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Old 01-29-2020, 05:40 PM   #1
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Is 350hp enough?

I’m looking at a used Tiffin w 350 hp Cat. I’m planning on towing a Jeep Wrangler to Colorado every year. Is this gonna be enough HP? I’m pulling a 40ft 5th wheel right now w a F350 diesel, any thoughts on how it would compare? I know it’s gonna slow it down up steep grades, but overall is that enough umph? Thanks in advance
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Old 01-29-2020, 05:47 PM   #2
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And btw, sorry if this discussion has already been had somewhere. I’m having a really hard time getting the search function of the forum to give me meaningful results. User error I’m sure.
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Old 01-29-2020, 05:50 PM   #3
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Quote:
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I’m looking at a used Tiffin w 350 hp Cat. I’m planning on towing a Jeep Wrangler to Colorado every year. Is this gonna be enough HP? I’m pulling a 40ft 5th wheel right now w a F350 diesel, any thoughts on how it would compare? I know it’s gonna slow it down up steep grades, but overall is that enough umph? Thanks in advance
I went from a 2007 Chevy Duramax 1T SRW pulling a 14K 5th wheel and now we drive a 36' DP with 350HP Cummins pulling a 4 door Wrangler.

I have to say that the pick-up with 5th wheel had a little bit more oomph on the hills compared to the DP when towing and almost exactly the same without TOAD.

The DP gets ~7.5 - 8MPG and the Duramax got about 10 - 10.5 MPG on similar trips

Hope this helps
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Old 01-29-2020, 05:56 PM   #4
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Can you really ever have enough hp!
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Old 01-29-2020, 06:17 PM   #5
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HP is enough if you are patient. It is about the journey and the destination. If you want a go fast machine it is always nice to have more power.

Friend tows a 24' trailer with Gold Wing and Rubicon inside with a Tiffin 380. Says it is lots for him.

We carry 53000 with a 450. Always get where we are going at about 62 mph. Runs about 390 hp at 1650.
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Old 01-29-2020, 06:20 PM   #6
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Can you really ever have enough hp!
For sure! Never heard anyone complain, " I have too much torque and horsepower"
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Old 01-29-2020, 06:35 PM   #7
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Absolutely

In this day of big 45 foot 605 HP diesel pushers, it seems that horse power increases with the weight of these coaches.

Think about all of the years in the past that a DP powered with a 350 diesel engine was considered BIG power.

The bottom line is that I have had several 38- 40 foot DP that performed just fine with a 350 diesel engine. Pulling the toad will not be an issue. For sure, its not gonna be a speed demon in the hills, but in the end, you will be able to go anywhere the bigger horse power rigs will go, for less fuel burn.
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Old 01-29-2020, 07:13 PM   #8
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We had a 39ft Fleetwood with the same engine and towed a 5,500# SUV. Its adequate, but you will slow way down on hills.

We now have an ISX and its night and day. But if your only hang up is the 350hp then unless you will be on steep grades 50% of the time you should be good.
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I’m looking at a used Tiffin w 350 hp Cat. I’m planning on towing a Jeep Wrangler to Colorado every year. Is this gonna be enough HP? I’m pulling a 40ft 5th wheel right now w a F350 diesel, any thoughts on how it would compare? I know it’s gonna slow it down up steep grades, but overall is that enough umph? Thanks in advance
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Old 01-29-2020, 08:14 PM   #9
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Cat 350 then yes, Cummins 350, just barely.
I say this because I had a 36' WBGO Journey with a 330 cat, and it was a hoss!!!!
Then ended up trading it for a WBGO 34 with a 350 Cummins and it was nowhere near the torque of the 330, so just a seat of the pants guess, I'd say, as long as you don't over stuff your RV with nonsense (junk to carry) your 350 Cat should do you fine.
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Old 01-29-2020, 08:36 PM   #10
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Thank y’all, yea I’d love 600 hp, but these 2007 models don’t seem to have that option lol.
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Old 01-29-2020, 08:47 PM   #11
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Have you looked at the Tiffin Bus ???
The higher the model and amenities the higher the HP & Torque
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Thank y’all, yea I’d love 600 hp, but these 2007 models don’t seem to have that option lol.
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Old 01-29-2020, 09:50 PM   #12
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Most of the focus of these discussions is usually HP with very little time spent on torque. HP will determine the speed you can maintain climbing a steep hill but torque determines how fast you accelerate off the the line and whether or not you can regain speed on a uphill climb if a truck in front of you forces you to slow down.

One reason that torque is usually not discussed in these threads is that in diesels torque is pretty much a function of engine displacement. You can tune an engine to get more HP but you can't do much about the torque.

As someone who owns a DP powered by a large block engine, it is like night and day as a previous post noted. My MH accelerates more like a car than a MH. It's a lot of fun to drive. Could I live with a MH with less HP and torque? Sure, but mine is more fun to drive at least IMHO.
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Old 01-30-2020, 12:13 AM   #13
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So why did you start this thread.
Sounds like you have limited yourself to one model of 2007. With specific HP.
It is what it is then.
If your not willing to look at a higher end models like the Tiffin bus with what ? 450 hp and more Torque???
Then buy the one your set on and live with it.

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Thank y’all, yea I’d love 600 hp, but these 2007 models don’t seem to have that option lol.
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Old 01-30-2020, 08:13 AM   #14
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It would be useful to know specifically what the weight of the coach is. Not knowing anything about it my stock answer is YES it's enough. You are not new to RVing so you likely already know what happens when you have to climb a real pass like you will find in CO. There will be a slow lane for trucks & RV's etc. & a passing lane for auto's. You'll take your place in the right lane and be limited by the slowest climber. Trust me that will almost always be a 18 wheeler. Been camping in CO with class A's for over 20 years, starting with a 230 HP coach, and could always & effortlessly climb any pass easier than a loaded 18 wheeler.
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