Thanks - it's all pretty logical I guess. More work, louder etc... not a fan of too much extra work. I have to say that I didn't realize the pusher was going to need a cut out up front. More hassle than it's worth... tho' I do love the diesels... a lot.
Part of my dilemma is what the RV scene will look like in 10-15 years (or longer). I love the idea of electric conversion but $ way way to high... maybe in 10 years... maybe. It's all a bit academic with fossil fuels and electric power and no one really know if/when etc. I figured it's likely to be harder to replace heavy trucks so diesel will potentially be a better investment for the future c.w. gas... but I don't know.
What I do know is - 1. we want this to drive relatively failure free (drive train)... I can handle failures in the camper but breaking down on the side of the road gets real old (and expensive)... having had 7+ of those experiences just getting her home (from last shietbag owner).
Apart from 2 duff cylinders (very low compression) - she just cuts out after a slow down and will restart after 5-10 minutes. Not over heating (fixed that), not fuel delivery, not vapor locking - no one seems to know what the issue is. My guess it could be a combination of 2 bad cylinders with a badly behaving alternator (diode?). As such I want swap the whole beast out.
Outside of diesel - the top choice would be a 502HT with 4 speed tranny upgrade... theoretically a straight ($18K) swap (if I do it)... maybe a bit cheaper.
Figure I can fix this one up, just frightens me to spend the $10-14K (with tranny upgrade) and still have the stalling issue. Inclined to say f-it and throw the bank at it with a fully dressed engine.. not sure I'm brave enough though.
Apart from fuel milage and better resale value (diesel) - not sure how popular a big gasser will be in a decades time.
Cheers-
Pete
Quote:
Originally Posted by AirRowan
Anything can be done but the amount of work to do a gas to Diesel swap is huge. I have driven my converted buss for more then 36,000 miles and still have not made it worth the work.
I looked at the Cummings but it had a few drawbacks for me.
1.The length was the biggest problem It would mean cutting the floor out in front of the couch and losing space in the living room.
2. The noise; in a puller your sitting over the motor and the fatigue of sitting over the loudest diesel engine ever made (good motor don't get me wrong) when it is a pusher it is 35 feet away and under a mattress normally.
3. At the time (2011) there was no way to put the Allison 6 speed behind it. I dislike the Hydromatic 3 speed that the 454 came with. Gearing is a must if you are switching to a diesel with modern highway speeds and pulling anything behind your 18,000lbs Airstream
I wish you Goodluck with whichever way you go and I did enjoy parts of the project and I always enjoy driving the Airstream with more power then any other moho on the road ;-) my current project is re building a 1925 wooden schooner in Maine SailSchoonerHindu.com or Utube Hinduchartes.
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