Travel has run through Land O’ Lakes since a stagecoach line crossed the area by the 1840s. The coaches are a good deal heavier now, and when a diesel pusher needs work on the part that moves it, RDI Power’s Brooksville shop is about 28 road miles up US-41 from central Land O’ Lakes. We service and repair motorhome engines, transmissions and chassis, including air brakes and suspension.
US-41 north from Land O’ Lakes in a diesel pusher
No toll road is needed. The coach goes north on US-41, past Connerton and into Hernando County, and SR-50 (Cortez Boulevard) finishes the trip to Donto Way. Allow about 45 minutes. Call ahead with the coach’s length and height so a bay is open when you pull in.
A coach that is not healthy should not make that drive. Air pressure that will not build, a temperature gauge climbing, a coolant leak at the back or a transmission stuck in limp mode can all get worse over 28 miles. Call (352) 433-3800 first. A mobile technician may be able to diagnose the coach at a campground, and if it has to come to Brooksville, we will help plan the heavy tow.
Air brakes and suspension on a Land O’ Lakes coach
Most diesel pushers ride on air and stop on air, and both systems give warning before they fail:
- Slow air buildup after a cold start points to a tired compressor, a leak or a failing air dryer.
- A coach that leans or sits low at 1 corner after parking often has a leaking air spring or a bad leveling valve.
- Brake chambers and slack adjusters wear the way they do on a heavy truck, and adjustment that keeps drifting is a sign of worn parts.
- Shocks and bushings that have given up let the coach wallow in crosswinds and wear the tires unevenly.
Leaks get found with the system aired up and the brakes applied, where they actually show, and the failed part is replaced rather than patched.
Cummins, Caterpillar and Allison work for Land O’ Lakes owners
Pushers commonly carry Cummins or Caterpillar engines, and RDI Power is Caterpillar certified. Rear engine bays run hot and tight, so belts, hoses and wiring age faster there, and rear-mounted radiators and charge air coolers collect road grime until the coach runs warm on every long pull. Cleaning and inspecting that cooling stack comes before anyone condemns a fan drive or radiator. Most of these coaches use an Allison automatic, and shift complaints start with the fluid, the stored codes and a road test. Fuel injection, turbochargers and scheduled oil and filter service round out the engine side.
After a Land O’ Lakes summer in storage
Coaches that sit through the hottest months come back with a predictable list: chassis batteries run down, fuel that has aged or picked up water, tires that aged in the sun regardless of tread depth, and seals that dried out and started to weep. Before the first trip of the season, have the chassis looked over; our RV maintenance checklist for long-distance travel covers the owner’s half of the list.
Our work stops at the chassis and drivetrain; the living quarters belong with an RV coach technician. For everything that makes the coach go, stop and steer, see RV service and repair. Each coach gets a digital inspection with photos, and the labor is backed for 3 years or 36,000 miles. A coach that wanders or wears its front tires unevenly may also need our Land O’ Lakes truck alignment service, and owners just up US-41 can read the Connerton RV repair page.