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Trailer or Vehicle
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We pulled a honda Pilot for many years and never got the odor, but have always got it with the Jeep Wrangler.Every other Wrangler owner I have talked to gets the same odor.
Tom
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We get a strong rubber smell when we tow our Equinox but when we tow our GMC Z71 there is none.
Always wandered why.
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Same with me, I have pulled an 09 and a 13 Wrangler, both smelled like burnt rubber. I even get that smell from my 13 F150. I do not get it from my HHR.
I think it is the way the exhaust system catches the particles under the toad. Some are worse than others.
When I pull my stacker, no smell at all. So it has to be heat related after starting the toad, as said by others.
Also, I think you’ll find that you do not get a smell from any of them, UNTIL you crank them up.
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We got the burning rubber smell from our ’07 Honda CR-V and the same from our ’13. It wears off after a while but we were concerned at first.
The smell is obviously stronger and lasts longer if we tow the Honda for an extended period of time, for example, towing it for three days without driving it.
Mark
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Thank you!
You all have made us feel much better! We have been killing ourselves that we followed the directions in the owners manual and screwed up our Jeep anyway!
This community is wonderful! I have NEVER been able to get answers from such knowlegeable people at my fingertips so quickly in my life!
I hope I can help a newby rookie someday!
Thanks again!
Can’t wait to meet one or many of y’all soon!
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I have a question about towing a trailer– we are looking at a 24′ Featherlite Stacker to tow behind our ’91 Prevost Liberty with an 8V92 and 4-speed Allison. Has anyone experienced any transmission problems or engine overheating while towing a stacker? The hitch will be upgraded, electric brakes installed and we do have a tranny cooler. Any info is appreciated.
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This is solely a guess, mostly because there are some unknowns.
To a great extent you control the biggest part of the question, and that is the weight of the trailer when you are towing it. Clearly the heavier the trailer the more work the engine will be doing. Your vintage of coach if my memory is correct is right around or slightly prior to Prevost opening up the slots in the RH side engine area doors to accomodate the higher HP 8V92 engines. Clearly for proper cooling a lot air has to flow and because there was no slots or very small slots in the rear doors the air had to go out the bottom below the bumper, or out the passenger side door. The converters were putting a full width flap beneath the bumper, and while it looked nice, it may have inhibited air flow. Keep that in mind.
The 2 stroke engines are strong, but they do not like to be lugged down. They are happier at higher RPMs and if they are working hard keeping them well into the higher RPMs is better than lugging them 1500 or below. One characteristic I think is solely a 2 stroke issue is the engines must somehow contribute to plugging the cooling system. Obviously on those it is critical to adhere to the coolant system maintenance schedule. If you are not sure if you have issues, pulling a load up a long climb will reveal problems in a hurry. If the coolant change intervals and the chemistry have not been maintained, or if the wrong coolant has been used it would not surprise me to learn the radiator is occluded and may have to be recored. Silicone dropout was a major problem.
To learn the condition of your cooling system a hot day with over 80 outside air temps, a 6% uphill grade that is at least 5 or 6 miles long and a heavy toad are all you need to test the system. Your engine should run all day long at around 175 to 185 on any day of the week. When you pull a long steep grade you can expect the temps to climb to 195, but no higher. If you see 200 begin to realize you might have the start of a plugged radiator, and if it gets to 205 or higher you definitely need repairs. The heavier the load, the steeper the hill, the higher the OAT and the longer the run all influence engine temps, and if they get to 200 and are still climbing, you probably need to get to a lower gear and a higher RPM.. If that doesn’t start to bring temps down, it might be time to give the gal a rest to get the temps down to 170 or so. 2 stroke engines do not like heat and heat is a quick way to turn a perfectly good engine into a paper weight.
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Thanks, Jon. We will watch for those things!
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Don and Joanne:
I previously owned a 1990 with 8V92 and 5-speed auto…you have 4-speed?
I towed a single level trailer extensively grossing at 12000# in high ambient temps. I removed the rear flap, installed vented rear doors, replaced the radiator, hoses, water pump and coolant. I would often have to gear down manually and reduce speed on hills to maintain 205. In addition, I would expect you to run high rear axle temps.
Sorry,ouut
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Sorry, I would absolutely not recommend a stacker behind an 8V92 unless, maybe, you acquired one of the expensive lightweight all aluminum trailers, but you’d still have more wind resistance than I had.
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We actually did get a 2001 Featherlite All Aluminum stacker. It was used very little but the tires were weather checked so they put new Michellins on it, checked our hitch and deemed it capable, wired up the trailer to the coach and installed a brake controller. The trailer is only a few inches taller than our coach. We had to do a lot of measuring to be sure it is tall enough to haul what we want (classic cars). The right rear access door on the coach has the big vents, so that should help with heat in the engine compartment. Fingers crossed – we will be heading north shortly!!
1999 XLV X-6872, liberty #440 -
I forgot to mention — we are in Sanflord, FL at Donnie Myers RV Service. We have been here since 9 AM Thursday and it is now 11:30 AM Friday and we are ready to pull out. I found out this morning from the salesman, Floyd, that Jon stopped in here yesterday. Wish I had known that, I would have liked to meet him. Small world!!
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You MIGHT not be too bad if you’re operating in ambient temps below 90, but watch the coolant and axle temps. I assume your vintage has a rear axle temp gauge. If not, put one in. Your coach has a smaller axle than the later models and you can exceed 300F if you’re not careful. Slowing will cool the axle as will the installation of full synthetic oil. Keep the revs up and gear down and slow down on hills as necessary to keep your coolant temps under control or you may be looking at cracking a head.
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Don’t forget that mud flap. Remember also if your temps go higher than 195 when pulling a hill you are getting into the temperature range that is the first sign of inadequate cooling. In your case the reason might be the trailer, but don’t rule out a cooling system in need of maintenance like a flush or recoring of the radiator.
I am troubled by the assurance the hitch is OK. That vintage coach only had a 10,000 pound hitch and a 20,000 pound hitch was rare. Those limits are not arbitrary and exceeding them results in hidden structural damage. Unless you know for sure your allowable tongue weight is 1000 pounds 6 or 8″ from the bumper. I have seen both so I don’t know which you have. Either way that is a critical limit to observe.
I don’t think anyone on here has as much heavy towing experience as Joel so his comments are very important.
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Jon, does that temperature range apply only to the 2 cycle engines?
My 60 series runs normally at 195, fan comes on at about 205 and in Arizona this past week on a 5 mile 7% incline I saw 210. All with no problems.
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