Community Forums

Betr2Trvl · 10-01-2017, 07:18 AM

It's so funny (or sad) that folks think that you can't be happy and comfortable in a gasser, even when doing a lot of travel.

We have traveled over 23,000 miles, covering the US from GA, to FL, TN, NC, to NY, ME, VT, NH, WI, SD, WY, MT, UT, CO, and Canada from MI along the lakes and St Lawrence to PEI, and NS. We just completed our second 3 month / 6,000 mile trip (knocking down the last 900 miles in 2 days, no sweat), and have done 5 other trips of a month or so. In all, about 15 months of travel in 2 1/2 years.

We've done I77 up and down to Fancy Gap (twice), I40 over the Smokies (twice), various routes in the N. GA and NC "mountains", I70 east across UT and Vail Pass eastbound, as well as Hoosier Pass in CO southbound, and up and down to Estes Park.

The ammount of time that engine noise over signifcant grades is an issue has been irrelevant. On bad roads, the ride can be occasionally jarring, but I just stuff a pillow under my rear with the 75,000 $1 bills we saved over a Tiffin Red and forget about it.

An older DP at the same price we paid for a new gasser had, and still has, no appeal at all for a long list of personal reasons.....

Not to mention, We really have no desire, certainly no "need", even with our extended travel, to drive anything bigger than our 31 SA. Given our CCC, we couldn't overload our rig if we had too, and we carry too much stuff with us now just because we can - its only 2 of us, younger than most retirees, we are not large people, and we don't travel with pets.

If you get exactly what you want the first time, you don't have to worry about depreciation of trading in RV after RV, because what you buy is a "good deal" vs. something (new) that you really find appealing to own to begin with. Be happy with what you have, and simply enjoy the benefits of traveling in your RV. I know guys that have gone through more high end sports cars, throwing tons of money down the drain, because they can never be happy with what they have....... Seems a lot of RVers are that way too.

Regards

DWRichard · 10-01-2017, 09:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrDaveMA

Not sure where you drive, but around where you live in Georgia, 4K RPM’s is not uncommon in the mountains of the Carolinas, Tennessee and of course Virginia and West Virginia. That engine will be screaming right next to your legs and while Tiffins may be quieter than they have been in prior years, they are certainly not quiet enough to have a conversation while climbing those mountains. Maybe your travels only take you to the mountains 3% of the time, but imam not sure I want a coach that is limited in where I can comfortably take it.

You are correct, if you really take care of your gasser 250k miles is achievable, but do you want to drive a car with 250k miles on it, just waiting for something to fail?

If you are only going to put a few thousand miles each year on your coach and drive mostly drive in flat lands a gasser might be for you, it certainly is less expensive, but if you are going drive higher miles, want the comforts that come with a DP, a longer life and can afford it, go for a DP.

If you haven't driven a Tiffin gasser in years, how do you know you can't carry on a conversation while the motor home is under load? Seems to me you are working with old information that is no longer valid.

And do you know how many years it would take to get to 250k miles on a motor home with average use? 10-20 years. Most people would be upgrading or outright selling by that time.

Bottom line, diesels are quieter and a more comfortable ride, but tens of thousands of people full time in those lowly gasser motor homes, and don't miss a thing - except for the higher payments when spending $100k more for a comparable sized diesel.

dezolen · 10-01-2017, 03:14 PM

Love our 36la. I can afford a Phaeton or a bus but more than pleased with our gasser. I guess all these DP owners put on a million miles to justify the $$$ spent. I see most only travelling from resort to the next resort if they drive them at all. Parked the majority of the time. But then some people 'need' a 10000 sq ft house while we are just as comfortable in our 1500 sq ft house. Bet most seldom set foot in most of their rooms.

vsheetz · 10-01-2017, 03:56 PM

What is your usage model? A weekend every month or two and a couple week long vacations a year? Then likely gas would be the better choice, unless money is not object. But if usage is considerable - more frequent and longer trips, then the advantage of a DP become more cost justifiable. Imho.

We had 37' Gasser before retirement. Now 40' DP in retirement and traveling six+ months a year.

DrDaveMA · 10-01-2017, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DWRichard

If you haven't driven a Tiffin gasser in years, how do you know you can't carry on a conversation while the motor home is under load? Seems to me you are working with old information that is no longer valid.

And do you know how many years it would take to get to 250k miles on a motor home with average use? 10-20 years. Most people would be upgrading or outright selling by that time.

Bottom line, diesels are quieter and a more comfortable ride, but tens of thousands of people full time in those lowly gasser motor homes, and don't miss a thing - except for the higher payments when spending $100k more for a comparable sized diesel.

Sorry you have taken this as a personal attack, that was in no way my wording or intention.

In fact I drove a Tiffin gasser last year so, although I did not mention it I am dealing with current information and in fact was comparing noise levels under load against the 2005 DP I own, not really a fair comparison, a new gasser against an 11 year old DP. I also compared it against a 2 year old Winnebago gasser that our friends own and spent the last 6 weeks with us touring the Canadian Atlantic Provinces, and watched as they fell behind when we were climbing low hills in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.

If you read my prior post you will not see me mention “those lowly gasser motorhomes”, those are your words. You will also see that I recommend the reader evaluate their circumstances so they can understand there is no universal right or wrong selection, the choice of a motorhome depends upon the individuals specific circumstances, which I feel the last paragraph of my prior post states.

Betr2Trvl · 10-02-2017, 06:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrDaveMA

In fact I drove a Tiffin gasser last year so, although I did not mention it I am dealing with current information and in fact was comparing noise levels under load against the 2005 DP I own, not really a fair comparison, a new gasser against an 11 year old DP. I also compared it against a 2 year old Winnebago gasser that our friends own and spent the last 6 weeks with us touring the Canadian Atlantic Provinces, and watched as they fell behind when we were climbing low hills in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.

We drove across NB, as well as all over NS this summer, and made it to every place we wanted to. I never even thought about the grades there being any big deal at all. Got everywhere we wanted to go, just fine, although some of the road conditions were pretty bad in places. But, we have never considered getting from spot to spot as a "race" or try to keep up with anyone but ourselves anyway.

Drivng up to Estes Park last year, leaving Boulder there was a DP and another gasser in front of me. Being the last one in line, I was the first to pull over and let a line of cars go by, so I lost touch with the other 2 RVs quickly.. But, when we got to Estes Park, at the first stop light, we were all back together in line again.

I had plenty of "fast time" doing various road racing schools and high performance drivng programs for almost 20 years, so if I need a speed fix, I'll go back to that at some point in the future. But even at these type of (somewhat) non competitive events, folks got caught up into buying (in theory at least) faster and / or more exotic / expensive cars (that were more often than not, well beyond thier talent level) "just because" they "needed to". At the end of the day, we all ended up having fun wether you drove a Miata, Vette, Mustang, Porsche 944, old or new 911, Cayman, GT3, GT3 Cup race car, BMW E30, M3, or some big bucks exotic ex race car like a GT3 RSR, Ferarri F40, or ex John Surtes Lola.

Crasher · 10-02-2017, 11:20 AM

This Gas vs Diesel has been around for years and will continue to be a hot item. They both present the same view whether on the road or parked overlooking a mountain lake. We each have different needs and wants. That sure is a good thing or we would all be driving the same thing. Think how boring that would be. Then the discussion would be about who had the shiniest wheels or better paint job. We've had three Gassers and are in our fifth DP. Not one of those gas coaches would have pulled my 12,000# enclosed trailer, or my current 9,000# open trailer. Yet, my DP does it with ease. If I gave up offroad Jeeping, I could get by with a Gas coach that would work just fine for us, but I wouldn't enjoy the ride as much, not because it wouldn't get me there, but I've come to like the ride and handling of a heavy DP. Different strokes for different folks.

allegro1x · 10-02-2017, 03:02 PM

The endless discussion continues with all the same reasons? Whatever you have get on the road and enjoy! Dave

David3811 · 10-08-2017, 08:06 AM

Lots of interesting opinions, but the bottom line is that it's your decision. Just make sure you drive them both and weigh the advantages and disadvantages of both.

epj · 10-08-2017, 08:51 AM

We upgraded from a 36’ gasser to a 40’ DP. The advantages were a slightly larger coach with three slides versus two, a better ride, easier to drive. Frankly the DP scares me a little. Catastrophic mechanical problems are a potential problem, though I think unlikely. I’m a sucker for full body paint and the Phaeton has a very nice paint job. Won’t mean much if the engine goes south. If I were buying new, or near new, I’d probably look closely at some of the newer gas models that seem to have heavier suspensions and use 22.5 tires. BTW, we typically don’t travel long distances. We do use the coach about six months each year.

Hedgehog · 10-09-2017, 07:08 PM

I had a pre emissions 2006 40' dp and currently have a 38' fifthwheel. I will trade back to a motorhome when my wife and I can actually use it more.
With that being said, even though I love the power and ride of a diesel, I would probably lean towards a gasser because of the complex emission systems that do reek havoc in the modern diesels. I would rather make it up the hill slower and camp in a campground than break down and camp in an service center.
I did all the maintenance on my dp myself including tranny filter and fluid, oil changes, coolant flush and replacement, fuel filter, etc. Diesel engines don't scare me, all the pollution crap that makes then lass reliable does. The days of a Diesel engine lasting 250,000 miles or more without major work have gone when egr's, dpf's and def was introduced.

Happy Pat · 10-10-2017, 09:18 AM

We are also about to move up to a class A... been eyeing the 36LA for a few years, but recently we have decided we will be going full time in 2 yrs..... so the discussion of "gas or diesel" has come around. We do plan to travel a lot 'vs' parked a lot, but the budget wont allow us to jump into a premium diesel coach.

The 125K to 140K price range is where we are looking...... also wondering is there a better time of year to purchase?...... buying at the bigger RV Shows worth the trip?

thoughts?

DWRichard · 10-10-2017, 09:24 AM

You might find some good used diesels for that price, but you can’t go wrong with the 36LA either.

Love the floor plan with the half bath, the simplicity of the two slides on the drivers side, and the new bathroom design is great!

David3811 · 10-11-2017, 01:15 PM

We've had two DPs, an Allegro RED and a Phaeton, and both were purchased at the end of the model year. We looked at our Phaeton in January '16 at an RV show and got a trade-in offer but turned it down. Noticed that the dealer still had the same coach in August and went back, this time the difference was $10K LESS, so a much better deal for our motorhome. So 1) end of model years are good 2) RV show prices are pretty good too because dealers are competing to sell the most units 3) prices on websites are just a guide and 4) if you can find a good used coach - go for it!