Hi guys,

I am traveling to AL in 2 weeks to look at a pair of RV's. One is a 1988 with a 460 and a gear vendors overdrive, the other is the SAME RV only a 1987 with 6.9 diesel and no gear vendors.

I am not trying to start a flame or argument, but I really need some advice.

I have a 1990 F550 box truck I own with a V10 and although I am happy the 4:88 gears are hard on gas.

I want to be able to AFFORD to take my family on trips in this RV. Can anyone help me figure out what route to go for economy? I am leaning toward the 6.9 IDI unit even though it is a bit more money.

please help me make the smart choice!

 

I'd probably say the idi; those 460s get about 6MPG no matter what.
Depending on weight/speed, I'd not be surprised if the IDI gets twice that.

I'm thinking the 460 was rated somewhere around 230 HP, the IDI about 170(crank HP).

If you can afford it later on, think about adding a used turbo kit to it - A turbo can easily give you 50 more HP, and it helps fuel economy when you're running high RPMs.
Read this: http://assets.bankspower.com.s3.amaz...hev/index.html
A used kit can be picked up for under $500 if you look around and wait for the right opportunity.

 

If the 6.9 is good, I'd go with that. A few of the reasons why, are the multitude of ways you can work with it. You can run WMO/WVO, you can increase the engine performance with turbo charging, and other performance options discussed here. Improving both economy, and power.

With the 460, the best you could do as far as I know, is go full propane. It'd cut down the performance, but 'could be' a cheaper fueling option....until another harsh winter.

Other than that, you're buying a camper, so the nicest interior would sway my vote.

 

Im thinking im gonna go with the 460. The RV is about 2k less and with the gear vendors I wont be at the same fuel economy as the 6.9, but I will have more power, and the 460 is easy to maintain and cheap to work on.

Thanks so much for the input guys!

 

I would be more concerned about the rv systems. One that old can be come a money pit real fast ( been there done that)

 

<p>i would go with the idi also. even with the gear vendors overdrive working, i bet it will not get any better than around 10 mph. the diesel on the other hand will get at least 14-16 mph with the C6 trans.</p><p>and the diesel will be a lot easier and cheaper to maintain and fix when broken.</p><p>yes the 460 will have more power, but the diesel will do the same thing with less effort required, it will just do it a bit slower, which is the whole point of having a RV. slow and relaxed, not rat race fast.</p>