Gas VS Diesel

[dezolen]

Both will get you there. All comes down to ,$$$. Love my gasser but may step up to DP if I can find myself parting with another 2-3 hundred grand.

[Sandy Swede]

Originally Posted by wbputerwiz

Trying to decide again Gas or Diesel which is better on hills and mountains? We plan to explore the whole US.

No contest - a diesel. Compare the torque of an ISB or ISL Cummins to the Triton V10. However, as others have pointed out, the diesel is more expensive to maintain (and not just the engine). And of course, your acquisition dollars will go further with a gasser.
Remember that line in the movie, "In space no one can hear you scream?" Well, you drive a gasser up the Vail Pass and you will hear screaming from the doghouse next to your right leg.

[Massparanoia]

https://www.google.com/search?q=Gas+...earch=irv2.com

[bucks2]

Originally Posted by docj

Actually, this is a bit of a misunderstanding of the physics of the issue. It's horsepower, plain and simple, that governs how fast you will go up a steep hill. Equivalently powered gas and diesel coaches should be able to make the climb at the same speed. Horsepower dtermines the amount of energy that can be delivered to a load in a period of time.

.............

To invoke a little physics, torque governs the "rate of change" of rotational speed, in other words, how quickly your driveshaft and wheels can speed up.

Joel (AKA docj)

Hmmmm...... so my 300 horsepower V10 and my 300 horsepower Cat diesel will pull the hill at the same rate? The OP stated he'd be travelling all over the US. Perhaps if we're invoking physics, we should include altitude. Tell me again how well that naturally aspirated gas engine does at 7,000 feet? I think the OP should be aware that in the mountains, where the air is thin, the power of a gas engine is even worse than in the 3,000 foot lowland hills.

[docj]

Originally Posted by bucks2

Hmmmm...... so my 300 horsepower V10 and my 300 horsepower Cat diesel will pull the hill at the same rate? The OP stated he'd be travelling all over the US. Perhaps if we're invoking physics, we should include altitude. Tell me again how well that naturally aspirated gas engine does at 7,000 feet? I think the OP should be aware that in the mountains, where the air is thin, the power of a gas engine is even worse than in the 3,000 foot lowland hills.

I think the rule of thumb is that a naturally aspirated gas engine loses about 3% of horsepower per 1000 ft of altitude. So a 300HP engine would lose ~63HP at 7000 ft.

For turbocharged engines (gas or diesel) the loss is on the order of 1% per thousand feet. When we lived in ABQ and our house was at 6,200 feet all our vehicles had turbos for that reason.

[Massparanoia]

Here come all the big swinging D’s, gotta justify shoveling piles of cash through that turbo, when the V10 performs just fine.

The reality is, a small majority of us are going to be pulling a stacker trailer behind the RV. And when you drive all the way to the top of that 10,000 foot tall mountain? You get to come right back down.

And when you get to the bottom your bedroom is nice and cool, ready for that nap after a long day of passing diesels up the hill.

[AKIQPilot]

If your pockets are deep enough go for the diesel, you wont be disappointed. If your pockets are not as deep go for the gasser as it will do the job and get you where you need to go.

One note on a modern gasser. In 2016 the F53 chassis got the 6 speed transmission. This was a huge improvement over the 2015 and older F53 gasser chassis. If at all possible buy a 2016 or newer if you go with a newer gas chassis coach.

PS. Top of the line gassers from builders such as Newmar are pretty darn quiet going down the road compared to most of the other cheaper built coaches.

[Crasher]

Originally Posted by Massparanoia

Here come all the big swinging D’s, gotta justify shoveling piles of cash through that turbo, when the V10 performs just fine.

The reality is, a small majority of us are going to be pulling a stacker trailer behind the RV. And when you drive all the way to the top of that 10,000 foot tall mountain? You get to come right back down.

And when you get to the bottom your bedroom is nice and cool, ready for that nap after a long day of passing diesels up the hill.

I wonder why it bothers some people so much that I have a DP and they have a gasser. Do they ridicule my choice to justify theirs? I don't pull a Stacker, but you are welcome to hook onto my 10,000# trailer with 1500# tongue weight and pull it up over Loveland pass. Be sure and count how many DP's you couldn't pass on the way up.

[bucks2]

Originally Posted by Massparanoia

The reality is, a small majority of us are going to be pulling a stacker trailer behind the RV. And when you drive all the way to the top of that 10,000 foot tall mountain? You get to come right back down.

And when you get to the bottom your bedroom is nice and cool, ready for that nap after a long day of passing diesels up the hill.

A "small majority"? Is that like 51% instead of 65%? I'd say a small MINority but then your original sentence makes as much sense as your contention that you'll pass any diesel at 10,000 feet with a gasser. (I suppose if I haven't finished lunch and nap by the time you get there you might drive past..... ;-) )

How about that extra axle I tag along out back with another set of brakes for coming down? Keeps me well under my max weight limit too.

Oh, as a side note it sounds like you're having trouble with a hot bedroom? Just turn all three heat pumps on, they'll cool the bedroom down to meat locker temps while your feet stay nice and cool up front.

And on it goes........ buy and drive what you want. Everyone has different wants and needs.

[AKIQPilot]

Originally Posted by Crasher

I wonder why it bothers some people so much that I have a DP and they have a gasser. Do they ridicule my choice to justify theirs? I don't pull a Stacker, but you are welcome to hook onto my 10,000# trailer with 1500# tongue weight and pull it up over Loveland pass. Be sure and count how many DP's you couldn't pass on the way up.

Its not your DP that bothers us gassers it’s the fact that its a Newell that gets us all worked up. Your LJ on 1 tons and stickies is also very upsetting

Hahahaha. J/K Crasher.

IMO its all about the money. If I could afford a nice DP I would have one. I could only afford the Adventurer. The 8.1/allison 6 speed do a fair job of getting me from one place to the other. Its pretty smooth and quiet for a gasser. I like the looks, the floorplan and the mid entry door.

All that said, i sure would like to have another 150hp and 300ftlbs of torque. I took the 375 loop around ElPaso last week and it would be nice to climb that last bit of 9% grade at 55mph instead of 30. Hahahahaha

[NXR]

Originally Posted by AKIQPilot

One note on a modern gasser. In 2016 the F53 chassis got the 6 speed transmission. This was a huge improvement over the 2015 and older F53 gasser chassis. If at all possible buy a 2016 or newer if you go with a newer gas chassis coach.

If you're getting a 2016 or maybe even a 2017 model year coach be certain to run the VIN through an online VIN decoder. It is not uncommon for the actual Ford chassis to be a year behind the model year.

Or be darn certain some other way that you have the 6-speed transmission.

Ray

[AKIQPilot]

Originally Posted by NXR

If you're getting a 2016 or maybe even a 2017 model year coach be certain to run the VIN through an online VIN decoder. It is not uncommon for the actual Ford chassis to be a year behind the model year.



Or be darn certain some other way that you have the 6-speed transmission.



Ray

Very good point Ray.

On an F53 chassis the 10th digit in the VIN is the year. A “G” would be a 2016 chassis. An “H” would be a 2017. An “F” would be a 2015.

Good call on checking out the VIN for the actual chassis year. Some salesmen just assume a 2016 coach was built on a 2016 chassis. It would be pretty sad to buy a 2016 gasser only to find out it had the 5 speed transmission.

[Soppy]

A diesel is the way to go for power and hill climbing. Gas is ok for smaller coaches under 32' . If money is no object , get a diesel.

[wbputerwiz]

Thanks for all your replies. I guess one other question I have since everyone is talking about costs. Those with DP's how long have you been on the road and how often and what kinds of repairs are common?