Triple E Commander "FRED" motorhome

[toban]

What is your opinion of a "fred" MH and the manufacturer? Are there any advantages over a gas MH? What about resale?

A friend of mine is thinking of buying one and I'm not convinced this is the way for him to go. It's his first purchase. I own a DSDP.

You opinions would be appreciated.

Toban

[Gary RVRoamer]

Triple E has a good reputation among Canadians. As afr as a front end diesel, just about everybody who has one is ecstatic about them, compared to a front gas engine of similar size. Some feel the Freightliner Fred is a bit underpowered for some of the 37 footers being built on it, but if you stick with 32-35 foot models it should be fine. Haven't seen any feedback on the new Workhorse front diesels yet, but they should be fine too.

The big plus is torque and fuel economy. Most FRED owners report 10+ mpg, whereas a similar gas unit is going to be lucky to see 8 mpg.

[JCM]

I tried the 37 foot Triple E fred and found it "gut less". It's engine brake was also poor. I would agree thet the 32 foot model would probably be ok but not the heavier one.

[Cruzer]

FREDs have their place. Tiffin sells a ton of Allegro and Allegro Bay FREDS, although the new Allegro RED (rear engine diesel) is seriously putting a dent into the Allegro Bay sales.

Gas engines rev high and seem to accelerate faster than the FRED because oftheir horsepower. However, the FRED has more torque. You'll typically find that a gasser has more get up and go off the line butthat the FRED will hold it's speed on grades once moving better than the gassers and the engine won't be screaming at higfher revs. The diesel also gets better fuel economy than the gasser engines because it isn't revving as high and pump that much more air (and fuel) through it.

The FRED is a bridge. It's between a gasser and a diesel pusher. It's never going to replace either and it has it's bnenefits and drawbacks, just like everything else. It will all depend on what your friend is looking for. If it was me, I'd go with something like an Allegro FRED in the 34' range but if I wanted to go longer I'd go to the Allegro RED in the 36-38' range. I really don't feel that any front engine coach in the 37' range is the ideal solution because they are both minimal on power, torque, or both. Today's modern class As come with all of the bells and whistles and amenities that we are asking for and all of this just plain adds weight to the coach.