In my hunt for a motorhome I've come across a Tiffin Allegro 38tgb with a front cummins diesel. First front diesel engine I've seen. Any concerns or issues with a front diesel I should know about?

I enjoy having my diesel about 35 feet away to make the drive much more quiet up front.

They are not popular for good reason. Noise is the big issue along with the loss of cabin space. Unless the unit is fwd the transmission and driveline take up a lot of useable basement storage.

There are actually quite few front engined diesel rigs out there. They were never real popular but they will get the job done. The ones that I have been in have sufficient sound proofing that the cockpit is not that noisy. Most DP owners feel that the front engine diesel will make as much noise as their engine does. They fail to realize that the sound proofing used on the front engine vehicles is not used on their DP so when they go back there, they hear everything. As far as diesel VEHICLES are concerned, there are many more with the diesel engine in the front than in the rear. The diesel pick-ups are very quiet when on the highway. I would not let noise be a negative if the rest of the coach meets your needs.

rgatijnet1 wrote:There are actually quite few front engined diesel rigs out there. They were never real popular but they will get the job done. The ones that I have been in have sufficient sound proofing that the cockpit is not that noisy. Most DP owners feel that the front engine diesel will make as much noise as their engine does. They fail to realize that the sound proofing used on the front engine vehicles is not used on their DP so when they go back there, they hear everything. As far as diesel VEHICLES are concerned, there are many more with the diesel engine in the front than in the rear. The diesel pick-ups are very quiet when on the highway. I would not let noise be a negative if the rest of the coach meets your needs.Well said. Before you let anyone discourage you from a front engine diesel, drive one and see for yourself. You will also enjoy the extra 30 to 40 more HP that the front diesel is not using for the cooling fan, and running everything else to the front.

Not a noise problem with our's, 12 valve Cummin's is really quiet compared to my pick up with a 24 valve.

Front diesel engine | Good Sam Community

tropical36
Explorer
Mar 24, 2018
chuckftboy wrote:
Owned one of those 210 HP FRED's in a 98' Kountry Star. Foot to the floor 65 mph all day long. Bullitt proof motor with 8.5 mpg and always ran 190 degrees hot or clod weather.
Mine was not noisy but you could hear the turbo wind up. There are a lot of Super C's with a front engine diesel and they don't complain about noise.

Super C's have the engine way out in front and not between the driver and passenger, so a different animal. These C rigs are great for engine access, but the only thing I like about them, actually. Nothing beats the rear engine bus style, IMO and pretty much a proven idea with the amount of them on the road. Yes, there's probably more gas pullers, but only because of the initial cost, I'm most sure.
chuckftboy
Explorer
Mar 24, 2018
Owned one of those 210 HP FRED's in a 98' Kountry Star. Foot to the floor 65 mph all day long. Bullitt proof motor with 8.5 mpg and always ran 190 degrees hot or clod weather.
Mine was not noisy but you could hear the turbo wind up. There are a lot of Super C's with a front engine diesel and they don't complain about noise.
tropical36
Explorer
Mar 23, 2018
ACDNate wrote:
In my hunt for a motorhome I've come across a Tiffin Allegro 38tgb with a front cummins diesel. First front diesel engine I've seen.

Any concerns or issues with a front diesel I should know about?

Best to just forget it, unless at a price you can't refuse and with knowing that you can easily recapture most of you money, if you decide against it after a while.
Bruce_Brown
Moderator
Mar 23, 2018
The original front engine diesels had a 210 Cummins in them. We looked at a few, best part was you'd never get a speeding ticket with one. Im not sure if it would ever hit a 70 MPH speed limit, going down hill, with a tailwind. Add to that the brakes were a little weak and it rode on springs, not air, and it was easy to dismiss. They did get good MPG apparently. Then again anything driven that gently should get good MPG.
67Cutlass
Explorer
Mar 23, 2018
ACDNate wrote:
In my hunt for a motorhome I've come across a Tiffin Allegro 38tgb with a front cummins diesel. First front diesel engine I've seen.

Any concerns or issues with a front diesel I should know about?

Don't know what year you looked at. But back somewhere around 2005 Freighliner started producing the FRED (Front Engine Rear Drive). It never really caught on and was only produced for a few years.

I'm not sure about 2005 my memory just isn't what it used to be.
Two_Jayhawks
Explorer
Mar 01, 2018
I have considered a front engine diesel in a class 8 conversion. However in a purpose built class A it doesn't appeal to me. I have met a few that have front diesel class A's & they love them. Different strokes.
Solo
Explorer
Mar 01, 2018
There is a fair amount of discussion that you can find on various message boards about the somewhat limited GCWR on the 38TGB. I would suggest that you give some thought as to if this could be an issue for you or not.
ArchHoagland
Explorer
Mar 01, 2018
Would the front end diesels be cheaper to work on than the rear engine diesels?
J-Rooster
Explorer
Mar 01, 2018
Nate, first one I seen was a 1985 Air Stream Diesel Puller! Any type of noise not a problem to me I had my hearing blown out in Vietnam in 1969!
bobkatmsu
Explorer
Feb 28, 2018
Having just gone from a gas engine to a DP, I can't imagine spending that kind of money on a motor home only to get two of the biggest complaints I had about the gasser. Noise while driving. "not that bad", how about no engine noise at all. Second, drive shaft and transmission taking up valuable storage space. To each their own but I just would never even considered it, but thats me.