Diesel vs. Gas

[Gordon Dewald]

MOST IMPORTANT THING

Find the floor plan that fits your needs the best. Go to shows and dealerships and ditch the sales people. Sit in the unit and pretend you are living in it. Now you have several days of inclement weather or you are under the weather. How will the facilities work for you.

Can you watch a foot ball game while the other watches a movie? Or vice versa.

Can you relax or set up a hobby without being in the others way?

Do the both of you cook or enjoy cooking?

Find the unit with the correct amount of space. Bath and a half is a must IMO. Residential fridge, washer dryer, aqua hot. And the list goes on.

Once you find the unit that fits you most of the time the diesel vs gas will be solved. The model you want will come in one or the other.

Gas or diesel? Both will get you to your destination.

Can't hear going up a hill. Throttle back a bit and enjoy the drive up the hill - or wait till you get to the top!

Both have benefits and drawbacks so get the unit that fits your needs. IMO more people change units because the floor plan was not right than the fuel it used was wrong.

[stepside454]

Originally Posted by Gordon Dewald

MOST IMPORTANT THING

Find the floor plan that fits your needs the best. Go to shows and dealerships and ditch the sales people. Sit in the unit and pretend you are living in it. Now you have several days of inclement weather or you are under the weather. How will the facilities work for you.

Can you watch a foot ball game while the other watches a movie? Or vice versa.

Can you relax or set up a hobby without being in the others way?

Do the both of you cook or enjoy cooking?

Find the unit with the correct amount of space. Bath and a half is a must IMO. Residential fridge, washer dryer, aqua hot. And the list goes on.

Once you find the unit that fits you most of the time the diesel vs gas will be solved. The model you want will come in one or the other.

Gas or diesel? Both will get you to your destination.

Can't hear going up a hill. Throttle back a bit and enjoy the drive up the hill - or wait till you get to the top!

Both have benefits and drawbacks so get the unit that fits your needs. IMO more people change units because the floor plan was not right than the fuel it used was wrong.

THIS

[Steve Ownby]

Originally Posted by Gordon Dewald

MOST IMPORTANT THING

Find the floor plan that fits your needs the best. Go to shows and dealerships and ditch the sales people. Sit in the unit and pretend you are living in it. Now you have several days of inclement weather or you are under the weather. How will the facilities work for you.

Can you watch a foot ball game while the other watches a movie? Or vice versa.

Can you relax or set up a hobby without being in the others way?

Do the both of you cook or enjoy cooking?

Find the unit with the correct amount of space. Bath and a half is a must IMO. Residential fridge, washer dryer, aqua hot. And the list goes on.

Once you find the unit that fits you most of the time the diesel vs gas will be solved. The model you want will come in one or the other.

Gas or diesel? Both will get you to your destination.

Can't hear going up a hill. Throttle back a bit and enjoy the drive up the hill - or wait till you get to the top!

Both have benefits and drawbacks so get the unit that fits your needs. IMO more people change units because the floor plan was not right than the fuel it used was wrong.

This is excellent advise. The engine type used is determined by the size and weight of the coach you prefer to meet your needs.

Go to Lazy Days in Seffner, FL.They have lots of coaches on display, open, air running and don't insist on a salesman being with you. Great place to look at a wide variety of coaches & sit in them as long as you want. Look at the new one to get ideas & formulate your wants and needs. Buy from LD or not. Buy new or used. Good learning experience. Take their driving course while you are there. It's basic and simple but a good start.

[HD4Mark]

Maintenance cost will be higher for a diesel. I change our oil myself, about six gallons worth for around $100. I saw the price listed at an RV dealer at $250. The air filter, about the size of a small trash can was over $100. Two fuel filters and on and on. Then there is the generator. Another oil and fuel filter.

If we were to buy smaller MH I would definitely consider a gasser. I don't see us going smaller or possibly even ever buying another MH though.

You will know much better what you really want in a MH after the first one and truly experience what you like about it and dislike. Then be very particular about the second one.

[HVAC Bill]

I switched from a gas truck/ 5th. Wheel trailer to small DP for all the comfort options, but I will admit the air ride and exhaust brakes are worth the switching to my DP.

2013 Palazzo 33.3

[Jpcoleman]

Just did a trip from MS to Denver, over the divide on I70 to Las Vegas, then home on I40. 2016 Suncruiser 38Q. Yes, I probably got 7 mpg. But most places had more expensive diesel and as I own a Ram 2500 with Cummings diesel and absolutely love it (best diesel made imho), the 4-5 dollar per gallon diesel prices have not left my memory yet. The MH was significantly less expensive than the entry level soleil, and is nicer than some homes I have lived in. I was no rocket up the bigger hills, but as long as I kept around 3200-3500 rpm, I could make 45mph on all the hills, even at 9,000 ft. I'm not saying my next MH won't be diesel, but so far the Ford chassis seems bulletproof. BTW, my parents own an older Lazydayz with ford gas chassis and it has been bulletproof. It has been to AK and back, no issues. That weighed into my decision.

[B Dubya]

Wife and I are considering selling the gasser after our Yellowstone trip in September. Then we start looking for #3. Hmmmmmm, wonder if we should get another gasser or a DP? OK, OK, just adding fuel to the fire. We'll buy whatever suits us. Probably another gasser with a 6 sp tranny! But not close minded to a DP if I could find the right Meridian 34H.

[LVRVLUVR]

Well, here goes....a ford chassis will never ride like a dp....

in fact... unless you got the big one with 22.5' not even close.. I spent many of hours changing shocks, sumo, chf. , track bars.sway bars.. even went so far as to buy custom made 22.5's to put on my coach..

I like the smaller coaches for many reasons.. one of is to use more ,kinda like a second car short trips, hauling the boat and lanching it....always toght of it as my suburban

but gotta say this... I don't care what you do, it won't ride like an alpine with 11r 22.5s

I've done noise test with db meters and yes you can talk... in fact after a muffler mod... my ac on high would drown out the motor..

nothing like getting out on the road with the wisper of 1200ft lbs of torque looking for hills...

when I went to phoenix to get my coach .. it was very very hot... the salesman was very nice,,, offer me a class of ice cold Kool-Aid... I drank it and we went for a ride....that's all it took ... I left my 2016 on the lot and left with an 04....

people have told me over and over,.. steve, you'd be better of in an older pusher than fighting with try'n to make the ford ride like on....

but heres my advise to all that reads this..try them both. try as many as you can..find a hill before you get there and head for it on the test drive..

every MH will make it on almost every road, might have to slow down...

if you are gonna buy something to drive around on the high ways... get the pusher...

if your gonna live in it.. get what works for what you do in it

I right now would rather have a new coach,,.. cause I'm the one fixing the step, getting new head lights,putting in new floors,changing TV's...wife loves the coach... in fact she has loved every DP we have owned..

but I want that power.... 400hp of it and 1200 ft lbs of torque.. nothing out there has it so this is my compromise...the coach is solid ... wisper quiet and runs like a stallion on the beach

add....my last gasser had 31lbs per each ft pound of torque... my dp has 21 lbs per each pound of torque

one has a 23k gcvr and the other 40,000 lb gcvr... that means I could tow the other motorhome

[bamagal]

Originally Posted by TonyMac

Yes, fuel costs are a wash. THat's why you see so many gas powered semis out on the road. Yup, some of those 80,000+ gvw rigs are gas, some are diesel, because costs are basically a wash. And the big Greyhound busses, some gas, some diesel, all a wash.

I have driven over 2 million miles with two major trucking companies and have NEVER seen a gas powered semi! I also drove for Greyhound....never saw a gas powered coach.

I have seen a small number of gas powered (older) dump trucks.

We have owned 3 Class A's --1995 Vectra (Ford), 1999 Monaco Diplomat (Diesel), and currently, 2003 Damon Indruder 373 (GM 8.1 gasser. We do miss the diesel primarily because of the excellent ride qualities of the Roadmaster chassis. The only reason we sold it was it only had one slide. The Intruder has 3 slides and a huge rear bedroom. It does not ride as well as the Monaco, but it is acceptable. The GM 8.1 has plenty of get up and go, thanks to a set of Banks stainless steel headers.

If we were full time RVers, I would have a diesel again, but for our occasional trips, the gas powered better suits our needs at a price we can afford.

[LVRVLUVR]

Originally Posted by bamagal

I have driven over 2 million miles with two major trucking companies and have NEVER seen a gas powered semi! I also drove for Greyhound....never saw a gas powered coach.

I have seen a small number of gas powered (older) dump trucks.

not really a good comparison... I ve never seen a motor home haul 25,656 cans of beer..

or have seats for 44 people

[Gordon Dewald]

In my early days of construction all gravel trucks were gas. And the owners made a good living. The big news and innovation on the block was when they came out with the 427. The guys thought that engine was great. Nowadays they would laugh at a 427 for that use.

[Zoafan]

When we bought our first MH I was told DP, gotta go DP! So we did. Well that may work for someone but not us, longest trip we did was 5 days. We put maybe 2,000 miles a year on it. I spent more on maintenance and repairs a year than I did actually using it with the family.

After 4 years we sold it, went gas. For us it makes more sense, we do 90% all local weekend trips. Maybe once a year we'll drive 500 miles for a long trip.

It all depends on what you are going to use it for. Plan on traveling months a year pulling a large toad? Yea, Diesel for you is a better option.

If your trips consist of you taking the family to local places 90% of the time for a few days? Go gas.

As for storage I use to think DP just for the storage. We just bought a 2016 gas and we have more storage than we did on our DP.

Like anything in life if you ask 100 people you get 100 answers. By default most people defend what they have. Buy what you want, what you can afford, floorplan you like and something that will make your family smile and have good memories in. Besides that who cares.

[TonyMac]

My Cat C7 needs 4.25 gallons (17 qt) of oil, 15.00/gallon at WallyWorld for the Rotella T conventional. My oil filter is 17.00 from Cat. Oil changes every year or 10,000 miles, could go longer but 10k is easy to track on the odometer. About 80.00 and a 12 pack of beer every 10,000 miles.


My Chev 454 needs 1.75 gallons of oil (7qts). Oil for that is at WallyWorld for about 4.50 per qt, and the filter is 5.50. It goes 5,000 miles on a change, could go longer but 5,000 is easier to track on the odometer. 37.00 and a six pack every 5000 miles.


Oil changes are about a wash.

[zman-az]

You can make any argument you want on how to justify Gas or Diesel. If you get a gasser your husband will always be wondering if he made the right decision. If he is set on a diesel and you can afford it go for it, I hate "what if's"