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Engine size upgrade
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I don’t have a dog in this fight, but I will share a short story.
I was headed South on US301 South of Starke and spotted this beautiful Newell on the side of the road. There was a white headed gentleman staring at the rear side of the coach. I stopped to see if he needed help and there was an air line leaking in the engine compartment. We tightened the fitting and he was good to go.
That Newell had a C-15 Cat 625 HP 2075 Lbs of torque. You could eat off the engine, he was so proud of it. I have to say that is the nicest engine and compartment I have ever seen, it had stainless or chrome everything and was a real work of art.
Not sure about mileage but I can only imagine how well it ran.
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Again, I appreciate everyone’s feedback.
I have to say that when I mentioned ‘Newell’, you would have have thought I threw hot lava on the Prevost folks. I didn’t mean to start a ruckus! I’m just making comparisons so that I can get the coach that fits us best.
I’m not a ‘long-haul’ driver and a ‘trailer-park-queen’ would not be a bad thing whether it’s a Prevost or a Newell.
MM.
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Ken,
My old Eagle didnt have cruise control!!! I was talking about days back before all the fancy stuff!!! I remember how happy I was when I finally got a Coach with Power Steering instead of ArmStrong Steering LOL!! Remember I started with no P/S,No Driver Air,Manual Trans. NO Air Ride Seat,No Driver Radio!!! Today it’s BETTER driving than sitting in my Easy Chair at home LOL!!!
Robert
I have been checking into Quad Slide H-3’s Mark and you have to be real careful and so does the converter or you will be over on the steer and real close to gross!! How about that Jon, I am finally learning!! LOL
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Robert,
Ya done good. As I have said before, our coaches are all about compromise and usually to get one thing, we may have to sacrifice another. Slides on a coach are a perfect example of such a compromise because while you get additional walking space inside the coach when parked with the slides out, the cost for the space is twice the loss of closet or cabinet space compared to 2 slides, added weight, and a greater potential for leaks and maintenance.
Every converter that works to keep axle weights within limits while allowing carrying capacity has a very difficult time and must strive to go to almost superhuman lengths to keep weight down to compensate for slide weight. They are using light weight materials and construction methods, and carefully considering placement of everything so they get the weight and side to side balance correct. And it is like a domino effect and we are seeing it with lithiumm batteries, thin granite flooring and countertops, cabinet materials and construction, and multiplex wiring systems to reduce weight.
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“Ken,
My old Eagle didn’t have cruise control!!!”
That’s what I was trying to say, but should have been more clear “Jon, he’s probably talking about a mechancial 6V92″
Robert I understood what were you talking about. I had 45′ Eagle with a mechanical 6V92 (no cruise) and 5 speed manual transmission, it was slow, a chore to drive.
Ken
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One does have to give Blades (Newell) credit the guy goes head to head with the Prevost and their converters he is happy selling 20+ units a year from the little town in OKHe always has a back log for his coaches and he has gross sales of 40 mil a year about the same as Marathon is trying to achive this year so he does something right,some of his coaches I like some I don’t
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a lot of them even come with a gift card for a storage shed:-)) and maybe even a driver:-))
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I have heard that newell can do close to 40 a year when times were good,most Prevost converters will do 2+ used coaches to every new one they sell,so Newell might do 70-90 million a year in sales.
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Spoke with Prevost today.
They have a show coach in Indio, CA, that I will take a look at, hopefully, this weekend or early next week.
And, I will be asking many questions.
MM.
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I have been doing a lot of reading here and while quite a few replies were a little bit away from the original thread they are very entertaining and informative. having said that i will keep my answer short and to the point. Mr. mark I have logged many many miles both as a city bus driver and as a charter bus driver not to mention the time spent with our campers and in all those miles I have never, let me repeat NEVER had someone want to drag race with me either in my own coach or the company coaches. Neither brand a race car they are recreational vehicles.
you need to find something else to worry about son ! -
Red,
I understand totally where you are coming from.
For some reason, my message keeps getting mis-construed. I’M NOT TRYING TO RACE ANYBODY!
I want reserve power to be able to pass an extremely slow moving vehicle on a fairly steep long incline if needed. I cannot do that now in my current set-up.
I know the new Volvo engine has 15 less hp than the DD diesel it replaces but has 100 lb. ft. more torque.
We are going to be getting down to the nitty-gritty real soon.
MM.
PS. And please don’t call me son, I have a Dad who is almost 93.
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Not that he needs it, but I’m going to side with Mr. Mark on the
HP debate. There simply is no
substitute for horsepower. IMHO, it is
far better to have the horsepower and not use it than to need it and not have
it. Of course it is difficult not to use
when it’s available…A Volvo D16 only weighs about 500 pounds more than the D13 and the
Allison transmission is already rated for the additional torque and HP. I don’t see why Prevost doesn’t have the D16
as an option.Mike
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I asked that question today. They were going to check. There is all kinds of room in the in the engine compartment with the D13.
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Please give your dad my warmest regards.
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The problem with the D16 is it is just too tall,our buses are very limiting in engine height,I think that Cummins has one that will fit and I have heard that Prevost is working to modify the engine cradle to fit it.
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