Purchasing Advice - Gas or Diesel? - RV-Dreams Community Forum

Sbrell · RV-Dreams Community Member

Purchasing Advice - Gas or Diesel?

Jack Mayer · RV-Dreams Family Member

I always recommend used. Those starting out RARELY keep the RV they start in, even if they do a lot of research. Some do, and you may be the rare person that does. But used is always better, anyway, IMO. DP's almost never have excessive miles on them for what the engine is rated for. I have yet to personally see one that had mileage that bothered me. Used busses may be another story. But anything under 200K on a large diesel engine should be fine. Look up the B50 rating - the mean time for an engine rebuild - on any engine you are considering...

Tires almost always age out before needing replacement for wear issues. 5-7 years is where I'd be thinking about replacing. Probably closer to 7 on a large DP.

If you do not have a need for the half bath it is a waste of space.Many coaches put it in because access to the main bath is blocked for some reason under some circumstances. But it does work well for those traveling with others.

-- Edited by Jack Mayer on Monday 13th of October 2014 01:15:12 PM

Sbrell · RV-Dreams Community Member

Thanks, Jack. Great information.

Sue

Jake62 · RV-Dreams Family Member

Jack Mayer wrote:
Used busses may be another story. But anything under 200K on a large diesel engine should be fine.

-- Edited by Jack Mayer on Monday 13th of October 2014 01:15:12 PM

Jack,

Why do you state "used busses may be another story"? Can't tell if you're for or against used busses, i.e., used Prevost (Newell) and, why?

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

Above 36' I would not go with anything but diesel with a Class A. The chassis choices for longer gas motorhomes do not supply enough weight carrying capacity. Fulltimers seem to need 2,000 to 3,000 lbs of carrying capacity, above the weight of fuel, LP, and water. Extra batteries, solar panels, etc., add weight. There are diesels that fail the carrying capacity test, including the nice ones. A friend had a Foretravel from around 2001/2002 that had less than 2,000 lbs of carrying capacity.

36' and below, there are gas motorhomes that have the capacity. We had a 35' one and my mother-in-law has a new 33' one that has plenty of capacity. But you said 39-44'.

I will say that livability of a 41 to 45' motorhome is nice, but it will limit which campgrounds you can stay in. There are campgrounds with a 35' limit, but a 40' limit is much more common. The one we are in now can only handle a few 40' RVs, and 42' would be a stretch. The people I know with longer RVs find places to camp, but not always their first choices or the cheapest choices.

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Another advantage to diesels is that one can look for a unit that has an engine brake. Those are great when it comes time to be doing steep grades such as mountain passes and really steep hills. That allows one to use the engine for braking instead of having to rely entirely on the wheel brakes.

Terry

el Rojo and Pam · RV-Dreams Family Member

As far as mileage you should expect 7 and with easy driving 8. I know some people tell me they get 10ish but I would think that is with perfect conditions. These are heavy rigs with big engines.

Sbrell · RV-Dreams Community Member

Wow, you are all so generous with your time and information! Based on what you have said, diesel is our best bet. Now the challenge I have is to determine what is a fair price. Is there any guide to determine what is the depreciation per year that should be considered when negotiating price. Does it matter if you purchase from a dealer or a private party?

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

RV Comsumer Group, http://www.rv.org/, is about the only resource for that kind of information. Flawed, controversial, but no one else has the information. Most fulltimewe are in snowbird rated RVs, fulltime rated will handle being north in the winter and south in the summer better.

-- Edited by bjoyce on Tuesday 14th of October 2014 09:41:08 AM

-- Edited by bjoyce on Tuesday 14th of October 2014 09:41:24 AM

Sbrell · RV-Dreams Community Member

Bill, we are looking at a 2012 Dutch Star 4346 with 60,000 miles on it. The dealer told us the unit has been used as a mobile office/showroom rather than a home. Probably a sales office. The unit is very clean but not sure about the mileage. What should we worry about?

Barbaraok · RV-Dreams Family Member

go look at the NADA website for used RVs. That gives you a staring point. Basically you know what you have available. If they sell it for that price, great. If not, move on. There are a lot of rigs out there.

Barb

kb0zke · RV-Dreams Family Member

Welcome, Sue.

Depending on what you are looking at, NADA may not be anywhere close, or it may be right on the money. Also, not everything is listed in NADA. High end, low volume coaches tend to be listed at maybe half of what they are worth, and the farther up the quality (and new price) range you get the less accurate NADA is. Newell isn't even listed. Those who don't know quality might assume that a Newell must be junk if it isn't even listed in NADA, when the reason it isn't there is because so few have been built.

The suggestion to buy used is absolutely spot on. As Jack says, most people tend to trade the first coach for their second fairly soon because they didn't get it quite right the first time. The trade from the second to the third happens fairly quickly, too. The move from #3 to #4 may take quite a while. If you buy new each time you will have paid for a coach with the depreciation.

Remember that any coach will need some money to bring it to YOUR wants and needs. Since you will take some depreciation hit, I'd suggest that you spend only about 50% of your budget on the first used coach. That will leave you something for the second one.

Do your research first and decide which high quality brands and models you will consider. PM me for our research.