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Old 11-30-2021, 05:58 PM   #29
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I’m not going to go into “will a gasser make it up the hill?” discussion, short answer is yes. The thing no one has addressed is the engine noise from a gasser vs. diesel pusher. My wife and I, two months ago, traded in our 2012 Tiffin Open Road for a 2014 Tiffin Breeze. Not because the Open Road couldn’t go up hills, it could, and would keep going at highway speed. We got a DP because even going up a small but long hill or even some highway overpasses the V10 would start down shifting and by the time it got to the top of the hill it would be at 5,000 rpm and screaming in our ears. I’m talking about “hills” not mountains. My cruising speed is between 60-65 MPH so I wasn’t trying to keep up with car traffic.

My wife and I are retired, don’t full time and we tow a Toyota Prius on a dolly and carry about a half tank of water so we were not overloaded. On the last trip from Florida to Honea Path South Carolina both my better half and I felt we were deaf from the engine noise. We are planning a trip to California in 2022 to see some of her family and we agreed we were not making that trip in the Open Road or any other gasser.

Just something to think about.
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Old 11-30-2021, 10:24 PM   #30
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My first Class A was 34 PA. Our first trip was through the mountains "Big 5 Parks" towing a Mini Cooper. I felt that the power was adequate ad we did not have any issue with the brakes. The salesman must be saying the 4 slides weigh more than a two or three slide model? Wouldn't matter to me we loved the 34 PA floor plan and it is the only floor plan we would get in that model.
Where will you intend to do most of your traveling; the V10 does a remarkable on the flat land.
Ours was a 2018 with the lower horsepower higher torque engine. In the mountains you likely would not use cruise control as much.
Good luck, enjoy
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Old 11-30-2021, 10:33 PM   #31
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Well I didn't say I have a V10 for a long time now so I'm familiar with it in the mountains. Just wondering if anyone thought four slide outs would make a difference in its performance? That is my question. That's it :-) thank you
Nope, any difference will be indiscernible to you.
My experience tells me so.
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Old 12-01-2021, 06:50 AM   #32
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HP?

It isn’t HP that matters, it’s torque. No gas engine will develop the torque of a diesel. That said, 4 slides or not you likely won’t climb a mountain like a diesel. There are upgrades you can make to your triton that actually do make a difference. The best upgrade I found was a performance tuner made specific to my vin from RV performance. It changes shift points, timing and fuel mixture. It made a world of difference in all driving. Hope that helps.
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Old 12-01-2021, 07:23 AM   #33
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The lack of a engine brake is a huge deal IMHO, if you are going to spend a lot of time up and down the hills this will pay for itself in safety and nerves IMHO.
A gasoline engine IS AN ENGINE BRAKE. I drive a 34' gasoline engine MH and tow a Jeep. I live in Colorado so all my trips are mountain trips. If used correctly the gasoline engine in a motorhome can effectively brake on the down grade.

For instance, my last trip included the grades on I70 west of Denver to US 6 over Berthoud pass and back. Long grades of 6-7% are included in this drive. Most of time on the downgrades I was in 2nd gear, about 4K rpm and about 40 MPH. I rarely needed to apply the motorhome friction brakes.

I go up and down Colorado mountain passes faster than fully loaded 18 wheelers without ever heating up my brakes nor getting white knuckles! I can't keep up with cars! But then, I am not trying to either! I just want to get there and back safely and my gasoline powered motorhome does that just fine.
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Old 12-01-2021, 07:56 AM   #34
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I own a 2020 34PA and have been all over Colorado and up and down hills and mountains in many other states. It will be slow (35mph give or take a few mph) and a bit noisy. However, the Ford V10 will get where you want to go. The number of slides don't make any difference, and in my experience the weight does not make a significant difference either. We previously owned a 2012 Itasca 32' MH that was about 6k lbs less than our 34PA, and it went up and the down the same hills at about the same speed and noise level. On the downhill side keep your speed down, and let the transmission do its job to reduce your acceleration and momentum. As SkipShaffer mentioned, I also, recommend the performance tune-up for the V10. It will add some HP and torque, and transmission shift adjustments, that help considerably with the noise and acceleration. The tune-up doesn't help much in the mountains, as far as speed goes, but does reduce some of the shifting and noise. Also, I have the Liquid Springs on my coach which helps significantly with the ride, handling and noise.
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Old 12-01-2021, 08:34 AM   #35
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I'm looking at upgrading to a gas coach with a V10, it has four slide outs and a salesman told me because of that I would have trouble in the mountains. Anyone out there got one of these could give me some feedback? Thanks
I have Tga34 3 3 slide V10 live in Denver. I don’t go west often mostly south but when I go west I’m faster than most diesel 18 wheelers and what’s the hurry to get up the hill as you can’t go down much faster on the other side for safety. I chose gas because once I get out of Co & NM I drive 65 to 70 mph which is 90% of my trips.Gas cost less to maintain. If 50% of my travel was mountain and frequent I would get diesel.
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Old 12-01-2021, 08:45 AM   #36
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I agree its all about torque. Why they went away from the big cylinder V8's I'll never know. I'm not a V10 fan - way too many RPMs to get any power they stay at a "screaming" RPM level to go up any size hill. Just my 2 cents...
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Old 12-01-2021, 09:00 AM   #37
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Short answer….

Yes, it’s underpowered.

You probably won’t like the driving experience going up mountains…… many people just learn to live with it.
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Old 12-01-2021, 10:24 AM   #38
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Originally Posted by SkipShaffer View Post
It isn’t HP that matters, it’s torque. No gas engine will develop the torque of a diesel. That said, 4 slides or not you likely won’t climb a mountain like a diesel. There are upgrades you can make to your triton that actually do make a difference. The best upgrade I found was a performance tuner made specific to my vin from RV performance. It changes shift points, timing and fuel mixture. It made a world of difference in all driving. Hope that helps.
I’m afraid you are mistaken. Horsepower is the measure of work performed by an engine, and it is horsepower to weight ratio that approximates the speed at which a coach climbs a mountain grade.

The torque curve of an engine tells you a bit about the subjective driving characteristics of an engine, but not its ultimate performance. An engine with a high, flat torque curve at low RPM feels good in a large heavy vehicle because it shoves you in the back a bit when you give it throttle. But that doesn’t mean it’ll go uphill any faster than an engine with equal horsepower but different torque/RPM characteristics.

What you’re failing to take into account is the engine is the starting point; gearing modifies the torque through the drivetrain and it is the torque available at the drive wheels that counts. For example a Ford Godzilla 7.3 V8 makes 470lb-ft @ 4,000RPM (round numbers for convenience). This is exactly equivalent to 940lb-ft @ 2,000RPM, and the vehicles transmission can literally convert the former to the latter - that is in fact the whole point of having a transmission. So it’s no surprise that both the gasoline V8 and the lower tuned Cummins ISC engines have similar horsepower ratings in the middle 300s - the torque delivered to the wheels is in the same general range.

Diesels have a significant advantage at high elevations because they are turbocharged and maintain their horsepower (and torque) output as elevation increases. The Ford gasoline engines are naturally aspirated and produce less power and torque as elevation increases, that’s why diesel motorhomes pass them on the climb to the Eisenhower tunnel.
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Old 12-01-2021, 03:36 PM   #39
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I agree with the few that actually answered your question. Our 35QBA with four slides is very close to weight limit pulling a Jeep Cherokee. We go slow uphill but have always made it just not in a hurry. Key factor is weight. Number of slides has no effect if weight and engine are the same.
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Old 12-02-2021, 02:55 PM   #40
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I'm looking at upgrading to a gas coach with a V10, it has four slide outs and a salesman told me because of that I would have trouble in the mountains. Anyone out there got one of these could give me some feedback? Thanks
I have a 2029 Thor Outlaw on an F-53 26,000 lbs. GVWR and tow a Honda Fit. I installed an engine tune file from https://www.ultrarvproducts.com/
Gains 56 HP and 73 ft-lb Torque

What a difference! It's very capable even in higher elevations! I love the simplicity of the gas engine, but the chassis is kind of primitive. You get what you pay for!
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Old 12-02-2021, 03:15 PM   #41
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Slow and steady is the order of the day. Let the tranny do it’s thing. There is always someone in a Corvette behind you but you will never please him anyway. I have taken my Minni Winni 31 Kp, towing my Wrangler, over just about every pass in the West and enjoyed every minute but I am sure I annoyed a few guys who were in a hurry along the way.
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Old 12-02-2021, 03:35 PM   #42
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Originally Posted by Baltz View Post
I have a 2029 Thor Outlaw on an F-53 26,000 lbs. GVWR and tow a Honda Fit. I installed an engine tune file from https://www.ultrarvproducts.com/
Gains 56 HP and 73 ft-lb Torque

What a difference! It's very capable even in higher elevations! I love the simplicity of the gas engine, but the chassis is kind of primitive. You get what you pay for!
It's always good to buy your model year a little early to beat the inflationary impact. Must of got a great deal!
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