More power for my Ford E450 32 Foot Forest River Sunseeker

[TWaller1]

Recently bought a 2011 Forest River Sunseeker 32 foot Class C.
Climbing up to Lake Tahoe was a chore. Not pulling a car. Any ideas how to get more pulling power? (K&N air filter is a must) but also thinking about a chip or changing out exhaust?
My last Class C was an E350 on a 29 foot class C. It seemed to have more power vs my E450
Obviously my 32 footer is heavier but really disappointed in the lack of power climbing hills.
Any ideas?

T

[Supercharged]

One don't need any more power, there is nothing at the top of a hill,I have about the same size V-10 and it runs fine, climbs good, always gets me there. I went from a supercharger rig to this, they both have there place.

[Sfla2]

x2 i just override cruise (not turn off) get to top of hill take foot off right back on cruise

[Desert_Captain]

Just take your V-10 off of cruise whenever there is any significant grade and presto, problem solved, for free. Cruise is a convenience, an indulgence, but hardly a necessity. I would rather let my right foot make the decisions and reading the transmission fluid temps off of the Scan Gauge will tell you when it is time to engage the Tow Haul mode so as to keep the Torque converter locked up and give you optimum performance in terms of both mileage and power.

Lots of folks (like the OP), seek more performance from their V-10's when it it is there all along simply waiting to be tapped. Got a large grade to climb (?) put your foot down and go. Running a V-10 at 4 or even 5,000 RPM is not going to hurt anything but your mileage. Max torque (happily), comes along at around 3,200 and max HP at closer to 4,500 so where is the problem???

If you bought anything with a V-10 expecting "good" (?) mileage the error is yours, that is not what they do. If you want the power they possess all you have to do is use it, the choice is yours.

:C

[j-d]

I'd want the "Taming of the V10" more than any tidbits of MPG improvement myself. It should be able to pull mild grades that cause it to downshift when running in cruise. I heard that the cruise tolerance is too strict, causing it to kick down before it loses about 0.5-mph. But I also believe that the engine's fuel management strategy is so stingy that it has to downshift for a load that it could easily pull.
Far as buying upgrades, several of us got Hellwig sway bars through SDTruckSprings and I was pleased with my order from them. I haven't bought a Safe-T-Plus, but an OP here found he could get one through a truck repair shop for a lot less than RV supply prices. It would be the "140" series S-T-P, but remember you need a Bracket Kit. You should have an OEM Stabilizer, but the brackets aren't big enough. I got AirLift airbags through Amazon. Our rear Track Bar is a BlueOx TigerTrak, same bar as SuperSteer, but I got it through an RV supply. Could probably track that down if you need. In the meanwhile I'd say include MakariosRV in your searches. All this is relatively easy DIY install. Track Bar was a little tricky, and S-T-P might need several easy adjustments. Sway Bars totally straightforward. Shocks on a Ford aren't the easiest but still do-able. We've only had one OP report on the new Koni FSD's and that's mixed. I'd say Jury is Still Out on those.
If we want to discuss this further, should probably open a new thread... Send me a PM if you like.

[Hank85713]

jd no we never got to the scales. Seems they were always full whenever we got to some! there was another poster who had the same issues and reported the improvement with the bars and shocks and really I think they are the answer. Bars and shocks should be around $700 if I do work, then get the alignment. Problem with the alignment calls for "as loaded" and that is really not all that simple as the wife realized she took more stuff than needed so 'next' time.

The tuner was not all about the mileage as much as making the engine more civilized. Mileage improvements were ok but performance was the more important item. I dont buy stuff for 'future' returns to pay for themselves, but that is just me. If they eventually do thats fine, if not....

Like my PU, did I need a 1T diesel, not really but I bought one anyhow! I am of the bigger is better group of folks, and generally they do pay for themselves in the long run but that was the original intent!

[j-d]

Thanks Hank. Great report! Seems like Five-Star is a big improvement in driving experience but probably won't pay for itself in fuel savings.
As far as the sway bars and related upgrades, it's been too long and I've forgotten some of the details. So, did you have yours aligned with the caster bumped up to at least +5*? I know we talked about weighing the coach. Were you able to?

[Hank85713]

Final evaluation: We put just a tad over 4300 miles on during this trip. Mileage was from an indicated low of 7.3 pulling the last hills home on Hwy 77 to a high of 9.3 going across the plains. We drove some at 70 mph as wife does not like to dawdle and mileage was calculated out at 8.3. At 65 it was up to about 8.5 on average. There were times without climbs or winds that the avg indicated 10+ on the scan gauge and when hand calculating the avg was +- .2 tenth of hand calculated overall.

At climb and freeway speeds in Denver as I noted earlier it struggled to accell and keep up with flow of traffic, but later playing with the shifter made some improvements. Tow Haul was not effective in these situations in D. Manual shifting was the answer. Across south Colo at 8000+ we had no issues performance wise on the plains. Small climbs were not really an issue either. @ long pulls at Le Veta and Wolf Creek as noted previously were hard but we never had to stop. Water temps got up to 210-15 a couple of times and you could hear the fan engage. the 2 pulls out of durango (550) and farmington bypass were also fun as both start from a dead stop, but again we climbed out at about 40 mph on both.

I think the 5 star tuner did add to the overall mileage to some degree and it did make the engine more civilized in response to rpm needs climbing hils by holding it to 1000-1500 rpm spikes. Most travel rpms were in the 24-2600 range at 62-70 mph, so the spikes were not that bad. Did have a couple up to around 5000 but those were rare. The vehicle did well and pulled the Hyundai with no real issues. There are things I do want to improve upon prior to next year but they will come piecemeal over the next couple of months. 1 Is to upgrade the sway bars, shocks and steering stabilizer. 2 Is to install a free flow muffler, 3 may be to try and find a free flow air intake system. 4 and this may come ahead of the others, but there is a lack of insulation on the overhead cap. Winnebago said they install a "minimal" amount to the area and it was heating the rest of the coach and items in the overhead cabinets, so the task will be to remove the cabinets and install insulation.

Tomorrow the rig goes in for an oil change at the dealer, and I will fill the propane tank on the way. We had the driver and passenger windows tinted already and a strip applied along the top of the windshield. Guy at local truck stop CB shop just recommended that I install a Wilson 1000 mag mount to the left front fender/hood area. I wish many more folks had these! We were behind a flatbed 18 wheeler and the rear wheel appeared as if it was trying to come off. All I had was a small hand held Cb, got the drivers attention and she pulled off to check. Did not hear any others trying to warn her of the problem, but it was not a good place to be to try and possibly pass or stay. We also used it when going thru Memphis and getting stuck in traffic (road closure/construction).

So hope all had a fine summer so far and maybe we will see ya in a couple of months. BTW very few B+'s were encountered on the trip! Down through the south very few RV's were encountered! There were more in the mid states and across the midwest then anyplace else.

[Hank85713]

there was a unit with a tow bar behind it and a jeep or something following close so I guess that is what they did. Your jeep is a little heavier I would think but the 25mph phase was short once you reached the service area and made the turn up. As to going east, cant tell ya, never tried that way.

what are ya driving? as I noted earlier in the string we have a 12 aspect on an f450 chassis not a hot rod by any imagination.

[Olddud]

Hank85713 wrote:
Olddud, we crossed Wolf Creek today. Dont know which way you are going to be going (E or W), we were headed west. There is a long pull from walsenberg to alamosa to 9400 feet we dropped to around 45 mph on it and I used 3 direct not tow haul. At wolf creek its 10300 and we dropped to 25 mph prior to the crest. I went up with 1/2 tank fuel and again used 3 and 2d direct mainly 3. TH does nothing in D for these climbs. I also added 2 bottles of oriellys octane booster in colorado springs dont know if it helped or not. We calculated out to 7.3 mpg when we fueled in Pagosa. Water temp got up to about 210 a couple of times but all else was normal my usual is 202 deg.

Going up wolf creek there were many others struggling to keep going. We got up to 36 mph and passed a newer dodge dually pulling a 30-32 5r who was having problems getting up the hill. Dont know why but he did. A couple of TT's passed us up out of walsenberg but we caught and eventually passed them in alamosa so again dont know what their problems may have been. BTW the head and crosswinds were a hand full and seemed the harshest on all curves!

Once we got to level ground we had no issues with performance. maintained 65 pretty easy with an 8 mpg avg readout on the scan gauge.

I'm going both ways, in and out. I've been up the grade from Walsenburg a couple times, once pulling our Wrangler with a Cambria. I got behind a trucker going about 15mph, made the mistake of passing, but could only manage about 10' per minute -- lots of people not happy behind, I would guess. I think I could climb that at 40mph, if not slowed down.

Wolf Creek Pass, from your description, sounds even worse. I will probably unhook the Jeep before trying that one.

Thanks for the reply!

[Hank85713]

Olddud, we crossed Wolf Creek today. Dont know which way you are going to be going (E or W), we were headed west. There is a long pull from walsenberg to alamosa to 9400 feet we dropped to around 45 mph on it and I used 3 direct not tow haul. At wolf creek its 10300 and we dropped to 25 mph prior to the crest. I went up with 1/2 tank fuel and again used 3 and 2d direct mainly 3. TH does nothing in D for these climbs. I also added 2 bottles of oriellys octane booster in colorado springs dont know if it helped or not. We calculated out to 7.3 mpg when we fueled in Pagosa. Water temp got up to about 210 a couple of times but all else was normal my usual is 202 deg.

Going up wolf creek there were many others struggling to keep going. We got up to 36 mph and passed a newer dodge dually pulling a 30-32 5r who was having problems getting up the hill. Dont know why but he did. A couple of TT's passed us up out of walsenberg but we caught and eventually passed them in alamosa so again dont know what their problems may have been. BTW the head and crosswinds were a hand full and seemed the harshest on all curves!

Once we got to level ground we had no issues with performance. maintained 65 pretty easy with an 8 mpg avg readout on the scan gauge.

[Desert_Captain]

Keep in mind that for every 1,000' of elevation a naturally aspirated gasser loses 3% of its power. Those 8,000' passes cost you a 24% power loss. Just put your foot into it and buy the extra fuel.

:C

[Olddud]

Hank85713 wrote:
Will find out end of week, plan to cross Wolf Creek going to Pagosa Springs.

Be interested to see how it works up that Pass, as we will be going there in a few weeks.

[Hank85713]

Bob, glad you are happy. On our trip sop far best has been 9.3 hand calc'd at 65MPH. That was crossing Nebraska. Into colo at 70 MPH we got 8.3 hand calc'd in Denver. As I said earlier we are pulling a Hyundai Elantra which is lighter than the jeep (est 1000lbs), heavier by about 1500 lbs for the bike and trailer.

The tune I find has made the engine more civilized as you said, down shifts not much more than 4000 rpm to maintain speed, hit 5K once or twice on long sustained increase pulls but never used tow/haul. Will find out end of week, plan to cross Wolf Creek going to Pagosa Springs. Did find yesterday at 7000 ft that the engine struggles to maintain 65. Now at 9000 miles on the engine and it is getting progressively better as we go. Started out at 5100 so use seems to be a factor to improve. Plan on when I get home to install Gibson free flow muffler, and see what they recommend for air intake. It is somewhat a cold air now as it has a small horn over the radiator.

[Travlr41]

Well, I uploaded the 5-star tuning RV map, using the Livewire TS 5015 unit.

We've been on a trip from Houston, TX to Johnson City, TN and then down to Savannah, GA and I have been pleased with the results. Once into Mississippi and through the Smokey's and back out headed towards Savannah, we were constantly going up and down grades; some pretty steep.

Where the transmission would incessantly downshift at the slightest grade with the stock map, it will now hold in 5th if I am going between 60 and 65 mph. If I am travelling at 70 mph, I can expect a downshift but a couple of clicks on the "coast" button will prevent the downshift. I assume this is due to the extra HP from the map and a change to the shift points.

What I really wasn't expecting was an increase in mileage. Last month on the trip from Houston to Fargo, ND, I could never get better than 7.5 mpg on basically flat terrain. This trip through the mountains, I gave consistently gotten 9.7 mpg. Now this isn't totally an apples-to-apples comparison because on the Fargo trip I was towing a Jeep Wrangler and on this trip I was towing a Triumph Tiger on a motorcycle trailer. For my next trip with the Jeep, I still expect at least 8.5 mpg.

It was well worth the cost to me.

Bob in Houston