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Topic: Has anyone driven a 1986 ORED GV 40 ft with NA Cat 3208?  (Read 1235 times) previous topic - next topic

Has anyone driven a 1986 ORED GV 40 ft with NA Cat 3208?

Looked at a cherry old girl today. 3208 NA in a heavy 40ft  GV.  About 95% OE.
  Before I drive it.  Has anyone driven this package?  How slow is it?  My Turbo runs swell but is not a drag racer.
Will it pull a  6000# race trailer over 60mph? 

Re: Has anyone driven a 1986 ORED GV 40 ft with NA Cat 3208?

Reply #1
Looked at a cherry old girl today. 3208 NA in a heavy 40ft  GV.  About 95% OE.
  Before I drive it.  Has anyone driven this package?  How slow is it?  My Turbo runs swell but is not a drag racer.
Will it pull a  6000# race trailer over 60mph? 
Had a 3208 NA in an 83 Wanderlodge, 210 hp 475 ft/lbs. Didn't tow, but at 30000 lbs, pretty slow. Don't know what year the GV is, but the Wanderlodge was geared for 55 mph speed limits. Up against the governor, would only do 66 mph.
Jim C.
coachfree, previous 1997, 1999, 2000, and 2003 Foretravels.

Re: Has anyone driven a 1986 ORED GV 40 ft with NA Cat 3208?

Reply #2
The owner has all of the paperwork from new.  It had the rear gear swapped for a taller set and claims 70 at WOT.

Re: Has anyone driven a 1986 ORED GV 40 ft with NA Cat 3208?

Reply #3
No turbo? My 88 was a 300hp w turbo it would !
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My advice and experiences are Free, you decide if they are worth anything .

John - driving Old Faithful
1994 U280 GV
C8.3, Banks, Pacbrake, 900 watts, Resonator, XLHD tow dolly
Retired Army Warrant Officer

Life is what you make of it - if it is lemons, make lemonade!
Former Coaches:
1988 GV 40' ORED 300HP CAT - 9 years
1990 Winnebago LeSharo - 3 years
2000 Newmar London Aire - 3 years (#18 of 23 produced)

Re: Has anyone driven a 1986 ORED GV 40 ft with NA Cat 3208?

Reply #4
I had one for 4 years and loved it.  Not a rocket but all over the west and the mountain passes it performed fine.  Took a little driving skill with brake management on grades but no problems.  Only aggravating problem was leaky glass type fuel filter.  Finally removed it and put on spin on type. It was totaled in a collision but buyer at salvage yard fixed it up and put it back on road. I have lost track of it.
Gary B

Re: Has anyone driven a 1986 ORED GV 40 ft with NA Cat 3208?

Reply #5
Just remember, no liners.
96 U270 BUILD 4810
85 380SL
Drummonds TN.

Re: Has anyone driven a 1986 ORED GV 40 ft with NA Cat 3208?

Reply #6
Parent bore engines have advantages. 5.9 Cummins is a parent bore. And you can always put dry liners in a parent bore engine. I cracked a cylinder wall in my stock car but pulled it down and a one liner went in after the cylinder was bored. Lots of fast laps after that without a problem.

Parent bores take more heat that a wet lined engine. Engines with dry liners also have advantages but you can't install the liners at home as the block has to be decked. Dry liners should not be bored even with replacement pistons. The liner wall is then too thin and does not stay round.

Pierce
Pierce and Gaylie Stewart
'93 U300/36 WTBI
Detroit 6V-92TA Jake
1140 watts on the roof
SBFD (ret)

Re: Has anyone driven a 1986 ORED GV 40 ft with NA Cat 3208?

Reply #7
 Has anyone on here wore out the 3208 Cat?  They have one of the least  trouble some service from what I have found  . Leaky a little, set the valves, fresh belts and maybe a water pump  seem to be the points of interest .
            The book calls for replacing rod bearings when the oi l pressure gets low or 4000hrs . I have 3808 hrs, plenty of oil pressure and burns a liitle oil before it warms up . No issues at all other then the leaky Racor fuel filter .( updated to spin on) 

  Has anyone shot liners into their Cummins, orDD ?

The bus in question has 220kmiles, run nicely, has extensive service records  and sits on the Oshkosh chassis.
My concerns are; the like new 10 yr old  Goodyear tires, The original fridge , inop front AC.  And can it keep up with my Bus towing the trailers .  I tow at 62 MPH  with the  7K double trailer.

Re: Has anyone driven a 1986 ORED GV 40 ft with NA Cat 3208?

Reply #8
Has anyone on here wore out the 3208 Cat? 

  Has anyone shot liners into their Cummins, orDD ?


No.  Only heard one start once.  When I looked over an FTX.

But you can purchase oversized pistons.  Did I mention that when I look something over I try to know what I can before I get there?

PK3208TA | Piston Kit | 3160 | 3204 | 3208 | Diesel Parts Direct
1992 Foretravel Grand Villa
U225 SBID Build No. 4134
1986 Rockwood Driftwood
1968 S.I.A.T.A. Spring
1962 Studebaker Lark
1986 Honda VF700C
1983 Honda VF750C
Charlie, the Dog was broken out of jail 24 Oct 2023
N1RPN
AA1OH (H)e who must be obeyed.

Re: Has anyone driven a 1986 ORED GV 40 ft with NA Cat 3208?

Reply #9
If it has taller rear gears than original, I would question if it can handle 7000 lbs. very well.  Weren't some of the earlier models rated below 10,000 lbs tow rating when new?
Dave Threlkeld
Researching before full-time RV retirement
Detroit Diesel fan

Re: Has anyone driven a 1986 ORED GV 40 ft with NA Cat 3208?

Reply #10
Link about a guy towing with a 3208 NA.
tow capacity - Wanderlodge Owners Group
Jim C.
coachfree, previous 1997, 1999, 2000, and 2003 Foretravels.

Re: Has anyone driven a 1986 ORED GV 40 ft with NA Cat 3208?

Reply #11
Should be a 250hp 3208 with a turbo.  643 Allison. Oshkosh limited the front brakes to only work past 60psi. 

Lq4 valve is in the dash to do this.  Can be bypassed with or without a operating valve. 

With the brakes fully engaged a shuddering noise and vibes are present in reverse. Nature of the brake shoe basic design.

I had trucker customers bypass the Lq4 valve so the brakes fully worked.

If you drive the coach and after fairly hard braking the front rims will be cool and the rears very warm.

With the Lq4 valve bypassed all the wheels warm up.

The Lq4 valve was a truck tractor valve which disconnected the front brakes so steering could be maintained in icy conditions.

Or save your braking needs until you can get on the brakes hard which then works the fronts also.

Average customer did not notice this very much.  But hard drivers in the mountains noticed this.

A few customers changed the brake "cans" on the back of the wheels to a larger volume so the brakes were applied harder.

Had one customer install a marine twin turbo top end to his 250 cat.  Wow.  What hills.

He had 95k miles on the conversion.  Only got into the throttle in 4th gear.

No trans or engine problems.

I would install a manual valve in the dash to allow on and off of the front brakes.

Bigger cans?  Bigger turbo?

I drove the twin turbo coach.  The idea of gearing it down is one way of using the hp instead of more torque.

I would regear it.  Add the marine top end.  Manual the Lq4 valve and then see if I wanted  bigger cans on the wheel brakes.

"Riding and rejoicing"
Bob
1997 U320 40' Mid entry, build 5132,  wtbi ce27, 4th owner
2007 Solara convertible
2 prodeco tech outlaw ss electric bikes

1095 watts solar
08 Ls 460 and a sc430
2000 Ford F-250 superduty 4x4

Re: Has anyone driven a 1986 ORED GV 40 ft with NA Cat 3208?

Reply #12
No turbo.

Re: Has anyone driven a 1986 ORED GV 40 ft with NA Cat 3208?

Reply #13
Slow.  Very. Never seen a 86 cat  ORED without  a turbo.  Engine replaced? 
"Riding and rejoicing"
Bob
1997 U320 40' Mid entry, build 5132,  wtbi ce27, 4th owner
2007 Solara convertible
2 prodeco tech outlaw ss electric bikes

1095 watts solar
08 Ls 460 and a sc430
2000 Ford F-250 superduty 4x4

Re: Has anyone driven a 1986 ORED GV 40 ft with NA Cat 3208?

Reply #14
Don't think so.
It has an exhaust brake in the headpipe.
 Looks very original. Papers from day one.

Re: Has anyone driven a 1986 ORED GV 40 ft with NA Cat 3208?

Reply #15
I had a GMC Brigadier with a non turbo 3208, geared to run a max speed of 55 and even when it was empty the poor thing still couldn't get out of its own way.
88 Grand Villa 36' ORED 3208 (throwaway)Cat.
 Build # 3150
Happiness is the maximum agreement of reality and desire.

Re: Has anyone driven a 1986 ORED GV 40 ft with NA Cat 3208?

Reply #16
The difference between turbo and non-turbo is huge. With a turbo and the fuel turned up, it should fly. Nice to have an intercooler between the turbo and the engine. I had a 195 hp mechanical 7.3 turbo international/ford (no IC) and in a 29 foot SOB, it just flew. Monaco diesels were distant sights in the mirrors. I would look closely at what works and what is not a good ideal with this engine. Hey, it's over 10 liters!

Pierce
Pierce and Gaylie Stewart
'93 U300/36 WTBI
Detroit 6V-92TA Jake
1140 watts on the roof
SBFD (ret)

Re: Has anyone driven a 1986 ORED GV 40 ft with NA Cat 3208?

Reply #17
I had one for 8 years but it was a 3208T. I was not impressed with the turbo compared to the Cummins I have now. The only thing I didn't like was the drum brakes on all 4 wheels. Other than that it was bullet proof.
1994 U280, Build 4490
Deming, NM.

Re: Has anyone driven a 1986 ORED GV 40 ft with NA Cat 3208?

Reply #18
Lq4 valve is in the dash to do this.  Can be bypassed with or without a operating valve. 

With the brakes fully engaged a shuddering noise and vibes are present in reverse. Nature of the brake shoe basic design.

I had trucker customers bypass the Lq4 valve so the brakes fully worked.

If you drive the coach and after fairly hard braking the front rims will be cool and the rears very warm.

With the Lq4 valve bypassed all the wheels warm up.

The Lq4 valve was a truck tractor valve which disconnected the front brakes so steering could be maintained in icy conditions.

Or save your braking needs until you can get on the brakes hard which then works the fronts also.

Average customer did not notice this very much.  But hard drivers in the mountains noticed this.

A few customers changed the brake "cans" on the back of the wheels to a larger volume so the brakes were applied harder.
No idea even what this means. Mine did not have this and I never had a brake issue except new shoes on the rear. They wear out sooner.
1994 U280, Build 4490
Deming, NM.

 

Re: Has anyone driven a 1986 ORED GV 40 ft with NA Cat 3208?

Reply #19
 I took a pic of the data plate and it is marked  12/ 1991. 
 Just looked at it today.