Hi all--wannabe here. Considering the 30' Breakawy for sale in Florida. Have read the posts about the 5.9 being a dog and wonder if is really that bad. Do those of you that own one feel that your coach is underpowered? We full-time and will tow a 2000# car and don't want to go back to dragging an anchor at every light. Thanks in advance for your input.

Some of the answer will depend on whether you do much climbing.

quote:

We full-time and will tow a 2000# car and don't want to go back to dragging an anchor at every light.

Well, it's adequate in a Dodge pickup. I had one in a Thomas pusher bus and it was great, but there was nothing in the bus (RV stuff). I would think any Barth under 28 ft might be OK. Much will be based upon your expectations. Have you ever driven a diesel? It's much different. Patience and anticipation (like the old ketchup commercial) are virtues with most DPs. My Wanderlodge is the first RV I've ever owned that was as powerful as a car. You only get that performance at the extreme ends of the market (Class B and upmarket A).

Own one now (33'-230HP) and had one prior (30'-190HP) and it does depend on what you are planning to do with it. Climb the Rockies? Better options than the B5.9. Stay basically out of the mountains? It will be fine, especially if you are going to tow with four down on the ground. Towing a trailer can be tricky, but I pulled a 5-6000lb. trailer up and down Rt. 95 on the east coast without any difficulty with our 30' Breakaway. The hardest part was getting over the bridge out of Jersey to get to Rt. 95. But once on the basically flat road that 95 is, I motored along. Can't set speed records, but it will do it. I have told others in the past---it's not the B5.9, 190-230HP that is the problem. It's the 4 speed Allison transmission if the coach is so equipped. It is much easier towing the trailer now that I have the 6 speed trans. I haven't pulled a toad with either, but beings the toad distributes the weight among its four tires, all you need to do is get the mass moving, making it easier than pulling a loaded trailer.

So is my Allison model AT646 a four speed? I assume so. Shows you what I know about transmissions.

Steve

Hi again and thanks for all the input. We are fulltimers and yes, I have owned diesel before. Don't plan on climbing many mountains, as most of our travels are from Pennsylvania to Florida and back. Interesting that I will have to have patience when moving off the line. We do most of our driving on the blue highways and therefore do lots of starting and stopping. We currently drive a Toyota micro-mini with a six cylinder engine. Performance is very "car-like" and I guess my hesitation is going back to a lead-sled of a large motorhome. Sounds like the fuel consumption will be comparable with the Toyota delivering 14-15mpg and the Cummins not far behind. Again, thanks for your input!

My 30', 190HP Breakaway got 9-10MPG. The present 33', 230HP gets 11-12MPG.
Yea, they are slow off the start, but they have to be to move the weight of the coach and get it rolling. Once moving you just do not have the passing ability of a car, pick up truck, motorcycle, class C RV, etc... Hopefully you are not in that much of a hurry when out with a Class A diesel pusher!
And one last thing...if properly maintained they will go forever. Okay, not forever but my cousin has a crane with the 190HP B5.9 in it and has 800K miles without a rebuild!

Here is an area where I have strong opinions. The stock 190hp is slow(dog). When I first drove outs I did not think I would ever get to cruising speeds. That problem is very fixable, as it is easy to raise the HP. I have made a few post on that subject.

The Breakaway also used an Allison 542 transmission. No lockup was the big problem. Also fixable by swapping transmissions. I had a major post on that subject also.

And for Steve, the 600 series transmission is just fine.

quote:

Originally posted by Gary Carter:
Here is an area where I have strong opinions. The stock 190hp is slow(dog). When I first drove outs I did not think I would ever get to cruising speeds. That problem is very fixable, as it is easy to raise the HP. I have made a few post on that subject.

The Breakaway also used an Allison 542 transmission. No lockup was the big problem. Also fixable by swapping transmissions. I had a major post on that subject also.

And for Steve, the 600 series transmission is just fine.

Gary, I searched through your prior posts (lots of them) but didn't find reference to raising the HP on the Cummins 190. Got any idea where that might be.

Thanks.

Steve

Banks stinger intake manifold
Banks supplied turbo
Different fuel plate for injector pump
Marine injectors

I do not recall the fuel plate number, but it is a Cummins part. If I open up the pump to full flow, I can produce about 400HP and 800 pounds of torque. Needless to say I have it cut way back to under 300hp. At 400hp many drivetrain parts would be in jeapordy.

In my case the 542 had to go. It will only handle about 225hp.

I have the 230 HP Cummins 5.9 with an Allison 6 speed. Tow cross country trips coast to coast later, I love this engine. It's reliable and with the 6 speed tranny, it runs great!

I have the 5.9 and 6 speed, it is not a power house for sure but runs good. It was VERY slow off the line but I have turned up the pump a bit and it is better.

The 5.9 and 4 speed has some limitations, 3.73 rear gears make it slower than those 6 speeds with 4.1 rear gears. Cruise is also limited because there is no overdrive and at 65 MPH the engine is turning very fast.

There are some known issues that would be expensive to fix if you are not a diyr.

1. Rear main seal will start to leak. Drive an was the oil level, it is messy and BAD if you tow. $2000-$2500 to have fixed. Mine leaks but to busy to change now, it is a BIG job.

2. Head gasket is prone to leak. On Dodge trucks it is at the rear of the engine on the exhaust side, in RVs and boats at the front of the engine, under the thermostat area. Mine developed a leak and I changed the head gasket with a marine head gasket, which is now the standard replacement gasket

3.Over heating issue in pushers with rear radiators. If you run fast and at high altitudes, particularly in hilly country, expect to slow and use lower gear with high RPM, keeps fan spinning faster, higher air flow. Wash the radiator often. I have a lot of hours trying to get this issue under control, finally happy with the results

I have 165k miles on mine, I will replace it around 200k with either a pumped up 5.9 to at least 300 HP or go with a newer 6.7 with 800 lb/ft torque. Then I will start to tow.