Yearly Maintenance Costs of Diesel vs Gas??

[GaryKD]

Hi RodgerS,
Comfort Drive is on Newmar diesel powered coaches beginning in 08 +/- depending on model..

[T Gibson]

Reubenray: it seems that your basic question has been some what answered. Bottom line: yes it cost less to maintaine a gasser than a diesel. How much more seems to very by poster and how attached to their diesel they are. I can not add numbers to the MH factor (owning a gasser) but can tell you from personal experience between a Ford pick up gasser and my son's Ford Diesel he spends more than twice the amount that I do on my same model gasser. His reason for the "D" was towing capacity, mine was what I was used to serviceing gas. + 1 to GaryD on the items that should come first on making the determination on what unit to buy, then deside if those requirments come in as gasser or diesel. My 0.02

[Mekanic]

Air And fuel filters on ANY of the diesels should be able to go 2 years at a minimum. I would check any/water separator every trip however.

[Vacay Wheels]

Originally Posted by reubenray

What would be a good estimate of how much I would spend on the yearly maintenance if done by someone else? There is a Freightliner service center not far from me which I assume would do the work on the engine also.

I am in this same situation, trying to get my head around maintenance costs. Here is what I've come up with. I am looking at a Maxxforce-7 based unit, which specifies oil/filter at 6 months, and fuel filters at 12 months. There is a good shop in town which does an oil/filter/lube service for 200 and an "A" service for 300. The former includes one fuel filter. The latter includes both fuel filters and air filters, and a thorough inspection of everything. Plus oil test for 25/each. So at a max, I am thinking 550/year going this route.

Alternately, I could pare back a little by doing the 6 month oil/filter myself for 120, do the oil/filter/lube service on odd years, and the A service on even years. This gets it under 450/year. But $100/year is not THAT much savings, so I may just go the route described above.

And as mentioned by others, I will do the generator service myself. It looks pretty simple.

[Dutch Star Don]

reubenray.....just out of curiosity, why are you looking replace your 2013 Tiffin.

When it comes to servicing, there are a lot of factors. For example, some diesel air cleaners are $55.00 and some are $155.00, depending on what type the builder used. It also depends on if you can do your own servicing or pay for service.

I know some people that have gone from a DP back to a gasser just because the DP's are more complicated with more systems and more to service.

Gas Motor Home

(1) fuel filter - every 3 years
(1) oil filter - once a year
(1) air filter - once a year
(7) Quarts of oil - once a year
Lube chassis - once a year

Diesel Motor Home

(2) fuel filters - once a year
(1) oil filter - once a year
(1) air filter - once a year(s)
(26) quarts oil - once a year
Lube chassis - once a year

air dryer filter - every three years
hydraulic filter - every two - three years

I think transmission and generator service will be a wash since they require less servicing and use about the same components and filters.

[CountryFit]

Originally Posted by Dutch Star Don

Diesel Motor Home

(2) fuel filters - once a year
(1) oil filter - once a year
(1) air filter - once a year(s)
(26) quarts oil - once a year
Lube chassis - once a year

air dryer filter - every three years
hydraulic filter - every two - three years

have i been wrong? i always check the air gauge (air minder) and only change the air filter when resistance reaches marked level. i didn't do it every year.

the air dryer and hydraulic filter - i guess there might be many people not changing them in that intervals. thanks for reminding me, probably i will do both soon.

[reubenray]

Originally Posted by Dutch Star Don

reubenray.....just out of curiosity, why are you looking replace your 2013 Tiffin.

When it comes to servicing, there are a lot of factors. For example, some diesel air cleaners are $55.00 and some are $155.00, depending on what type the builder used. It also depends on if you can do your own servicing or pay for service.

I know some people that have gone from a DP back to a gasser just because the DP's are more complicated with more systems and more to service.

Gas Motor Home

(1) fuel filter - every 3 years
(1) oil filter - once a year
(1) air filter - once a year
(7) Quarts of oil - once a year
Lube chassis - once a year

Diesel Motor Home

(2) fuel filters - once a year
(1) oil filter - once a year
(1) air filter - once a year(s)
(26) quarts oil - once a year
Lube chassis - once a year

air dryer filter - every three years
hydraulic filter - every two - three years

I think transmission and generator service will be a wash since they require less servicing and use about the same components and filters.

We are looking for something a little bigger. We also want a residential refrigerator and a washer/dryer. We want four slides and a few more feet in length. After taking several 4 to 6 weeks trip and being confined to the motorhome due to weather it feels cramped after a while.

Newmar has several gas models that we like. There are also several diesel pusher models that we like if we got a great deal. If the DP floor plan was not perfect I could modify it.

Our Tiffin has been great, but Tiffin does not have any gas models with what we want.

[RV Norm]

If you're hauling a heavy load like we do (12k lbs) than diesel pusher is the only option.

DPs also drive better, have better storage, and beter finish.

Some of the maintenance quotes here are based on smaller diesel engines. If you end up with a big block motor with 48 qt oil capacity, I would expect your costs to go up.

Something to keep in mind.

[distaff]

I find many RV owners under estimate their maintenance. My view is it runs about $2,000 a year if nothing major goes wrong. I run a tag axle, so it is a little more expensive.

• Oil and filters run around $350
• Batteries don't last forever, I have 8 - $200 a year
• Tires are good for 5-6 years - they usually don't wear out. I have 8, runs about $800.
• Stuff that breaks - pick a number but on mine it has run about $500 a year.

I do a lot of the maintenance myself, I find that you can't get a tech to really research or diagnose a problem, so you are better off figuring out the cause and then if you can't fix it yourself, get it fixed.

This also doesn't cover your own stupidity, for example I recently managed to break the drivers seat base because I left the seat in the reclined position and tried to open the slide. It trapped the seat back and bent the whole seat over to the side. I got really lucky because Villa who make the seat only charged $65 for a replacement base. But you get the idea.

I've been lucky that nothing big has ever failed on mine - but some are not so lucky. I never hit the road without having the resources available to pay for a $10,000 repair because it can happen.

[DMTTRANSPORT]

K & N Filter 300 bucks ..Done, Rotella 15/40 @ wally world $14 Gallon, Donaldson Filters for Cummins (2 Fuel, 1 Oil, 1 Hyd) 65 bucks at Find It Parts, 2.5 Gallons of Hyd Oil 35 bucks, I come up with 198 bucks for Fluid Serrvice per year, Cat filters are slightly more, If I had a Cat that's all I would use, Goodies that aren't a necessity is what's expensive, LOL! Batteries, Tires Etc. depends on your driving/maintenance habits and weather you buy good or cheap.

[pasdad1]

Originally Posted by CountryFit

have i been wrong? i always check the air gauge (air minder) and only change the air filter when resistance reaches marked level. i didn't do it every year.

the air dryer and hydraulic filter - i guess there might be many people not changing them in that intervals. thanks for reminding me, probably i will do both soon.

No, you are doing it right. Air filters actually filter BETTER (removing smaller particles) when they get a coating of dust on them. Changing them too frequently will wear out the diesel faster due to more dust being ingested into the engine.

[CountryFit]

Originally Posted by pasdad1

No, you are doing it right. Air filters actually filter BETTER (removing smaller particles) when they get a coating of dust on them. Changing them too frequently will wear out the diesel faster due to more dust being ingested into the engine.

thanks for confirming this... happy rving

[lmcgill]

There is a reason why people seem to start with a gas and move up to a diesel. We started with a factory order diesel and moved to a tag about 3 years ago. I would never buy used or buy gas, the smile I get on my face driving our coach is priceless! For me a tag, Aqua hot and a full wall slide was important as well as a bath and a half due to us having twins, but a tent trailer to others is more than adequate if they are use to a tent!

[Dutch Star Don]

We put about 10K on our coach each year. For that reason I change the air filter every season. I believe in clean air filters. The filter minder is ABSOLUTELY useless and can never be used to determine if a filter needs changing. By the time a filter minder actually moves, your filter is probably thousands of miles past changing.