C7 vs. ISB and Basement Air

richf · 03-09-2006, 08:09 AM

I'm considering a 34' Journey or Meridan puchase. Would appreciate comments relating to Cat vs. Cummins. Is basement air a positive or negative feature on the Winnebago DP's?

richf · 03-09-2006, 08:09 AM

I'm considering a 34' Journey or Meridan puchase. Would appreciate comments relating to Cat vs. Cummins. Is basement air a positive or negative feature on the Winnebago DP's?

cmaserv · 03-09-2006, 08:31 AM

I have an 04 meridian 36. It has a cat 330 hp. Went out west last spring and was very happy with the performance and mileage. I spent half my life working in a truck shop and had great experiences with cat over the cummins product, in regards to warranty issues. I would have to say that with the low mileage you will likely put on your coach either motor would give a long life and perform well. The basement a/c is just OK in my opinion. Think it could be a little larger in BTU. Heat pump is a great feature tho.. Little noisy in the bedroom area, but not bad.. Good luck and happy camping

dstinch · 03-09-2006, 08:32 AM

i have a 2006 journey 36G,the cat is an option 350|860 on mine. i went with that because of more power. so far i love the basement air/heater but my wife is in a wheelchair so in summer if it fails we will be in motels till it gets fixed. 2 up on roof you still have one if one fails. it sure is quiet inside when running.

rebelsbeach · 03-09-2006, 08:48 AM

Love the basement air, more room for toys on the roof!!

AFChap · 03-09-2006, 09:08 AM

Love the Cummins in our coach, but I personally wouldn't make Cat or Cummins choice a factor in buying a coach I like ...I would take either. If I had to choose between the two on the one coach I like better than all others, I would go with the less costly purchase cost.

We think the basement air is a big plus over roof air.

CHIPPYSGT · 03-09-2006, 10:46 AM

I have a 05 Meridian with the 350 Cat turbo diesel. Plenty of power.

Basement air is great and far superior in my opinion. Any a/c guy can work on it, it has a real filter, is much quieter, and no fiberglass covers to leave along side of the road.

Doug

boulderado · 03-09-2006, 11:15 AM

We have the ISB in ours and so far it has performed just fine towing our Pontiac Vibe. This is our second Winnebago with the basement air and we like it, even if it eats into the storage a bit.

tomsm · 03-09-2006, 11:30 AM

In the past the Cat/Cummins choice was much easier since Winnie spec'd the ISB with a 2000MH transmission. This configuration had a GVWR of 27,910 (same as Cat), but the GCWR was only 28,000 (37,910 for the Cat). So if you wanted to load the coach to it's GVWR, you had exactly 90 pounds left for a toad. Now the Cummins is paired with the 2500MH Allison which allows a 33,000 GCWR. Problem solved, unless you want to tow a pickup or big SUV.

Now the choice may be based more on where you plan to drive. If you spend much time in the mountains, the extra torque of the Cat will be much appreciated.

This is our 6th motorhome and the first with basement air. We love it! Seems to be much better airflow and distribution throughout the coach. It's quiet - don't have to crank up the TV volume. Some object to the noise(?) in the bedroom. We find it to be a comforting white noise that drowns out outside noises. Also no water dripping off the roof.

To some the redundancy of 2 roof airs is important. I've only had one A/C failure in my years of RVing and it was on a 32' class A with 2 roof units. It was August in Savannah and the remaining single unit didn't begin to keep up with the heat. In other circumstances, it might have been OK.

Good luck with your choice...

tomsm · 03-09-2006, 11:37 AM

Ha! Just noticed the irony of Boulderado's post. I'm living 9' above sealevel and driving the Cat and he's at 5,000' in the foothills of the Rockies (I used to live in Longmont) and getting by fine with the ISB...

NeilV · 03-09-2006, 11:43 AM

Basement Air is a plus for me. You get a lower center of gravity, residential type filter that you can buy in most hardware and some grocery stores and no more condesate dripping down the side of the coach. Also fewer things to trim trees with.

Regards,

Neil

Flyer · 03-09-2006, 03:04 PM

Had two 2003 Journeys--one with the ISB and now the Cat 3126. The Cat definitely has more power, but also gets slightly better mileage even on a heavier coach. Cummins is set up better for RVers, but Cat is improving. In the future I would opt for the Cat by a slight margin.
I like the basement air, but the heat pump is noisy, as mentioned before.