I am impressed with the V-10 performance.

[bachler]

In the motorhome Forum; Has anyone ever had a bad experiance With the Ford V10;; We most be fair. "You know both sides";

[IMPULSE DRIVEN]

Originally Posted by bachler

In the motorhome Forum; Has anyone ever had a bad experiance With the Ford V10;; We most be fair. "You know both sides";

I heard the 06 models had some issues, but the newer ones seem to be fine.

[96 Wideglide]

Originally Posted by IMPULSE DRIVEN

I heard the 06 models had some issues, but the newer ones seem to be fine.

Some of us consider the 06's, ' as the NEW ones '. !

[GreaTOne65]

Having had the privilege of owning 4 MH's, a '76 Class C Tioga 21', 350 Chevy, 27' '86 Class A Pace Arrow, 454 Chevy, '99 Class A Challenger, 33', 410 V-10, now own a '99 37v Discovery, 5.9L Cummins, so I think I have a little bit of experience. Until I bought the Discovery, the Challenge and the V10 was OK. We drive from MI-AZ every year, we made 3 round trips with the V10, it averaged 8.2 mpg, on every trip, pulling a car on a dolly. Now I understand, my V10 was the early 2 valve engine, so is was probably much weaker that the newer models. after leaving St. Louis, the V10 did not do very well, on the hills. On the cruise, it was always shifting up and down. If you came to a long hill, on the cruise, you'd had better be ready to catch the throttle, because if it pulled down far enough, the cruise would bail out, and it would lose all it's momentem, and you'd end up a 25 mph until you topped the hill. I-17 from Flagstaff to Pheonix, I avoided at all costs after that first trip. After that, I took 25 out of Albeuque. Now, all I'm going to say, off topic, is if I'd bought the Discovery first, I wouldn't have had to buy the other 3.

[Sequim Guy]

Mine is the same '99 2-valve V-10 that you had, plus 5 more feet of coach and a tag axle, and had the same trouble with cruise control. Mine on cruise will shift down to third before I want it to, so if there is a hill coming, I just kick off the cruise. The Ford cruise will shift down after only a 2-3mph drop, and no way to adjust it. One of those things you just live with.
If you don't like I-17 south of Flagstaff, you will hate the Siskiyous Mtns on I-5 at the OR/CA border. Have done both and will take I-17 anytime.

Having the first 3 taught you to appreciate the one you have now.

[JOMARFL (FMCA 401058)]

Our V10 gets us where we're going, we stay under 60 most of the time. Everyone else can pass us, we're in the slow lane. No issues with our V10 so far, we love it.

[RicMac]

With the price of gas being what it is I make myself feel better by glancing over at the price of diesel. What's the maintenance cost on that diesel? I'm happy with the 10.

[IMPULSE DRIVEN]

Originally Posted by JOMARFL (FMCA 401058)

Our V10 gets us where we're going, we stay under 60 most of the time. Everyone else can pass us, we're in the slow lane. No issues with our V10 so far, we love it.

I really don't care if I get passed, it is about enjoying the trip, not how fast you can get there.

[The Shadow]

Originally Posted by Chuck 1935

It's all in good fun no matter what.
My one son has a V10 in his Southwind and my other son has a 454 with a Banks set up in his Bounder and they both have lots of power and run great.
I know with mine they used the same Cat engine all the way up to the 40 footers. I doubt they would go nearly as well as my little 34 footer.

Our 2004 39W had the same engine. I always laughed when I read the claims of gasser owners that they blow by DPs. I guess when they drive their Malibu or Sebring by a Corvette that makes them faster than the Corvette. They don't seem to understand that not everyone, including DP owners, drive fast all the time.

In 2005 we went to Gaffney for our first annual service at Freightliner. We then went to visit friends in Virginia. There is a nice climb on 77 north of Charlotte and we passed a LOT of gassers without any of them coming near us. We were able to run over 65 all the way. When we came to the extra truck lanes they had to use them - we didn't.

The point is that if you let your revs down (usually when you get boxed in by trucks in both lanes in front of you) then you are in trouble in a gasser or a DP if you are going uphill. Our first trip to FLA in our previous MH (a Kodiak C with 8.1) we got trapped in box and did that sucker rev to get going - over 4200 rpm and was VERY noisy. Our current E450 with 6.8 V10 is no noisier - in fact DW thinks it is quieter (I don't). Our 39W and then our HR 40PLQ made I-75 south of the KY border a non-event. Both our 8.1 and now our 6.8 howl from 900 ft up to 2250 feet. I'm alway glad to get to the top so we can coast downhill. With the DPs it was not like that. Even then, downhill with the exhaust brake was much nicer than downhill with the 8.1 and 6.8. The only things I miss from the A DPs - the exhaust brakes and the torque (860 in the CAT and 950 in the Cummins). I don't miss the cost. Our Impulse is one year old today. Had it to the Ford dealer for service. Same dealer did the six month. Total cost for the year - $115.

[RonK]

First 2 coaches were with the V10 and of course we noticed the engine noise going up long grades but it got us there. We weren't out for any speed records and were just enjoying retirement and the ability to travel. We felt the V10 did great for the intended purpose. Biggest reason for us to go to the pusher was for the ride improvement. Still feel the V10 is a great engine for up to 35ft motorhomes.

[bachler]

I'm also impressed With all the winding and the lack of Torque;; Actulley I'm not impressed. So I won't go any further;;

[Old Dude 66]

It seems some folks in this thread are intent on making V10 owners feel bad about their rigs!

We purchased a 2011 Winnie Adventurer 35P V10 and love it. We haven't taken it to Colorado yet so I don't have a clue how it will climb the passes but goodness, 95% of our driving isn't in Colorado. It takes the hills in Arkansas just fine. I have found that I prefer to drive without the cruise in hilly country and let the speed build a little downhill and pull back down as I climb the next one. The RPM most times doesn't go above about 3200 and many times it will stay about 2600 up hill. My RPM at 65 is 2200.

We were RVing with a 2010 Dodge 2500 Cummins pulling a 32 foot fifth wheel prior to our MH and I must say, I would have preferred a diesel but simply couldn't see spending and extra $50,000 for one.

[w6pea]

Originally Posted by Chuck 1935

It is nice to have the power to pass the slow vehicals so your not eating their exhaust mile after mile. As far as MPG, my Ford pickup with a 460 gets 7mpg empty or with a load. My motorhome gets 8mpg. Enjoy your travels !!

Originally Posted by az bound

Here we go. This should be very interesting. My daddy can beat up your daddy

Originally Posted by JOMARFL (FMCA 401058)

Our V10 gets us where we're going, we stay under 60 most of the time. Everyone else can pass us, we're in the slow lane. No issues with our V10 so far, we love it.

I have a 1995 Ford F-250 with the 460cid. 7.5L motor, if I set the cruise control on it at 60 mph, I get about 12 to 14 mpg. I also have a 2005 Fleetwood Jamboree 26Q, with the V-10 6.8L motor. I set my cruise control at 60 mph, I get 10 to 12 mpg, depending on if I have a head wind or side wind and or if I am in the Sierra Mountains, when I am climbing a grade according to my Scan Gauge II (another expensive toy) it drops down to as low as 3.5 mpg. Trying to keep it at 50mph. So I just kick it out of over drive and if I can only pull the hill at 30mph I am happy if the people behind me don't like it....they can go around me.

I like the V-10 6.8L motor it pulls just as good as my 460cid 7.5L ever has


If We Can't Haul It...You Don't Need It ! Motor-T

[The Shadow]

Originally Posted by bachler

When those blessed V10 triton first hit the market I stoped at a They told me they had a backlog Of 26 Motorhomes they need to replace the engines in. Because they were bad... Now tell me again how great the V10 is; Also it seems we are on the Winnebago site , As was stated in a proir post, What is ford EXC> doing here; Talking about staying on the subject;; I have Owned The Triton ; someone asked in I would own another. Heck No; I spent $25,000 more and got a Real engine A diesel;;

Seems to me you have a selective memory or are very biased. I seem to recall a whole bunch of Cummins eating themselves due to defects and replacement wasn't cheap. And your memory is taking you back to 1999 or so on the V10. Long time ago. What have your heard since?

Since 2003 I've blown lots of $$$ on 5 MH's with a V10, Cat C7, ISC, 8.1 and now have a V10 again. Much of what I've read in this long thread strikes me as irrelevant. With every one of these engines if you lost revs when finding yourself in a box (tractor trailer in front of you and beside you when grinding uphill) and lost revs, getting back up to speed was far from instant. When we would enter TN on I-75 going south to FLA, in the 2 DPs we had, some of the fastest MHs we'd see making that climb were really short Class C units with the V10 and not towing. We'd be going 70 (with ease and all the noise at the back - provided we didn't get in a box) and they'd go winging by us.

As to dependability, search the forums and if you want to talk about huge $$ repairs for diesels, you will find a lot of them. How about $6G's for a fuel pump replacement on an ISC. Just look a little and they are there - along with being out of commission for weeks depriving the owners of use.

We read a lot about how quiet the 8.1 was supposed to be. Well, when we got our Kodiak gasser, going uphill on I-75 in TN sure was noisy - very little difference between the V10 and 8.1. And, we hit 4,000 revs in the 8.1 after having to slow a bit for trucks. When accelerating from a standstill the 8.1 was also very noisy. One aspect of our DPs that spoiled us was the fact that they may have been noisy but that noise (in a 39 footer and 41 footer) was so far back you couldn't hear much at highway speeds. The only other thing we miss is the exhaust brake. Coming downhill was always a pleasure and never a concern.

As to fuel consumption - most sucked. C7 had an average of 8.3 mpg during our ownership. The ISC was 7.6 but that MH weighed 4-5,000 lbs more. The 8.1 was 7.6 and that was a big disappointment The first V10 in a Class A was far better at almost 9 but we did not tow with it (DW was of the view that anyone who had to tow didn't know how to plan properly. After our first trip to the east coast she seemed to change her mind.). With our current V10 in a C Class, we are disappointed as we expected to do better than the first one (a 2000 model) but it has ranged from 7.5 to 8.8 - depending on headwinds. After the first year of ownership, having the V10 serviced by a Ford dealer, total cost of maintenance was under $125. Neither DP was even remotely in that ballpark (C7 done at Freightliner Gaffney was $550 and ISC done at a Cummins dealer was $900). The 8.1 was a bit more than the V10 because it had an Allison filter change at 5,000 miles. Toads - first a Colorado (quad cab with bed cap and bed roller - kind of heavy - over 4500 lbs), then a Tahoe LTZ, and now an Escape.

Overall, not unhappy with the V10 and feel that value for the buck is reasonably good. What could be improved - Allison 1000 six speed would be nice. Six always better than 5. But the 5 is a huge improvement over the four in our first V10. I would not shy away from any of these engines if they were in a MH we wanted.

[targaboat]

Shadow, good post.

I would add that with the proper gear ratio available and used by the driver, the higher horsepower motor will always go faster up a given grade. Also the diesels are all turbo charged now days and do not loose much if any horsepower at higher altitudes as compared to the current gas engines available for MHs. The torque issue is only important during slow engine speed operation where the diesel peak torque is around 1500 rpm where as the gas engine peak is in the mid 3000s rpm. These are all the laws of physics and are only disputed by individuals who are not knowledgeable about such issues.

[Perry White]

Don't need a 6 speed. Not enough power to ever get into high gear anyway.

[Automobilist]

Couple questions, comments, etc;

Shadow; Curious, why go through five coaches in eight years? The cost of tax, license & depreciation would pay for years of fuel & maintenance.

targaboat; my turbodiesel coach achieves peak torque (860 lb ft) @ 1440 rpm. At 1600, I'm doing 60 mph. Because diesels torque peak so much lower than gassos, they are geared differently. A high torque motor (turbodiesel) will almost always climb hills faster and at lower rpm than a gas coach. They may slow down (and shift down a gear) to torque peak and then run that rpm continuously, while a gasmobile has to keep downshifting and running very high rpms.

Also, different engines peak at different rpm's based on design. Our 2011 Chevy Duramax turbodiesel pickup peaks torque of 765 lb-ft @ 1600 rpm, and peaks horsepower of 397 @ 3000 rpm. Our prior (2001) coach powered by a Cummins ISB had only 520 lb ft @ 1900 rpm. It was a real dog in the mountains.

Torque provides push, or climbing & towing ability. Power provides speed. In our case, we usually tow a big race car trailer with two cars and tools, etc. Probably weighs around 9,000 lb... I can barely feel the extra weight behind me. I would like to try pulling it up our 5,000' high hills around here with a V10 coach to see how it compares. Any takers?

[ron55]

I had a 2001 Itasca 31' class C loaded to the max with the 2 valve V10 climbed the Rockys a lot better than my 33' class A 8.1, both were noisy, no problem out of the V10 but the 8.1 overheated and died this past Aug on Monark Mt. Co. The V10 got about 7mpg and the 8.1 less. I was set to buy a DP after my engine problem but reading the overheating and low on power climbing in the Rockys I will go with what the Colorado people use a 5the wheel and a pickup. No matter what it is, it all power to weight, diesel or gas makes not differece and you caint get a big diesel in a small Motorhome

[GOLDWINGER2]

Originally Posted by Automobilist

Torque provides push, or climbing & towing ability. Power provides speed. In our case, we usually tow a big race car trailer with two cars and tools, etc. Probably weighs around 9,000 lb... I can barely feel the extra weight behind me. I would like to try pulling it up our 5,000' high hills around here with a V10 coach to see how it compares. Any takers?

Takers, I hope not. I have not seen any gassers that are rated to tow 9000#. most are rated at 3500-5000#. A man has to know his limitations.
J

[bachler]

Number one It was a big dissapoint ment for me, ( the ford V10 )) number two. Please respect the Winnebago site/link Headline Winnebago. To headline it as ford STINKS to high heaven;; Then they say WELL it is in my Winnebago. . PLEASE post it on the ford SITE;; I once posted a winnebago on the ford site.. I was advised to REspect the guidelines,, enough said/