v10 torque vrs diesel

tres perros wrote:
Hello folks

I have been looking for a used class A leaning towards a diesel as I plan on towing a Jeep and travel west coast, rockies

Evidentially I am told that the newer V10 fords have very similar torque range ( a model change with an extra valve)

So Id love to hear some opinions regarding this, including if maintenance/warranty contracts are any cheaper...

Thanks ahead of time! This is a great forum and has been very helpful

Keith

What's your budget, how many will be traveling with you, and how many miles per year?


Lots of diesel lovers on this forum and the diesels have their points-----------------both good and bad. For the way we use ours (we pull a 5000 lb toad), a diesel made no sense, and we have been very pleased with the "lowly" 310 hp V10.

My buddy with a 460" V8 gas engine in his 88 Ford class C always outruns his friend's 40' DP that has a 400 HP engine and over 1000 foot pounds of torque.

The diesel pusher will always have more weight to move around, requiring the larger engine.

Gas engines normally will have more torque on a cubic inch basis, but diesels that have 350 - 400 HP with 1200 foot pounds of torque are typically 10.3 liters or larger. That would be about 620 cubic inches.

Yet diesels that large can not spin to a higher RPM like the Ford V10, so the V10 can make 362 HP by winding up and taking the 400 foot pounds of torque and multiply that by 4000 RPM's, to give higher horsepower in a much lighter weight engine, so the horsepower to weight ratio is much better with a gas engine than the typical diesel engine.

Most diesel pushers have a governor that restricts engine RPM to about 2,200 RPM. This is because each piston is about the size of a 2 liter soda bottle, and has to travel up and down 5 - 6" to make each stroke, and 2,200 RPM is about 2,200 feet per minute with a 6" long stroke.

The Ford V10 is about a 3.5" stroke, and 3.5" diameter piston, so it would travel around 2200 feet per minute at around 4000 RPM.

Fred.

If I were buying a gas MH I would get the 24,000 chassis going with the higher axle ratio

To the best of my knowledge no current gasoline engine will provide as much torque as a diesel engine, however in many instances the horsepower can be comparable.

As you can see by my signature we have a 37'8" gas powered coach and our travels are mostly in western states with mountain grades. We always get where we're going, perhaps not as fast up grades as a diesel powered coach though.

Good luck with your choice and travel safe...

Plenty of opinions and threads on gas vs diesel. I read all I could and went out and bought an older diesel, we're very, very happy with it. I didn't think an ISB would work for us so the minimum I considered was the ISC 8.3, we start out at 7200' and mostly go up from there.

I tow a built Wrangler on a trailer (~6500bs +-) when I head out alone and we tow a mild Cherokee (~4000lbs) when we're out together. We converse at normal levels while climbing the steepest of slopes and the air bag ride (another benefit of most diesels) is very nice.

Do your research and make the decision that's right for you. The newer V-10s do have some good horsepower/torque but the TQ is not anywhere near what the diesels put out (cue the "horsepower gets you up the hills folks) and there are other significant differences in cargo carrying capacities, ride, towing capacity etc. There are also some upsides to the gas units, such as operating cost and initial cost.

Good luck in your hunt.
Dave

I dare say the replies you get will confuse you.
I'll just say get the diesel.
And, the reason I say it is because you have not given us any useful information.