American Tradition


babahead

New Member
I am new to this forum. I am considering purchasing a 40' American Tradition 2000 year. It has a 300hp engine. I have never owned a diesel pusher but I do have a 2004 Dodge 3500 dually and a 37' 5th wheel now. I am used to the power of the Dodge and when I test drove the tradition it seemed to shift alot and when you floor it it picks up ok but not what I expected. Do I expect too much or is this thing just sluggish. Any input would be helpful at this point. :)
 

hertig

Senior Member
Re: American Tradition

What is the weight? My unit is 28,000 pounds. The 350 HP engine got it cross country, but it is by no means 'quick off the line'. Also, flooring mine is not recommended. There is an upper RPM range which I am not to ever exceed, or Bad Things Will Happen.

Basically, accelleration in a motorhome is not your primary concern. Lots of weight = slow accelleration. Find yourself a good grade and see how the motorhome goes up it, that will be of more value in making a decision.
 

Tkelly4371

New Member
RE: American Tradition

I agree with Hertig your not trying to win any races with a big 40 foot pusher. It isn't the acceleration to be concerned with instead as he said it's the ability of the coach to make it up hills and such especialy if you have a tow vehicle. I currently have a 2001 Tradition in stock with the 330 in it and on a recent test drive i felt that it was well balanced and was able to acheive a nice ride. They are finely built coaches if you have any questions please e-mail me tkelly4371@yahoo.com and i would be glad to help you. By the way the one i have in stock only has about 22000 miles on it. :)
 

fredhengel

New Member
Re: American Tradition

If you have an Allison 6 speed it is suggested that you do "floor it" once a day when traveling.

Fred H
 

babahead

New Member
Re: American Tradition

I bought the American Tradition 40'. I test drove it up a mountain and it performed great. It is like you said "not quick off the line" but who is racing here? I just want to get from point A to point B comfortably and this coach is comfortable. We are taking a short trip this weekend to try it out. I hope everything works like the wife wants it to. Thanks for all your input. It really helped me alot.
 

hertig

Senior Member
Re: American Tradition

An initial 'short trip' is a wonderful idea. You want to make sure everything 'in the house' works (for instance in our unit, we found that sitting on the toilet with liquid in the bowl caused the liquid to transfer to the floor :) ). The closer to home you park it, the better for handling stuff you forgot to pack or emergencies caused by interior defects. Once the 'house' is fully operational, then you want to go on a 'longer' (distance) trip to weed out any 'vehicle' defects. After that, go wherever you want.
 
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