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Switch out 1989 tranny for a 6-speed?

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Richard And Babs Ames:
Our 1997 Patirot has the above engine and transmission and weights thousands of lbs less is still not a much of a climber. Going th a rally in Lake Placid,  New York I felt like a turtle behind two rabbits that did not stop to smell the roses. Reason is 830 lbs of torque compared to 1500 plus.  

Peter and Connie Bradish:
 The question is why do you want to go up hills faster?
 We have a 93 Contessa with 250 HP and 660 ft/lb of torque. We tow a Jeep Liberty which weighs 4000 lbs. Yes, we are slow up hills/mt passes sometimes. 25-30 mph on some up hill climbs. We talked to our mechanic about it. He told us about costs, etc. He also said, "Is there a hill you haven't climbed?" We said, "Well, no." (this includes Eisenhower Pass in CO)  He said, "Well ?-?-?-"
 Ever since then we have just been patient on hills/mt passes and taken our time in the lane with the slow trucks. We now have 220,000 miles (49 US states & all Canadian provinces except Nunavut) on our coach and have loved every minute of it, even the slow climb on steep hills.
 I would suggest if you want to go faster you will need to buy a newer Beaver. The cost to upgrade in your present 89 would be prohibitive and for what? 55 instead of 30 to 45 up a hill? Again why do you want to go faster up the hills? When you answer that question, you can make decisions about what to do with respect to your coach.

Bill Sprague:

--- Quote from: Peter and Connie Bradish --- The question is why do you want to go up hills faster?
--- End quote ---

I challenged a friend with a 455 Cat in his Patriot.  We were going to drive over three 6% grades between Yakima, WA and Ellensburg.  Our coaches weigh about the same but his motor is a lot bigger.   The cruise controls were set at 60 and we agreed to not exceed the speed limit downhill.  He beat me by less than two minutes. Our total drive time that day was about 2 hours.  

Even in the West we drive up hill for only a few minutes in each trip, so going faster uphill is insignificant in the passage of a travel day.

Another friend, with a Thunder, had an even bigger engine in a coach with the same floor plan as ours.  His bigger engine needed a bigger transmission.  That called for a tag to support the extra engine and transmission weight.  Now all the framework needed to be stronger and heavier.  And, the engine needed a big cooling fan to keep from overheating while it pushed 45,000 pounds up hills.  Altogether his coach weighed about 12,000 more than mine.  The result was his similar floor plan rolled down the road at about 6.5 mpg while mine gets 8.1!  Yes, he got up the hills a little quicker but Wally was nice, and polite enough, to insist on following, not leading, up the hills.  He only chose to "embarrass" my little engine once, for the fun of it, on the long road from Prineville to Newfoundland.  I wish Wally was still here to do that trip again.

Edward Buker:
I owned a 1989 beaver Contessa with a Cat 3208 Turbo with approx 250 HP, 485 Ft lbs of torque at 1400RPMs, and a 4 speed Allison in it for my last coach. I would travel at 62MPH at about 2400 RPMs. I now own a 2002 Marquis non Tag axle 505Hp with 1550Ft Lbs of Torque at 1200RPMs and a 6 speed Allison. I now travel at 65MPH at 1450RPMs.

I understand the question and the problem with the underpowered Cat 3208 in the early Beaver Coaches. It is not just a matter of uphill speed and a couple of minutes. It is a matter of losing gearing, running 2400-2700 RPMs in 2nd gear at 30MPH, worrying about cooling airflow as the fluid temperatures rise, the safety issue of possibly being rear ended, and an engine running as hard as it can for very long periods of time with tremendous heat build up. It just keeps you on edge worrying if everything will stay together. There was always a debate with a slower truck ahead of you if I dare go into the left lane at 30MPH or lose more speed behind a truck doing 20. That was part of the life experience in an older Beaver, one might say part of the adventure. When you crested a pass you had to engage an exhaust brake and use 3rd gear to hold you back from the ride of your life...

The new Marquis with the Cat C12 and the Allison 6 speed are electronically integrated seamlessly and there is no worry at all about the passes. I travel mostly at 65 MPH and the coach moves effortlessly at this speed and the longest Interstate passes barely put a dent in the speed if at all. Some passes I crest at 65 and need to be careful to pull the cruise control off before I summit otherwise I have to brake in conjunction with setting the jake brake. Just no worry at all during the climbs and a dream to drive. Sometimes when I stopped after climbing a pass the 3208 heat would be extreme being emitting from the engine compartment and it is a non issue at all with the C12. Mileage wise I averaged 8.8MPG with my 36ft 1989 Contessa traveling at 62MPH and I now average 8.6MPG with the 2002 Marquis 40ft non tag traveling at 65MPH. I am very impressed with the newer coaches performance and see it as a world of difference. I am running Michelin XZA2 Energy tires that are supposed to give you about .2MPG better than standard tires on the new coach. I thought my mileage would be worse than it is with the C12 but that is an accurate average for about 8k miles of travel.

The engine capabilities have now evolved to better match the coach and in my case it is a dramatic change for the better.

Later Ed

Don Hircock:
"I travel mostly at 65 MPH and the coach moves effortlessly at this speed and the longest Interstate passes barely put a dent in the speed if at all."

I'm impressed Edward, I presume with your above reference that means you have been eastbound I-70 to Denver over Vail Pass and through Eisenhower Tunnel (actually Edwin Johnson Tunnel Eastbound) and maintained that speed.  That sure beats my C-9.  I'm not unhappy with it at 35 mph towards the top, its just the surge I get in it and just told to live with after several diagnosis stops.
Gerald will fix that problem for me, we've never talked about that one that I've put up with for the past 3 years.  

Happy
Trails

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