SRockwood wrote:
rockhillmanor wrote:
You can read all the specs what a gas MH is 'rated' for until your eyes cross but when it comes time to head out RV'ing, vacation, etc if your towing a heavy toad the trip will most certainly not be fun for the driver.
I tow a Tracker under 3,000 lbs with a E450. On the straight away you can't even tell she's there. Start going up even the lowest grades and you know it's back there.
Most buy the lightest toad they can to pull behind a "gas" MH.
Unless you like hearing your trans screaming on the steep grades as you try to maintain the speed limit which you most likely will not as it floats out half way up.
A DP MH is the way to go with a heavier toad. Just saying.
The price difference between the DP and a class C is enough that one could replace the transmission 5 or 6 times and stay in a Hilton while repairs are being done and still come out on top. :)
Some people don't like revs. Others trust that Ford/GM/whoever knew what they were doing when they specified maximum engine RPM.
Not many people put enough miles on these things to see any difference in service life between towing a heavier towed or a lighter one. The curb weight delta between a "light" car (most "light" cars these days are still north of 3000lbs) and a full size SUV is still only 10-13% of the total weight going down the road.
Let it rev and watch your temps with real gauges. If you don't want to do that, then strictly adhere to the manufacturer's guidelines. They're for people who want to just hook things up and drive down the road without looking down.
Besides, I don't know about you, but all the other noise of driving a house down the road makes the engine somewhat pleasant to hear. :)
Thanks for the info everyone. The post above reminds me of a "pet peeve" of mine. When you buy a Pickup truck there is typically a $9-11k up charge for the same truck in diesel vs gas (2500, 3500, etc they are all available now in gas and diesel). There is no way the cost is actually that great but it is what it is... With that said, why have no RV manufacturers taken the exact same RV and dropped the Diesel in it? For example, take the F53 Ford and simply upgrade to the 6.7 Ford diesel. It would be a much better drive and I think plenty of people would select that option for $10-11k up charge like a truck. Makes no sense. You have to go to a freight liner chassis, etc etc to get a stronger pulling engine which is way overkill for me.Same with class C. You get an E450 chassis and the V10 or for some reason you can spend $50k more and get a "super C which is just an F450 chassis with the diesel. Where do these numbers come from?? I wonder if it is possible to special order a class A MH like this???