Gulf Stream Endura - International or Chevy

[mountainsurf]

I've been shopping for an rv to tow my 7000 lb boat. I received a lot of good info from those who tow with a E450\ V10 but I'm still concerned about being at max payload,especially in the mountains.

I've decided to stretch my budget and look for a good used diesel Super C. Most of what I'm finding in my price range are Gulf Stream Enduras with the Duramax but there are are couple at the top with the International. I'd appreciate any feedback on the differences in comfort, power and reliability between the engine/chassis combinations. Any general feedback on the GS Supers would also be appreciated.

I'll have to travel a long way to look at either, in person, so any info will help me decide what to go look at.

Thanks.

[mountainsurf]

I was talking with a diesel mechanic and he suggested I stay away from the VT365. I guess I'll confine my search to the Duramax rigs. Maybe I should remove all doubt about towing and look for a Class 8 conversion. 😉

[dleslie125]

ronfisherman wrote:
It's comfortable to sit in a Kodiak. Lots of room for your feet and no heat. I have driven in 10 degrees and 100 degree weather in comfort.

Ron, DW will tell you that we have NO problem with room or heat for her We even check it with our infrared thermometer and while the right side is a little warmer than the left if has been no problem.

Our only concern has been the toad and we recently solved that issue by swapping the Escape for a Cherokee Limited. Mind you, I would like more torque and an exhaust brake. Those are the two things I miss from our C7 and ISC powered DPs.

As to noise, we don't find the E450 it any louder than the 8.1 Vortec. Fortunately, the E450 it doesn't have as much drive line whine as we had with the Kodiak gasser.

[ronfisherman]

It's comfortable to sit in a Kodiak. Lots of room for your feet and no heat. I have driven in 10 degrees and 100 degree weather in comfort.

[mountainsurf]

dleslie125 wrote:

Gene in NE wrote:
I could be wrong, but believe the Kodiak chassis has a 10,000 lb towing capacity. I absolutely loved driving my brother-in-laws Kodiak back from the factory - about 600 miles.

My current neighbor's father brought his "Four Winds" motorhome on a Kodiak chassis pulling a 16' enclosed trailer to his son's place this Thanksgiving - looks great.

It likely has a 10,000 lb rated receiver (mine did) but that DOES NOT mean it can tow 10k. We bought the Jayco Kodiak gasser because it actually had a higher towing capacity than the Seneca. GCWR for both is 26,000 lbs. Our GVWR was 19,500 like Ron's, so we could safely tow a 2007 Tahoe LTZ that weighed almost 5700 lbs. The Seneca GVWR is 22,000 and if we loaded it to that limit there would only be 4,000 lbs left. We had plenty of room to load up our Kodiak with whatever DW decided was necessary. 🙂

One manufacturer (Thor) started purchasing the 30,000 lb GCWR Kodiak not long before the Kodiak was discontinued (after many attempts to sell the truck to International and others). The primary change was an Allison 2500 in place of the Allison 1000. I think they started to realize that a lot of owners want to tow more.

My current E450 can, in theory, tow 7500 lbs if fitted with a suitable receiver (it comes with a 5,000 lb receiver). I say in theory because it will likely depend on how any frame rail extensions were done and whether or note they can handle the 7500 lbs (GCWR of the E450 starting in 2011 is 22,000 lbs. GVWR is 14,500).

I haven't run across any of those Thor (Four Winds?) super c's in my search.

I guess one advantage of the International chasis would be more towing capacity but you definitely pay for it.

How do you find the driver comfort in the E-450 compared to the Kodiak? The Ford felt a little cramped to me; I've yet to sit in a Kodiak.

[dleslie125]

Gene in NE wrote:
I could be wrong, but believe the Kodiak chassis has a 10,000 lb towing capacity. I absolutely loved driving my brother-in-laws Kodiak back from the factory - about 600 miles.

My current neighbor's father brought his "Four Winds" motorhome on a Kodiak chassis pulling a 16' enclosed trailer to his son's place this Thanksgiving - looks great.

It likely has a 10,000 lb rated receiver (mine did) but that DOES NOT mean it can tow 10k. We bought the Jayco Kodiak gasser because it actually had a higher towing capacity than the Seneca. GCWR for both is 26,000 lbs. Our GVWR was 19,500 like Ron's, so we could safely tow a 2007 Tahoe LTZ that weighed almost 5700 lbs. The Seneca GVWR is 22,000 and if we loaded it to that limit there would only be 4,000 lbs left. We had plenty of room to load up our Kodiak with whatever DW decided was necessary. 🙂

One manufacturer (Thor) started purchasing the 30,000 lb GCWR Kodiak not long before the Kodiak was discontinued (after many attempts to sell the truck to International and others). The primary change was an Allison 2500 in place of the Allison 1000. I think they started to realize that a lot of owners want to tow more.

My current E450 can, in theory, tow 7500 lbs if fitted with a suitable receiver (it comes with a 5,000 lb receiver). I say in theory because it will likely depend on how any frame rail extensions were done and whether or note they can handle the 7500 lbs (GCWR of the E450 starting in 2011 is 22,000 lbs. GVWR is 14,500).

[Gene_in_NE]

I could be wrong, but believe the Kodiak chassis has a 10,000 lb towing capacity. I absolutely loved driving my brother-in-laws Kodiak back from the factory - about 600 miles.

My current neighbor's father brought his "Four Winds" motorhome on a Kodiak chassis pulling a 16' enclosed trailer to his son's place this Thanksgiving - looks great.

[ronfisherman]

I have towed up to 7,000 lbs with my Kodiak. No problems. My MH weighs in at 19,000 fully loaded. I tow a car most of the time. It weighs in at 3,700 lbs.

[mountainsurf]

ronfisherman wrote:
I have the Kodiak Duramax. It has been a great truck. Have a little over 70,000 with no major chassis problems. I did add air bags to the rear. Also put larger tires. Has made a big difference in handling. There some good deals on the Endura on the GM chassis. The prices I see on the International are way high. Hard to find a Endura diesel on the GM chassis after 2007. A few were built. But most were International.

Thanks! Do you tow with yours? If so how much and how does it handle it. Having a place to stay when using the boat is my main reason for getting a MH, so towing capability is a big deal for me.

[ronfisherman]

I have the Kodiak Duramax. It has been a great truck. Have a little over 70,000 with no major chassis problems. I did add air bags to the rear. Also put larger tires. Has made a big difference in handling. There some good deals on the Endura on the GM chassis. The prices I see on the International are way high. Hard to find a Endura diesel on the GM chassis after 2007. A few were built. But most were International.

[dbear]

No personal experience, but my understanding with the Kodiak chassis is that if you spend a few thousand to upgrade the suspension, it's not a bad rig. I hadn't heard anything similar regarding the International. At that time, I think it fair to say the Duramax was the preferred engine vs the Navistar VT365, although keep in mind neither was close to the engines they are today.