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Lari asked:

> Any ideas on how much power, torque, mileage, etc, I'd be losing by
switching to this rig.  I love the interior space, but don't want to give up
too much in maneuverability and git up and go.

The motor home is probably built on a van chassis. What you can do is go
look up the motor for that year as if it were a van and see what the ratings
are.

Here's the basics - 

Horsepower - this is torque times RPM. Everyone quotes it, and it usually
doesn't really mean anything. Funny how that works. Horsepower ratings are
frequently done at an RPM that your engine just won't do outside of the
testing area. For the most part, ignore horsepower. For an example of how
meaningless this is, look at a motorcycle's ratings sometime. Lots of
horsepower, won't pull anything.

Torque - this is what really matters. This is what pulls you up the hill.
Torque doesn't change that much with RPM, and the peak torque rating will
almost always happen in a usable range. More is better - you can sometimes
see a gasoline motor that has more HP, but less torque than a diesel. The
diesel will pull better if it has more torque.

Differential ratio - the higher this number is, the more you can pull, the
slower your top speed is, and the worse the mileage.

Now last is weight - we're required to get things weighed in WA to register.
You might find that the motor home weighs more than your previous rig. If
the new one doesn't have more torque or a higher differential ratio, you
won't be able to pull as well.

Next thing to figure on is brakes and suspension. Lots of motor homes do
well to stop themselves. If the chassis is equivalent to a F-450, then you
have bigger brakes than if it is built on a F-350.

One other factor that makes me think twice about a motor home is that not
every shop is equipped to work on it. You won't have a hard time finding
someone to work on a normal truck.

Hope this helps...

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