Community Forums

gabeears · 03-31-2012, 03:06 PM

I am looking to upgrade from a gas to diesel. How are the FRED diesels for power? I been told they have a tendency to overheat and lack power on hills. Thanks for respones. Greg

jzick · 03-31-2012, 05:25 PM

We have an 07 Tiffin Allegro Bay FRED that we spend 5-6 months continuous every year in. It is the 300 HP with 5 speed Allison. Most of our trips are not over Rocky mountains, but we do travel extensively over hills of North Georgia and through the Smokies. We have always had enough power, and overheating has never been an issue. Good luck with your search.

SteveLevin · 03-31-2012, 07:08 PM

I can't imagine a FRED not having the power... but unless you are set on buying new, you should consider going 2-3 years older and buying a pusher. You'll get air ride, air brakes, and you just don't hear the engine when it's 30+ feet behind you.

Steve

chuckftboy · 03-31-2012, 08:27 PM

I just sold my 98' Newmar with a fred, 220 HP. Great class A. never had any problems with mountains. Kountry Star 34 pulling a Jeep TJ and still averaged 8.5 mpg cross country. I was happy.

jroan · 04-01-2012, 06:55 PM

I also would go with a DP - the ride will be better and the noise level will also be much better. Not to mention the heat coming thru the dog house.
What ever you decide make sure the co-pilot is happy.

Jroan

Kuppajoe · 04-01-2012, 07:35 PM

We also had an Allegro Bay but with the 340 and six-speed. You can still order an Allegro FRED but you do have to specifically order it. We put 40K miles on it and crossed the country three times, drove over the Canadian Rockies as well as the Rockies of the US. Sure you'll slow to about 45 (depending on your tow weight) on a climb. We got a pretty consistent 10 mpg out of ours and never had any engine overheating issue. Yes, you do have heat and noise from the dog house but it was better in all respects from the two Ford V-10 Class A's we owned prior to owning the FRED. We've moved on to a DP because we went full-time. The FRED we traded in was sold in a month. I did manually shift that FRED to keep the RPMs in the "sweet spot" which was 1700 to 1900 and used the cruise control as much as possible.