Hill climbing

[umcontractor]

I have a 2014 Ventana 3634 with 360 HP motor. I pull a Jeep Sahara Unlimited. Climbing most grades, I'm down to 35 to 40 miles per hour. All of the gas motor homes and friends with diesel trucks pulling big 5th wheels are passing me easily. Is this normal?

Thank you

[Skip426]

You need to calculate , your rolling weight to HP ratio.
I think you'll find that your in the 95>100 lbs. per HP.
Then guess-timate the same ratio of the units that pass you.
My last 5er/ 3/4 ton, with 305 hp , compared to the 300 hp of my DP, would do better on hills but also rolled with 15,000 less weight.
18,000, compared to the coach & toad 33,000.
I know, if I'd added 15,000 #, to that truck, it wouldn't have moved, at all let alone keep up to the coach.
Most gas coaches will be 10,000 # lighter, same theory applies , add that weight to them , they won't keep up, to you.

[SNAIL1]

You have 360 hp but likely much less torque available from your gasoline engine than the diesel boys. Many gas owners add a "banks system" for that reason.

At one time we owned a 460 cu in gaser and after adding the Banks system, it was a totally different beast. I could climb hills and stay with traffic. It did not help with mileage as some claim but then it depends on what your looking for.

[SNAIL1]

Sorry, I should have looked at your rig more closely. It apparently is a diesel! We tow a vehicle which weighs 4500 lbs with our older Cummins ISC 330 hp Dutch Star without modifications to the engine. Loaded we are at approximately 28,000 lbs plus the toad--total 32 to 33,000 lbs including toad and climb most grades reasonably well.

We don't set any records but hold our own. We've found that how you approach a hill has a lot to do with how well you climb the hill. Max torque on our engine is at about 1500 rpm so we keep the engine rpm at 1500 to 2000 rpm by shifting down if needed.

[SWag]

Originally Posted by umcontractor

I have a 2014 Ventana 3634 with 360 HP motor. I pull a Jeep Sahara Unlimited. Climbing most grades, I'm down to 35 to 40 miles per hour. All of the gas motor homes and friends with diesel trucks pulling big 5th wheels are passing me easily. Is this normal?

Thank you

I'm running the 340 HP ISB in my '13 Ventana and am pulling a Chevy Traverse that I just weighed at 5,000 lbs. A couple of weeks ago we traveled along I 45 through the Ozarks with some pretty good grades and we typically pulled up the long grades at about 55 to 57 mph. Dropped down to 51 mph on one very long grade but considering we were fully loaded with a heavy toad, I thought the engined performed well. Your performance doesn't sound right in comparison.

Scott

[PushedAround]

Which Cummins do you have? If it is an ISC then around 2,000 rpms are good for climbing. If it is an ISB (like mine) then for the steeper climbs you really need to be around 2500 rpm as the smaller motors need to be (and like to be) revved more.

[JFXG]

If you're in the 100 - 110 lb/hp area as I am, then you will be fairly sensitive to both the grade and the technique you use to drive them.

I've found that if I can enter a fairly easy grade (2-3%) with speed, my momentum will translate and I can pretty well hold some speed even if its a long grade. But if I lose momentum at the start, or if its any steeper (3-5%), there's no hope, and I'll be in the right lane doing 40. Its a tough balance. Both torque and HP are your friends- peak torque range about 14-1900, peak HP range at about 2000-2400- so I try to run on grades at about 1900-2000, so I'm tickling the optimum on both factors.

Also, resist the temptation to floor it. Doesn't work with diesels, and sometimes will slow you down. Feed it enough fuel to do what you're asking.

[YC1]

When test driving our Diesel 42 footer the salesperson asked me how I like the power as we were pulling a steep hill. I told him my 8.1 Workhorse would out run it.

After a couple of mods on the 400ISL that is no longer the case. The occasional monster pickup pulling a 5th wheel will pass me but he is not close to 40K lbs.

I suspect you are running high weight to HP.

[Dutch Star Don]

umcontractor......Is this your first diesel motor home? They have to be driven a little differently than gassers. That coach should be doing better than what you're reporting. The Allison is smart, but sometimes you need to shift it. You also need to be running where your HP and Torque are maxed. If you're new to a DP and would like some ideas on driving it, give me a call. I'm in Moorpark. Just PM me for my number.

Did you buy from Tom Lindstrom?

[gruelens]

Also, resist the temptation to floor it. Doesn't work with diesels, and sometimes will slow you down.

Interesting instructions ........ I have had a CDL for 38 years and have a few miles driving diesels. I never knew "flooring it" will slow you down. I have been doing it all wrong.

[Beyond]

We have a 5.9 ISB Cummins and I watch the Exhaust Gas Temp...When it gets close to 1300, I take my foot out of it. It has a Banks system, but even that instruction book says to not run above 1300 except for short bursts. On long steep grades, I'm also going only 35. The PO said he climbed fine by just flooring it and keeping up the momentum. Maybe I worry to much about the EGT??? But creeping up up with the trucks works for me, if it makes the engine parts last longer.

[PushedAround]

EGT monitoring is vital in a modified motor. If it gets too high, you can damage the exhaust valves, turbo bearings or worse. It usually is not a problem in a stock motor as the mfgs tune them so that they can run for long periods of time at high loads without any problems.

[hawgguy]

I watch EGT, Coolant temp and RPM and balance all three with gear selection and throttle.

["007"]

I have a gasser that will pass you but do not have the weight you do, you have received all good advise from your fellow DP owners.
Safe travels.