Is the 350 HP diesel enough power and torque?

Iggy · 12-11-2010, 10:04 PM

Hi All,
I was looking ahead on a Class A diesel and was wondering if you feel the 350 HP cummins was enought for the Berkshire?
I see the Charleston has the big 425HP Cummins. I know it is a little larger rig so I guess it is designed for more weight.

Under normal conditions it seems that the 350HP get 7-9 mpg which is reasonable. Anyone know about the 425HP MPG?

So like I asked is the 350 HP enough HP and torque for up hills or will I be sorry.

WestCoastRV'er · 12-11-2010, 10:31 PM

Diesel is the only way to go. Lots of torque.

Itsthetwoofus · 12-11-2010, 10:38 PM

Hey Iggy, My 2011 F-250 is 400 hp and 8000 feet of torque, and gets 9.2 mpg. You can see it at the FROG rally.
A Motor Home is a bit different I guess. Good luck with your decision.

camprat · 12-11-2010, 10:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Itsthetwoofus

Hey Iggy, My 2011 F-250 is 400 hp and 8000 feet of torque, and gets 9.2 mpg. You can see it at the FROG rally.
A Motor Home is a bit different I guess. Good luck with your decision.

That alot of torque 8000 or was it 800 f lb of torque, but is one heck of a truck,

Itsthetwoofus · 12-11-2010, 10:56 PM

oooops think my finger hit to many zero's. Man that would be a go getter wouldn't it.

camprat · 12-11-2010, 11:15 PM

IT still a heck of a truck any way you look at it! I have my 05 f350 paid for & on real problem. Oh sorry Iggy kind of got away from your post. I go with the 425 ph cummins. I hear about 1-2 mpg drop. But If there both are under load climbing or in wind there about equal mpg. Just what i heard.

RoamingEngineer · 12-11-2010, 11:30 PM

We have a Berkshire and tow a Honda CR-V with it. We just went on a trip to South Carolina and climbed some REALLY steep hills towing the car. The RV didn't even break a sweat.

The performance when towing the car is identical to when were not also. I have no idea the car is even there.

The trip we just did was around 1200 miles and we got between 10 and 11 mpg while towing the car. Don't know what it is without the car.

Iggy · 12-12-2010, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RoamingEngineer

We have a Berkshire and tow a Honda CR-V with it. We just went on a trip to South Carolina and climbed some REALLY steep hills towing the car. The RV didn't even break a sweat.

The performance when towing the car is identical to when were not also. I have no idea the car is even there.

The trip we just did was around 1200 miles and we got between 10 and 11 mpg while towing the car. Don't know what it is without the car.

WOW! That is great MPG with the 350HP. I was just asking to find out if we decide on a Class A or not. Seems the 40ft and larger have a lager engine. I have heard many who get the smaller block decide to upgrade to a larger engine after a few trips. I may be wrong but if I was lucky enough to get 10-11 mpg I would be very happy.

Wonder if your 350HP MPG in your Berkshire is about average for everyone with that engine? Anyone else want to chime in with mpg on your Birkshire?

RoamingEngineer · 12-12-2010, 12:00 PM

Ours is a 2011 with the DEF system. From the research I did on this system it is supposed to give you a slight bump in fuel efficiency. I also don't drive like a lot of coaches I see blazing by me at 75mph. I usually keep my speed around 65mph.

tmmar · 12-12-2010, 01:17 PM

My Berkshire came with a 340hp 640ft lbs of torque. I haven't towed with it but so far, have not had any power issues. I usually travel about 65mph and have been averaging 10mpg.
Hope this helps.

**Bama Rambler** · 12-13-2010, 07:49 AM

That 350 hp Cummins is gonna have about 650 ft/lbs of torque and they have such a flat torque curve that it'll handle that rig just fine.

wnytaxman · 12-13-2010, 08:33 AM

Ours is a 2011 Berkshire on a 2009 chassis (pre-DEF) and we have no issues with the 340 horse. I would imagine the 350 would have plenty of power for the Berkshire.

Traveler II · 12-13-2010, 10:03 AM

In the past we’ve had a 350 Cat and a 425Cummins. With each we pulled a Jeep. The last rig was bigger and heaver but I notice a big difference with the two diesels. With the Cummins we were getting 11 mpg. It we were going back to a Class A I would get the larger engine.

06nighttrain · 12-14-2010, 01:11 AM

We have a 08 Berkshire with the 350. I haven't had a chance to drive it in the mountains yet, but the few hills that I have climbed with it was rather disappointing. We love the coach, but a larger engine would be nice. We are currently averaging 8.5 to 9 mpg.

amarzano · 12-14-2010, 01:35 AM

We have the 2011 w/ DEF and the 360hp motor.

While I feel the power is adequate, I would stress the need to plan ahead and maintain momentum..

These units accelerate fine, but will bog on the hills if you slow half way up..

Team Wilhelm · 12-18-2010, 12:47 PM

I have a 350 hp in my Berkshire and it lacks performance and poor gas mileage. Lucky to get 7. Go with the bigger engine cause I wish I had done so.

Iggy · 12-18-2010, 09:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Team Wilhelm

I have a 350 hp in my Berkshire and it lacks performance and poor gas mileage. Lucky to get 7. Go with the bigger engine cause I wish I had done so.

Thanks. I'm looking around for a Class A with 400HP and 1000+ ft pounds of Torgue. I'm still looking.

blackttr · 12-19-2010, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Team Wilhelm

I have a 350 hp in my Berkshire and it lacks performance and poor gas mileage. Lucky to get 7. Go with the bigger engine cause I wish I had done so.

We have a 2011 Berkshire w/DEF. On a recent trip to Williamsburg we averaged 12.6 mpg without towing. Had all the power we needed. We are heading south right after Christmas and will be pulling our Grand Cherokee. I'll let you know what our mpg are while towing.

Iggy · 12-19-2010, 10:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackttr

We have a 2011 Berkshire w/DEF. On a recent trip to Williamsburg we averaged 12.6 mpg without towing. Had all the power we needed. We are heading south right after Christmas and will be pulling our Grand Cherokee. I'll let you know what our mpg are while towing.

I'm really not interested in MPG but more the engine level of torque. At 55-65 miles per hour hitting a large uphill grade will it keep its speed or slow down to about 45 Miles per hour before you reach the top. If you have the torgue and good transmission it should be close in maintaining speed. This is just a general question as I know everyones rigs are different. This is why I'm considering the 400 HP diesel with 6 speed Allison transmission. Just gathering facts.
Thanks

wnytaxman · 12-20-2010, 07:46 AM

Iggy, with the 350 engine you also get the Allison 3000 transmission rather than the 2500. From what I have heard from many on the forums and at Camp Freightliner the different tranny is worth the upgrade. I think if you are looking at getting up into the 400 hp range, you'll probably not be staying with the Berkshire. If that is the case, you may want to check out the Entegra. They're a really nice coach with beefier power plants than the Berkshire.

You may also like: