We currently have a class C Yellowstone Sport, and are considering upgrading to a Georgetown SE 340TS with a V10 340HP gas engine. My question is, does anyone have experinece traveling out west with the Georgetown up and over mountain passes-6-8000 ft. We also intend to pull a vehichle, possibly a Jeep Cheroke, or Ford Explorer type sized vehicle. We experienced a lack of power going over the mountain passes on our trip last year with our class C and do not want to have the same problem when we buy a new RV. I do know that the Diesels are much better re: power, but I do not think I want to go that route just yet. Anyone that has a Georgetown and tows another car- I would love to hear what your experinces have been.
Mary
Can't help with the engine question, other than saying that ANY normally aspirated engine will suffer from performance issues at high altitude. Not NEARLY as much with a computer controlled engine like the Ford V-10 but still power loss will occur. Consider though that in MOST areas of the West, 6,000 to 8,000 feet elevation is about where you will be when you START up over the passes. Might top out around 8,000 feet in some areas but in Colorado it will usually be more than 10,000 feet.
We have a Sea Breeze V10 and on trips west we were sure to not be overloaded in class A, and we also made decision on the long passes to disconnect toad. I drove RV and husband took toad thru the high & steep passes. I went first so that if I needed to pull over he would be behind and able to stop also. We previously had a diesel so this a distinct difference. Also, watch your braking and speed. We often pull over to let the faster units pass us on the passes. Hope this helps.
Ann & Tom
2006 National SeaBreeze
Ford F150
George and KitKat (our adopted cats)
Allie (our adopted Dobie)
mmottle wrote: We currently have a class C Yellowstone Sport, and are considering upgrading to a Georgetown SE 340TS with a V10 340HP gas engine. My question is, does anyone have experinece traveling out west with the Georgetown up and over mountain passes-6-8000 ft. We also intend to pull a vehichle, possibly a Jeep Cheroke, or Ford Explorer type sized vehicle. We experienced a lack of power going over the mountain passes on our trip last year with our class C and do not want to have the same problem when we buy a new RV. I do know that the Diesels are much better re: power, but I do not think I want to go that route just yet. Anyone that has a Georgetown and tows another car- I would love to hear what your experinces have been.
Mary
Mary when you say that you experienced a lack of power in the mountains two questions come to mind. First was your Class C in good condition? Was it running properly?
Second is what are your expectations about driving a motorhome in the mountains? Some people think that if they can't go up a mountain at 65 mph they have a power problem.
As Skip mentioned the mountain roads in places in the west have long grades and high altitudes. An example is the grades at the Eisenhower/Johnson Memorial tunnels on I-70. The elevation at the west portals is 11,158 ft. The west to east drive from the Silverthorne exit starts at just below 9,000 ft and goes to 11,158 ft. The highway dept shows that as a 8 mile climb at 7%. If you take Loveland Pass - US-6 - next to I-70 you go to 11,990 ft elevation.
People with gas motorhomes, similar to what you are thinking about buying, travel these roads every week. You may slow down to about 45 mph but so do the semi trucks and other heavy vehicles. Even some of the diesel pushers will only be traveling in the mid 50s mph.
So most likely the motorhome you are considering will be fine in the mountains. You will go a little slower but it is not that big a problem unless you want to go the maximum speed limit (or faster) like some people feel they must do. Or just don't go places that have mountains.
The total extra time for going slower on this climb is less than 10 minutes. And there is good scenery to view as you take your time.
I will probably get jumped on but here goes. Weight is a big factor in how well ANY vehicle will climb. If you have a 20foot gas motor home that weighs only 8000 pounds you sure will get up the hills a lot easier than the same motor under a 30 foot MH that weighs 12000 pounds. No matter what MH you consider, look at the weight compared to the motors HP/Torque. That will tell you more about it's hill climbing ability than anything else. Another thing to consider, large trucks use diesel motors for what reason? Longevity and power! A gas motor MH will do an OK job, but will probably end up costing more at the end of the year than you can save on the initial purchase price over a somilar MH with a diesel motor. JMHO
Considering you're towing a fairly heavy Jeep Cherokee and at 8,000+ ft. altitudes, I don't think you'll do much better in a class A. I just recently read a thread on irv2.com on this subject, where the OP had a Workhorse GM 8.1L with Ultrapower installed, also towing an SUV, and couldn't do much better than 25MPH. As AnnorTom stated, disconnecting the toad on long steeper grades may be the way to go.
When we were looking for our new MH (last year) we looked at the Class A with Ford v-10 as well. Since the diesel was out of our budget, our choice came down to the Class C and gas Class A. Our purchase was somewhat planned around our cross country trip and knew we would be coming back through Colorado, Utah and Nevada. Since our friends have a class C with the V-10 I knew how it performed with a toad (jeep wrangler).
Ultimately, I figured that a heavier Class A would not be the way to go especially since we knew what route we were taking.
Again, this is just my opinion, but I believe that you will not be happy with the performance in the mountains, especially with the toad. I would suggest that you plan on disconnecting the toad and drive it through (but that's a lot of additional gas expense)
2007 Four Winds Dutchmen 29R-Ford E-450 V-10 towing a 2008 Toyota Matrix XR
2007 Toyota 4Runner(V-8) towing a 2006 Reinell 220LSE, 5.0L, 280hp GXI
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