Thor Forums

[Chance]

Originally Posted by Altonymous

Hi all!

It's my first post here because we are considering purchasing a 2015 Thor Outlaw 37MD. I took it for a test drive today and I was quite shocked at how high those RPMs would climb to get the coach moving.. but then again it's the first RV I've EVERY driven.. hell it's the first I've ever been in while moving.

....cut....

I personally don't think it has much to do with whether the V10 is a high revving engine or not. And for what it's worth I don't think it is -- not that it matters.

The issue in my opinion is that the power to weight ratio of motorhomes, particularly large ones and or when towing heavy loads, is "extremely" low compared to most cars. When we are new to driving motorhomes we have to change our expectations of what level of acceleration is normal. If we try to accelerate like a car we'll end up flooring it and the engine will rev high as requested.

Think about what it would be like to drive a car the size of a Honda Accord if it only had a 1-liter engine making about 50 HP. That's about the same power-to-weight of a large Class A pulling a 5,000- to 7,500-pound trailer.

My first motorhome was light and accelerated relatively well, but even then I had to get use to it being much slower than my cars. It helped me that I had experience driving a few trucks part-time while in high school and college, but I still had to adapt.