Wanting to hear from Class A gas powered owners

[Kevin_O_]

I have been thinking long and hard about upgrading to a (34'-36') Class A. After seeing the price difference between the entry level diesel pushers and the Gas powered I'm just wondering if the Gas would be enough?
We usually just do weekend trips and a couple week long trips a year.
The only long drive would be to Florida from Ct. so the kids can see Grammy and Poppy.

I wouldn't dare make that trip now with the kids cooped up in a pickup for that long.

So my question are:
How powerful is the V10? Does it struggle towing a car?
What size cars are you towing behind it?
What kind of MPG should i expect with a car in tow?

Thanks,

Kevin

[jwoodie]

All depends on floor plan and budget. We ended buying an '05 Itasca SC 37B for $55k, but were very picky: W24 chassis, full body paint, low miles, all options and no rust. Another $5k for new tires and suspension upgrades.

Any bigger MH would require a DP, but it seems that floor plans are more limited than with gassers. (DW prefers a side entry to perching over the side of a cliff.) Gassers are definitely noisier, but the newer trannies have improved their performance up and down grades.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy one of the newer gas MHs unless I was planning to drive 20,000+ miles per year.

[tropical36]

Kevin O. wrote:
I have been thinking long and hard about upgrading to a (34'-36') Class A. After seeing the price difference between the entry level diesel pushers and the Gas powered I'm just wondering if the Gas would be enough?
We usually just do weekend trips and a couple week long trips a year.
The only long drive would be to Florida from Ct. so the kids can see Grammy and Poppy.

I wouldn't dare make that trip now with the kids cooped up in a pickup for that long.

So my question are:
How powerful is the V10? Does it struggle towing a car?
What size cars are you towing behind it?
What kind of MPG should i expect with a car in tow?

Thanks,

Kevin

Depends on how deep your pockets are for a depreciating asset and a gas puller will suit your every need. I would go the extra expense of purchase and maintenance of a DP, however, if we were to be doing 25K miles a year or so and wanted to keep it long term. In either case, we always buy used and let someone else take the hit and make the Dealer trips.
I mean people have been known to buy new high end DP's and never drive them much at all, thereby taking a depreciation per mile hit that would boggle most minds, but that's not us and if that were our mindset with everything, then our net worth would probably be very close to 0.

[Jwgirardi]

I have a 362HP V-10 on a 32 Class A, tow a 2011 Jeep. Works just fine. Haven't hit a incline yet that I couldn't keep up with the big boys. Get anywhere from 7.5 to 8.5 mpg depending on how I drive and the terrain.

[koda55]

We had a 35ft with the Ford V10 engine. It had the 310 horsepower engine. we towed a 3100 lb Chevy HHR. It would go over Fancy Gap on I77/81 with no problems. I usually ended up in 3rd gear. Going up the mountain to my sister in-law there is a 11% grade for 3/4 miles. I am in 2nd gear and no problems.

[CJBROWN]

some consistent comments on cost, complexity, and depreciation of a higher priced rig with a big diesel (DP).

I thought sure I wanted one, have been pining away for years. But now I'm not so sure. I find my gas coach easy to drive, cheap to maintain, does all I need, easy to afford. Think I'll hang on to it. The only downside is the ride comparison - the DP's are somewhat quieter and ride a lot better. That's worth something, not sure how much though. In my case it would be double the cost.

When I get ready to retire and consider at least part-timing then a bigger DP coach will make a lot more sense. If it was my house everything would change.

[wa8yxm]

We (Wife and I) Choose the RV I'm sitting in based on floor plan (Bath and a half, 2 holes no waiting, very glad we did it that way by the way).

Considerations on GAS/DIESEL.

Cost, as you noted is lower on gas.
Fuel cost is .. not all that much different when you get down to it.
Maintenance, Lower on a gasser.
Personal experience and training. Well, on Gasoline engines ranging from one cylinder Chain Saw to automotive engines I have done everything from minor tune up to major overhaul. There is really very little I do not know about working on them though my tool box is a touch limited.. This means when I take it in for service I can "Audit" the mechanics claims fairly well.. Had a car once I took in, and ... Well lets just say the dealer got padlocked by the state.. I am PART of the reason for that. (He ripped me off).

Diesel.. I know where the fuel goes in and the dollars come out.

Things I should have considered was not aware of......

CARGO CARRYING CAPACITY
Towing capacity

Now, as it turns out my Gasser has enough towing capacity to haul both the towed I had then and the one I have now (Though the original 4,000 pound towed was teh exact limit of tow for this chassis)

But I really could use more CCC

Diesels typically have 10,000 pound hitches and way more CCC than gassers.

[Golden_HVAC]

My buddy was traveling with his neighbor, who has one of those 40' DP's and a 400 HP engine. That motorhome is about 28,000 GVWR, so it a lot heavier than his gas motorhome with a 460" engine in it. He passes the DP on the hills all the time.

My 460" gas motorhome only has a factory 225 HP rating, much less than the 362 HP put into the V10, that can turn higher RPM's. It will go up the hills fine, and would be great on the east coast where there are no mountain passes at 9,700 feet, like found in California. BTW: My Bounder did fine at 9700' too, towing my Honda CRV up Tioga Pass.

Have fun camping!

Fred.

[lostdog]

stvdman wrote:
How about the engine/transmission as a unit?

I had a 2009, small, no slide, class-c (28') E-450, V-10 w/5-speed TORQUE-SHIFT transmission.

Currently have 2008 KODIAK SUPER-C 34', 8.1 V-8 with ALLISON transmission.

Must admit, the larger motorhome, with "smaller" engine, works/drives much better than the V-10 in the E-450 did.

The major difference I attribute MOSTLY to the transmission. Possibly somewhat to rear-gearing also.....BUT, I really think that the ALLISON transmission makes up the biggest difference.


I too am now looking at a CLASS-A as the family needs/wants change. My biggest concern isnt so much with the V-10 vice a Diesel Engine, its with that comes bolted up to it. I am just not nearly as confident in FORDS transmission as I am in an ALLISON product.

I need to get out and test drive a gasser and diesel to really narrow it down. I am leaning towards the diesel at this point mostly for the driving dynamics. LOW RPM, chug along with a GREAT tranny.

The newer Ford tranny has shown to be very dependable! Do not let the tranny scare you away from the Ford V10. The combo utilizes a well engineered, computer controlled TOW/HAUL mode and CRUISE CONTROL that works really well. Not that I want to upset the "gotta have Diesel" folks but long 7-8% grades show me that those 38' coaches with 300 HP Cummins are struggling and I just breeze right by them.

[stvdman]

How about the engine/transmission as a unit?

I had a 2009, small, no slide, class-c (28') E-450, V-10 w/5-speed TORQUE-SHIFT transmission.

Currently have 2008 KODIAK SUPER-C 34', 8.1 V-8 with ALLISON transmission.

Must admit, the larger motorhome, with "smaller" engine, works/drives much better than the V-10 in the E-450 did.

The major difference I attribute MOSTLY to the transmission. Possibly somewhat to rear-gearing also.....BUT, I really think that the ALLISON transmission makes up the biggest difference.

I too am now looking at a CLASS-A as the family needs/wants change. My biggest concern isnt so much with the V-10 vice a Diesel Engine, its with that comes bolted up to it. I am just not nearly as confident in FORDS transmission as I am in an ALLISON product.

I need to get out and test drive a gasser and diesel to really narrow it down. I am leaning towards the diesel at this point mostly for the driving dynamics. LOW RPM, chug along with a GREAT tranny.

[mowermech]

I don't know the numbers for my V10 (see sig.), and I don't know what my '06 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited weighed, but the coach towed it over Marias Pass, Homestake Pass, and Monida Pass with no trouble.
I haven't towed the truck yet. I will be towing it over Marias Pass later this month.

[427435]

I've only read the first page and a half, but will chime in to say that our 310 hp V10 gets the job done just fine while pulling a 5000 lb toad. Been over the Rockies a couple of times also.

I'm glad I don't have the added $$ of a DP depreciating or the added cost of maintaining a DP.

[cjoseph]

Use due diligence. Some of those entry-level diesel pushers are rated to tow less than 5,000 pounds.

When I was looking, a Thor Palazzo only had 4,000 difference between the GCWR and GVWR. Don't know the tow rating. Both Tiffin's entry level diesels are rated at or less than 5K towing. The Breeze is 4000 (28BR) and 4500 (32BR). The Open Road RED is 5K. I think the limiting factor on these chassis is the transmission--not sure though.

My 24k Ford chassis is rated to tow 6,000. Of course, an RV builder has to build a gas MH rated that high first. I haven't seen a gasser rated at 6K yet, but in theory we could.

My 24K Ford MH pulls the 4,500 lb Jeep just fine.

The engine will scream when you want speed. I just stick to 60-65 MPH and do just fine.

MPGs are about 7 with the Toad. I haven't taken long enough trips not towing to calculate MPG without the Toad.

So, watch out, some diesels will only tow the same as a gasser, but they will do it much more quietly.

Good luck in your search,

On edit: As usual, late on the trigger for me, but now that your mind is made up, some good info up there. Check the numbers on the chassis and see if the model you want can be optioned on the next size chassis up. Sometimes, that can be done.

[Kevin_O_]

My mind is now made up and I'm going with the V10. I think my mind is set on a Forest River Georgetown 350TS! Thanks for all the feedback!!

[AllegroD]

I think it depends on what year you are buying and model. The Triton V10 before 2007 only had 2 valves. We added a Banks, which helped a lot. Without the Banks our 04 would trudge up the mountains at or below 45. Our current MH has the TV10 with 3 valves. It does better than the 2 valve with Banks.

Does not sound like you have many mountains to go through, just some hills.

Also of note is the noise and heat in some rigs. If insulated properly, both of those are minimized. In our 04 we had to shout at each other to be heard, but in current one the only time we raise our voices is a few minutes in the mountains whe the RPMs are up. Our 04 had heat and cold leaking through the firewall.

I believe a V10 is worth it, even if you are in it a lot, but take your time and pick the right rig.