[Richard]

Ole,

I am trying to keep in mind that the coach and Newell design is new to you. Furthermore, I have to keep in mind that you are not at the coach to visualize some of the things we discuss.

Hopefully this explanation of the cooling system setup will help ease your mind IF you decide to drive it as is.

There is an expansion tank located above the radiator. To access the radiator cap and fill point, you open a small access hatch on the driver side at about 7 ft off the ground. That tank feeds the radiator. There is a coolant sensor in the expansion tank that will give an alarm on the dash AND derate the engine if the sensor tells the engine computer that you are low on coolant.

In addition, there is a small hose at the radiator cap that feeds into an overflow tank that you can see in the engine compartment. The original overflow tanks looked like a grey pony keg and were made by Alize. If it hasn’t cracked by now, it eventually will. Many replace that tank with a different plastic jug or better yet an aluminum tank.

One more thing to be aware of. Newell put an engine override switch on the dash to force the computer to allow the engine to run even with an error code. It is only for one to two minutes, and you have to hold the switch. The purpose is to get you to the shoulder if something wacky occurs.

The key points being:
If you have a substantial leak, you will get an alarm on the dash.
If you have a catastrophic leak, the override switch will help get you to the side of the road.
If you decide to drive with the leak, refill at the EXPANSION tank, not the overflow tank you see in the engine compartment.
If you decide to drive, you could have up to a 100 or more gallons of water on board to use. Of course no one recommends putting tap water in a coolant system, but honestly when you fix the radiator you are going to flush the system and put new coolant in anyway.