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Old 03-04-2019, 11:16 AM   #1
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Towing with Ford V-10

This will probably generate conflicting responses, but here goes. Having towed various trailers with diesel trucks for many years, I'm considering a switch to a smaller (less than 40') gas motorhome. I'd be towing a 4500 pound Jeep. What I'd like FROM PEOPLE WHO HAVE EXPERIENCE is, how well does the Triton engine perform when towing a car on hilly terrain, and more importantly, at high elevation like the more than 10,000' passes west of Denver?

I've been told that modern gas engines perform nearly as well as diesels. With the huge difference in torque, I'd assume that to be nonsense, and is probably coming from people who have no diesel experience, but I'm open to opinions.
Thanks.
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Old 03-04-2019, 11:27 AM   #2
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Likely going from a Cummins to a V 10 will be a huge culture shock in itself. That is a lot of weight to move with the MoHo weight itself. I would not do it myself. Ran Cube trucks in mountain passes with a 460 loaded to limit. Tough to beat a exhaust brake on he diesel.
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Old 03-04-2019, 11:36 AM   #3
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I don't think coming from a diesel you'd be happy. Towing 4500 lbs with a gas MH would be like towing at 15,000 lb 5er with a 3500 gas truck.
You also lose 3% of HP per 1,000' of EL rise. 10,000' = 30% HP loss.
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Old 03-04-2019, 11:44 AM   #4
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I recently got a Ford V10 powered motorhome. When you get in substantial hills (+4 %) you will be a rolling roadblock. Towing a Jeep doesn’t seem to have any affect.
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Old 03-04-2019, 11:48 AM   #5
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I heard the V-10's are pretty good in the Super Duty pickup trucks as long as you don't mind the poor mpg.
They are based on the Ford Modular engines which have had problems with the spark plugs pulling the threads out of the cylinder heads. That and the plastic intake manifold apparently leaks coolant.
I drove a 4.6 Modular for many years, they need to rev to get power.
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Old 03-04-2019, 02:00 PM   #6
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I owned the triton V10 in an excursion for about 2 years. I Considered it adequate for that vehicle, not awe inspiring, but it did the job. That being said, I couldnt imagine having it in a moho towing a Jeep or something similar. But Im thinking maybe the rear axle ratio and/or tranny may be geared a little lower in the Moho so it may not be comparing apples to apples. I will say it was very reliable, and I LOVED the sound.
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Old 03-04-2019, 02:25 PM   #7
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My 35' Georgetown is equipped with the Triton V10.

Heading over the passes on I-70 west of Denver I'm faster than the loaded semi trucks and slower than the pickups pulling toy haulers and the diesel motor homes.

Going down hill is easy as the F53 is equipped with the automatic down-shift when you apply the brakes. Each time you apply the brakes it shifts down again. Just set it to tow-haul mode.
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Old 03-04-2019, 02:27 PM   #8
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I own an Encounter 37ft and I went from Québec to Los Angeles. It was hard going through the mountains, but we made in one piece. You need to get used to the noise of the engine. It needs to rev at about 3,500 rpm to get maximum torque. It will slow way down, you will likely take the tranny to 2nd gear or 3rd if you are lucky. You will be passed by a lot of vehicles, but you are in vacation with a lot of time on your hands.
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Old 03-04-2019, 02:39 PM   #9
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We have been towing a Cherokee for the past year. No issues , you hardly know it is connected we have a28 ft sun seeker . Love the V10
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Old 03-04-2019, 03:31 PM   #10
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I tow 12,000 lbs (boat) with a V10 E350. If you don't need to go 70 mph uphill on I70 you'll be fine. I've got 150,000 miles on the van with probably 30,000 towing the heavy boat




and the rest towing trailers 3 - 5,000 lbs.


It's an '05 and still going strong.

Here's a snippet from the way back from Lake Powell (to SC) via I70.
~~~~~ I'll do 55 mph on the flats, I'd rather go 52, but I'll do 55 if there's traffic, but I don't push her going uphill. I take whatever speed she'll give me at 3,000 rpm or so, and going up those I70 passes, sometimes that was 15 mph. But you know what? It was never a problem - there was no horn blowing or close calls and most important, no problems with the van or trailer.~~~~

The whole story here if you've got the time.
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Old 03-04-2019, 06:48 PM   #11
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we have a 351 DS (36 ft) and tow a Wrangler Unlimited. We drive up and down our mountains up here in Oregon - both to the coast (about 2000 foot passes) and to central Oregon (so, can be 6-7000 feet) and haven't had too many issues - assuming you don't want to drive 70 MPH uphill There are occasions when you get slowed down and lose momentum - but it hasn't been frequent and we just pull over if we're blocking traffic. We did get a 5 star tune for ours and it made a difference on how loud and high the engine revs before changing gears - it's WAY better now. Ours only has a 5-speed transmission too - i've heard the newer ones with 6 are better.

You aren't going to be the speed demon, but we're usually not bringing up the rear either.

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Old 03-04-2019, 07:08 PM   #12
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I have a 33 Ft. Thor motor home with the V-10 engine. One thing that really hasn't been mentioned when comparing these two engines is noise level. The noise is acceptable when cruising on a level road but once you hit any noticeable grade and it downshifts, that level increase dramatically. Also, when going down a steep grade and the RV downshifts, it can become extremely loud as the RPM's could easily hit 5,000 or more. Conversing is darn near impossible.
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Old 03-04-2019, 07:58 PM   #13
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Originally Posted by McCormickJim View Post
My 35' Georgetown is equipped with the Triton V10.

Heading over the passes on I-70 west of Denver I'm faster than the loaded semi trucks and slower than the pickups pulling toy haulers and the diesel motor homes.

Going down hill is easy as the F53 is equipped with the automatic down-shift when you apply the brakes. Each time you apply the brakes it shifts down again. Just set it to tow-haul mode.
Exactly, with my 2017 F53 I am doing exactly as you say. I am also quite comfortable tucking in behind slower semi trucks and enjoying the scenery. Unless it is passing lane going uphills I leave a lot of room for other vehicles too get buy on passing lanes.
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Old 03-04-2019, 08:08 PM   #14
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I towed a 39 ft. Cedarcreek fifth wheel with a v10 ford. Was fine on level or slight hills but for long inclines the gas engine just doesn't have it. I also was running a 4:10 rear end. My foot was always down to the floor on those long inclines and the mileage was not good. My new ford 6.7 turbo diesel pulls like no tomorrow. I can easily accelerate up those long inclines and with plenty of gas pedal left, not to mention the mileage is a lot better.
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Old 03-04-2019, 08:28 PM   #15
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My parents have a 31' Thor class a. They tow a 3000lb car. It is like any other gas engine. It likes to rev high and because it is between/under the driver it gets noisy. They don't set any land speed records with it but it goes everywhere they want it to go. Two things I would like to share are 1) the maintenance is super cheap and 2) this chassis is actually built really good for a class a gas. My truck gets warm climbing big hills. Transmission temps go up too. Their MH is built to work hard and has a really big cooling system. They have climbed i40 black mountain in the summer heat and had zero issues with heat. Only other thing to consider is how big you go. My parents have an entry level MH. Ny friend had the same chassis on a 36 or 38' fancy MH. It weighed a lot more. Had a bath and half and tile in some of the floor. He complained about power and had a hard time keeping up with my dad even when my friend wasn't towing a car. I would say that my dads is at the low weight of these chassis and my friends was at the high end.
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Old 03-05-2019, 09:38 AM   #16
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Since we have the 3051s with the V10, the only time we have problems is when idiots stop or cut you off going up a hill. There are tuners for the trany and motor, Haven't done that yet.
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Old 03-05-2019, 05:36 PM   #17
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We two a jeep wrangler behind our 3010DS with no problem the V10 is awesome. We have done so for the past 4 years driving on long 1500 mile trips. We hardly know the jeep is behind the motor home.
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Old 03-05-2019, 06:03 PM   #18
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We recently got our 2018 Sunseeker 3050SF, which is 32 ft roughly. It has the E350 V10 chassis. Although I cannot answer your question about high altitude and steep grades, I can tell you that it does surprisingly well pulling my 2019 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited flat towing. And it also does very well pulling my 2001 Jeep lifted on 37's set up for rock crawling, on a 16' utility trailer with tools, spare fuel, spare tire, firewood, and loaded down cooler, (roughly 6500 lbs). This is in the hills of East TX and TX Hill Country, so the hills aren't really comparable to Colorado. But I was definitely surprised at how well it did.

For comparison, I went from a 2018 Ram 3500 Dually pulling a 38 ft, 15,000 lb fifth wheel toy hauler. So I was definitely worried about switching from the diesel to the gasser..
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Old 03-05-2019, 07:51 PM   #19
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I have a Georgetown 325S 35' V10. We have a 2005 Tahoe it weighs#4900. We like to flat tow. Has anyone done this and do you think that it has the power and the capacity to do so? We towed a Fiat 500 and a Honda Accord .but they had less weight. Thank you if this in the wrong place please accept my apologies...
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Old 03-06-2019, 11:01 AM   #20
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We have been towing a Cherokee for the past year. No issues , you hardly know it is connected we have a 28 ft sun seeker . Love the V10

I have to concur. We have owned a 43' Country Coach and a Tiffin Allegro Bus - both tag axles with the Cummins ISL. When i towed our Chevy Suburban, I was typically slowing down to 40 mph +/- up long grades. Never gave a damn. We are retired and never in a hurry.

Our new Forester 32' has the gas V-10 and frankly I am relieved to have a gas engine again. 5 year warranty on engine and tranny from Ford is good enough for me. I drove Fords for 20+ years and have nothing but praise. I even had a pickup with camper powered by Ford 6.0L diesel which everyone slammed... never had a moment's trouble.

As far as power, this Forester 32 with V10 has a LOT more zip than our big diesel buses did. Of course it is noisier... the buses were pushers and we were 40' away from the engine back underneath the bedroom so of course it was quiet. I also had a 40' motorhome with the FRED or front engine cummins diesel and it was noisy as hell when it kicked down a gear or two heading up an incline.

So we are extremely satisfied with the V-10. I now tow a Dodge hemi-powered Durango as a TOAD effortlessly. Sure it is a bit slow up the inclines... so were my diesel buses. But again we are retired... I am NOT in a hurry. Slow and steady wins the race. If it gets too slow on a really steep incline we can always pull over, unhook the tow bar and drive separately til we get over the summit. Who cares? Not me, and not the DW either. One accessory I did add was a Scangauge II which monitors any number of parameters and can be set to monitor transmission fluid temp (TFT). Highly recommended - hooks to the OBD port and sees all. I have mine on the dash and monitor coolant temp and TFT. Haven't yet seen a problem, but I watch it and will add a thermostatically controlled tertiary Trans fluid cooler if necessary. I added one on my suburban when towing my heavy car trailer and it made all the difference in keeping the tranny cool.

Diesels have lots of torque for towing, but there's nothing wrong with Ford's potent V-10. I wouldn't trade it for anything in this size coach.
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