isptbart]

I have a 2007 HR 42PLQ with 400 ISL & thought I needed more heat disipation. I cut openings in both my rear engine compartment doors & installed 4 stainless steel louvers. Note: I also installed 4 louvered vents in the sold area above the less sturdy doors as well. I also tow a heavy GMC 2500HD diesel truck, & fully loaded. The louvers do seem to help with the heat disipation.

 

[Bob Wightman]

9 hours ago, isptbart said:

I have a 2007 HR 42PLQ with 400 ISL & thought I needed more heat disipation. I cut openings in both my rear engine compartment doors & installed 4 stainless steel louvers. Note: I also installed 4 louvered vents in the sold area above the less sturdy doors as well. I also tow a heavy GMC 2500HD diesel truck, & fully loaded. The louvers do seem to help with the heat disipation.

 

I saw those exact stainless steel louvered vents and was considering using them, and I still may in the top solid area.  I was just concerned that they would be big enough and am still pursuing replacing the doors with some off of a rear radiator model coach.  If I cant find them, or if that option is too expensive, I'm considering 12x24 horizontal linear HVAC grills (one for each door) with a 4x60 linear grill in the solid area centered above the doors so it all looks symmetrical.  With the 12x24 I can also add temperature controlled electric fans to the back of them.  I also want to do the remote mounted transmission cooler, just to be safe.  My concern for all this is that I tow everywhere I go.  My trailer rigs run from a small airboat trailer and step up (I think I have 5 trailers) to a 28' dual tandem flatbed trailer that carries my swamp buggy, side-by-side, and ATV's (pictures attached of the 28' flatbed) that I've never weighed but approximate at 15-20K pounds total weight.  My last Monaco Knight with an ISC 8.3L 330HP Cummins with a 6 speed tranny towed all of these with no problems.  However, that rig did not have a transmission temp gauge so I really never knew if the tranny got hot, it just never seemed hot or gave any problems.   When I decided to get a larger rig I also decided a bigger motor would be a good idea so the ISL 8.8L 400HP Cummins in the Scepter seemed like the perfect combination.   The trip I just took was pulling the 20' dual tandem ATV trailer with two ATV's and a golf cart, the rig pulled it like it wasn't even there, the only problem was maneuvering at the campground and only with trans Temp.  To me, the engine bay compartment is poorly engineered as far as removing the heat, I think my plan will solve that problem.  If this works as expected I will post pictures and part numbers so that others can copy if they choose too and not have to do this much research.

[Tom Cherry]

It would REALLY be great if someone with the additional vents or louvers would do some inside (as that seems to be main issue and complaint) temperature measurements.  Maybe drive an hour with the louvers open or in place....then measure or read the back end or the closet (presumably above the engine) temperature.  THEN....

Use Painters tape and temporarily BLOCK off the louvers and drive another hour.  That would be definitive and take some of the subjective comments out of the equation.

Folks in later years, in the Camelots, where Monaco moved the main panel to the center bathroom do not have any electrical issues.

Even with the improved design of the rear hatch or door on the Camelots, it gets PLENTY hot back there....

ALSO, I wonder if adding a couple of fans inside the engine would also improve circulation. MOST of the Truck Stops sells high velocity cabin fans....with variable rheostat 12 VDC plugs.  I have one up front. It is simple to mount....a nice STURDY Spring Clasp (think a Boston Clip). It will move air like you would not believe.

IF you had two of these in the back, wired into a simple thermostat....say 180 DegF or so....and mounted so they turned one of the vents into a powered exhaust...if that would not make a lot of difference.  AGAIN...need to measure to evaluate...

Just a comment....

[Jetjockey]

Bob I am Curious is the 15-20k the weight of your towed items?.. seems like a lot to be attached to the hitch of the mh ?

Edited January 19 by Jetjockey

[Bob Wightman]

27 minutes ago, Jetjockey said:

Bob I am Curious is the 15-20k the weight of your towed items?.. seems like a lot to be attached to the hitch of the mh ?

Thank you for your concern, and I initially had the same concerns.  Although the total combined package probably weighs that much, the tongue weight is probably only 500-1000 pounds.  My 06 Ford F-350 tows the same package without a problem but does struggle a little getting up to speed, but the motorhome tows it with absolutely no problems.  The key is weight distribution when loading the trailer and having electric brakes on all axles of the trailer to get everything stopped.  On the 04 Knight the only problem I had to continually monitor was my speed...it towed the rig like it wasn't back there and sometimes I found myself driving like it wasn't there (look down and doing 75-80).  When towing I like to not exceed 65 MPH and I triple the following distance.  I expect the Scepter with the 8 bag suspension vs the Knight with 4 bag suspension will tow even better, and the bigger motor will also help.

[Scottr]

Have you considered testing the poor ventilation theory by removing the doors 1st ?  I’d want to be more clear on the potential benefits of cutting & installing vents ( even though, too much ventilation surely can’t hurt )