All Electric or Not? That is the Question

[Dfreiberger]

I am currently in the market for a 40AH Phaeton. I am torn between all electric or not all electric. I realize the dealers will tell you what you want to hear, or what they want you to hear depending on their situation. I kind of want to hear from the folks who have them and share any thoughts.

The one thing that seems to be constant in some discussions is the all electric is the way of the future, but still not sure I buy that. I am confortable with the current set up of my gas Winnebago Adventurer 38Q which is traditional gas/electric.

[Mike8253]

There is an Aug. 9 thread (Steve Lutz) in this section on the same subject that might be of interest to you.

[dezolen]

Don't really understand all the hipe for all electric. Still rather cook with gas as we do in sticks and bricks home. Also use for our BBQ, fridge and hot water if electric not available.

[ekim]

Gas
Typically noisy fan on heater
Loss of some storage (gas tank, water heater, house heater)
Can't use a very small # of bridges tunnels
Must find places to fill
Multiple systems - so if you loose one you may still be able to use others
Can use stove without generator when boondocking

All Electric
Quieter heat
Additional storage
No bridge tunnel restrictions
Leverage fuel tank for heat/hot water
Single system - Aquahot fails - no hot water or heat
one system to maintain
More expensive

You get a residential refrigerator with all electric too. You don't have as much of a fire hazard and residential seem to work better than the gas. You then need a battery/inverter to keep the refrigerator running for residential.

[petrel]

If you prefer to stay mostly where services are available, then why bother with propane heat and refrigeration? If you like to boondock, keeping the propane option seems to make more sense.

I hope to eventually have a hydronic unit for heat and hot water, but keep the propane fridge and cooking ability. Propane lasts an awful long time when only being used for refrigeration and cooking. That would be the best of both worlds for us.

[BillL]

We just bought a 2015 Phaeton 40qkh that is all electric. First trip is a four day outing next week. I can't answer any questions yet, but DW is really happy with the residential frig and the Aqua Hot. It's our first DP, so we lots to learn in many areas. We don't boondock, so no propane isn't an issue for us. We are looking forward to the all electric coach. It should fit our needs well based on the experiences of the last five years of RVing.

[Steve Lutz]

Originally Posted by Dfreiberger

I am currently in the market for a 40AH Phaeton. I am torn between all electric or not all electric. I realize the dealers will tell you what you want to hear, or what they want you to hear depending on their situation. I kind of want to hear from the folks who have them and share any thoughts.

We got our all electric IH in August. Since then we've boodocked over four long weeends. It's our first motor home so I have nothing to compare against.

So far the all electric is great. The fridge, air conditioning, heat and heated floors all work great. The stove does require that the generator be running to provide adequate power. So, my guess is you'll run your generator longer and more frequently than if you had propane. We're totally happy with our decision to go all electric.

[nothermark]

Size matters. With a 40 footer there is room for the added battery capacity and enough solar to do the park in the desert bit. A 30 foot would be tough. Not an issue if all one does is park where there is power.

I find the aqua hot vs propane interesting in that both a using burning fuel to do the hot water and heat. It's just diesel vs propane as the fuel. Granted it saves looking for propane to get a fill.

We pulled an electric stove out of the S&B because we both cook and neither likes electric as well as gas to cook on. We also like the fuel diversity for power outages. Don't get that many but they are a PITA when they happen for more than a few hours.

All issues that make it a personal choice as to what tradeoff's one wants to make. Choice is good. If nothing else it makes one think. ;-)

[Sweetbriar]

I feel it's a great idea and good on the coach builders for offering the option to potential owners. We're a pretty diverse group with wants and needs at either end of the spectrum. The debate concerning a residential fridge can get rather passionate as an example.

For the potential owner they will need to give careful consideration to their intended use of the coach. Heavy boondocker then maybe an all electric wouldn't be the best configuration. If you prefer campsites with at least minimal facilities but also do an occasional parking lot overnight or a few days away from it all then I really don't see down side to an all electric.

[HDrider]

We had Rv's with propane for years and fulltimed in our 07 for 2 years with propane before going to our current coach which is all electric and love it. We do stay in campgrounds mostly but we do boondock, this year so far we have boondocked 7 weeks. Not as much as last year but just because we traveled out east and there are fewer spot to do so. We do have 1120 watts of solar on top and did upgrade our battery bank but but certainly would not have had to if we just wanted to rely on the gen more but we like solar. We , mainly I (my wife said she would be fine with cooking on gas again) don't see us going to a unit again with propane.

[David3811]

We've had our all-electric Phaeton 40AH for a year after a traditional gas/electric RED 33AA. We spent all of last January in Austin where the RV park ran out of propane and everything was freezing. We stayed toasty warm all month. The earlier post was right, you're either burning propane or diesel. I don't think there's a right or wrong answer here, but to me it's just one less level to think about and no danger of propane leaking into the coach, which did happen in our RED.

[Gordon Dewald]

All electric - very happy with it. Next one - all electric.

[C.Martin]

There are only a couple of drawbacks to all electric...

1) Induction cooktop...it requires special cookware, and I think most passionate cooks...prefer the control of gas...over electric.

2) Bigger inverter and more batteries!!! Batteries do require periodic replacement...so, start setting some $$ aside for the next time they need to be replaced.

3) Solar installation costs more...more batteries = more solar panels. Also...limits boondocking to wide open sites with good weather.


So those are the drawbacks...everything else I can think of, is an advantage to going all-electric.

No propane...no LP leak sensor...no LP system maintenance...no maneuvering to fill fixed propane tank, or hauling in portable bottles...no dometic cycle fridge...no worry about hydrogen gas leaking into an open flame...big residential fridge...wow!!! Hydronic heat and hot water...take long showers, no worries...

If you plan to boondock...in locations like the Pacific Northwest...with lots of rain, and lots of shaded campsites... I still think propane is the way to go.

If you plan to boondock...in locations like Quarzsite...with virtually no rain, and no shade to be found....and you don't mind shelling out some $$$ on solar...then I think the all-electric is the way to go.

[TRebel]

We had propane for years and now have our first "all electric".
So far, I really like it. Residential refrig...
Aqua Hot is awesome. Aqua Hot is one of three ways to heat our MH.
Oh yeah, and long showers