Newbie's heads about to spin off...Help!

[jimmytigg]

Hello...The usual story, I'm sure. My wife and I are semi-retiring from being in the hotel business the last 25 years and so looking forward to this new chapter. Our goal is to commit to being full timers for 1-2 years at first , then see if we want to continue or go home to our house in the Sierras.

A used Diesel Pusher is what we are aiming for but the cost of a new Gas is appealing.

Spent the last 3 months attempting to research Diesel Pushers and Gas Class A's with our heads spinning in confusion even more. Just a couple of question's for you seasoned RV'ers...

Which MH manufacturer's do you think stands behind it's product the most and has a good rating for reliability?

Also, any particular DP's that are easier to maintain by ones self? (i.e. oil change, etc.?)

Looking at DP due to the peace of mind Air Brakes provide traveling mountainous terrain. We will be towing our 2008 Dodge Nitro.

Thank you so much for any input!

[MSHappyCampers]

Hi ! Welcome to IRV2! We're sure glad you joined the gang!

I would suggest a late model DP instead of a gasser! I think you will be much happier fulltiming in it!

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!

[t55watson]

I prefer diesel. The chassis is important. The big players are Freightliner and Spartan. Doing your own maint. I would suggest a side radiafor.
For the house portion. Floor plan is everything. It must fit your life style.
We are in our third MH and I pick the chassis and the wife picks the floorplan. When I say pick I really mean veto ones we don't like. It is a compromise, the perfect MH doesn't exist.

[450Donn]

Hope you have deep pockets. Motor homes like your looking at can cost more than what some people make a month in maintenance. 500 dollar service, 5000 dollars for tires are only the start.

[t55watson]

Originally Posted by 450Donn

Hope you have deep pockets. Motor homes like your looking at can cost more than what some people make a month in maintenance. 500 dollar service, 5000 dollars for tires are only the start.

not true.
I service my DP once a year, about 8 to 10 thousand miles. Well under $200 in filters and oil. I have replaced tires many times over the years and at todays prices I can replace all 6 tires, 22.5 inch tires, for under $1800. Tires will age out at about 7 to 10 years.

[mel s]

Originally Posted by t55watson

not true.
I service my DP once a year, about 8 to 10 thousand miles. Well under $200 in filters and oil. I have replaced tires many times over the years and at todays prices I can replace all 6 tires, 22.5 inch tires, for under $1800. Tires will age out at about 7 to 10 years.

I bet you get at least 12 MPG too.

[Tall Tex]

I am on my 4th motorhome. The first two were gas rigs 32' to 35 ' and then went to a 38' Beaver with a Cummins ISC 350 hp engine. The difference in driving a gas vs diesel is like a Smart car vs a full size sedan. With the gas rigs the wind moves you around in your lane and when a big truck passes you, you will have to steer toward it to stay in your lane. With the Beaver cross winds were much less stressful and passing trucks were not as stressful. Our current 43' Entegra Anthem is like driving a car on the interstate in a cross wind. You know it is blowing but you don't have any stress. With the gas rigs you'll get about 6.5 mpg at 60 mph.. with a 350 hp you'll get about 8.5 mpg at the same speed. Our current rig averages 7.5 mpg at 68 mph. All these numbers are with a car in tow. The big advantage in mountain driving is that the diesels have engine braking that you use going down long grades, so you won't even touch your service brakes.

If you need to buy 22.5" tires stay away from Chinese and Korean made tires. You can get U S made tires for as little as $500 each. Foreign made tires are cheaper, but not as reliable. When these big tires fly apart they do a lot of damage to the RV. Going cheap is not worth it. There will be some posters that will argue this point.

Routine maintenance is more expensive with the diesels, but you can go all year or 15,000 miles per oil change. If you need major engine or transmission repair, it can cost thousands. But they are made to go 100s of thousands of miles in trucks in severe service such as garbage trucks.


The most important consideration is the floor plan and part of that is the size of the bed, because living in an RV, even the largest ones, is living in a box. Our new coach is really nice, but it is still a box. You will spend more time living in the coach than driving it, so focus on the livebility of the coach.

It takes the average RVer several attempts to find the right rig.

Good luck and

[t55watson]

Originally Posted by mel s

I bet you get at least 12 MPG too.

mel, I know you have been posting and RV'ing a long time. As have I. Entering our 20th year in MH's and other types before that. That said, let me tell you no one likes to be called a liar. Or at the very least as misconstruing the facts.
Here are the facts for my dollar expenditures on my MH. Remembering I do my own service. Some items, filters are bought on line way cheaper.
5 Gal. oil = $36
Oil filter = $28
Fuel filters 1 @ $14, 1 @ & 9. These are changed every other oil change, so every other year.
Coolant filter = $8, I have only changed one of these in 20 years.
If that isn't well under $200 I will eat my hat.
I replaced 2 tires last year @ $ 286 Each, $286 X 6 = $1716. Again, well under the price I stated in my post.l
Now for your attempt at humor I hope.
Over 6 years of owning this coach and the overall MPG is 8.6.
To all of you who aren't mel, sorry about the rant but the dis-respect needed to be addressed.

[whaap]

My wife and full-timed in the early 90's. We had a 36' gas rig which was a very nice and comfortable motor home. In retirement there were several years where I worked part time for La Mesa RV driving coaches. During that time I had the opportunity to drive pretty much every type of rig there is out there. If I were to repeat what we did years ago, with what I know now, I would definitely look for a used DP.

[Mr_D]

I/we've had three gas MH's and three DP's. Once you're parked it really doesn't matter what power unit you have, but on the road the DP's are nicer. If I just wanted to be a snowbird and move only twice a year then a gas would do just fine, but that isn't what I plan on doing.
The gas rigs will tend to be smaller, ride rougher and be noisier.

[mel s]

Originally Posted by t55watson

mel, I know you have been posting and RV'ing a long time. As have I. Entering our 20th year in MH's and other types before that. That said, let me tell you no one likes to be called a liar. Or at the very least as misconstruing the facts.
Here are the facts for my dollar expenditures on my MH. Remembering I do my own service. Some items, filters are bought on line way cheaper.
5 Gal. oil = $36
Oil filter = $28
Fuel filters 1 @ $14, 1 @ & 9. These are changed every other oil change, so every other year.
Coolant filter = $8, I have only changed one of these in 20 years.
If that isn't well under $200 I will eat my hat.
I replaced 2 tires last year @ $ 286 Each, $286 X 6 = $1716. Again, well under the price I stated in my post.l
Now for your attempt at humor I hope.
Over 6 years of owning this coach and the overall MPG is 8.6.
To all of you who aren't mel, sorry about the rant but the dis-respect needed to be addressed.

t55watson
No disrespect intended.
Sorry.

The fact that you found 2 new 22.5 inch tires for only $286 each makes you smarter than most.

Mel

[Waiter21]

Regardless of gas or diesel, if you're a DIYer, chassis maintenance costs will be considerably lower than if you need to write a check and have someone else do it. Diesel maintenance will generally be higher than gas.

Fuel cost per mile will normally favor gas. However, fuel prices vary, 6 weeks ago I seen gas and diesel, BOTH at around $2.15, this is kind of rare. Yesterday, gas was $1.85 and diesel was $2.69, this is about the normal price difference I've seen over the past few years.


Diesel will outperform gas in mountains, mainly because of turbocharging.

Diesel chassis will generally be higher quality, as they are based on high end commercial vehicles that live their lives on the road.

With that in mind, a diesel MH will normally be built to better quality, as these MHs tend to be bought by higher end consumers.

[firedoc]

I found the 6 22.5 tires price hard to believe also. What tires did you get for that price? And how old were they?

[Cover Dog]

5 Gal. oil = $36.00

That's only $1.44 a quart. Please tell me where I can buy diesel oil for that price.