Follow-Up:
I own the diesel instead of the gas. The gas engine can usually run higher RPM's than the diesel. I run mine down the road at 60 - 62 MPH without any problems. I can get 69 - 71 MPH top end out of mine before the governer takes over. When i talked to tech from Winnebago, he said that I could run it wide open, but after a while it would start to run warm from reving to hard. He suggested running it up real quick in speed to see how fast it would go top end. (Lets say it goes 70 MPH top end.) He suggested running it about 5 MPH less (Lets say 65 MPH) and see where the temperature guage runs. Then run it at 5 MPH less (60 MPH) and see what the temperature then. If there is little or no change, it won't hurt to run it at 65 MPH. The best thing to do is keep increasing the speed a little at a time (on flat groung) until you find the temperature rising. Then back down the speed a couple of MPH. I have found that when I buck a wind, or tow a heavy load, or climb hills, I can run the RPM's up without problems. It's when I have a strong tail wind or going downhill and the engine is just playing, I find the high RPM's hard to listen to. I started using an oil treatment called PROLONG. I used to use DURALUBE and it seem to make a little difference. When I put my foot into it to get my speed up quickly, I could usually get third gear to run up to 41 MPH and it wouldn't really climb any more even if I held the pedal down. I used PROLONG in my other vehicles with good results and decided to try it on my diesel. After a short time of having it in my engine, I found myself putting my foot into it on an entrance ramp to a freeway. I happened to look down at the speedometer as I was about to pull out of third and found a reading of 47 MPH with a feeling that I could have gone even higher. Just remember that I have a diesel with a 4 speed manual transmission. I don't sell this stuff, I buy it at walmart just like my friends do. If you are wondering why these vehicles don't go much faster is because when they were built, the speed limit was 55 and believed there was little chance that the speed limit would ever go up. The transmissions have a 21 to 35 gear reduction built into them so a smaller engine could be used and be strong enough since high speeds were no longer needed. At normal highway speeds of 55 MPH, it left enough room to speed up and hold it there long enough to pass someone and than back down to the limit. Mine has 14" tires on it, so I went out and found the hightest light truck tire to fit under the fenderwell and gained a few extra MPH. My Van is the same body style as the LeSharo, but doesn't have the camper equipment in it. It's just hollow inside with back doors instead of a big window. Winnebago calls a Utility Van. I bought it with 37,000 miles on it and now have over 90,000 miles on it and only needs brake rotors and I think its time to change the axle shafts. I used it for my business and was able to carry all my tools in it without problems. Recently I picked up a Chevy Cube Van thinking I could use something a little bigger. To be honest with you, I miss the hell out of Winny. I have been looking for a newer Winny with little luck. At this point I'am selling my Cube Van and and planning to put the money into My Winny instead. The only reason I was going to park it it that the Renault parts are so expensive. Although all the parts are available, they are just expensive. Out of all the miles I put on this Winny, I would have to say that I have less than $700.00 into parts. We took a couple of trips from MN to CO,UT,AZ,TX and back home and never questioned its durability. When we went through CO., we were running the hills and once in a while had to drop down into third gear to climb the hills because the temp started rising. The temp outside ranged from 98 degrees to 105 degrees and we were running the A/C to keep cool. Not bad in my words. That was also before I started using the PROLONG. I would try the speed Vs. temp test. Good Luck, Mike