2000 Patriot with Hurricane Hydronics

[Phil And Carol Upham]

We were at Beaudry's during the Monaco Rally.  Our Hurricane decided to act up and began to cut off abruptly.  It has done this in the past and not been a major issue.  I figured the nozzle was dirty and asked Beaudry's to do a service on the system.  A mechanic came to the rig and diagnosed the water pump as the problem.  He ordered the part and we were serviced after the Rally.  The System continued to malfunction and parts had to be 2nd day aired in.  I assumed it was just an O ring needed.  They replaced the nozzle, , ignitor, O Ring, and fuel filter on top of the water pump.  I was surprised at all of these parts and the price attached to them.  I have had the unit serviced in the past and have never had anything like this.  I was told by the Service Manager this was the service kit Hurricane sends.  I am not feeling real happy with this and am wondering if this is a normal service for the system.  Over $800 has been spent toward the service and repair of this system.  I'd appreciate some input on this.
Phil

[Gerald Farris]

It sounds like you got the "shotgun" repair method, but only because the ignitor was replaced along with the nozzle. The nozzle is cleanable on the Hurricane system, but if you are paying $100+ labor rates, it will be cheaper to replace it than clean it. The same thing may pertain  to the other parts that were replaced, in that you just replace all of the likely parts instead of spending a lot of labor to determine the minimum number of parts that are needed.

If you would like a copy of the technican training tape for the Hurricane system, just drop me an e-mail personally and I will send you one (DVD). You may not want to repair the unit yourself, but at least you will know how to repair it.

Gerald  

[LEAH DRAPER]

My experience with the Huricane in my previous 99 Thunder ( the one with the park brake that kept falling off) was nothing but trouble. It only worked when the technician was there.  Had I kept the coach I would have replaced it with a unit that Bend Service center recommended that fits exactly where the Huricane does.  Rixen Enterprises in Portland now sells them and Bend people say that the are MUCH LESS troublesome.  I was told by shop here in Albuquerque that they will not even work on them because of the problems in keeping them working.

[Phil And Carol Upham]

I have to laugh.  Spent all that time and money at Beaudry's and it does not function as well as it did before.  I appreciate all the comments and help.  I am going to try to bleed the air from the system and hopefully that works.  Fortunately we will be in Yuma for the winter so heating, though needed, will not be as critical.  Thanks again,
Phil

[Lamar Keck]

I'm sitting here laughing also. We went down that road also, but not to the tune of 800.00 but it was up  there in the high note range. You need to contact Roy Mueller , one of our members. He knows all about the Hurricane system. We have a 2000 Marquis with a Hurricane in it , close to 6000 Hours on it. I think all parts have been replaced at least once in it. and if it wasn't for Roy it would probably never run right. He will be in Yuma around the 15th of December. And it won't cost you 100.00+ plus an hour for labor either Roy can also install the heater that Jim sells. It could also be the exhaust system on the Hurricane that is your problem and not the Hurricane itself.The Hurricane Heater system can be a pain on your back side (If you know what I mean.) If you have any other question don't hesitate to give Roy or I a call.

Lamar Keck

[Phil And Carol Upham]

We are in Tom's RV Repair in Alb.  Gene, the tech, found the coolant levels low which caused the thermo-sensor to shut the unit down.  Apparently coolant was not added when the pump was replaced.  While we were here a fan failed and caused the system to not work at all.  We replaced the fan and the system is working well.

[Tom and Pam Brown]

I have the hurricane on my 99 marquis I bought in July 09.  I have worked on the hurricane with the aid of the folks that manufactured the unit.  They have a 800 number and are more than willing to walk you through any issues.  I had to replace the fuel pump in mine, and the tech gave me the pump part number made by Facet, and I ordered it thorugh a marine supply store in Miami for less than $50.
I encourage you, if you have more issues, to contact the mfgr.

[Randy Perry]

No issues with my Hurricane yet but ya got me worried What's that number when I have problems?

[Richard And Babs Ames]

http://www.beaveramb.org/CoachAsst/Components.htm#Appliances

Under Beaver Coach Assist on our home page Pete Bradish has some contact information. He did this reference a few years ago but it is still an excellent source for finding manufacturers of you coach conponents. Some of the clickable URL's are no longer good because of the merging and closingof some suppliers.

[Tom and Pam Brown]

the telephone number is 1-800-993-4402.
Normally they will take your number and call you back.

[Gerald Farris]

I have a few copies of the Hurricane service tech training tape that I will gladly give to any club member with a Hurricane heater (as long as they last). I will be at the Indio, Quartzsite, and Albuquerque International (lead-in) rallies. So if you need one just stop by and ask.

Gerald

[Glenn Perkins]

In addition to ITR (manufactirer) located in Vancouver WA @ 360-993-4877, I would also recommend Mike Flowerday ... in Cathedral City in the winter ... @ 541.410.5555 who has bailed me out more than once.  Most recently he identified a NAPA fuel pump that with a little plumbing form an external mount worked just fine.

[Larry Fritz]

I have a 98 Patriot with the original Hurricane system with the V10 circuit board. I have kept it running myself and become pretty familiar on it's operation. Each winter before we leave the cold Nebraska home, I really check it out and always do the following:
1. Clean the nozzle (I use acetone)
2. Make sure the nozzle O ring is good. Use a magnifier and be thorough.
3. Inspect the burner inside.
4. Bleed the fuel line.

Then, most important is to run it a couple of days in advance of the trip so if any bugs show up I can fix it prior to departure. Especially look for water leaks in both the coolant lines and the fresh water lines to the water heater.

For those of you inclined to work on your own system, I would offer these tips:
a) Get the manuals. You can find most on the web and ITR has some.
b) Carry a spare O ring and the ignition parts.
c) Get the VHS tape on repair. It is really good and very descriptive.

For my system  which has 6000 hrs on it, cleaning the nozzle and bleeding the fuel line with the T valve seem to be the best two things I do. If you have the manuals, they will emphasize this.

Hope this helps someone.

Larry and Grace Fritz
(408) 515-5957

[Keith Moffett]

Just a bit of info. that might also be helpful.
Previous ownesr of our 98 Patriot said that the hurricane never did work.  We went to Vancover ITR (the manufacturer).  Turns out that the installer on many Beavers and Safaris, installed an exhaust system for the hurricane which was twice the maximum length allowed.  This caused over heating and burned circut boards.
Steve at ITR was very helpful.  They all but rebuilt my unit and replaced the main board  and exhaust.  Then they charged me about half what it was worth.