Looking for some insight

[Howard Moon Thoughts]

Hey everyone,

Fresh and new here, and I come with a 1995 IH 3800 t444e, mostly converted.

The previous owner set it up as ‘dry’ winter camper for use in the mountains, which is very much my intent with it too.

Now, the nitty gritty.
What I know:
1995 IH 3800 t444e
Front engine A175F
Engine runs strong, but significantly loses speed on hills (90kph down to 35kph on steeper ones)
Exhaust and muffler need to be replaced
Drove Long distance back to back days, 5 hrs one, 8 the next
How to work on VW ‘bay window’ vans
It has an Auto trans

What I don’t know:
How to identify my tranny (I suspect at545
Why I’m inclined to abnormal hobbies


So, long and short is I have to safety it, as I’m completing the conversation for the RV designation, and will have some moderate maintenance to do before taking it in. Any resources to help ID the tranny would be appreciated, my forum search proved fruitless.

Thanks!

[rossvtaylor]

I appreciate the humor in your intro! Here's a manual photo, showing the difference between an AT545 and the MT models. And here's what an Allison data plate looks like, which should be riveted on the side of the tranny...but perhaps hidden in gunk?[ATTACH][/ATTACH]

[s2mikon]

Welcome to the asylum. Owning a skoolie is just like the Hotel California! Take a pic of the tranny and post it. Most likely a 545. I have had 2 545's over the years still have 1 their not bad if you keep them cool. Extra cooler and a gauge works. These things are HEAVY so don't expect pickup truck performance. And they aren't chick magnets either. After some posts I think 5 you can post pictures. So strut your stuff.

[s2mikon]

And by the way, most of us here do have abnormal hobbies. I'm still looking for a therapist that owns a skoolie so....

[rossvtaylor]

Originally Posted by s2mikon

And by the way, most of us here do have abnormal hobbies. I'm still looking for a therapist that owns a skoolie so....

Exactly! We have 3 Gilligs, an MCI, a GM, and a Dodge...plus two ambulances. And I'm always looking for another vintage bus. But I thought this was therapy?

[Oscar1]

Originally Posted by rossvtaylor

Exactly! We have 3 Gilligs, an MCI, a GM, and a Dodge...plus two ambulances. And I'm always looking for another vintage bus. But I thought this was therapy?

You definitely have an illness!

[Howard Moon Thoughts]

Thanks for the info and warm welcome, fellas. I think the combination house Reno /car build will help build character, if nothing else. At least that’s what I’m telling my kids.

Being unfamiliar with the driving characteristics, I’m not sure if it’s normal to have a drop in speed that significant. I expected it to be slow. However, it seems slow enough for all the age appropriate single women to catch up on foot..and this displeases my wife. So is ‘to the floor at 2600 rpm and you get what you get’ pretty normal, or am I starting on a heroes journey to discover the skills I’ve always possessed, but never tested?

[Howard Moon Thoughts]

I’m guessing once the plate is clean I’ll need to decode the data to confirm type and specs. Is there an easy resource for this?

[s2mikon]

Post it here. Somebody on this forum is champing at the bit to join you in your abnormal hobby and encourage you to test your limits.

[s2mikon]

Here is something to better help you see what is needed in the way of horsepower and fuel usage and speed on grades. https://rvtechlibrary.com/engine/Cat_RV_Performance.pdf I have used the data and it is very close to what I have experienced in real life.

[Howard Moon Thoughts]

Yeah, this nails it home. She just built that way.