Bounder: Bounder DP acceleration question

[stepside454]

Im not sure this is the right place to ask this question, but it looked good. yesterday I drove a 2001 Bounder 37ft. DP. it did drive nice, it has a banks upgrade on the 5.9. Ive driven other class A's before, but never a DP. I didnt seem to have much for acceleration in comparison to the other gas A's Ive driven. I dont plan to dragrace the thing, i mean I think its adequete, but will it be more of an issue with a toad? or accelerating up a hill from a stand still ?also, do you know how much it would tow? I dont think thisis the one we'll buy anyway, but just curious.
Once the beast gets rolling than it seems to start accelerating reasonably fast, but its pretty slow o respond. Thanks in advance, john

[Elkhartjim]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stepside454 Im not sure this is the right place to ask this question, but it looked good. yesterday I drove a 2001 Bounder 37ft. DP. it did drive nice, it has a banks upgrade on the 5.9. Ive driven other class A's before, but never a DP. I didnt seem to have much for acceleration in comparison to the other gas A's Ive driven. I dont plan to dragrace the thing, i mean I think its adequete, but will it be more of an issue with a toad? or accelerating up a hill from a stand still ?also, do you know how much it would tow? I dont think thisis the one we'll buy anyway, but just curious. Once the beast gets rolling than it seems to start accelerating reasonably fast, but its pretty slow o respond. Thanks in advance, john

http://media.rvusa.com/library/Fleet..._Bounder_b.pdf

It is slow off the line.

[GWCowgill]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stepside454 Im not sure this is the right place to ask this question, but it looked good. yesterday I drove a 2001 Bounder 37ft. DP. it did drive nice, it has a banks upgrade on the 5.9. Ive driven other class A's before, but never a DP. I didnt seem to have much for acceleration in comparison to the other gas A's Ive driven. I dont plan to dragrace the thing, i mean I think its adequete, but will it be more of an issue with a toad? or accelerating up a hill from a stand still ?also, do you know how much it would tow? I dont think thisis the one we'll buy anyway, but just curious. Once the beast gets rolling than it seems to start accelerating reasonably fast, but its pretty slow o respond. Thanks in advance, john

John,
The Turbo Diesel is slow off the line becauuse of the Turbo. They do not develop their power until the turbo spins up so there is always a lag from the time you step on the accelerator until the turbo catches up. I had the 5.9 in my dodge truck and it will pull as much as you want to pull. I now have the 6.7TD which I find more than adequate in a 36 foot Bounder. I am sure there are many on the forums who have the 5.9 that tow toads and even trailers heavier than a toad. Hopefully somone can respond better to your questions.

[Elkhartjim]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GWCowgill John, The Turbo Diesel is slow off the line becauuse of the Turbo. They do not develop their power until the turbo spins up so there is always a lag from the time you step on the accelerator until the turbo catches up.

I was thinking the same and then I wasn't sure the 01 was turbocharged. My lag seems to be 2-3 seconds but then again I quit watching the christmas tree many years ago.

[GWCowgill]

The 2001 should be turbo charged. As far as I know, they started turbo charging back in the 90's but not sure what year. I used to have a boost gage on my 99 Dodge so I could see what was going on. I also lost boost one time due to a faulty sensor and you sure feel it. The old 5.9 diesel does respond well to performance enhancers. Any Turbo can lose boost for various reasons and need to be checked. Without a boost guage you really have no way of knowing if things are going down hill back ther except the seat of the pants.

[Elkhartjim]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GWCowgill I used to have a boost gage on my 99 Dodge so I could see what was going on. Without a boost guage you really have no way of knowing if things are going down hill back ther except the seat of the pants.

Have you had the time to toggle through the information the LBCU (light bar control unit) provides? Boost is a selectable option. I unfortunatly am not familiar enough with a diesel to know what the boost pressures should and shouldn't be. Any words of wisdom would be appreciated or if you can refer me some place.

[GWCowgill]

Boost pressure is determined by where the waste gate is set at. On my 1999 Dodge which I had modified was getting 40lbs boost pressure. Some are going over 40lbs boost which the 5.9 seems happy with but as boost increases so do internal pressures on the engine components. I understand that the new engines create a record of this data which could then be used to void warranties. Do a search on Cummins performance and you can find all sorts of information.

I was using my Dodge to not only pull my 5th wheel but also in a business. I had a 40" flatbed trailer that I would load out sometimes to it's max. The engine would pull it but I was overloading the truck so I went to a Chevy 4500 w/RV body. Needless to say, The Cummins is capable of much more than what is being advertised. Note: Cummins is taking the 6.7 and boosting it even more to get 800 ft lbs torque which should be a brute.

[GWCowgill]

Elkhart Jim, Yes I have been playing with the light bar and you can bet I will be getting some data that I may play with later. I am going to play around with it today as I understand that you can set it up to a custom display, displaying only what you want. I am curious as to what the regeneration system will do to my economy. I have spent hours on line reading different articles regarding the regen from fleets and they claim there is little to no change.

I will get a better feel for the economy after the 1st of the month when we finally put it on the road. The whole month of March will be a good test run for it. Hopefully it will perform as I am hoping for because we love the floorplan with the exception that when the slides are in, access to the bathroom becomes tight but I can do it with a sucking in of the spare tire.

Jim, I am going to do a little research on what they have the waste gate set at on these. I believe I have one of my former students who is working for Cummins so I may have to call him. I am at the age now where I no longer mess with the race cars and don't really care if it takes me a little longer to get there.

I have retired two times which was like a bad vaccination, It just didn't take. Third time seems to be working.

[GWCowgill]

From what I can determine the stock pressures is between 34-36lbs. Many of the guys w/Dodge trucks are stepping it up to 45-50. I would not change the boost on my MH simply because from what I understand with Cummins monitoring and recording the pressures in the computer. Secondly, as you increase boost pressure you also increase heat which I understand can be a problem with rear radiator.

I believe the only thing I will do is monitor boost to make sure it is working properly. When you start to lose boost you generally will find restrictions in the air intake or a turbo that is failing or a waste gate sticking.