Operating Costs

[zman-az]

Originally Posted by tmw188

My MH of choice is in then 2002-2006 range roughly.

Not sure what year ford added the tow mode option to there gassers but my 2010 had it and it worked great for hill descents. I would not look at a gasser without it as I live and travel in a area with lots of grades.

[docj]

Originally Posted by Kiwi

Then with those engines, you need your valves adjusted every so often..

My CAT C-12 had its valves adjusted before I purchased it at ~45,000 miles. It's next recommended valve adjustment will be at ~250,000 miles.

I currently have ~101,000 miles on it, so, at our rate of usage, I'll need another adjustment in ~15 years or roughly when I'm 83. If I'm still able to drive it then I'll gladly pay for the valve adjustment!

[gemini5362]

Wow this thread is getting heated up. If the original poster is still on here I will offer my advice. In my opinion and nothing more. It is very hard to beat the ride of a DP. The air suspension is nice. I have a Jake Brake and going over the rockies and coming back down mountains after my visit to the Sequoyah National Forest it will be hard to convince me that anything else is as reliable. Everyone seems to get better fuel mileage than me. I have had my unit in the shop and there is nothing wrong with it. I only drive 65 but pull a toad. I guess it is just the way it is. I get between 5 and 6 MPG but I honestly get between 5 and 6. I would love to find a DP mechanic at 100.00 per hour. When i go to a freightliner shop they list Semi truck labor at 100.00 per hour and DP labor at 125.00 an hour. When i see how easy it is to get at the motor on the Semi versus the DP I am not sure they charge enough difference for the DP to make up in what they have to go through. I have a diesel pickup and compare costs on the two of them. Oil changes are pretty easy to figure out 28 quarts versus 10 quarts. do the math. Fuel filters are a bit higher on the DP but suprisingly not very much. I believe the air filter on my DP is 230.00 versus 60 or 70 on my pickup. The DP has an air dryer that has to be worked on and the desicant replaced. That can get expensive. Just for grins check out the prices on a diesel fuel pump for the injectors. I do not know about the DP but the one for my truck is 1000.00 and you have to dismantle a chunk of the engine to get to it so you are probably looking at 2000.00 plus to replace it. I can guarantee the one on the DP will not be anywhere near that cheap. I just came back from vacation this week. We had a place to stay where we were going so we drove the car versus the MH. I was amazed for the first time in at least ten years I saw diesel within a few cents of the price of gasoline and a couple of places it was cheaper. Usually diesel runs from 25 cents to a dollar a gallon more than gasoline. When you figure the difference in mileage between the two make sure to figure diesel at 50 cents per gallon more for an average.

I love my DP and would not want a gasser but I know it costs me a lot more to own and operate it. If I ever went away from the DP I would go back to a 5th wheel they have improved them a lot in the last couple of years with auto leveling and residential refrigerators.

[CLIFFTALL]

You may notice that some posts here have been edited an
or removed. Personal attacks are not permitted here. Our #1 rule is " be nice "
Cliff

[tmw188]

Originally Posted by gemini5362

Wow this thread is getting heated up. If the original poster is still on here I will offer my advice. In my opinion and nothing more. It is very hard to beat the ride of a DP. The air suspension is nice. I have a Jake Brake and going over the rockies and coming back down mountains after my visit to the Sequoyah National Forest it will be hard to convince me that anything else is as reliable. Everyone seems to get better fuel mileage than me. I have had my unit in the shop and there is nothing wrong with it. I only drive 65 but pull a toad. I guess it is just the way it is. I get between 5 and 6 MPG but I honestly get between 5 and 6. I would love to find a DP mechanic at 100.00 per hour. When i go to a freightliner shop they list Semi truck labor at 100.00 per hour and DP labor at 125.00 an hour. When i see how easy it is to get at the motor on the Semi versus the DP I am not sure they charge enough difference for the DP to make up in what they have to go through. I have a diesel pickup and compare costs on the two of them. Oil changes are pretty easy to figure out 28 quarts versus 10 quarts. do the math. Fuel filters are a bit higher on the DP but suprisingly not very much. I believe the air filter on my DP is 230.00 versus 60 or 70 on my pickup. The DP has an air dryer that has to be worked on and the desicant replaced. That can get expensive. Just for grins check out the prices on a diesel fuel pump for the injectors. I do not know about the DP but the one for my truck is 1000.00 and you have to dismantle a chunk of the engine to get to it so you are probably looking at 2000.00 plus to replace it. I can guarantee the one on the DP will not be anywhere near that cheap. I just came back from vacation this week. We had a place to stay where we were going so we drove the car versus the MH. I was amazed for the first time in at least ten years I saw diesel within a few cents of the price of gasoline and a couple of places it was cheaper. Usually diesel runs from 25 cents to a dollar a gallon more than gasoline. When you figure the difference in mileage between the two make sure to figure diesel at 50 cents per gallon more for an average.

I love my DP and would not want a gasser but I know it costs me a lot more to own and operate it. If I ever went away from the DP I would go back to a 5th wheel they have improved them a lot in the last couple of years with auto leveling and residential refrigerators.

OP here. thanks to everyone that replied. Like I said a few posts back just the regular run of the mill maintenance I'm comfortable with but I'm seeing other comments on repair costs that might not be worth the gamble for me? I would probably be fine with $1500 annual maintenance and service costs except for tires maybe every 5-8yrs. Outside of that I might go with a decent gasser??

[docj]

Originally Posted by tmw188

OP here. thanks to everyone that replied. Like I said a few posts back just the regular run of the mill maintenance I'm comfortable with but I'm seeing other comments on repair costs that might not be worth the gamble for me? I would probably be fine with $1500 annual maintenance and service costs except for tires maybe every 5-8yrs. Outside of that I might go with a decent gasser??

I assume you realize that you're still going to need tires every 5-8 years with a gasser and they aren't all that much cheaper at 19.5" than they are at 22.5". Furthermore, now that I'm driving on Hankooks at 2/3 the price of the Michelins they replaced, the tire costs don't scare me nearly as much.

My annual costs have been in the range of $1-1.5k even including the every 3-4 year items such as transmission filters. Sure things unexpectedly can go wrong, but they're just as likely to be things that relate to the chassis or "house" that have nothing to do with the engine or transmission. The fear-mongering that goes on on these forums is ridiculous IMO.

Yes, everyone knows someone who has heard of someone whose engine or transmission went out or radiator failed. But how many others drive for years without this happening to them? I enjoy the comforts of my 40' DP and am willing to deal with the uncertainty of what might occur. If I wasn't I wouldn't be willing to take the "risk" of fulltiming and driving all over the continent in the first place. JMO

[tmw188]

Originally Posted by docj

I assume you realize that you're still going to need tires every 5-8 years with a gasser and they aren't all that much cheaper at 19.5" than they are at 22.5". Furthermore, now that I'm driving on Hankooks at 2/3 the price of the Michelins they replaced, the tire costs don't scare me nearly as much.



My annual costs have been in the range of $1-1.5k even including the every 3-4 year items such as transmission filters. Sure things unexpectedly can go wrong, but they're just as likely to be things that relate to the chassis or "house" that have nothing to do with the engine or transmission. The fear-mongering that goes on on these forums is ridiculous IMO.



Yes, everyone knows someone who has heard of someone whose engine or transmission went out or radiator failed. But how many others drive for years without this happening to them? I enjoy the comforts of my 40' DP and am willing to deal with the uncertainty of what might occur. If I wasn't I wouldn't be willing to take the "risk" of fulltiming and driving all over the continent in the first place. JMO

Yes Doc on the tires. If its a gasser it'll have 22.5" tires too. Thanks for the other side of the story!

[rjsupersonic]

Gas Vs/ diesel also depends on usage, we have been full time in our 35, Ford V-10 gas coach for 4 years. We average 300 or 400 miles a month and typically stay at one location for 2 weeks. Our V-10 has served us well, cab noise is not as quiet as a DP but we are not driving that much. I have pulled our toad over many mountain passes at 35 to 45 mph and had no issues. I change my own oil $40.00 a couple of times a year. The torqueshift transmission does a decent job on the downhill mountain passes. I did have the radiator flushed and transmission serviced at 30k each was a couple of hundred bucks at Ford. If I put on many miles I would look at Diesel.

[tmw188]

Originally Posted by rjsupersonic

Gas Vs/ diesel also depends on usage, we have been full time in our 35, Ford V-10 gas coach for 4 years. We average 300 or 400 miles a month and typically stay at one location for 2 weeks. Our V-10 has served us well, cab noise is not as quiet as a DP but we are not driving that much. I have pulled our toad over many mountain passes at 35 to 45 mph and had no issues. I change my own oil $40.00 a couple of times a year. The torqueshift transmission does a decent job on the downhill mountain passes. I did have the radiator flushed and transmission serviced at 30k each was a couple of hundred bucks at Ford. If I put on many miles I would look at Diesel.

Trips would be snow birding in Florida every winter and driving a dingy back maybe once or twice from there during a 2-3 month stay. Trips on the west and east coast maybe once and then up north to Michigan for a week or two during the summer. Something along those lines. Not many gassers come with grade brakes but have seen one or two.

[jacwjames]

With diesels it is important to use them or if they are going to be parked long periods of time to fill the fuel tank to reduce condensation. I had a bout of algae right after I bought the coach and started to use biobor (algaecide) to help prevent algae growth. I also use Startron enzyme treatment at least 1 time per year, which is suppose to eat any dead algae. If you do get a bout algae it can take time to get rid of.

[mhbell]

Originally Posted by tmw188

Looking for some opinions from owners that have owned both gassers and diesels. I'm sure most have never moved from a diesel to a gasser but if there is was driven by cost? In my price range I'm finding very nice diesels for about the same money as some gassers. I want to stay away from Cat that is something I know for sure. As for as other things it seams that the diesels just have more complicated systems to keep up. They both get about the same mpg roughly but the gassers w/o some sort of grade braking system concerns me on the hills in the mountains traveling to and from Florida not to mention the Rockies. I have seen a grade brake on some Winnebago gassers, very few. Excluding tires and being a hands on guy what can I expect to maybe spend on just maintenance annually. Anyone have any good records they keep to help with that. My MH of choice is in then 2002-2006 range roughly.

I for one moved from a diesel pusher to a 5th wheel and back to a gasser. Yes Cost of maintenance had a lot to do with it. Even though a diesel is better if you are traveling most of the time in the west and in the mountains, I found that the fuel mileage was not enough to offset the price of diesel fuel and the costs of maintenance. Not being used very much and sitting in the driveway for extended amount of time was another factor, For me a gasser works out better. In almost 50 years of RVing, I have owned many different RV's. I have found that for my use a Older class A gasser works the best. I use the money saved to take longer trips and spend more time visiting friends and relatives and staying in RV parks longer. I don't do much boon docking.
Mel

[TMan59]

We went from a 25' toiga Montara with a 460 to a 40' Monaco dp.
They don't make a 40'gasser that I know of so that decision was easy.
We had the Montara for about 12 years and put about 60,000 miles on it.
The last 10 years was just used by me and my buddies racing mx.
We changed the oil every 3000 miles and did the brakes twice. That was about $120 a year in oil.
We sold that when I got the new hip and had to give up mx.
We bought the Monaco to see if we liked traveling in something bigger.
I change the oil once a year at $240.
No question in my mind what works best for us.
A gasser would save us a ton of $ because I doubt we would use it.
The dp cost a lot more because we can't wait to use it again.

[RVLola]

Unfortunately my DH didn't tell me before he took our coach in for an oil change. (I'm the one that shops around for a better deal on everything). He agreed to La Mesa's price of $325 and the job was done before we could call them and stop the process.
Because of the posts on this forum I called and learned it would have cost about $150 at Speedco. I hope that La Mesa appreciated that one chance to gouge us because they won't see our rig for any non-warranty work again.

[LVRVLUVR]

Originally Posted by tmw188

Looking for some opinions from owners that have owned both gassers and diesels. I'm sure most have never moved from a diesel to a gasser but if there is was driven by cost? In my price range I'm finding very nice diesels for about the same money as some gassers. I want to stay away from Cat that is something I know for sure. As for as other things it seams that the diesels just have more complicated systems to keep up. They both get about the same mpg roughly but the gassers w/o some sort of grade braking system concerns me on the hills in the mountains traveling to and from Florida not to mention the Rockies. I have seen a grade brake on some Winnebago gassers, very few. Excluding tires and being a hands on guy what can I expect to maybe spend on just maintenance annually. Anyone have any good records they keep to help with that. My MH of choice is in then 2002-2006 range roughly.

the only reason to buy a DP is cause you can.. or need a 40'r
it will never ever make economic sense