Engine Noise/Heat & Suspension - Georgetown GT5

[hduncan]

Apologize if this has already been asked. Family and I recently completed our second cross-county trip. We went to Grand Canyon last year and Yellowstone this year. Our RV did a fairly good job during both trips, especially pulling our Jeep. I have two questions.

(1) What options exist to reduce engine noise and heat? During both of our cross-country trips, the outside temp got into the 90's, which required us to run the generator and one of our AC units to cool off the RV.
(2) What additional options exist to make hitting those terrible road conditions a little smoother?

Thanks for your input/assistance.

[bubbles]

You could invest a boat load of money and may get marginal changes or make the trip in virtual reality. It's the nature of the beast.

[wrapperman]

There is a product call "Dynamat" that decreases heat and noise level when installed properly. As for the ride I found that properly adjusting the tire pressures according to your loaded vehicle weight.
My RV is 22,100 lbs loaded, my tires are 255/80-22.5" and I have 85 psi in the front left/88 psi in the front right and 83 psi in all rear tires.
Rides very nice. I also did the CHF in the front and rear.

[loyda]

I run the genset and ac and fredg while traveling. It doesn't use much fuel.

[McCormickJim]

I drive a GT 31L5. The engine AC is inadequate to cool the coach so I run the generator and one or two coach AC units.

If it is just the two of you, you might consider a curtain behind the driver compartment. This will help separate the cooled "cab" from the hot coach.

It doesn't take much of a curtain (bed sheet) to make a difference.

[Vince and Charlette]

You hit two of the three reasons I traded in my 2015 GT 364 after 3 years: Screaming engine noise, terrible steering (despite spending almost $5k on suspension upgrades), and the lack of power, i.e. going up hills in the truck lane at 35-40 mph (even with a 5-Star Tune on the engine). Don't get me wrong, it served us very well for three years, but our priorities changed (3 teenagers). Happy camping!

[Mr. October]

Originally Posted by Vince and Charlette

You hit two of the three reasons I traded in my 2015 GT 364 after 3 years: Screaming engine noise, terrible steering (despite spending almost $5k on suspension upgrades), and the lack of power, i.e. going up hills in the truck lane at 35-40 mph (even with a 5-Star Tune on the engine). Don't get me wrong, it served us very well for three years, but our priorities changed (3 teenagers). Happy camping!

You are the second person I've heard say "lack of power". The other had some sort of Thor on a V10 chassis. I've been nothing but impressed with our so far. I'm thinking the 6 speed transmission has really made a difference in the Ford chassis.

[Vince and Charlette]

Originally Posted by Mr. October

You are the second person I've heard say "lack of power". The other had some sort of Thor on a V10 chassis. I've been nothing but impressed with our so far. I'm thinking the 6 speed transmission has really made a difference in the Ford chassis.

You just might be right since ours was a five speed. It was always downshifting even on small accelerations, which drove the rpm to 5,000! The noise is incredible at that rpm. We had to yell at each other just for basic communications. Going up a grade meant long periods with the rpm maxed-out at 5k.

[Mr. October]

Originally Posted by Vince and Charlette

You just might be right since ours was a five speed. It was always downshifting even on small accelerations, which drove the rpm to 5,000! The noise is incredible at that rpm. We had to yell at each other just for basic communications. Going up a grade meant long periods with the rpm maxed-out at 5k.

We still get downshifts but I don't think as frequently and, depending on the grade, isn't as loud due to having another gear in there or at least that's my assumption. I've become an enormous fan of the 6 speed and engine braking now that I know how to use it properly.

[Nomore9-5]

As Bubbles stated it's the nature of the beast. Most diesel pushers ( Phaeton , Journey, Tour etc) run quieter and are better insulated and the engine's in the rear . Unfortunately class A's are usually on truck chassis's and are pretty close to maxed out once " the house " is installed on top.
You can try less tire pressure to soften the ride but it means you'll need to lessen the weight on the tires ( see tire inflation guide for tires) . It also could be the tire sidewalls might be under more stress since now there's more give.
One of the factors of the speed I drive is very often what the road condition is

[sstewart]

How do you know you have a 6 speed transmission?
My 2019 GT5 says D 4 2 so ?

[kenandterry]

Originally Posted by sstewart

How do you know you have a 6 speed transmission?
My 2019 GT5 says D 4 2 so ?

Yup.....you got a 6 speed.
They upgraded the tranny from 5 to 6 couple of years ago.
Enjoy.