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What would you consider under powered on a 45′
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Ron in my 99 Marathon non slide with 470hp vs my friends 03 Marathon with one slide I am a few thousand pounds lighter and regularly out climb him on the hills and get about 1mpg better fuel economy. Having been east and west the 470hp has never been an issue whatsoever, but like Dick said you always want more power, but I set it about 62 and set back and enjoy the trip.
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MM
The bus I was inquiring about is a 97 Country Coach 45′. No slide. Though there are a couple of buses out there that have the 470hp that are for sale. I am in the search and education phase in my quest. I wanted to know from those who have them in their bus if they were satisfied with the engine. Thanks
Ron
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Mark and Gail
Glad to hear from your experience. At 1 mpg, that is like 20% savings at the pump. How long is your bus?
Ron
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Ron and Jane:
This is a progress test given to most prospective Prevost owners who are out on the prowl for a Prevost motorhome. I hope you do well with it.
Mark and Gail’s post contains enough information for you to determine how long their coach is. Using that information ONLY, how long is their coach?
Dick
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Prevost coaches had 470hp and the maximum torque for the transmission of 1550lb-ft of torque until the new design of XL2, and slightly larger radiator. Then they went to 500hp, but same torque for that gen of Allison. When EGR motors came out, they call it 515hp, but still 1550lb-ft torque. much larger radiator and CAC. Of course in 2011 (2010 engine requirement) the Volvo D13’s could only make up to 500HP, so that is where they are even today. A big difference is that Allison made some design changes to their transmission, allowing for up to 1850lb-ft of torque, which torque is what you feel about an engine when you pull away from a stop sign.
Be cautious if someone has an “engine HP enhancer” on a coach you are looking at or tempts you to get one. Remember, everything about why the engine does not have more HP or torque evolve around cooling and transmission limitations. When Newell started using the 600HP Cat C16 they had to use the Eaton Autoshift, and automated manual transmission to get one that would allow more than 1550lb-ft torque input, and those are awful to drive. The engine modifiers can cause overheating, transmission damage, or rear differential failure in differing conditions. Also drive shaft to twist off.
Just giving people some things to think about…
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Just curious. I was unable to copy and paste a link except to put it in the header (hope it comes through). But it is a link to the allison website under the Allison 4000MH Transmission and it shows a maximum HP of 650 and a maximum torque of 2644, way more than my ISX Cummins that is rated at 650 HP and 1850 Torque….Or, am I missing something?
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Ron, our coach is a 45 foot coach, you may not have thought about but this might help in your search, it the coach you are looking at is an XL it is a 40 footer, while the XLV is a 45 footer. Hope this helps. -
We have a 98 Liberty XLV with the Series 60 470hp and the 6 speed. We regularly pull a F-150 SuperCrew with no problem. Been to Jackson Hole, the Smoky mountains, and lots of places high and low. Don’t let HP ratings fool you. The real number is TORQUE. Keep the S60 around 1300 rpm and let 1400+ ft/lbs take you wherever your heart desires. Never have any complaints about pulling power. I’m the guy that wants to cruise along at 75… It’s a great engine.
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Dick
You are going to laugh your tail off at me. I had no idea XL and XLV were roman. I thought xl meant extra large.
Thanks for the education. Thanks to Mark for the answer. Like I said we are in the knowlege gathering phase.
Ron
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Ben
Thank you for the very important info and sharing of your knowlege.
Ron
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Jackson
Those are some of the places we plan to go to. Glad to hear your coach has done so well.
Ron
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Ron,
Your speed up a hill is a function of the HP/weight ratio. More HP, less weight= more speed. From what I have seen, XLV coaches tend to be lighter than XLII or H3s. During the seminar at Jeff’s two years ago, one of the XLVs was 5,000 pounds lighter than our coach on Jeff’s scales. Our friend’s coach with toad is about 6,000 pounds heavier than ours, and the last time we climbed the big hill from Capitan to Alto ( close to Ruidoso Motorcoach Ranch), we just sailed past them. You are going to find hills that slow you down, but in the long run, it makes little difference. I’m sure you’ll be happy with 470 HP if that is what your coach will have. -
Per
thanks for sharing. Your comments will help us with our decision and search.
Ron
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This is a lot of discussion about something that is what it is.
We all get the engine Prevost installed and unless a previous owner did something to boost power we get what everyone with that model and year got.
BTW, If I found out a coach I was interested in had engine modifications to boost power it would be off my list.
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In my very limited experience I did not know until this thread if, what it is, was good enough,powerful enough or had enough torque. I am like you Jon, I would not consider an modified engine. Good info. Thanks
Ron
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