gas or diesel

[SSteve]

Gary,

The owners manuals says 3 months/3k miles on both, and the Jeep actually has a light on the dash that illuminates each 3k miles to remind us its time.

I am aware some believe the interval can be greater and if it works for them, so be it. I'd be interested to hear from gas coach owners as to what their manuals say.

Steve

[Digital Boy]

Our first rig (bought new in '99) was a '97 Four Winds Infinity on a Chevy P-30 chassis. We had nothing but trouble with the brake system - had to be towed 4 times (under warranty).

In '03 we traded the gasser for a '98 Newmar Dutch Star. We wanted the diesel pusher (rear engine) mainly for the air brakes and air suspension. No more brake problems!

In '06 we became fulltimers in the Dutch Star and every time we think about upgrading to newer and bigger, we sit down until the thought passes.

The rig rides like a luxury car, is easy to steer and does not react at all to 18 wheelers passing my on the interstate.

The generator runs on diesel as well as the engine. By keeping up the maintanance on both I can report that I've not yet had any sort of drive train or generator problems.

You do NOT have to run a diesel coach around town every month. I've sat in one location for as much as 6 months before starting my engine. The gerator is another story. While the diesel genset engine is okay, the parts that make the electricity can be damaged by moisture. So every 4 to 6 weeks I run the generator under at least 1/2 load for 20 - 40 minutes.

Good luck!

[quikduk]

All good comments here...so here is my $.02 as well.

We have had three gas coaches. All of them were between 25 and 30 feet long. All could only tow about 5,000# and had limited basement storage as they were older coaches.

We knew what our budget was and it didn't allow for a new coach. We first looked at newer gas coaches with modern amenities and storage solutions but felt they lacked power, especially since we were looking at coaches between 36-38 feet long.

We then decided to see if any used DP's were around. Keep in mind that we bought ours 2-1/2 years ago and no one was giving any away back then (funny how times change... ). We found that it was cheaper to fly out of state and drive the one we bought back home rather than buy one locally and they were very few and far between in our price range back then with almost no room for negotiation.

Right now, you can make a great deal depending on what you want in the coach re: features and floor plan. The floor plan is critical to your enjoyment of the coach so explore this carefully. I also knew that if I was going for a diesel, I wanted air-ride suspension, BIG air brakes, big basement storage, a diesel genset and a big-block coach engine.

All this being what it is, we found one that we could live with. Now, there are about 3 dozen more on the market to choose from in our price range.

My BIL and FIL both have newer than us (2002-2004) 8.1 Workhorse chassis coaches and they love them. One is a Forest River Windsong and the other is a Winnebago Brave. I will say that the Brave has a lot of nice features even though it is a base model. You can look for a "last years model" sitting on a dealers lot and maybe get a better price or check with the consignment lots like PPL Motorhomes or better dealers like Roman Holiday, De Martini etc. or check these links below.

BTW, sorry for the long post.

http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/

http://www.romanholidaymotorhomes.com/

http://www.reposales.com/

http://www.uhlmannrv.com/

http://www.mhsrv.com/inventory.asp

http://www.rvtraderonline.com/

http://www.rvclearinghouse.com/

http://www.rvregistry.com/

http://www.rvt.com/

http://www.usedrvliquidators.com/UsedRV.aspx

Enjoy the ride.

[Digital Boy]

Our change was similar. We bought a '98 Dutch Star DP in '03.

Here are more links:

www.rvtraderonline.com

www.RVsearch.com

www.rvresources.com

[Clay L]

As stated above CCC is very important.
We have 2800 pounds and would like to have 3500 pounds. Finding a gasser with 2800 pounds can be a real challenge so 3500 is going to be even harder.

But just because it's a diesel don't assume that it will have a lot of CCC. Some do but many don't.
We saw a 38 foot Georgie Boy diesel pusher with a whopping 380 pounds of CCC in Quartzsite a couple of years ago. We also saw a number of them that had 1200 to 2000 pounds.

There are diesels out there that have much more CCC than any gasser, just make sure you get one of those if you get a pusher.

The definition of CCC can be seen HERE

[tropical36]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Clay L:
As stated above CCC is very important.
We have 2800 pounds and would like to have 3500 pounds. Finding a gasser with 2800 pounds can be a real challenge so 3500 is going to be even harder.

But just because it's a diesel don't assume that it will have a lot of CCC. Some do but many don't.
We saw a 38 foot Georgie Boy diesel pusher with a whopping 380 pounds of CCC in Quartzsite a couple of years ago. We also saw a number of them that had 1200 to 2000 pounds.

There are diesels out there that have much more CCC than any gasser, just make sure you get one of those if you get a pusher.

The definition of CCC can be seen HERE </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
The only thing that saves me, is the tag axle, otherwise I'd be short a ton, rather than a ton to the good.

[quikduk]

BTW, I forgot to say that I do most if not all of my own maintenance and the costs are similar. Filters are bigger and cost a bit more as do the extra fluids but the change intervals are doubled so it is almost a wash.

It also really depends on the price you have to stay around. There are a LOT of coaches available between $100K-$200K, some of which might be older than you were hoping for but are much higher in quality such as Foretravel, Beaver, Monaco, Newel, Bluebird etc.

You just have to decide if used is acceptable, how much you are willing to spend at a maximum and if you want luxury or entry level as the difference in quality can be startling. You can then negotiate on the ones that you REALLY like. They are out there and they are NOT moving very fast right now.

Take your time and look long and hard as there are a LOT of choices within that price range.

BTW, not to be nosey or anything like that but what is your max. price range IIMA? I have a few links to some very nice, fully loaded MH's but it depends on what you can spend.

AFM, I can't spend anything...but I can browse and dream for free...

[ljr869]

Get a gasser, add the Banks system, and use the extra $ to outfit it. I'm a huge diesel fan (drive a F-350) but I couldn't justify the added expense for something I wouldn't drive too often.

[Hemi]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">ljr869 </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
On your f-350, do you use a chip? I have 99 f350 PSD not chipped, now need more power because I am towing a saturn vue while also carrying bigfoot camper.

Back to the issue MH, gas or diesel. We bought Holiday Rambler 2002 36 foot gas...3 years ago...it only had 18,000 miles, like new. The best thing was the floor plan which included an extra 0.5 bath...this is really great when we have overnight guests.

We tow saturn vue...going up hills it is a struggle....the DP just pass up.

We don't have banks; would a full banks system really help this MH??...it is 8.1 vortec.

Hemi

[LVJ58]

Hemi, it probably wouldn't hurt, but you could perhaps get even more power through Brazel,s reprogramming your ECM--just a thought.

Good Luck & Happy Holidays

[Hemi]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Brazel,s reprogramming your ECM </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Is Brazel a brand name or company name or shop name...can you post a website, thanks HEMI

[becks]

Brazels is a performance shop. They sponsor the General Discussion forum. You can click on them just below this forum heading or at the top of the main page.

[Hemi]

Becks, thanks, I found the Brazel link...there are several shops in the USA. The one nearest me is the one in South Carolina....I will give them a call. HEMI