Forum Discussion

PSW's avatar
PSW
Explorer
Jul 16, 2014

Ford E350 V10 shifting

I am curious about others experience with the Ford vehicles when in mountains. Our Phoenix Cruisr 2350 is pulling a Jeep Cherokee which weighs about 4044 curb pounds. I am surprised how the V10 seems to really pull down on mountain passes, granted they are Rocky Mountain passes where I have experienced this and I am towing. After one trip in June (and planning another in August) we will probably just unhook the Jeep and my wife will drive it up the passes. We will be boondocking above 10,000 feet so I am not talking hills.

Here is my question. Do most Class C Ford owners use the tow/haul mode which, as I understand it, just changes the shifting points, or do they not use it and just use the downshift from the standard drive position, as well as engine speed to maintain momentum. I was down to 25 mph going up Bobcat Pass (a little less than 10,000 feet) in Northern New Mexico last month. Maybe that is just the way it is? Our most previous RV was a Roadtrek Class B 210P with the Chevy 6.0L, not towing, and it was really maxed out weight wise but still did fine on passes.

ALSO...I have read in some places that the V10 is designed to develop max torgue at 4500-5000 rpms. Is that correct? I read on another forum a discussion that indicated that was no problem, but I always hate to "cram" an engine.

Any experiences, direction or suggestions you could give me would be appreciated.

Paul
Class C
  • BruceMc's avatar
    BruceMc
    Explorer III
    Jul 17, 2014
    We have an older unit - 1999 chassis with the 4 speed tranny. We regularly see 4000 rpm on the tach (ScanGaugeII as the early models were not equipped with a tach in the cluster), and a few times, a little higher. I don't believe I've ever run it over 4500.
    We've been all over the mountains in the west; its rare that we drop below 40, but then again we are not towing and packing 18K combined. This year has the 285 hp V10 so we have less horses to do the job than your 2013.

    As Golden_HVAC stated, the V10 has small cylinders with a short stroke - it takes a lot of rpms to get any power out of them. I like to refer to it as "10 little cylinders, running just as fast as they can..."

    The population of the US in general was raised on big engines with large bores and long strokes. We are not used to running big engines at high rpms... "its just wrong" in so many folks minds.

    Mash the petal, Have fun!

    And to the person whose opinion on minimum speed laws, yes there are, but that is on flat/gentle grades - on steep grades, you'll encounter any number of large vehicles creeping along at 10-20mph, up and down, and it is to be expected. In fact, it is very desirable to limit the speed of a 120K lb truck to 20mph heading downhill! A motorhome at 10k to 20k is no exception.
  • PSW's avatar
    PSW
    Explorer
    Jul 17, 2014
    Thanks for the responses. Two have asked the year of my rig: 2013 Phoenix Cruiser 2350, Ford E350 V10.
  • carringb's avatar
    carringb
    Explorer
    Jul 17, 2014
    One thing to keep in mind is manually shifting into 1, 2, or 3 pulls it out of auto, and it will not downshift even at wide-open-throttle.

    The Ford transmissions actually tend to shift early. You can take advantage of the high end HP by holding a lower gear than normal. 5,000 RPM in the V10 won't hurt a thing.

    What year is your chassis? There were some 2009's that had an obstructed air intake, and Ford will fix that.

    25 MPH does sounds slow, but at higher elevations that could be normal, simply because of the lack of air.
  • Hank85713's avatar
    Hank85713
    Explorer
    Jul 17, 2014
    I find tow/haul not much help in climbs. I will go to direct (3) and maintain rpms as best as can be. I do use t/h from a stop on hills and sometimes on going down. Other than that find it of little use.

    we tow a 2700lb hyundai and I was down to 25 going up wolf creek in colorado, just after the switchback at the maintenance yard. crested finally at 36 mpg! I do run a 5 star tuner and it seems to help, going thru denver had almost no throttle response at 7000 ft, was able to keep up between 60-65 but that was with pedal to floor. At 8000ft on the high plains had no issues maintained 65mph and had some response to throttle inputs.

    Like others I do not like 4500-5000+rpm surges, but I will live with them to keep the rig going for short spells. I run a scan gauge and the most HP it has indicated even at 4500rpm was 245 pulling a hill out on rte 77 from mammoth, az. So I am not real sure where the actual peak hp torque match up.

    As to unhooking, several guys I spoke with do just that when encountering high/hard pulls. I cant, wife does not want to drive the towd or in mountains! So I guess I will continue to make do. I am planning on getting a better free flow muffler and am trying to find a good free flow air intake.

    Again these are my observations, thought on the matter. there are many that disagree but that is to be expected on any forum.
  • Desert_Captain's avatar
    Desert_Captain
    Explorer III
    Jul 17, 2014
    The V-10 is a robust, nearly bulletproof workhorse that you will not hurt by letting it run. Do your homework folks, if 4,000+ rpm offends then the V -10 is not the engine for you. Max torque at 3,200 and max Hp around 4200-4400 is where this engine does what it does best.

    Put your foot into it and go. Please do not crawl up the long grades at 25 mph to save a couple of dollars which besides being stupid, dangerous, rude and illegal in most states (hello, there are minimum speed limits that apply), it is usually unnecessary. If you cannot climb a 6% grade at 50-55 get thee to a scale and you might just find out why. If you are within your weight limits the only weak limit is the driver. Keep in mind that 305/420 V-10 in your E-350 is also found in most Class C's up to 32' and fair number of Class A's.

    Yes a light right foot garners better mileage, I cruise at 55 to 62 max but the power is there at your disposal as needed and long grades are the time to tap in.

    As always.... opinions and YMMV.

    :C
  • Golden_HVAC's avatar
    Golden_HVAC
    Explorer
    Jul 17, 2014
    cgmartine wrote:
    My 2008 Tioga with a V-10, is an e450, without towing, does the same thing. When going up any kind of steep climb, it goes down to 25 to 30 miles per hour. I know they say that the engine can take higher rpms, above 4,000, and I be alone on this... but I think that is excessive. Yes, some here say the v-10 was made for that, and more, and that lugging is just as bad, but I for one, do not want my engine screaming at those higher revs and going thru a gallon of gas every few feet. That's just me, I just don't want my engine revving that high. During a recent trip this past June, I kept the rpms at no higher than 2,500, in any type of terrain. I may be babying my motorhome, but it is my baby!


    Trying to keep the RPM's around 2,500 - 3000 is not letting the engine work very hard. 3,600 is never going to damage even the older big V8's with pushrods. The overhead cams can take 4,000 - 5,000 RPM's because they will not have pushrod "Float" - like the older V8's.

    And the piston of the 6.8L is so much smaller than my 460" V8 (7.5L with 8 cylinders, so nearly 1 liter per cylinder). The V10 is only 0.68 liters per cylinder, and the pistons stroke is very short, so higher RPM's are OK.

    However I don't think I would be running the V10 beyond 4,200 RPM's. 4,000 you can run it all day.

    Fred.
  • cgmartine's avatar
    cgmartine
    Explorer
    Jul 17, 2014
    My 2008 Tioga with a V-10, is an e450, without towing, does the same thing. When going up any kind of steep climb, it goes down to 25 to 30 miles per hour. I know they say that the engine can take higher rpms, above 4,000, and I be alone on this... but I think that is excessive. Yes, some here say the v-10 was made for that, and more, and that lugging is just as bad, but I for one, do not want my engine screaming at those higher revs and going thru a gallon of gas every few feet. That's just me, I just don't want my engine revving that high. During a recent trip this past June, I kept the rpms at no higher than 2,500, in any type of terrain. I may be babying my motorhome, but it is my baby!
  • bobojay5's avatar
    bobojay5
    Explorer
    Jul 17, 2014
    While I don't own a V10 Ford, but after having had a vehicle with the tow/haul mode, always, always use the TH mode when towing and/or in the mountains.

    It changes the shift points for the better and raises the line pressure in the trans for firmer shifts, (among other things), to help keep the heat down.

    Since you didn't say which year your PC 2350 is, I'm assuming it's a newer one with V10 engine specs of 420 ft lbs of torque at 3250 rpm and 305 hp at 4250 rpm.
    Your 6.8 is an OHC, (overhead cam) gas engine, and they thrive on rpm to make their power. So I feel like you should be running your engine at somewhere between 4200 to 4400 rpm in whatever gear, with tow/haul on, you need to maintain safe speed at that rpm without using the cruise control. Just hold it there till topping the crest of the hill. This is what I would do.....

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