Cummins or Caterpillar ?

I think it is like "Chevy vs Ford" for sure. The thing I was told before I purchased my 2004 Winnebago Journey with a CAT 330 C7 was this: "If it's not a CAT, it's a dog". After 65,000 miles on my C7, I mostly agree.

It is moot to even discuss this as Cat hasn't made an OTR powerplant since 07/08. Unlike the Cats pre 02 they are problematic. The emission system never worked properly and they never provided a solution. Just walked away. Truckers often disable the EGR system on big Cats to make the engine decent. I might also add that none of the new engines have good emission systems. The sensors go bad, on big trucks the regens can happen every other day. Parts are sometimes 2 weeks away, sometimes even the factory engineers are dumbfounded. Multiple lawsuits. Many owners complain that their trucks can be out of service for 50 days a year. It is a nightmare. The only reason we RV'rs are not having these problems is our usage is minimal and the engines do not work hard. In 2 or 3 years some of these problems will show up in RV's as they get some miles. Not one engine mfr. has figured out how to meet the new emission standards without having problems. Even though the exhaust coming out of one of these new engines is cleaner than the air going in! You can thank CARB and the EPA for this mess. They are overrun with greenies who would like to see all diesel trucks off the road!

Moisheh

The answer depends on several things. Year #1. Both engines have great years and not great years. #2 if used, maintenance.

They tried. Completely wrong answer as usual.

Cat quit making truck engines because;

1. They were having huge warranty claims with the ACERT engines.

2. They were losing huge amounts of market share, particularly to Cummins.

3. The combination of 1 and 2 rendered their truck engine operations unprofitable.

4. They were unable to meet 2010 emissions standards with their current (ACERT) technology.

Rear engine vehicles will cool as well as front, Greyhound has tested them for over a 9.65 billion miles.

Well, I have had both Cummins engines and CAT engines. I used to say when I was driving Cummins powered motorhomes that I would not pick the motorhome based on the color of the engine. After having driven a CAT C9 for over 95,000 miles, I still say the same thing. I really could see no difference between the two as far as fuel economy, maintenance costs, or reliability. Regarding oil changes, my CAT went 20,000 miles or 1 year between oil changes, my Cummins ISC and ISB6.7 go 15,000 miles or 1 year. For me, it's once/year either way.

When CAT got out of the "on highway" business, what I read from CAT was that the "on highway" business accounted for less than 10% of their total business and it wasn't worth the cost of the investment to meet the latest emissions requirements at the time. I have heard through the grapevine that now that emissions have tightened up on "off road" diesel engines, they are considering re-entering the "on highway" market. One never knows!!!

CJBROWN wrote:

ArchHoagland wrote:
Problems

More problems

Noticed these articles some time ago.

The comments are just as interesting. Man, those guys got the goose.

It sounds like DEF has been the greatest boon to the diesel engine market. DPF is what has been a lot of problems with Ford/Navistar as well. Overheating, frequent maintenance, poor fuel economy.

I keep hearing all over to stay away from Navistar. Then I heard Monaco had gone down that road...damn! The Knight was always a favorite of mine, 36 footer with a big block.

Anyway, the comment about all motors having issues is telling, however projected life at 750K so them being comfortable with half that should leave a motorhome owner with a lot of years before problems can start.

My sis has had several of the diesels, a couple of Tours and now a Entegra with the ISX - 600hp. They have mentioned overheating on all of them, climbing grades with a big toad. IMO that should not be happening. No permanent damage and no complete failure, but still. My 8.1 gas has had the******run out of it towing max weight on steep grades and never even a bump on the temp gauge.

The tendency for diesel pushers to run hotter than an OTR truck with the same diesel engine hauling more weight is partially due to the location of the power plant. DP's must pull air out the back (rear radiator rigs) or pull cool air in (side radiator rigs) for cooling. Neither of these configurations is as efficient as the front radiator OTR truck. Also, some of the coach manufacturers spec a cooling pack that is not always up the to the task to save money (talk to folks with some of the mid 2000's Winnebago Vectra's/Itasca Horizons on the Freightliner with Cummins ISL----Winne specified a sandwich cooling pack that was not big enough to keep them cool under heavy loads). Rear radiator DP's tend to dirty up the radiator and they need periodic cleaning.

"More frequent" oil changes is a long debate for another thread. But the comment above about CAT not making emissions isnt true. Caterpillar is a huge global company, large enough that when their stock moves significantly, the entire planet steps back to figure out why and its impact to everything else. The OTR market was not their thing and is completely insignificant to the companys revnue. It was a resource drain to them at the time just prior to the 2008 crash.

That from the CEO in an interview on CNBC a few years ago. Hopefully now that the RV and transportation markets have recovered they will change their minds.

I have had both. The Cat was noisier mechanically and was more expensive to maintain. (valve adjustment, more frequent oil changes) I prefer my current Cummins over the Cat.

Both are fine engines. I opted for the Cummins because Cat no longer makes them for RVs.

ArchHoagland wrote:
Problems

More problems

Noticed these articles some time ago.

The comments are just as interesting. Man, those guys got the goose.

It sounds like DEF has been the greatest boon to the diesel engine market. DPF is what has been a lot of problems with Ford/Navistar as well. Overheating, frequent maintenance, poor fuel economy.

I keep hearing all over to stay away from Navistar. Then I heard Monaco had gone down that road...damn! The Knight was always a favorite of mine, 36 footer with a big block.

Anyway, the comment about all motors having issues is telling, however projected life at 750K so them being comfortable with half that should leave a motorhome owner with a lot of years before problems can start.

My sis has had several of the diesels, a couple of Tours and now a Entegra with the ISX - 600hp. They have mentioned overheating on all of them, climbing grades with a big toad. IMO that should not be happening. No permanent damage and no complete failure, but still. My 8.1 gas has had the******run out of it towing max weight on steep grades and never even a bump on the temp gauge.