Community Forums

rocking67 · 10-09-2021, 06:42 PM

Hey, I have 2007 Four Winds, bought used, runs great on the flats, but hit an incline and it falls on it's face. In addition, I tow a cargo trailer with my Honda talon. It is under gross.

It tows fine on the flats, hit a hill and it's over 35 mph, at best. It heats up, no overheating, just warmer than I like. I will fix that with a better radiator and tranny cooler.

I am looking for any power upgrades that anyone has down that works without causing other issues. This is frustrating. I have 3 dodge trucks with the Cummings and I don't like falling on my face when going up hills.

My wife didn't want a Ford chassis, happy wife, happy life, so we have the chevy chevy, workhorse chassis.

Any suggestions are welcome, I am even considering yanking the motor and going bigger.

Thanks

SteveJ. · 10-09-2021, 06:52 PM

Welcome to the world of gas engines. What's your total weight when traveling including the Talon?

sibe · 10-10-2021, 05:53 AM

you may have a Cat, clogging or it is just the weight/motor limits..

You say hill... that is subjective... There are hills local on the main highways here that drop a loaded tractor trailer to 40-50 mph those hole my 460 30 ft and trailer with 4500 load down to 45-55 to the boards ...
A few hills in virginia on Rt81 have dropped me to 35 for many many minutes or an eternity, temps in the 230ish range..

I have hit some secondary roads that I can not pull over 30... just last week in NY a local road was 20mph to floor for 1.6 miles before turning into venue..
Everyone there said they dropped to second gear in the F350 diesels and 5th wheels and a few pick ups 4wd low range..

Just saying you may be at your limit ...of power to pull ???

MSR · 10-10-2021, 05:57 AM

I have a 2006 Newmar Scottsdale 3456 with a Workhkrse 22 chassis 454 L engine. Any thoughts on using Marvel's Mystery Oil in fuel and oil?
I read the stuff works good on older engines

rocking67 · 10-10-2021, 07:07 AM

Yep, you are not kidding. I have 3 Dodges with Cummins and I have towed a 28' 5th wheel with a 20' boat in tandem and pulled Donner summit at 55 without issue.

rocking67 · 10-10-2021, 07:22 AM

I should have specified "hills" I live in the Central Valley of California, pretty flat with some inclines or rollers. I go over Donner Summit to get to our other property and an off road playground in Nevada.

I did not mention, It now has 77K miles. I bought it used last year and have put about 5K miles on it. I did pull, what we call the Blue Canyon grade on Hwy 80 at 35 MPH, with my trailer. I am not over max weight, I checked and weighed my unit prior. Temperature did hit about 230 degrees, which made me nervous, but I understand that is normal. I am going to replace the radiator with a larger aluminum, and maybe with an additional fan and a heavy duty transmission cooler.

If 35 mph is the best I can do, then I will live with it, for a while, then I will try to get 40 mph.

I will put unit in my shop this winter and tear into everything and see if I can squeeze out a little more.

Thanks for the replies.

tap4154 · 10-10-2021, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rocking67

Hey, I have 2007 Four Winds, bought used, runs great on the flats, but hit an incline and it falls on it's face. In addition, I tow a cargo trailer with my Honda talon. It is under gross.

It tows fine on the flats, hit a hill and it's over 35 mph, at best. It heats up, no overheating, just warmer than I like. I will fix that with a better radiator and tranny cooler.

I am looking for any power upgrades that anyone has down that works without causing other issues. This is frustrating. I have 3 dodge trucks with the Cummings and I don't like falling on my face when going up hills.

My wife didn't want a Ford chassis, happy wife, happy life, so we have the chevy chevy, workhorse chassis.

Any suggestions are welcome, I am even considering yanking the motor and going bigger.

Thanks

Just curious why your wife is against a Ford Chassis?

Phil G. · 10-10-2021, 12:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rocking67

Yep, you are not kidding. I have 3 Dodges with Cummins and I have towed a 28' 5th wheel with a 20' boat in tandem and pulled Donner summit at 55 without issue.

Our E450 V10 based motorhome pulling our boat will, and has, done the same over Donner.

The only thing that counts is engine horsepower - properly applied. Gas engine gearing and use of RPM can do anything that an equal horsepower diesel engine can do. Our V10 has taken our motorhome to over 11,000 feet with no noticeable slowdown issues.