Opinon on cummins 350 vs 370

[Romeo]

I am considering the purchase of a newer Dutch Star. One is a 40' 2004 with a cummins 370 ISL and the other is a 40' 2003 with a 350. I know that the 370 is an ISL, but dont have the engine model on the 350, yet.

I am guessing that the 2004 has a 370 because it has 4 slideouts, and the 2003 has a 350 because it has 3 slideouts; assumig the 370 is for the added weight of the extra slideout (??).

Year and model of each aside, is there a major difference in performance or equipment between a cummins 370 and a cummins 350... more than the 20 hp?

Any discussion on the subject would be greatly appreciated.

["007"]

Here is some break down on the engines on Spartan chassis's.
Here is a link to Spartan RV chassis's.

[Brigadoon]

I think the biggest difference is the torque. If my memory serves me correctly, the 350 had 950 lbs/ft and the 370 has 1200. The upgrade to the 370 may have also changed the chassis from Freightliner to Spartan. I know this was the case in 2005, but I'm not sure about the chassis upgrade prior to '05. The engine upgrade was just a purchase option for the buyer not because of the number of slides.

Edit- I think some of the 350's had 1050 lbs/ft of torque.

[dougburi]

Lots of folks say: Horsepower is for "show" and torque is for "go". I wouldn't worry at all about the hp numbers -- the torque numbers are what matter.

[Norm4015]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Romeo I am considering the purchase of a newer Dutch Star. One is a 40' 2004 with a cummins 370 ISL and the other is a 40' 2003 with a 350. I know that the 370 is an ISL, but dont have the engine model on the 350, yet. I am guessing that the 2004 has a 370 because it has 4 slideouts, and the 2003 has a 350 because it has 3 slideouts; assumig the 370 is for the added weight of the extra slideout (??). Year and model of each aside, is there a major difference in performance or equipment between a cummins 370 and a cummins 350... more than the 20 hp? Any discussion on the subject would be greatly appreciated.

The 2004 Dutch Star has a 370 hp Cummins ISL engine with 1200 ft lbs of torque and it rides on a Spartan chassis.

The 2003 Dutch Star you speak of has a 350 hp Cummins ISC engine with 1050 ft llbs of torque and it rides on a Spartan chassis. The standard for 2003 was a 330 hp CAT with 860 ft lbs torque and it rides on a Freightliner chassis. So that DS has the upgrade option.

Of course horsepower and torque rule, but that ISC has plenty of power and will do a great job for you. (I have owned Dutch Stars with both engines and the ISL is faster on takeoff and going up mountains, but I loved my ISC too.)

[Romeo]

Thanks all for the comments. It's helping... of course, now I want a 370 ISL with 1200# of torque so I can beat them all off the line.

I thought that the 350 was going to turn out to be a ISC. And Brigadoon helped solidify that, then Norm made it official...

What about fuel mileage? I get 8.5 mpg with my 300 ISC. Is it going to cost me a bunch more for 1050 or 1200# of torque?

(Norm4015... good to hear from you again, I have missed your knowledge and wisdom)

[Brigadoon]

I'm light on the throttle when accelerating and cruise in the range of 62 mph. I'm very careful on my fuel calculations, meaning I do everything manually, and have averaged 8.2 mpg with my 370. The extremes that I have observed are 7.5 and 8.9 mpg.

[Norm4015]

My 2000 Dutch Star 3851 with a Cummins ISC averaged 8.3 mpg over 66,000 miles.

My 2005 Dutch Star 4015 with a Cummins ISL has averaged 8.20 mpg over 43,000 miles. I figure every tank full with a pencil and paper and I also average every 10,000 miles of driving. This is the mpg I'm getting since it was new.

0-10,000 miles (7.78 mpg)
10,000 - 20,000 miles (7.94 mpg)
20,000 - 30,000 miles (8.19 mpg)
30,000 - 40,000 miles (8.49 mpg)
40,000 - 43,000 miles (8.42 mpg)

As you can see the miles per gallon increased as the engine got broken in. The last few thousand miles were mostly short trips so the lower mpg. On the open road heading across the country driving 62-64 mph I often get around 9.0 mpg.

Oh, that is the motorhome packed for full time traveling and towing a Honda CR-V.

[Romeo]

Those numbers sound reasonable. So I can have reasonable fuel mileage AND have the capability to out drag another motorhome from stop light to stop light, ALL RIGHT...

As I have mentioned in other areas of the forum, my SliverLeaf has shown a lifetime average of 8.5 mpg. During some trips last summer it dropped a bit, maybe due to our tow vehicle. It now show 8.3. So I am right in there. I also try to keep a light foot on the pedal and consider mileage when driving. I only hit 70 mph when I'm tired, bored and want to get home (and on a boring freeway) .

Unfortunately, the owner of the 370, reposted his ad $10k more the day after we looked at it and got an out-of-state offer the next day of $3k more that what they were asking of us. I Wonder how many of these out-of-state offers work out... I wonder if the out-of-state buyer will ever find out that he was paying $3k more than what they were initially asking... Google Cashed Pages...

(...and for that price he gets brand new Geostar tires...)

[Brigadoon]

Quote:

Those numbers sound reasonable. So I can have reasonable fuel mileage AND have the capability to out drag another motorhome from stop light to stop light, ALL RIGHT...

Yeah, nothin' better than 1200 lbs of torque...except maybe 1500 lbs or 1900 lbs....

[dougburi]

I want to thank Norm 4015 for the best and most clear careful calculation of fuel mileage I have ever seen. An actual user like Norm gets real world results that can be obtained in no other way.

I had a ISC that got 8 mph plus or minus a little, I now have an ISL that gets 8 plus or minus a little. I am not as careful with my calculations but it gives a rough idea that there isn't a big difference. Your driving habits will be much more important than the engine.