Gas vs Diesel motors - RV-Dreams Community Forum

Old Snipe · RV-Dreams Family Member

Gas vs Diesel motors

Old Snipe · RV-Dreams Family Member

One more issue, costs on gas vs diesel maintenance, here on my blog:

http://rsanityrvtravels.blogspot.com/2010/07/post-script-to-my-gas-vs-diesel-costs.html

Best Regards!

Edit by moderator: Activated link. Terry

-- Edited by Terry and Jo on Thursday 19th of April 2012 08:18:12 PM

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

We are from Washington State and know what you are saying. We were happy with our gas motorhome with the 8.1 liter GM engine. We are happier with our diesel motorhome with an 8.9 liter Cummins. Most diesel pushers have air suspension, which is better. Diesels pull hills better, but our old gas passed many older diesels on the hills. Diesels cost more, get a bit better mpg but diesel costs more per gallon. Longer maintenance intervals for diesel, but more costly maintenance since there is a lot more lubricant. If it would be a financial hardship to get a diesel, then stay with gas since many full-timers are in gas motorhomes and the lifestyle is more important than the choice. If you are not sure about the lifestyle, how you will really travel, and how long you will be full-timing, get a gas motorhome first to test the waters since it will not cost as much and you won't lose as much money if and when you trade. I see more well insulated diesel pushers than gas motorhomes, but there are also many diesels with lousy insulation. A decent gas motorhome will run 250,000 miles, more than enough for most people, so you don't need diesel for sufficient engine life.

There are many trade offs, but if money is not a problem get a diesel pusher. I don't see that much advantage to diesel pullers, I think they are mainly to satisfy diesel envy. There are also diesel pushers that are much worse to own than some gas motorhomes. Do your homework, fuel for the engine is only one choice you are going to make.

We felt the 3400 lb CRV with both motorhomes while driving but can't say the fuel milage changed much towing or not with either one.

-- Edited by bjoyce on Thursday 19th of April 2012 04:55:20 PM

Rosie RV Thumper and Dog Dog · RV-Dreams Family Member

Hi All

I am looking for some feed back from both gas powered motorhomes and diesel motorhomes owners. How are they on power, towing a toad, gas mileage and anything else. We live in the Pacific Northwest so we go over mountain passes a lot of the time.

Thanks

Thumper

bigredoes · RV-Dreams Family Member

At the risk of insulting....and I CERTAINLY do NOT mean to......it's a no brainer DIESEL

Trabuco · RV-Dreams Family Member

Several reasons I choose diesel over gas in my MH.

1. Low end torque
2. Rear engine mount, a little less noise going down the road
3. Longer period between oil changes. On my cummins ISL an oil change is recommended every 18,000 miles. I'll probably change it once a year.
4. My 400 hp cummins has loads of power from a standing start

Gas mileage is about the same depending on who you talk with. Diesel is higher priced at least in my current area. Overall fuel expense is probably a little higher with diesel.

The price I paid for my used diesel MH you can get a new entry level gas unit, something to think about.

The Bear II · RV-Dreams Family Member

Like others have said it's the power.

Diesels are made for pulling, pushing or towing heavy loads. The difference between a gas and a diesel MH with like sized engines is very noticeable. Kind of like the difference between a 1969 VW bug and a 1969 Camaro Z28... the bug will get you there, the camaro get's you there.

Going downhill is a different story. If the diesel is not equipped with an exhaust or jake brake when you let off on the throttle there's very little sense of engine braking. Let off the throttle on a gas engined MH and you immediately begin to slow down. The exhaust brake solves this problem and actually makes a diesel MH quicker to stop.

Once you go diesel you won't go back to gas unless the decision is purely a financial one.

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Bill touched on one issue, but left out one part. He mentioned that a gas engine should last about 250,000 miles. Diesels will last for a lot more miles.

Terry

Trabuco · RV-Dreams Family Member

I don't see a diesel or gas MH getting enough mileage on them to where you'd have to worry about a rebuild. The year I spent looking for a MH I only saw one that got close to the 100K mark. Even MH's that were 10 to 12 years old on average only had 50K or 60K on them.

RVRon · RV-Dreams Family Member

We did the diesel vs. gas evaluation and came up with the same results as folks have mentioned above. What tipped our decision was that we really liked the layout of our gas coach and the length of it would fit into a lot of state parks so we stuck with what we had. The diesel would be nice pulling some of the hills in the west, but we have still gotten there... it just took a little longer. From our perspective we felt the livability of the coach was more important than the powerplant. After all, unless you plan to drive hard racing around the country you'll spend a lot more time sitting than you will driving.

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

The chassis and body on most motorhomes, baring expensive ones like Foretravel, is not going to last 250,000 miles in many cases. The engine will outlast the rest. Our Dutch Star has more creaks than it did when new, but it has close to 100,000 miles on it. Remember most people who go full-time don't last 3 years, sad but true. Those that last 5 or more years are the minority. I keep this in mind when I give my opinion.

Trabuco · RV-Dreams Family Member

I agree with Bill the rest of the coach will wear out before the engine does.

Technomadia · RV-Dreams Family Member

You know.. most full time RVers we've encountered don't travel enough miles in a year for the engine to be a primary deciding factor, unless they are enthusiast about mechanics. Sure, it is *a* factor... but like others said in this thread, you will more than likely be living in your home more often than driving it.

For us, we decided we wanted a bus conversion... which pretty much meant diesel. Decision made for us. And since we wanted 35' or under, that pretty much meant vintage. We ended up with a 1961 with a 50 year old Detroit 2-stroke. It's been a ton of fun learning diesel mechanics and keeping this girl on the road. But just because we're diesel doesn't mean we're fast - she's a strong runner, for sure - but she's happy chugging along all day long at 55-60 mph on flat roads, and slows down to 20-40 on inclines.

- Cherie

Rosie RV Thumper and Dog Dog · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thank you everyone for all the information it really helps. Old Snipe you have a great blog and all the info really help.

Thanks
Thumper

Old Snipe · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thumper, You are certainly welcome and thanks for the kind words about our blog.

One of the reasons we write the blog is to help others with questions based on our experiences. We studied many other FT RVer's blogs to learn what we needed to know and now we are able to "repay" the favor.

Good luck in your search, the RV of your dreams is out there waiting for you.

Best Regards!

Speedhitch · RV-Dreams Family Member

We chose gas for the simple reason....We could afford it. Diesels are so darn expensive! You can buy a used one but you buy someone else's problems. Here is the deal...if you like MH living don't think you have to buy a diesel to do it. We had our first MH for 7 years without any problems traveling. We have had our new MH now for 1 1/2 and love it. No problem climbing hills with the toad on the back and good gas mileage to boot. If you can afford diesel go for it...If you can't don't worry about gas cause you can go anywhere the big boys go and a lot cheaper.

PNV · RV-Dreams Community Member

After spending two months touring the west last summer in out 37' gas MH we traded for diesel.

For us it was 1) finding stations we could easily pull in for refueling. 2) Noise of the gas engine up front. and most of all 3) The rough ride that smooths right out in a diesel thanks to the air shocks.

We are sooo happy we "upgraded". As has been said so often " it's a matter of choice".

kb0zke · RV-Dreams Family Member

We went down this road, too. Our budget is such that we're going to be buying a used coach, no matter what. Some investigation into coach quality gave us a list of brands to consider, and a quick check of the PPL website told us that we could buy the same age coach, gas or diesel, for the same money. Given the advantages of a diesel, we have decided to look only at diesel pushers. The top two brands, for us, are Wanderlodge and Foretravel.

NorCal Dan · RV-Dreams Family Member

We love our DP. Towing the Jeep don't even know it's back there. The 400hp Cummins ISL has plenty of power and is giving us a respectable 9.9 mpg. Maintenance costs are higher with diesel. The RoadMaster 8 bag chassis provides a very smooth and enjoyable ride. We've been up I-5 through the Siskiyou mountains a few times and had no problems.

ken and cindy · RV-Dreams Family Member

Of course I am just referring to my own experience but our '99 34' V10 gasser got 4-7 miles per gallon ,vinyl floors and cheap cabinets,crummy furniture and a very rough ride, extremely noisy, the engine RPM was like 3500revs at hiway speeds.

Our diesel gets 8.6-8.9 , ride is like flowing on a river of syrup ,our engine is so far back, enclosed in the back bathroom so that you can barely hear it, ceramic tile floors, solid wood cabinets, tons more power going up the grades.

For us, it is mostly about the journey , and not the destination so much.

But, I also understand that these new Gassers they are building are much better than what we had back in '99.

waltben · RV-Dreams Family Member

We're planning on upgrading to a used diesel A within two years to start full-timing. While I agree with everything said previously, what really convinced us was the increased weight and cargo carrying/towing and something not said thus far. Gas powered A's almost always have around 50 gallon fresh water (and corresponding black & grey) tanks. Diesel A's in the 38 to 41 foot range almost always have 100 gallon fresh water (and corresponding black & grey) tanks. We're planning on taking our time motoring about, spending several days on the road, a few days or more in a campground, then several days on the road, etc. Our current trailer (Hornet 27FLDS) has just about the same capacity as gas A's, and we know from experience that's too limiting. I've always done my own maintenance and will have to give a lot of that up except for very routine, but then I'm doing a lot of giving up now anyway!

As an aside, my pickup is a Chevy with an 8.1L that I've been really happy with. It'll pull our 10k trailer with a full load in the bed at 70 with no problem, getting about 7 - 8 mpg. Chevy quit making that motor about the time they put a turbo on the Duramax. I keep wondering why that new Duramax isn't used in smaller A's like the 8.1L was.