Community Forums

bfrances · 06-24-2012, 11:31 AM

We have a 34 ft. Class A, gas MH and have been thinking about upgrading to used larger, diesel MH. Cummins, Allison, Freightliner etc. We'd appreciate any input on best choice in diesel engines. Low maintenance, annual maintenance requirements, cost etc. Also, RV manufacturer name. Tiffin vs Newmar etc. Saw a Beaver MH diesel motorhome on a website and thought it looked great but don't know much about the Beaver MH's.
Thanks.

Mekanic · 06-24-2012, 01:05 PM

You pretty much can't go wrong If you get something with a Cummins or Cat diesel.
Diesel Maintance does not have to nearly as bad as some make it out to be.
Over the life of a engine a diesel is much cheaper per mile than a gasoline engine.

RickO · 06-24-2012, 01:38 PM

Welcome to the forum.

Feel free to use our search feature to find a mountain of reading material on the gas vs diesel topic.

We have a Cummins 400ISL/Allison 6 speed/Freightliner and have been very happy with it overall. All three rigs you mentioned have outstanding reputations and IMO you can't go wrong with any of them... although, I have the impression that Newmar and Beaver might have a little higher price points than Tiffin... but I'm not sure on that.

Best of Luck

Rick

bfrances · 06-24-2012, 02:57 PM

Thank you. Appreciate your reply.
Barb and Rich

abrasv · 06-24-2012, 03:19 PM

Welcome,

We used to have an '03 Pace Arrow gas rig that we really liked but didn't use enough so sold it.
Now, having decided to get back into rving, we bought an '02 Discovery diesel pusher just this past month. We already like it better because of the air suspension, quietness when driving and just seems like a better overall experience.
We had it the mh and genset serviced right away and spent right at $500 so that was kind of a shock but after watching I feel comfortable doing alot of it myself when needed.
We'll be taking a long trip to SC in a couple of weeks and will know more about it on that trip.

slick60 · 06-24-2012, 04:00 PM

I agree you can't go wrong with any thing you mentioned even though I am a Winnie man myself. I have a Journey with a Cummins 330 and love it. I will never go back to a gas engine. Ride, noise, everything is better.

jlfbatonrg · 06-24-2012, 07:08 PM

I would also add Fleetwood products. A Discovery was already mentioned. Their other DPs include Bunder, Expedition (our choice), Discovery, Excursion, Providence, and Revolution. In the older units, pre 2008, all of these coaches have good reputations, and for all of the folks we know, their support has been excellent.

GreaTOne65 · 06-24-2012, 07:40 PM

I would like to add my $.02 to this discussion, we have owned 4 motorhomes, starting in '76. We bought our diesel, a '99 Discovery in '03, and if we had bought this one first, we wouldn't have had to own the other 3, this thing is fantastic, for ride, drive and quiet.

Rubix cube · 06-24-2012, 07:54 PM

Ah, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I have a Diesel Class B, and a Mini Cooper premium sipper. I pray I never get them mixed up while fueling up. BRRrrrrrr.... gives me chills just thinking about it.

Skip426 · 06-24-2012, 09:41 PM

JMHO. Avoid the Cummins 5.9, ISB,great engine in a P/U but, not enough torque for the weight of a DP.

randco · 06-25-2012, 06:07 AM

Barb & Rich,

Our coach has a 330 hp CAT with the Allison transmission. We pull a Buick Rendezvous (4,200 lbs) We get 8.5 mpg towing and running the generator and dash air. Our coach is on a Freightliner chassis.

A yearly oil change and filter cost us $120. I replaced the air and fuel filter on the coach for $75. I also changed the air and fuel filter in the Onan generator for $30.

When we started looking our initial list was long. We looked for almost a year. We had narrowed our short list down to Winnebago and Thor. We purchased a Thor product and have been very happy with it.

Ramzfan · 06-25-2012, 07:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by abrasv

Welcome,

We used to have an '03 Pace Arrow gas rig that we really liked but didn't use enough so sold it.
Now, having decided to get back into rving, we bought an '02 Discovery diesel pusher just this past month. We already like it better because of the air suspension, quietness when driving and just seems like a better overall experience.
We had it the mh and genset serviced right away and spent right at $500 so that was kind of a shock but after watching I feel comfortable doing alot of it myself when needed.
We'll be taking a long trip to SC in a couple of weeks and will know more about it on that trip.

If you're going to South Carolina, it would be well worth your time and money to go to the Camp Freightliner school on diesel maintenance for a couple of days. They have a campground and they really take care of you while you're there.

B Bob · 06-25-2012, 10:10 PM

The Cat and Cummins motors are both rock solid. The newer electronic motors built after the late 1990's get better fuel milage. I have many friends with many kinds of motor homes. As far as I can tell almost all of them are good. At least most of the ones owned by the 30 families in our small motor home club have few repairs.

The most complete rating of motor home quality is from the RVCG. When I bought our motor home three years ago I used them extensively and their ratings in my opinion are very accurate. I stuck with motor homes they rated 90% or better and they were significantly better than the rest. The two brands you asked about are in their ratings.

michelb · 06-26-2012, 07:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mekanic

You pretty much can't go wrong If you get something with a Cummins or Cat diesel.
Diesel Maintance does not have to nearly as bad as some make it out to be.
Over the life of a engine a diesel is much cheaper per mile than a gasoline engine.

I'd have to disagree with the maintenance costs. There's no doubt that there are a lot of advantages of DPs over gassers but I do not think cost is one of them. (In fact, I think the only thing better with gasser than DPs is the cost of maintenance)

If you drive 1,000,000 miles, your diesel engine might cost you less than a gas engine, but for the average DP probably won't see 100,000 miles and for that, it will cost you more. You might get better mileage with the DP but diesel costs more so it's pretty much a wash. With a gasser, you can do oil changes at some Walmarts for under $50, arguably the cheapest oil change for a DP is Speedco and you'll pay close to $200 there. With the gasser, I think you might never change the transmission fluid and if you do, it might be $200. A DP with Allison needs to be changed every 2 years at $200 if you have regular fluid. If you switch to synthetic, you can do it every four but it will probably cost you $400-$500. Any maintenance / repairs is probably going to cost you a lot more too.

Hope this helps.