1997 V10 RPM's

[TaylorJoseph]

Hello,
I just bought a used RV. It is a 1997 31ft Four Winds Class C. It has a Ford V10. My question is, does anyone know what mph correlates to what rpm in a certain gear? I don't have a tachometer and I like to use my gears for climbing and braking. I generally don't downshift to 2nd until 40mph and usually shift out of second at 40mph going up. I'd like to know the rpm's at these speeds and/or what rpm's/speeds are safe and smart for my V10. Thanks!

[TaylorJoseph]

Thank you for the information everyone. Your feedback helps a lot!

[time2roll]

OK to lean on the motor a bit and still I would try to avoid too much near full throttle shifting. Pull the lever and hold the gear if needed or just go a little slower.

A quick search failed to come up with RPM specs. If you get the tachometer keep the RPM somewhere between peak torque RPM and peak HP RPM for the sweet spot of performance.

[DrewE]

TaylorJoseph wrote:
This is related to the same topic. I will just cut to the chase...it seems that to get my RV to move (1997 Ford V10, 31ft class C) I really need to put my foot in the gas pretty good. I understand that these things are heavy and need fuel to move. I just want to feel secure that they are meant to run this way. I don't have it floored all the time and honestly I drive like a grandma normally, but I have to keep up with traffic so I give her the gas.

The go pedal is there to make it go. I would not worry in the least with pushing it hard if needed; truck engines are designed to be run at high power levels for extended periods of time.

[TaylorJoseph]

This is related to the same topic. I will just cut to the chase...it seems that to get my RV to move (1997 Ford V10, 31ft class C) I really need to put my foot in the gas pretty good. I understand that these things are heavy and need fuel to move. I just want to feel secure that they are meant to run this way. I don't have it floored all the time and honestly I drive like a grandma normally, but I have to keep up with traffic so I give her the gas.

[pnichols]

ron.dittmer wrote:
Doing that down hill allows me to coast without ever touching the brakes, ...

Ron, how do you (safely) do that when going down hill - unless you have Tow/Haul mode engaged or the cruise control set?

[ron_dittmer]

I found it impossible to red-line with our 2007 E350 V10. But my dash does have a tach to tell me that 5500 is the fastest I can get the engine to spin (which is during engine braking), achieved going down hill on I-70 around Vail, CO. The tach goes up to 6000 with no actual red line so I assume 6000 is the threshold. Doing that down hill allows me to coast without ever touching the brakes, and we tow as shown in my signature.

[Sfla2]

I never run the hills in od or lot of bridges always D3 If to much 2 also u can over ride OD with using foot feed then when u get back to flat OD is there like 1 or2 bridges just override it

[TaylorJoseph]

Thanks again everyone, this info really helps.

[rjstractor]

Compared to today's transmissions, your 20 year old 4R100 isn't always the sharpest kid in school. Using "overdrive off" is a good idea to prevent hunting from 3rd to 4th. If you have an E-Super Duty (aka 1997-1998 E450) you have 4.63 rear axle gears. When I had mine 55 in 2nd was about all I felt comfortable with, and I often held it in second on steeper hills. If left in drive it would often shift to 3rd, and the large gear split between those gears would make me lose speed.

[Dennis12]

Transmission is built to do it's job and does it well. Drive it in drive.

[TaylorJoseph]

Thanks for the input everyone, I appreciate the helpful information.

[Sfla2]

Get a Scangage best thing u can get for that eng

[photobug]

Those obdii plug in gauges have rpm readout I have one on mine. Haven't done the measurements your looking for

[DrewE]

I have a 98 on that chassis (or one very similar). If you know your rear end ratio, you can do math to figure out the relationships. I think I have a 4.10 rear axle ratio, and I think that may have been the only option with the E-SuperDuty chassis of the era, but I'm not positive about either point. If it's an E-350, there options may also have been different.

At any rate, I agree with carringb; let the computer figure out the shifts, and don't be afraid to let the engine go like gangbusters when climbing hills. It may sound as though it's going to thrash itself to pieces, but it won't and the powerband is at relatively high RPMs. For descending, downshift as needed to keep control without overusing the brakes.