Question on length

[MontanaCamper]

Hello All

Looking at going to a class A. Selling the rig and trailer below... DW and I are talking about starting at 26-30 foot..not sold on this length, just a place to start. We do know we will be towing a jeep wrangler for trail riding or a RZR on a trailer. Seen where one member said "go with the longer wheel base, you'll thank me later"...at the time I didn't think about it..I was more interested in what members thought of the RV in question...but now I am wondering..WHY?? I can see advantages to both..Longer for traveling down the road..shorter for maneuvering....Thoughts??

[wolfe10]

Heavy cross winds as you will get on the high desert strongly suggest a coach with long WB/OL (wheel base/overall length) ratio. In a DP, that is just not possible in coaches under 36', as every inch shorter is taken out of the wheel base (steering geometry and length of drivetrain remain the same, whether 32' or 40').

[MontanaCamper]

yes, cross winds are not fun...I use to hate pulling in wind..but with the set up I had with a EQ hitch...it wasn't bad...still didn't like it, but was easier on nerves. I know I don't want a Class C, Class A for the seats that turn and can be used.

[nevadanick]

We went from crewcab longbed with 28ft tt and 12 ft enclosed trlr pulling doubles to a Sightseer 26 and either the 12ft or 20ft enclosed as an experiment on whether we wanted a class a. Ours has 8.1 with Banks stuff, track bars and such that was already on coach. I like it but the next one will be longer. We only boondock and capacities have not been an issue as its more than tt was. Power and handling are good, but crosswinds are a handful, talking 30-40 mph winds. Next one will be 32-36ft DP.

[MontanaCamper]

wolfe10 wrote:

MontanaCamper wrote:





and yes, hauling around a 35' trailer and a full size pick up, was a learning experience.... we are looking for the future, and a MH to us makes sense... My Dodge had 490 HP and over 800 (I know big whoop- I was not one of those guys that had to be impressed with numbers) in torque...wish I could transplant that cummins in one of these...but Im looking forward to having a gasser.... and really like the 31H by four winds.

Those are NOT stock numbers for the Dodge/Cummins B.

Heck, our Cummins ISL only has 400 HP, but 1,200 lb-ft torque at 1300 RPM.

Be sure to VERIFY towing capacity before going forward.

Didn't say it WAS stock....I was stating what I had................. 1200 torque...that will get it.

[wolfe10]

MontanaCamper wrote:

J-Rooster wrote:

MontanaCamper wrote:
Ok, another question I have... Another MH Im looking at has the option of either a Ford 18.0 or a Workhorse 18.0....whats the difference?

If your meaning engines the V-10 Triton is of course 10 cylinders and the Chevy Big Block, 8.1 Vortec engine is a 496 CI, V-8 on a Workhorse Chassis. Chevy produced the 8.1 from 2001 until 2009. The horsepower ratings differ due to special factory ordering from the standard 340 HP to 550 HP. Torque was 455 ft. lbs. on the 340 HP and 690 ft.lbs. on the 550 HP. Most of the 550 HP engines were special ordered for PU's.

ok, so your saying that when the listing is for the Ford 18.0 chassis, it obviously has the V10...and the Workhorse 18.0, it has the 8.1 chevy...ok, not sure what the 18.0 has to do with anything, but I knew the Ford has the V10...just was unclear about the workhorse...thanks




and yes, hauling around a 35' trailer and a full size pick up, was a learning experience.... we are looking for the future, and a MH to us makes sense... My Dodge had 490 HP and over 800 (I know big whoop- I was not one of those guys that had to be impressed with numbers) in torque...wish I could transplant that cummins in one of these...but Im looking forward to having a gasser.... and really like the 31H by four winds.

Those are NOT stock numbers for the Dodge/Cummins B.

Heck, our Cummins ISL only has 400 HP, but 1,200 lb-ft torque at 1300 RPM.

Be sure to VERIFY towing capacity before going forward.

[MontanaCamper]

J-Rooster wrote:

MontanaCamper wrote:
Ok, another question I have... Another MH Im looking at has the option of either a Ford 18.0 or a Workhorse 18.0....whats the difference?

If your meaning engines the V-10 Triton is of course 10 cylinders and the Chevy Big Block, 8.1 Vortec engine is a 496 CI, V-8 on a Workhorse Chassis. Chevy produced the 8.1 from 2001 until 2009. The horsepower ratings differ due to special factory ordering from the standard 340 HP to 550 HP. Torque was 455 ft. lbs. on the 340 HP and 690 ft.lbs. on the 550 HP. Most of the 550 HP engines were special ordered for PU's.

ok, so your saying that when the listing is for the Ford 18.0 chassis, it obviously has the V10...and the Workhorse 18.0, it has the 8.1 chevy...ok, not sure what the 18.0 has to do with anything, but I knew the Ford has the V10...just was unclear about the workhorse...thanks


and yes, hauling around a 35' trailer and a full size pick up, was a learning experience.... we are looking for the future, and a MH to us makes sense... My Dodge had 490 HP and over 800 (I know big whoop- I was not one of those guys that had to be impressed with numbers) in torque...wish I could transplant that cummins in one of these...but Im looking forward to having a gasser.... and really like the 31H by four winds.

[cwit]

We have the 33r flair and think it is great. Ours is a 2004. The big slide in the rear sold this camper with my wife.

[down_home]

When you are parked there is no such thing as too big a coach. Driving a larger coach requires relearning longer turns etc for a while. That;s about it. Also larger Mhs have larger engines and make it capable, of towing things, like diesel pickups or a car hauler, with car or truck, on bottom and boat on top.
Besides price and relearning a longer rig for a while, and perhaps a litttle extra help parking it's the way to go. imo

[J-Rooster]

MontanaCamper wrote:
Ok, another question I have... Another MH Im looking at has the option of either a Ford 18.0 or a Workhorse 18.0....whats the difference?

If your meaning engines the V-10 Triton is of course 10 cylinders and the Chevy Big Block, 8.1 Vortec engine is a 496 CI, V-8 on a Workhorse Chassis. Chevy produced the 8.1 from 2001 until 2009. The horsepower ratings differ due to special factory ordering from the standard 340 HP to 550 HP. Torque was 455 ft. lbs. on the 340 HP and 690 ft.lbs. on the 550 HP. Most of the 550 HP engines were special ordered for PU's.

[J-Rooster]

MontanaCamper wrote:
anyone hear any of these stories??

I owned a 99 Fleetwood with a V-10. I had good Luck with that engine. I've seen a lot of posts on RV.Net in the past about 99 V-10 Tritons with spark plug issues.

[MontanaCamper]

Ok, another question I have... Another MH Im looking at has the option of either a Ford 18.0 or a Workhorse 18.0....whats the difference?

[427435]

Yes, there were some of the early ones that blew plugs. There were enough of them (as well as other Ford engines), that the after market developed kits that install steel inserts for the aluminum head. These inserts can be installed without pulling the head. The kits cost about $400 and any competent Ford or private garage has them.

Ford made changes to eliminate that problem in about 2002. The newer (2006+) engines have lots of improvements including another 50 hp and and extra tranny gear. Don't fret about them.

[RayChez]

RayChez wrote:

MontanaCamper wrote:

vjstangelo wrote:
Oops, my apologies. Didn't mean to hijack the thread. Thanks for the 35u responses.

No No... I posted about 4 hours before and now its gone..nothing to do with you... That helped me, I was looking as well!!

Horror Stories are, a friend of mine has a 99 V10 and he popped 2 of his spark plugs out, they only have like 1 1/2 threads holding his in... the repair cost around 3-3500. He had to do something with all 10 spark plugs. Some other things I have read were valves being redone and not at very high mileage engines.

Im looking at 07 to 10, and most of them have some where between 22 to 60K on the clock....Seem high?? I know it depends on how much they drive it and all.

I had not heard about the Ford V-10 popping spark plugs. Actually it was the General Motor engine that spark plugs were popping out. Maybe they both had that problem. But maybe they were not torqued in right.

thanks for the responses!!

I had read where it was the GM engine that was having that problem. Maybe they both had it, but I had not read it was the Triton V-10

[RayChez]

MontanaCamper wrote:

vjstangelo wrote:
Oops, my apologies. Didn't mean to hijack the thread. Thanks for the 35u responses.

No No... I posted about 4 hours before and now its gone..nothing to do with you... That helped me, I was looking as well!!

Horror Stories are, a friend of mine has a 99 V10 and he popped 2 of his spark plugs out, they only have like 1 1/2 threads holding his in... the repair cost around 3-3500. He had to do something with all 10 spark plugs. Some other things I have read were valves being redone and not at very high mileage engines.

Im looking at 07 to 10, and most of them have some where between 22 to 60K on the clock....Seem high?? I know it depends on how much they drive it and all.

I had not heard about the Ford V-10 popping spark plugs. Actually it was the General Motor engine that spark plugs were popping out. Maybe they both had that problem. But maybe they were not torqued in right.

thanks for the responses!!