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RE: Porter Cable C2002 Air Comp. on Sale
I just finished a 5400 mile trip to S.D., Montana, and Wyoming. When I got back and checked the tires, they were down by 5 pounds. The tow dolly was down also. It's a real pain filling the tires at truck stops and gas stations. This will work great for me. I'll be able to fill the tires at my leisure at the campground. My Allegro Bay is a FRED. It doesn't have a compressor on board.
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MSPUSMC
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11/29/08 08:07am |
Class A Motorhomes
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Porter Cable C2002 Air Comp. on Sale
Based on what I read on this forum I decided on the Porter Cable C2002 Pancake Air Compressor for our Allgro Bay. FYI Lowes has it on sale for $89.00 in Massachusetts. It's listed on the internet for $159. I stopped by Lowes on the way home from work to to check it out, only to discover that it's on sale.
Merry Christmas !
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MSPUSMC
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11/28/08 05:48pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: FRED VS Pusher Comparison?
We purchased an 07 Allegro Bay 35 TSB FRED. Towing my wife's Saab around on a tow dolly in the hills of the Northeast we average just over 10 MPG at 55 mph. You should do far better on level ground. Our transmission is the Allison 2100 MH 5 speed, not the newer 6 speed. We have about 9500 miles on our Allegro Bay. Engine noise is minimal; it is not an issue. We can listen to CD's, the radio, and talk without any problems. RV's arrive from the factory with max air in the tires. Have the RV weighed, as suggested, and correct the tire pressure. We went from 120 lbs in all tires to 100 lbs in the front and 85 lbs in the dual tires in the rear. Once you get the right tire pressure the ride and handling is great with the FRED. It will definately be a harder ride than an RV with air bags. For my wife and I the ride is very comfortable.
The biggiest selling point for us was Tiffin Motor Homes and Tiffin's reputation for customer service. This was our first RV and I'm not very mechanically inclined. I wanted a well made coach from a company that stands behind its product. Tiffin Motor Homes' customer service is as good as I had hoped. I'm 60 years old, I don't part with a dollar easily, and I'm pretty particular. I have never, as a consumer, had better service from any company than from Tiffin Motor Homes.
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MSPUSMC
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08/24/08 07:21pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Hide-a-Bed Air Mattress
You can purchase them from Flexsteel. They come with a three year warranty. I have one in my Allegro Bay and it's very comfortable. I slept in it when the grandkids were keeping grandma company in the master bedroom. Also, my daughter and son-in-law slept in it when my daughter was 8 month pregnant. She loved it. I'm not sure what they cost.
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MSPUSMC
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08/20/08 07:00pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Mileage on Diesel pushers
Just another thought. I have an 07 Tiffin Allegro Bay 35 TSB (3 slides) FRED chassis. It has a Cummins 6.7 ISB 340 HP engine with an Allison 5 speed transmission (Newer ones are 6 speed). Towing our Saab on tow dolly at 55mph going from Mass. to Maine (Round trip 650 miles)in pretty hilly territory we get a little over 10 mpg. We travel primary in the hilly areas in the east. I have 9600 miles on our Allegro Bay. If you're not full timing and don't need pass through storage, a Tiffin Allegro Bay with a FRED Chassis is one you should take a look at. We're very pleased with ours.
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MSPUSMC
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08/01/08 02:48pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: FRED Chassis 6.7 Cummins with Allison 6 speed trans.
Brett,
Thanks very much for your help. I'll break out my manuals, spec sheets, and calculator and get to work.
Thanks,
Not so clueless anymore
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MSPUSMC
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07/27/08 07:24am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: FRED Chassis 6.7 Cummins with Allison 6 speed trans.
Brett,
The rv.cat.com sight was great - thanks. I printed it out for review.
Peak torque for the Cummins 6.7 340 HP is 660 lb.ft @1,500 rpm. So - does this mean that if I get the 6th speed, I still have to run at 1650 rpms to stay in 6th? I know that once I'm in 5th I can easily cruise the backroads at 45 mph and the rpm's drop down to about 1500.
I was thinking that if I got the 6th speed, once it kicked in, I could reduce my speed to 60 mph to reduce the rpm. I thought that I could get it down below 1600 rpm. It sounds like this may not be a good idea now.
At 65 mph we run a little over 2,000 rpm in 5th gear. According to my calculations, I'd be running the same rpms at 65 with a 6th gear as I would at 60 mph in 5th gear. I keep reading about the "sweet spot" of 62-63 mph. Is that "sweet spot" where you can operate in 6th gear at lower rpm's without it shifting constantly?
In case you haven't noticed, I'm a "paper pusher", not anyone with any real mechanical talents.
Thanks again
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MSPUSMC
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07/26/08 10:16pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: FRED Chassis 6.7 Cummins with Allison 6 speed trans.
Brett,
The Allison 2100 MH 5th speed gear ratio is .71:1 and the 6th speed gear ratio is .61:1, according to Allison.
At 55 mph, towing my car, we're just over 1700 RPM's in 5th gear and at 60 mph we're just under 1900 RPM's in 5th gear.
I don't have a clue how to determine the RPM's from the gear ratio. Where .61 is 14% less than .71, does this mean that I'd be operating at 14% lower RPM's in 6th gear?
Thanks,
Clueless
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MSPUSMC
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07/26/08 05:58pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Freds
I have an Allegro Bay 35 TSB FRED with the 6.7 Cummins 340 HP with the Allison 5 speed transmission. Towing our Saab on a tow dolly at 55 mph from Plymouth to Bar Harbor, Maine I got just over 10 mpg. In the past going from Plymouth to Quantico, Va, down Rt. 84 to Rt 81 I got 9.5 at 60 mph. We have just over 9600 miles on our RV. Both routes were pretty hilly.
When you have glitches that have to be repaired (and you will have really minor issues), send an e-mail or a letter to your dealer with the list of corrections and Cc one to Tiffin Motor Homes. Bob Tiffin will actually call you to make sure that you are happy with his product and the service you receive.
Tiffin Motor Homes is a great company to deal with. You made a great choice. Enjoy it.
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MSPUSMC
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07/26/08 04:12pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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FRED Chassis 6.7 Cummins with Allison 6 speed trans.
Looking for opinions from anyone who has a FRED Chassis with the Cummins 6.7 liter 340 HP engine with the Allison 6 speed transmission.
Does your RV stay in 6th gear towing your car most of the time?
What are your RPM's at 60 mph?
At what speed does it kick into 6th gear?
What kind of mileage do you get towing your car?
I'm thinking of upgrading my 5 speed to a 6 speed (Cost about $1,000). I've received a lot of great input from members of the forum. I haven't heard from anyone who actually has a FRED.
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MSPUSMC
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07/26/08 03:59pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Upgrading 5 speed transmission to a 6 speed transmission
Reprogramming will take about two hours at $100/hour. There is no charge for the program itself, just the labor. An Allison tech has to do the programming. The Shift Pad will cost $650. I'm a mechanical zero. I thought it would be better to have a tech do it. I figure $1,000 to be the most that I'd be charged.
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MSPUSMC
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07/25/08 10:03am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Upgrading 5 speed transmission to a 6 speed transmission
Does the 6th speed work primarily on flat roads at speeds greater than 60 mph?
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MSPUSMC
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07/24/08 05:19pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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Upgrading 5 speed transmission to a 6 speed transmission
We purchased an Allegro Bay 35 TSB FRED in 2007 with the Cum ISB 6.7 - 340 HP engine with an Allison 2100 MH 5 speed transmission. I was informed by Allison, after I gave them our Trans. No., that I can purchase a new shift pad and reprogram the transmission from a 5 speed to a 6 speed transmission. This is the same transmission in the 08's with a new shift pad and programmed to 6 speed.
The local Allison dealer will charge around $1,000 for the work. I spoke to Freightliner and Allison and they said that this would not void my warranty. The tech at Freightliner told me that the only reason they went to the 6 speed transmission was because of customer demand. The tech stated that my driving habits would determine whether on not it was worth it and suggested that I seek advice from RVers through the forum.
We live in New England and do weekend trips locally. Most of our trips are pretty hilly. We love it out west and will be spending a lot of time along the Continental Divide. We tow a 1996 Saab on a tow dolly. At 55 mph we get just over 10 mpg (9600 miles on RV) towing the Saab. The engine runs just over 1700 rpms at 55 mph. At 60 mph we get 9.5 towing the Saab. The engine runs just under 1900 rpms at 60 mph. I'm very comfortable driving at 60 mph in the right hand lane.
Has anyone had their transmission upgraded from 5 to 6 speed? Did it increase the mileage? If so, at what speeds? Would this upgrand significantly lower my rpms at 55 or 60 mph?
Can anyone who has an 08 or an 09 Allegro Bay FRED or any other FRED chassis give me an idea of the mileage they're getting with the Cummins 6.7 ISB with the 6 speed transmission?
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MSPUSMC
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07/24/08 10:50am |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: Quality Coaches
Based on what you just indicated, I'd take a look at the Tiffin Allegro Bay 35 TSB. It comes in both gas and diesel (FRED). We have the 07 FRED version for the power and love it.
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MSPUSMC
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07/05/08 05:25pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: FRED mpg question
I have an 2007 Allegro Bay 35 TSB Fred. It has the Cummins 340 with an Allison 5 speed transmission. I have just over 9,000 miles on it. Traveling from Mass. to Quantico, Va. on Routes 84 and 81 (pretty hilly) we've been getting 10.4 without the toad and 9.5 with the toad (Saab Conv. on tow dolly). I set the cruise for 60 mph. I'm not sure what it would get on flatter roadways.
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MSPUSMC
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06/06/08 07:46pm |
Class A Motorhomes
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RE: front end diesel
We purchased an Allegro Bay 35TSB FRED in June and have put about 6,000 miles on is so far. The power is great. We've towed my wife's Saab up and down Rts. 81 and 84 withou any problems.
As far as the noise goes. Cruising along the noise is minimal. My wife and I can listen to the CD's or carry on conversations without a problem. When going down a decline, the exhaust brake kicks in and that is a welcomed noise on steep grades. No too loud at all. It works great. Also, as soon as the engine temp hits 200 degrees, the cooling fan kicks in, and that is loud. You have to be going up a pretty long and steep incline for that to kick in.
You have storage bays instead of pass through storage. We're not full timers. We have yet to fill the cabinets inside the coach or the storage bays beneath.
Keeping the speed aroung 60 mph,we get 9.5 mpg towing my wife's car. Without the car we get about 10.5 mpg. On one trip,I kicked the speed up to 65-70 mph towing my wife's car and the mph went down to 9 mpg. The coach is still breaking in and this is our first RV, so we're still learning tricks of RVing. The mileage may get better after the engine breaks in.
Check out the Tiffin and the Newmar products. The Tiffin Allegro Bay 35 TSB was just the floor plan my wife and I were looking for.
Both are great companies. Tiffin has been wonderful to work with.
Best of luck.
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MSPUSMC
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01/06/08 09:04am |
Class A Motorhomes
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