I Don't have enough power to pull the toad

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onthemove

Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2010
Posts
17
Location
Springfield, Oregon
I have a problem. I have a 1999 Winnebago Itasca Spirit 24? Class ?C? Ford E-350 Econoline with a V10 ? 6.8L motor. The RV weighs 10.900 lbs. loaded. It has a 3 speed transmission. I average 11.5 MPG. By itself it has lots of power on average roads but steep mountain passes it lugs down a to 2ed gear. The problem is when I tow my Suzuki Sidekick that weighs 3000 lbs. the RV has a hard time pulling it up hills and mountain passes. Going up hills it shifts to 2ed gear right away then into 1st gear the rest of the way up the hill. The motor is revving at a high RPM and I'm only going about 15 MPH. When I see a hill coming up I try to take a run at it as much as possible. My question is: do you think the RV has a high speed rear end? Is the 3 speed transmission the problem? Is the Suzuki Sidekick too heavy to tow for the RV? Do you think the V10 is too under power to tow the toad? Also my check engine light keeps coming on. It comes up with a code: p0705 ? The causes are DTR sensors or PCM has failed. I'm taking it in Wed. for them to check the transmission shifter assembly but they said that's not the problem with running out of power going uphill. I have had a muffler shop check out the catalytic converter, they said it looks like new. I also changed the gas and air filters. Any help would be appreciative.  Thank you..
 
There are a couple of issues here.

1. When you tow your tow vehicle you are adding 3000 pounds of weight to the load the engine has to pull.

2. The 3 speed transmission will have a very hard time pulling the 13000 pound load and will continuously be down-shifting and up-shifting in an attempt to handle the load. This is also very hard on the transmission and will greatly reduce it's life. A 4 speed transmission upgrade may help you but will be very costly.

3. The Ford V-10 of this vintage only puts out around 300 horsepower. There are aftermarket upgrades for this engine available but are not cheap.

Without spending a fortune you may want to look into a newer Diesel (less that 10 years old). Although the horsepower in one of the older diesels may be around 300 horsepower the torque will be at least double of what you are driving now and will be able to handle the loads of towing in mountains and hills. You will also see that diesels typically have 4 speed transmissions to better adapt to changing load conditions.

I have a similar situation with my 2007 Winnebago Outlook. I really like the unit but when towing in hills and mountains it is anemic at best and has a real problem on uphills. Our plan is to be "Fulltimers" next year and we are currently shopping for a used Diesel Pusher. There are a lot to choose from.

Good Luck,

Jim

 
Thank you for your feed back. I like the RV, It's just right for the wife and me and it gets good MPG and I don't want to buy another RV right now so I think I will sell the toad and tow bar and break system and go without a toad. If we need a car I can always rent one. Thanks....
 
I did a little research on the ford chassis before buying my RV and I recall the e350 had two available rear end gears while the e450 had one. With the e350 you could get one that was more of a highway gear for lower rims, I want to say they were 4.10 and 4.55 or similar. If you regularly do mountain travel the 4.55 would likely be the better choice.

I think it is more likely that you have an issue to resolve with the error code or something else. That engine is used in much larger and heavier rigs and is generally well regarded. Your combined weight is no more than an empty 34 footer.

I have a 2004 e450  that weighs about the same, when I hit bigger grades I take the OD off and put the rpm around 3000 to 3200. It pulls pretty good with medium throttle. The engine max torque is around 3200 rpm so running it somewhere near there for hills seemed logical.
 
I have a 2000 Coachmen on a 1999 chassis with the 3-speed  OD transmission.  My GVWR is 14,500 with a GCCW of 20,000 lbs - same V10 as yours.  I tow a 2004 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited that weighs about 3,750 lbs.  Certainly, I notice the extra load when pulling large hills, but never like you describe.  For the most part, I don't notice the Jeep back there.  Incidentally, I have larger diameter tires than was on the MH from the factory which should compound any pulling difficulties, but seems not to be a problem except for a slow speedometer.

As already mentioned, rear axle gear ratio may be the problem as well as the transmission range sensor error.  I'd say tackle the error first and in the meantime determine what the gear ratio is.
 
I suspect something is wrong with your engine.
When I purchased a 1987 31' Glendale years ago I drove our durango with a tow dolly 6 hours to see the rig.  Bought it and pulled the Durango home.
This motor home had a IH 6.9 Diesel that only has about 170hp at the crank.  I could maintain 65mph and the Durango is a heavy vehicle.
 
I just got back from a Cruise and haven't had time to take the RV for a drive pulling the toad. A couple weeks ago I took the motor home to a mechanic and he ran some test. He found that the PO401 the EGR valve had a problem and he replaced it. He also found "low on power" PO705 prndl switch and R&R neutral safety switch and replaced them. Hopefully that was the problem. Everyone that I talked to said that the V10 should have all the power I need. We are taking off again for a two week vacation without the motor home but as soon as we get back, the wife and I are going to the Oregon Coast to Fort Stevens camp ground down to Crescent City California and back home for two weeks before winter sets in for this year so I'll try pulling the toad then. Thanks for your input's.  ;D
 
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