GM GVWR/GCWR chassis/powertrain questions
Starting to do my research here, but it seems very few people ask the questions that I do. I'm indifferent to class A vs class C, I'm after something no bigger than 25' and I'm sure either can accomod...
Forum Discussion
I only tow lightly with my V10 (aluminum boat). But I can tell from how it drives and "feels" that it has way more power available than I have to tap into.
Note that the Ford V10 is a different kind of truck engine from the big old relatively low RPM thumping V8's most of us were raised on. It's a high RPM truck engine so you have to wind it up to tap it's horsepower - which then gets converted into torque at the rear wheels. It's common to run V10s on long pulls up steep mountain grades at 4500 RPM or higher for long periods of time. Many folks are not used to this so they think that diesels of around the same equivalent horsepower "pull better" just because diesels develop their horsepower at lower engine RPMs. Ford takes care of overall vehicle gearing in the E450 chassis so that their V10 high RPM horsepower gets converted into all the torque to the ground needed at the rear wheels. The V10 is at the same time very durable ... with many private and commercial owners reporting usable life in the 400,000 to 500,000 mile range.
Search these forums for much more info on the Ford V10 - what it can do. Here's a typical discussion thread on V10 performance partially related to what you're investigating - but there are many more discussions in the forums, including those specific to it's raw towing ability if you drive it right:
http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/26999653/srt/pa/pging/1/page/1.cfm
Note that the Ford V10 is a different kind of truck engine from the big old relatively low RPM thumping V8's most of us were raised on. It's a high RPM truck engine so you have to wind it up to tap it's horsepower - which then gets converted into torque at the rear wheels. It's common to run V10s on long pulls up steep mountain grades at 4500 RPM or higher for long periods of time. Many folks are not used to this so they think that diesels of around the same equivalent horsepower "pull better" just because diesels develop their horsepower at lower engine RPMs. Ford takes care of overall vehicle gearing in the E450 chassis so that their V10 high RPM horsepower gets converted into all the torque to the ground needed at the rear wheels. The V10 is at the same time very durable ... with many private and commercial owners reporting usable life in the 400,000 to 500,000 mile range.
Search these forums for much more info on the Ford V10 - what it can do. Here's a typical discussion thread on V10 performance partially related to what you're investigating - but there are many more discussions in the forums, including those specific to it's raw towing ability if you drive it right:
http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/26999653/srt/pa/pging/1/page/1.cfm
