330 CAT..Enough power?

[Ray,IN]

There is a trade-off. Bigger engines usually mean less fuel mileage and more expensive repairs. The Caterpillar 3126 was arguably the most-used engine they made for dump trucks, waste/garbage trucks, and regional delivery trucks. Cat engines are a bit more expensive to repair than Cummins, but MH's are not run like the above mentioned trucks, so that's not a fair comparison to other diesel engines used in MH application.
I almost bought a Safari Panther with a 525HP CAT C15 engine, until I was told it gets 5.5 MPG. Then reality set in, and I bought this MH with a Cummins ISC 350 HP that gets 7.5 MPG.

[Wobster]

We have a Cat 330. GVWR is 31,000 and we probably run around 29,000-30,000. Going up Western mountains (like the Climb out of Ashland Oregon over Mt Ashland and Mt Shasta) we travel at around 45mph...towing my lifted Jeep Wrangler Unlimited it slows to more like 30-35mph. It is adequate, but no speed demon.

[RIDER FAN]

IMHO get as much HP as you can afford. You will not be sorry.
But..........too each his own.
Best of luck.

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by Ray,IN

I almost bought a Safari Panther with a 525HP CAT C15 engine, until I was told it gets 5.5 MPG. Then reality set in, and I bought this MH with a Cummins ISC 350 HP that gets 7.5 MPG.

Our ISX 650 shows 7.6 MPG for 45,000 miles. Our ISC 350 with Banks (435/1200) got almost the same mileage and it weighed 15,000+#'s less.

[Ray,IN]

Originally Posted by Mr_D

Our ISX 650 shows 7.6 MPG for 45,000 miles. Our ISC 350 with Banks (435/1200) got almost the same mileage and it weighed 15,000+#'s less.

I've gotta agree, the new motors get better mileage.

[Chuck47]

300 Cat in 37ft coach pulling jeep liberty. Pulls the Jeep & climbs hills adequately. Can't do wheelies with it though. I've tried but it just won't do it

[airbrushguy]

I can tell you this, my Dad who is a truck drivers has moved 80k lbs down the road no problem with that engine. It will get you anywhere you want to go within reason. Now, that said, the difference between a 330hp cat and say a 350 or 360 cat is simply a matter of programming and in most cases you can go to a dealer and for a fixed cost they will upgrade the programming and give you a nice boost in power and usually mileage in about an hour.

[Steve Ownby]

Originally Posted by airbrushguy

I can tell you this, my Dad who is a truck drivers has moved 80k lbs down the road no problem with that engine. It will get you anywhere you want to go within reason. Now, that said, the difference between a 330hp cat and say a 350 or 360 cat is simply a matter of programming and in most cases you can go to a dealer and for a fixed cost they will upgrade the programming and give you a nice boost in power and usually mileage in about an hour.

If this type of power upgrade is important to you, be sure to get the engine serial # and check with Cat before you do the deal. Some times, depending on the year of the engine, there is much more to a power increase than a ECM flash. It's not unusual for a turbo change or other hardware to be involved.


Steve Ownby
Full time since '07

[airbrushguy]

Steve is right and that is good advice. Your setup could be extended from 330hp to 360 without modification or it may require the swap out of some supporting parts such as turbo or injectors. Best to call a cat service center with the engine serial # and know before hand.
Additionally, these power upgrades often result in better mileage as they do not make the engine bigger displacement wise but rather work on the principal of improving the efficiency. It's not unusual at all to see a 1-1.5mpg increase from these upgrades.

[calhyatt]

Originally Posted by draboo

I ve been looking at a 2003-05 Fleetwood Discovery 39S with the 330hp CAT engine.

Does anyone here own one of these? I'm curious as to the towing capability of this rig.

Thanks for any input,eh?

Brad

Got a 330 HP CAT in our rig and we have been all over the country including the most demanding mountains. Tow a Full size Silverado. Always had enough power. You may not be the first guy up the hill but you surely wont be the last one. We plan 7.9 mpg towing and over 45000 miles the engine has delivered that number.

[gasman936]

We have the exact rig your looking at. 04 39s w/330 c7 cat . We tow a Jeep Wrangler 4door @ 4250 lbs. we have driven over 15000 mi in the last 2 years. Texas to Fla to Ariz. Never a lack of power anywhere. Hill country areas can slow us to 50 mph or so. But remember this rig totals out at almost 33000 lbs. We just luv it , luv it , luv it!!!


gasman936
04 Discovery 39s

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by airbrushguy

I can tell you this, my Dad who is a truck drivers has moved 80k lbs down the road no problem with that engine. It will get you anywhere you want to go within reason. Now, that said, the difference between a 330hp cat and say a 350 or 360 cat is simply a matter of programming and in most cases you can go to a dealer and for a fixed cost they will upgrade the programming and give you a nice boost in power and usually mileage in about an hour.

We had a 3126 300 HP version in our '00 DSDP. Checked into uprating it to a 330 while under warranty. CAT wanted $2,200 so we decided the extra 30 hp wasn't worth it.
We would not have had to upgrade the radiator as the side radiator units like the Dutch Star have enough extra capacity, CAT people said the rear radiator units usually didn't.

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by Ray,IN

I've gotta agree, the new motors get better mileage.

I think the newer ones with DEF do a little bit better than our '07 EPA with DPF too.