Sorry to hear of your engine problem.
Here is the replacement of an 8.2 DD from the expertdiesel.com website. You could contact them for more info on the cost/benefit of a similar project.
Good Luck
Don

http://www.expertdiesel.com/im...8T-Daniels%20(2).jpg

The webpage that Don in Niagara sends you to is the final picture of a group of pictures showing the replacement of a Detroit Diesel 8.2 with a Caterpillar 3208. From looking at the picture I'm guessing this was an early 80's Barth Regency. According to the FMCA egg 316234, the Barth belongs (belonged) to Steven Daniels in Clinton, Mich.

Nick

The main thing is to have a rig checked out carefully before you set out. We did not do this. We paid the owner and drove it away. We hoped it would get us home, but in truth, we were talking about "switching out" engines before we even went to look at it.

Tim has decided he wants to have the coach home to work on it at his leisure, so we're having it shipped. We managed to find a shipping company who will take it on a "turnaround". This will cost us $2,500, instead of the $3,800. we were originally quoted. Our AAA coverage will help offset some of this cost.

Regan's Diesel was fair with us and Todd Regan adjusted the bill for the mobile mechanic when it was explained to him that Tim had asked the mechanic if it wasn't possible to find out if the engine had seized prior to welding and re-installing the bracket for the compressor (The mechanic had told him the compressor had to be installed before we could see if the engine would crank over.)

We've been in touch with an outfit in Modesto that rents trucks and has a Ford International 7.3 for $6K and a Cummins 8.3 w/ Allison world for 5K. Haven't even had a chance to follow up w/ Gary's suggestion about contacting Pensky or Budget regarding their fleet sales yet, so I feel hopeful. We will make sure we check out a replacement engine carefully before we buy.

It truly has been an adventure in the best sense of the word. Not always pleasant, but informative if I'm willing to look at myself. We've had our share of inspirational moments and smiles the last 9 days. What is really sick though, is the fact that we've taken to tooling around in a rental car and referring to the concrete parking lot of the truck stop as "home."

I appreciate the commraderie and support of this on-line community. Be well, y'all.

I don't know that you could have foreseen the issue even with a fairly intense inspection. I assume the "compressor bracket" that broke was the A/C compressor, throwing the belt, and stopping the water pump. Usually, unloading the engine and stopping immediately is enough to avoid damage to the engine, although the coolant may boil off after stopping (as long as there's coolant to boil off, no damage is likely to have occurred).

The International 7.3L is about as bulletproof a light-medium truck engine there is (I have the ancestor 6.9L in my Ford van), but IMHO, it's better suited to local cartage than O-T-R. The C8.3L is better matched to shoving a 15 T RV around on the highway, especially since where you live, excursions through the mountains are a certainty.

I agree with Rusty the 8.3 cummins would be a better choice if it would fit. But it is quite a bit (a lot) longer than the 8.2 detroit. Check and see how long the driveshaft currently is.

However that being said there are a ton of Ford PUs grossing out over 20K with the 5th wheel on the back, so it would be no big deal in a 16,000 pound Barth.

I agree that the 7.3L is fine for 16K lbs. (mine does fine with the AMG 6.5L TD), but their 34' is ~25K lbs., a bit much IMHO.

My opinion would be to tell you to go with a 3208 Cat. Relatively easy to find parts and service for that configuration.

Now, in regards to the DT444 (glorified 7.3L) is to tell you to avoid it from a Penske/Budget/Ryder leasing takeout. While it is true that these trucks could pull more weight than your MH is pulling, these trucks were usually loaded to an extreme if it was in a captured fleet. I can tell you I was regularly chasing these for for the leasing division of these companies for "Low Power" complaints. You can't add any more CID to these engines and the power was maxed out already.

The DT444 has 444CID.
The 8.2L Detroit has 502CID.
The 3208 Cat has 636CID.

I am comparing these engines only because these would be the replacement for a V8 Configuration. Seeing that this had low power with a 8.2l, I couldn't justify telling them to go the route of putting in a smaller engine.

Tires size, rear end ratio, trans speed, should all be taken into consideration when spec'ing out a new powerplant. The need for a charge air cooler and re-plumbing of hoses and lines are other areas to think about. Yes, having the luxury of a complete vehicle to strip down might be worth looking into. Because of this, the cost/power ratio might ultimately make the DT444 the winner.

Thought-provoking comments; and now we have the space and time to contemplate the next move. We just got home, and our coach was safely delivered last night.

The airbags in rear of coach were easy to get down. On the front valve there was apparently a bad solenoid, which prevented them from operating properly. The valve was disconnected from the solenoid in order to empty the airbags in front. That, along with deflating the tires some brought the height down to less than 11 feet so we could get it on a low-boy.

SOOO glad to be home.