Gas vs Diesel

[Wundertaker]

Originally Posted by 89sandman

Can't see ever buying a diesel anything. Maintenance, money, smell, its a pain just to get to that one pump that sells diesel at many stations. Motor problems because when something goes wrong you don't hear it until it's to late. Fuel gelling at low temps. Fuel filter problems, the list goes on and on and on....

To each his/her own I guess...however I can't say that I've experienced the problems laid out above

[Stuart W]

Originally Posted by 89sandman

Can't see ever buying a diesel anything. Maintenance, money, smell, its a pain just to get to that one pump that sells diesel at many stations. Motor problems because when something goes wrong you don't hear it until it's to late. Fuel gelling at low temps. Fuel filter problems, the list goes on and on and on....

The funny thing is I have never said I won't buy a Gasser, in fact I have owned 4. I'm now moving up to a diesel. I personally will change my own oil and filters. The enjoyment of the ride is worth it to me.
Sometimes It's about the journey not the destination.
Enjoy what you have and be healthy !

[StevL]

Good info in both corners, it does depend what the OP wants to do and what their expectations are.

We started this journey about 15 months ago, me nor the DW have ever slept in a RV of any kind. We always felt like staying at a Hampton Inn was roughing it.

Not knowing if we would like this way of traveling, having no RV experience, we talked with hundreds of RVers over two years. We then decided to try a gas coach. We only drove two entry level brands that we truely liked there layouts. Bought a little 32 footer, it was pretty loud on the slightest grade. Lot of wind noise etc. but we were having the time of our life.

I still work (for five more years) so most of our travel will be one week trips (I can do 10 a year) and if lucky I can maybe put two weeks together. Either way I will not get to far from home for a few more years.

I was able to get three weeks together (rare) made a great trip from SC to TX. While in TX we stopped and looked at a few Newmar gas coaches. Took a test drive in our favorite CS and all I can say is wow! The CS was so much quieter, engine, wind, etc. Insulation and double pane windows....wow!

Yep, 10 months into this we traded up to the CS. We plan to use this for basically regional travel over the next five years, then we will look at a DP. Until then we will certainly enjoy this coach!

If looking at gas coaches be sure to drive them all. Wheelbase ratios, insulation, chassis weights all make a big difference! We also tow a Wrangler, have over 4100lbs of free cargo weight, now loaded we still have 2,000lbs more we could carry.

A note to the old timers, the new gas coaches with the 6 speed transmission (since mid 2016) in a quality brand are not your parents gas coach.


Steve

Btw: We have test driven a smaller DP, it rides better and probably is better on down hill grades (we never drove a grade) but honestly for 100k difference and without traveling months at a time, I couldn't pull that trigger... not yet

[THenman]

When we bought our coach last year we were new to RVs. (Well we both had used popups but even that had been many years in the past.) Anyhow as I looked at RV's I kept winding up finding things in construction I did not like. Much of that was corners cut due to weight and cost. For the level of amenities and for construction I was happy with we ended up in higher end new coach. Thus far we have been happy with it but I will warn it is not cheap or trouble free. More things to go wrong means more things do go wrong and they tend to cost more as well.
Look at some to the differences as you go up. First look a how much weight you can load in the RV. It may not be as much as you assume. Second look at how much you can tow.
Look at the differences in a New Aire and one of the Newmar gas units. There is a huge price difference but also if you look at specs there will be a huge difference there.
As others have said it's a matter of what those differences are worth to you. For some they are easily worth the money and for others they are not. It will depend on you and how much money you can afford or are willing to budget for a toy. (Unless you full time it's a toy/hobby.) Also as others mention length may be a factor for you. The only bad choices are buying one that leaves you poor or one you don't use because of size, cost, problems, or any other reason.

Want to see more than just a test drive check out some of the videos on youtube. You can find both gas and diesel videos there shot while moving and learn a lot about those coaches.

[Canuck53]

I consider people who buy old cars and fix them like new a hobby first then they end up with a toy.

Purchasing a MH and traveling 6 months a year I call adventuring and exploring maybe not full time but it does sound like a good time. Gas or Diesel take your choice.

[Leland0311]

Looks like some who go from gas to diesel do it because the gas wasn't working. The diesel has lots more going for it for a price. More space, comfort, etc. Gas has that too but less of it.

Drove a Ventana and Tiffin RED along with couple gassers. Noticeable difference between them.

My choice of gas came down to this. I'll spend 3 months this year in my Canyon Star. Less than 100 miles. More miles next year if I travel the West coast. Longer stays where ever I am.

If I were driving interstates, mountain passes, long distances, I would definitely have diesel, probably a DS.

I've got about 2k miles on my CS. No horror stories. I recognize complaints about the gas engine and share most of them. Just not a deal breaker for me. And a diesel would be overkill for my current lifestyle. Choice is clear to me.

[Boomer]

Originally Posted by Mike and Cha

We bought a Canyon Star gas MH and it has been great. No "horror" stories here. It was ordered with sway bars/ track bars ect, and with the heavier chassis at the time(26K). It drives great, has plenty of power and gets us everywhere we want to go. Newmar does a great job of engineering the MH to the chassis, which makes a big difference in the ride and handling. The reason we went with a gas MH was I can do all my own maintenance on the gas engine where I do not think I could on the diesel, and I hate to leave my MH anywhere if I don't have to.

They are all pretty much the same once parked and just as comfortable depending on the amenities it has. Ours is well equipped and I can't really think of anything else we need for "camping" or traveling. Good luck with you decision, it's a highly debated topic with no right or wrong answer, just what works best for you considering your needs.

Instead of repeating what Mike and Cha have said, we have 25K miles and months worth of nights, and except during a hurricane last October have had zero (0) issues. Even during the high winds just had to slow down to 50 mph. Granted having the engine in the back would probably reduce the noise (not really sure since diesel is actually louder than gas) we haven't be unable to go up or down mountains, be passed or pass trucks with white knuckles and we have made zero mods. I have said it before, according to what we read in this forum, my coach was made in heaven.

Unless you like paying a lot more for the coach or can't find a Gasser with the right floor plan, not sure other than Comfort drive (which I have no experience with) I would ever invest more money without more functionality.
Of course that is my opinion.

[Boomer]

Originally Posted by Leland0311

Looks like some who go from gas to diesel do it because the gas wasn't working. The diesel has lots more going for it for a price. More space, comfort, etc. Gas has that too but less of it.

Drove a Ventana and Tiffin RED along with couple gassers. Noticeable difference between them.

My choice of gas came down to this. I'll spend 3 months this year in my Canyon Star. Less than 100 miles. More miles next year if I travel the West coast. Longer stays where ever I am.

If I were driving interstates, mountain passes, long distances, I would definitely have diesel, probably a DS.

I've got about 2k miles on my CS. No horror stories. I recognize complaints about the gas engine and share most of them. Just not a deal breaker for me. And a diesel would be overkill for my current lifestyle. Choice is clear to me.

Just a quick note, unless you go to a 45' not anymore space in a diesel. As far as function, washer, dryer, residential fridge, king sized sleep number bed and oh a dishwasher pretty much make it a home.

[Dan McMartin]

Originally Posted by Leland0311

I've got about 2k miles on my CS. No horror stories. I recognize complaints about the gas engine and share most of them. Just not a deal breaker for me. And a diesel would be overkill for my current lifestyle. Choice is clear to me.

I think there's too much focus on the power plant in MH's. Yeah gassers have their downsides but they're not unreliable junk. I mean, are you buying a motorhome to drive it or to park it and live in it? I'll put up with the relative downsides for the handful of hours I'll be driving it. It's a consideration but not the only, or even a major, consideration.

[Mike and Cha]

Originally Posted by Dan McMartin

I think there's too much focus on the power plant in MH's. Yeah gassers have their downsides but they're not unreliable junk. I mean, are you buying a motorhome to drive it or to park it and live in it? I'll put up with the relative downsides for the handful of hours I'll be driving it. It's a consideration but not the only, or even a major, consideration.

When you really look at it the only time gas MH's are noisy is when climbing or descending grades, and that is a very small percentage of the time. Even then ours is not that loud and it is very easy to carry on a conversation. The rest of the time, you can barely hear the engine.

As far as power goes, gets us anywhere we want to go, and no problem keeping up with the flow of traffic. Climbing grades, we've passed diesels and diesels have passed us.

As to reliability you don't hear about too many gassers that break down due to the engine. There is always the talk about diesels will last for a million miles. Well first of all the average user probably puts less than 100K miles on a MH during the course of it's life, well within the lifespan of a gas engine. And on the diesels when you talk about "horror stories" many people have posted here where they have spent thousands repairing a relatively new or low mileage diesel engine.

Amenity wise we have everything we need and more, bath and a half, 4 door fridge, two heat pumps, tow AC's, sleeping for 6, 3 TV's(more than we have in our house),central vac, fireplace, L-shaped couch.......and more, way more than I ever had camping as a kid.

The same size Ventanna with the same amenities(absent Comfort Drive), was 100k more out the door than our Canyon Star. Even that wasn't the deciding factor for me, being able to do my own maintenance was, with weighing everything else in consideration. And I took that 100K and invested it wisely.

[brandss]

I am the OP and I really appreciate the responses. I went back and re-read my original post and I should have been more clear because I didn't mean this as a gas vs diesel debate. My main point, and I realize I did not do a good job of explaining this, is whether the horror stories I hear about driving a gas coach are true; semis passing the coach, the coach passing a semi, up mountains, down mountains, etc.

Over the next few years we will be limited to 4-6 week long trips and as many long weekends as we would like to take but it will be a couple years before we can leave for a month at a time. Really thinking about getting a 3-4 year old gas coach and then, when we have time to leave for a month or more, go into a Diesel Coach. Hopefully buying used, we don't get too hurt trading in in a few years.

Thanks again for all of the responses.

[stepside454]

Brands , with this bunch you could ask a question about a Snicker bar , & it would turn into a gas vs diesel or 5er vs MH debate .

[Spike1962]

I recently bought a 2004 Gulfstream Endura 33' super c on the Chevy 5500 chassis. It has only 30k on an 8.1 Vortec and Allison 5spd auto trans. I love it! Can tow 10,000 lbs too. Less than $20,000.

[Stuart W]

Originally Posted by stepside454

Brands , with this bunch you could ask a question about a Snicker bar , & it would turn into a gas vs diesel or 5er vs MH debate .

That's ridiculous, everyone knows KitKat bars are the only way to go[emoji6]