Towing capacity of Sprinter motorhome
My wife and I are evaluating the purchase of a 2015 Winnebago View or Itasca Navion 24J. They in essence are the same motorhome except for color schemes. We previously full-timed for two years in ...
Forum Discussion
Another thing that we are all forgetting is that we have been talking about pulling passes. When climbing in elevation a normally aspirated engine loose about 3% for every 1000 ft in elevation that it climbs. A diesel with a turbo doesn't loose any power till it reaches around 10,000' in elevation. When it is running at lower elevation the waste gate dumps excess pressure till it is needed.
Now we were talking passes so I guess we would be taking gains in elevation. So at only 5000' pass the gas engine would have lost 15% of its power. Starting at 305 HP the equals a 45.75 HP loss. Most passes are more than 5000' so lets take Colorado passes. Lets look at Eisenhower Tunnel at a little over 11,000 feet to get to the tunnel. A gas MH is going to loose over 100HP at this elevation. The turbo diesel is going to loose 5.64 HP as the last 1,000' the diesel will loose 3% also. So the V10 is down to around 205. The MB is gong to be down to about 182. All of a sudden there is not much difference between the 2 of them. All of 23 HP, I really don't think there is going to be a spitting difference between either one.
There is another thing to take into consideration is the shape of the rig. A lot of the newer C are wide bodies so they are 102" wide. The View Profile is 90" wide. So this means you have another 12" wider for the wind to hit. Also on most C the chassis part of it comes straight out from the cab which is like a brick. The View Profile at the sides are not straight. They are rounded back from the cab to the outside edge. Make it more aerodynamic. There is no over head bed so the coming up the front just starts slopping back. A lot less frontal area to catch wind an put more strain on the engine. Hence better mileage and also better engine performance.
As far as the cab if you are shorter the Ford might work for you but I'm 6'1" and 240# with size 13 shoes. There is no way that I can get turned around in a Ford cab to get into the back. I almost have to go out the drivers side door and then turn around so I can try to get into the back straight on instead of turning at the same time trying to get back.
I have driven plenty of Ford and Chevy C MHs as after I retired I spent 3 years working in RV sales. I had to jockey this rigs around all of the time and take them different places for people. So now I have had experience in all 3 rigs, at least driving them maybe not sleeping in them.
Again the is IMO
Now we were talking passes so I guess we would be taking gains in elevation. So at only 5000' pass the gas engine would have lost 15% of its power. Starting at 305 HP the equals a 45.75 HP loss. Most passes are more than 5000' so lets take Colorado passes. Lets look at Eisenhower Tunnel at a little over 11,000 feet to get to the tunnel. A gas MH is going to loose over 100HP at this elevation. The turbo diesel is going to loose 5.64 HP as the last 1,000' the diesel will loose 3% also. So the V10 is down to around 205. The MB is gong to be down to about 182. All of a sudden there is not much difference between the 2 of them. All of 23 HP, I really don't think there is going to be a spitting difference between either one.
There is another thing to take into consideration is the shape of the rig. A lot of the newer C are wide bodies so they are 102" wide. The View Profile is 90" wide. So this means you have another 12" wider for the wind to hit. Also on most C the chassis part of it comes straight out from the cab which is like a brick. The View Profile at the sides are not straight. They are rounded back from the cab to the outside edge. Make it more aerodynamic. There is no over head bed so the coming up the front just starts slopping back. A lot less frontal area to catch wind an put more strain on the engine. Hence better mileage and also better engine performance.
As far as the cab if you are shorter the Ford might work for you but I'm 6'1" and 240# with size 13 shoes. There is no way that I can get turned around in a Ford cab to get into the back. I almost have to go out the drivers side door and then turn around so I can try to get into the back straight on instead of turning at the same time trying to get back.
I have driven plenty of Ford and Chevy C MHs as after I retired I spent 3 years working in RV sales. I had to jockey this rigs around all of the time and take them different places for people. So now I have had experience in all 3 rigs, at least driving them maybe not sleeping in them.
Again the is IMO
