chucl66
Milton, Florida
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I am looking at a 35' Bay with the 260, allison 6 spd. Is this a good engine, transmission combo.
Any pros or cons about this MH would be appreciated.
Chuck
Chuck & Laraine
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BuckBarker
Overgaard, AZ
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Joined: 06/06/2007
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It's good enough for the flats of Florida but will not handle the mountains of Arizona.
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hershey
Albuquerque,(fulltime) NM, USA
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I have the same engine, 270 hp and 5 speed and it gets great fuel mileage and handles the long grades just fine. Not the first on to the top, but not the first one at the fuel pump either.
I'd love to see what a 400 hp engine would do in my MH, but I wouldn't trade it for what I have. I couldn't afford the fuel for it.
hershey - albuquerque, nm
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Fishinghat
Western Washington, USA
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This would be the ISB 5.9 Cummins, the same engine used in Dodge pickups. It will get you where you want to go at somewhere between 8 & 10 mpg, more or less. This engine is reliable, has been installed in many entry level motorhomes, and will work just fine. As hershey pointed out, you won't be the first to the top of the mountain. It will climb any mountain, just not all that fast.
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Buffalobilly
Holiday Island, AR
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Good engine and tranny. The tanny is what make the comb work.
Here are some issues with the engine-
1 KDP, that may or may not be an engine with this issue. Google KDP for more info.
2. Exhaust manifold tend to shrink on Cummins B & C engines. Make sure a knowledgeable person looks at it.
3. At the age of the unit a radiator externally clogged with oil/dirt etc is not unusual. I have seen quit a few that the only way to clean properly is to remove form coach. This is an issue with any rear radiator unit.
That said the engine/tranny would be low on my concerns when buying a unit of age.
Buffalobilly
95 Safari Sahara
230 B Cummins
pulling a 2007 Diesel Grand Cherokee
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J Walker
Oakton, Va
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Unless you are certain it has a six speed transmission that size MH, HP, and year tells me it is a five speed, and perhaps an XCS chassis. See if you have leaf springs and shocks which would tell you it is a Freightliner XCS. That would not be bad at all though many insist on airbags. I have a 2000 XCS chassis, 260 HP, five speed trans and I am doing fine. I have enough HP for the mountains and enjoy 11+ MPG average. Weight is the thing to correlate with HP, and I have a GVWR of 22,000 lbs.
Jim Walker
2000 34' Damon Ultrasport DP
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Mr.Mark
California/Tennessee
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chucl66 wrote:I am looking at a 35' Bay with the 260, allison 6 spd. Is this a good engine, transmission combo.
Any pros or cons about this MH would be appreciated.
Chuck
Chuck, as I have learned, it's all about weight to engine ratio. I bet you probably would beat me up the same grade. We are at 40,000 lbs plus pulling a 3,400 lb toad. Depending on the grade, I can fall to 35-40 mph.
I usually can keep my speed up until I get stuck behind a slow truck. Once I lose my momentum, I CAN NOT gain it back until the grade has leveled off.
Since I've kept my speed to 55-58 mph from the 65 I used to travel, my mpg's have gone from 5.5-7.0 to 7.5-9.0 (depending on hills). I also try to keep track of my Aqua-Hot usage and generator usage to get a better figure on my MPG's.
MM.
Mr.Mark 
2008 Monaco Dynasty, 42ft., 4 slides, 425 hp clean-air Cummins diesel
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Triker33
Homestead, FL
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BuckBarker wrote:It's good enough for the flats of Florida but will not handle the mountains of Arizona.
Sounds like a answer from someone that has never driven a ISB on the flats of Florida or the mountains of Arizona. 
There is more ft. lb. of torque in that ISB then you will find in a gas powered MH. Plus it will get better MPG.
It will get up any of those AZ. hills just fine. 
Larry Full Time Since 99
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hershey
Albuquerque,(fulltime) NM, USA
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J Walker wrote:Unless you are certain it has a six speed transmission that size MH, HP, and year tells me it is a five speed, and perhaps an XCS chassis. See if you have leaf springs and shocks which would tell you it is a Freightliner XCS. That would not be bad at all though many insist on airbags. I have a 2000 XCS chassis, 260 HP, five speed trans and I am doing fine. I have enough HP for the mountains and enjoy 11+ MPG average. Weight is the thing to correlate with HP, and I have a GVWR of 22,000 lbs.
I have the same chassis and my info says I have a 270 hp Cummin's and I have a GVW of 23,000 lbs. Leaf springs, no air bags and it rides beautifully. Couldn't be happier with it.....well, maybe a full body paint job would tickle my fancy 
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ThunderingQuiet
In Your Mind
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Triker33 wrote:BuckBarker wrote:It's good enough for the flats of Florida but will not handle the mountains of Arizona.
Sounds like a answer from someone that has never driven a ISB on the flats of Florida or the mountains of Arizona.
There is more ft. lb. of torque in that ISB then you will find in a gas powered MH. Plus it will get better MPG.
It will get up any of those AZ. hills just fine.
I agree with that. We've got the ISB in our mh and it takes the mountains of Arizona and Colorado just fine.
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