Is 300HP Enough

Im running a Dynamax 35 foot super C with Cat C-7 350hp . I was told I could tow over 12000 lbs . I only tow 3500 and don't even know the car is behind us. I would check out Dynamax or Renegade both are very nice units and are made to tow a lot of weight.

Executive wrote:

Altern wrote:
Nothing more useless than a minute ago, the runway behind you, and horsepower you failed to buy.:B

AMEN! Brother....

My Dynasty had the Cummins 300HP...IMHO, too small an engine for what you want to do...

Go big or Go home.....Dennis

The same with Cheeseburgers Dennis! Go with Wendy's Baconater or go home!

Quick Sand wrote:
We are thinking of switching to a Class A or a Super C to use for towing our race trailer which weighs 7-8K when loaded. We like the Fleetwood Excursion which sits on a Freightliner chassis with 300HP but everyone is telling that I won't be happy with that HP and should get more. Anyone have a similar setup?

That the race motor and put it in the RV for the trips.

You need to listen to someone that has done it like you want to or close. To many experts with no real experience.....If you are one of those racers that must go over some of those mountains out there a lot I don't think you will like the small engine. If not going over the mountains much it will be ok.....I have a 325hp 8.3 Cummins and my DP weighs around 26,000lbs---not sure about the trailer but it is 32ft tri axel 1ft extra high Pace w/ 3200lb car Gen, ATV, tools, etc tagged for 18,000lbs.....Fancy Gap between NC and VA is a 7mi pull and I can run up it 55mph throttle on the floor on a hot day without getting hot. But if it were longer or hotter I think engine temp might become a problem. Going down the same grade the jake brake will hold it to 55mph real easy. You send me a PM and I'll send you a pic of this thing. It works for me and I race almost every weekend.

You will not find a 34 or 36' foot coach with a 450hp Cummins engine. The chassis builders only install engines according to weight. The biggest you will find for those length and weight are 350hp.

Some of these guys suggest getting big 500hp engines like what they have on their coach. The only thing they do not tell you is that the coach they have is 45' foot long and it takes every bit of that power to move that much coach.

The only engine that I would not get is the 5.9 Cummins engine. Those engines are under powered in my opinion, but the ISC is actually a big block engine which would be good, and on the Cat the 3126-E all electronic engine has lots of power because it did not have all the smog devices added later on to the 350hp Cat engines. But they are very reliable engines. Then Cat made more powerful engines also just like Cummins. They had a C-9 at 1200lbs of torque and all the way to their big boy the C-15, but you will not find those big engines on a small coach like I mentioned earlier on my post. You would have to get a Newell to get the C-15.

No matter how big an engine you have, the rule is "Someone will pass you!" Fuel on the ground, Altitude above you, deodorant. Funny, we trucked in CO, NM and UT with 262 HP Macks and then we got 350 HP and they were great, next we went to 400 HP Cummins and 425 Cats and we were in heaven. My last truck was a 500 HP CAT and with 80 K lbs would run up any pass 45 or as fast as you wanted to drive around the curves. Now I'm afraid 800 HP Turbines are'nt enough.

People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world," Calvin.

I say get as much HP as you can afford. I have a ISC350 and tow 14,000lbs, I hate all hills and long for a 600hp ISX, which was $225,000.00 more for a comparable RV.

It's more than just HP. Which Cummins is it, an ISB (5.9 or 6.7) or an ISC (8.3)? The ISC will tow much better than an ISB...even though they both might have the same HP.

obgraham wrote:
Considering there are plenty of trucks on the road with the same engine and power, I don't see why it should be a problem.

So you have to slow down up the hills. Big deal.

Nothing like comparing apples to apples to come up with an illogical conclusion...

Here is the issue. It will pull the weight, no doubt. The 6.7L is more than capable. The problem is the weight of the coach. You have 26K GVW and 30K combined. To tow 8k you will need to be at 22K for the coach. That is just not going to happen, most likely. Also, the Allison 2100 can only handle 660ftlbs of torque. 660 is just not very much for that kind of weight. IMO.

Bill

bdpreece wrote:
The accepted benchmark is one HP per 100 pounds GCW (Gross Combined Weight which is weight of loaded coach and anything you are pulling).

If you are not in a hurry you can get by with less but looking at your toy list I suspect more power would be better.

There IS NO "accepted benchmark". There is a HP and torque number that someone sipt out onto the net and says its gospel.....and its NOT!

And the HP some semi tractor has is of no bearing on a motorhome. Id PREFER ( no..Id DEMAND) that my motorhome would perform just "slightly better" that some 18 wheeler