Any motorhome owners on here?

The decision has been made. The Blunder Bus is getting a facelift. 

Updates to happen here. The Blunder Bus

Sneak peek. 

In reply to Toyman01 + Sized and :

Long live the Blunder Bus!!!!!

03Panther said:

In reply to Toyman01 + Sized and :

I don't recall if you added any power to that 460, or just got her running good. Not a lot of cheap hp gains left on the table on those!

the diesel / gas decision is a tough one, as well. Despite being a huge diesel fan, that come with their share of drawbacks as well. For one, my wife's allergies react VERY badly around diesel fuel. The list goes on from there!

The little Cats are not the most well liked engine in a Medium  Duty truck, but those reasons are well discussed all ove the inter webs. I decided, when we bought the FL50, that for an RV, it would be ok. And was right. The C7 (3126, formerly 3116) on LT problems in an rv, they are big and heavy for the amount of power. Harder to work on than some others. Harder parts availability. And Cat parts are painted yellow, 'cause Cat thinks they are worth their weight in gold!

I have not owned a Cummins 8.3, and they have some known problems as well, but that would be my choice!

RV guys usuall don't know anything about their engine, except the horsepower, 'cause that's the tag on the coach! But I've seen 350hp with a 5.9 (although usually less) and 350hp with an 8.3 (although sometimes less) So ya gotta dig a bit deeper to find out what engine it has. The owner/sales man might not have a clue!

The 3126/C7 is a great engine. I had a 300 hp version of the 3126 and it hauled 60,000 pounds around for years without complaint. I know of many others in long reliable service as well. There is some anti-Cat misinformation about a number of the Cat models on forums but Cat made truck engines for years and you have to believe they had it figured out. 

In reply to bearmtnmartin (Forum Supporter) :

I would not call the MD complaints unfounded, just not as applicable to the RV world. Glad you had good luck with yours. Ours did not ever have a failure due to pulling weight. Just faulty injectors and other minor ancillary stuff. But needed a water pump at 110K miles was a bit of a surprise. And paying for the solid gold paint in the yellow cat part hurt my feelings... with no aftermarket available. And replacing the oil filter housing, due to a know poor design, with that same overpriced paint (no aftermarket at 120K miles got expensive as well.

Spent a small fortune on maint. and upkeep on that engine from 99K to 140K. But it did do everything we asked of it, pulling the 36' 5th wheel all over the nation, and the engine never left us on the side of the road. 

The only real MD guy complaint, is after wearing it out in 400 to 600 K miles, you have to throw it away... not a sleeved engine. I decided that prolly was not going to be an issue in my Toter-Home! I bought it at 99k when I was 50... I couldn't put another 500K on it in my lifetime towing to jobs!

I hear the 8.3, that fits in the same engine compartment, performs much better in front of the 3060, but have not driven that combo myself. And the 8.3 has its nay sayers also! Hey,.. Either is better than the 3208, right! 

During the injector problems, I did find out that Cat, International and Ford developed the HUEI injectors together. some good in that, some not so much.

And its not that Cat does not build great diesels... the 3116/3126 was not their finest work. Not the worst, either!