Newbie with old question....

[MARY A]

we are new to rving and this forum so please forgive any mess ups.My basic question is how well does a class c with a V10 pull a toad when it comes to hilly country? We are not full timers, and will mainly be travling on the eastern US in the beginning. We will be bringing along our 2 grandkids, 7 and 4 yrs.. We have been looking at A's and C's for over a year now and have decided that a C bunkhouse best suit's our wants and needs.We are looking at a new Forest River 3171ds w/V10. The toad we are still looking at also; but will probably be in the 3000-3800lb. range.With a budget of 70-90k for m.h. only. Will the new V10 gas do the job or drop back in years 07-09 (seems to be in budget range) and go with a super c such as a four winds 34h kodiak with diesel. we realize the diesel has more torque and greater gvwr; but have no experience with V10 gas. I prefer the advise of experienced rver's over salespeople. Thanks! any imput is greatly appreciated. Mary A

[frankdamp]

On a Class C that length, I'd be concerned how much body is behind the back wheels. There will be much more sideways movement on the towing system and the toad than on a rig with a longer wheelbase and less tail overhang.

Just to qualify, we don't tow - I'm just looking at it as an engineer!

[Sonny & Pam]

Howdy;
We have a 2002 Fourwinds 5000 28 1/2 ft. with V10 gas:
Took motorhome and my 18ft. car trailer with my '32 chevy on it back to Memphis Tn. and back to Albuquerque,N.M. with no trouble at all.. Never felt the need for more power.Then we went on a 23 state trip without a toad, same thing no need for more power or torque.Only thing you will need is a good credit card 'cause you wont pass to many gas stations!! We got any where from 6.8-8.9 mpg on all our trips,but I think we could get better if I had a lighter foot!!

[MARY A]

Thank you for your response on my towing question; Frank the weight distribution behind the axle is an excellent point;one that I had not given much consideration to, and Sonny your actual experience is very helpful. This is the kind of info that I was hoping for. Purshasing an RV is something we have been discussing for some time now,and have finally decided to take the plunge.Hopefully we can look foward to years of enjoyment along with i'm sure lots of other questions.I am glad I found this forum and nice folks such as you all. If anyone else would care to give us some imput it would be greatly appreciated. thanks again MARY A

[Purplefans & Harvey]

Hi Mary! Welcome! We had a 27 ft Class C with V10 (but it was older, and only had 3500 lb tow capacity so we never towed anything). We did LOVE "Harvey". It was great with the kids (they were 5 and 7). We used a baby bed-gate for the top bunk and it was wonderful - for two reasons - it helped store stuff when traveling, and we never worried about the kids falling down when they were sleeping. We got @10 mpg on the gas V10. I had always wanted a 31' class C, but were very concerned about what the other member had mentioned, the overhang on the back. Even with the 27', we bottomed out and broke the muffler on a simple turn. We have ended up moving up after 5 years to a 32' class A Gas. If we had the money, I would have bought a diesel, but maybe once the kids are out of high school and we can travel as we want, we'll do that! Enjoy traveling with the grandkids! They'll love it!

[csdavis62]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MARY A we are new to rving and this forum so please forgive any mess ups.My basic question is how well does a class c with a V10 pull a toad when it comes to hilly country? We are not full timers, and will mainly be travling on the eastern US in the beginning. We will be bringing along our 2 grandkids, 7 and 4 yrs.. We have been looking at A's and C's for over a year now and have decided that a C bunkhouse best suit's our wants and needs.We are looking at a new Forest River 3171ds w/V10. The toad we are still looking at also; but will probably be in the 3000-3800lb. range.With a budget of 70-90k for m.h. only. Will the new V10 gas do the job or drop back in years 07-09 (seems to be in budget range) and go with a super c such as a four winds 34h kodiak with diesel. we realize the diesel has more torque and greater gvwr; but have no experience with V10 gas. I prefer the advise of experienced rver's over salespeople. Thanks! any imput is greatly appreciated. Mary A

Mary,

I just bought a 2011 Class C Coachmen Freelander 32 BH with the V10 and plan on to tow a 04 Toyota 4Runner 4 down. Coachmen states that the as built weight of the RV is 12,316 lbs, it has a CGVW of 20,000 lbs. The Toyota weighs about 4600 lbs so it is within the the 5000 lb limit of the RV/Hitch and there is plenty of total capacity available with the E450 chassis.

I am new as well but the research I have done tells me that 4 down is the way to go. I am installing a Remco Drive Shaft Disconnect with the Roadmaster XL Base Plate. I will also be using a ReadyBrute tow bar with integrated toad breaking system which is very highly rated and half the cost of the floorboard box supplemental systems.

I would be less willing to use a car dolly or some kind of trailer due to less stability than 4 Down provides. From what I can gather reading others experience the E450 V10 has more than enough power to handle what you are asking it to do. I have also ordered the 5 Start Tuning ECM upgrade which gets rave reviews to increase power & torque but more importantly dramatically improves the transmission shift profiles and over all transmission performance.

So all is on order and should be here within the next few weeks. I expect to have zero problems going anywhere. I live in east TN so there are a fair amount of hills near by for me as well but again you can find tons of post where folks have used a similar setup to tow coast to coast over hill and mountain without issue so I would not be worried or feel the need to step up to a Super C or Diesel.

By the way.... I have less than 90K in the RV (bought new 66K), 4Runner (bought used 12K), and towing/upgrade pieces (about $2,700.00 delivered self installed)

My 2 cents

Scott