Moving On From a Diesel Motorhome Back to Gas

[Boat Bum]

I hear you. My old boss had to have the biggest Searay in Buffalo, NY, compared to friends and acquaintances at the marina. So he bought a 45' Sundancer, I believe that had twin diesels. I think Cummins 8.3L. One day at work, my boss comes in dirty and in a foul mood. I asked, "Hey, Chuck, what's the matter?" and he replied, "Those damn diesels each take 20 quarts of oil." The boat nearly bankrupted him. Boy, did he have a hard time selling it.

I had to laugh, it's always the Sea Ray guys.

 

[Wemustrv]

Sorry to hear about your DP issues. We have had our 2007 DP for over 10 years it has a freightliner chassis that has been flawless on all the hours and miles on the chassis and engine. Our engine is a Mercedes Diesel. I am sold on the diesel and would not go back to gas. Totally a personal choice based on personal needs.

 

[d23haynes57]

The Entegra Esteem is R5 in the walls, R24 in the ceiling, and R9 in the floor.

The Esteem is on an F-550 chassis and is billed as a Super C. This is not a typical economy "Class C". The tanks have heating pads which indicate they are outside or in unheated compartments. Where is all the plumbing. Still propane heat, hot water, and a single 30,000 BTU furnace. MSRP starts at just over $300K. I would consider this for the 4X4. This may still be somwhat limited for true winter use. With the limited battery capacity there will be a lot of reliance on the generator.

 

[Vint]

The 27U is a classic C on the Ford F450 chassis, with the new 7.3L V8.

My wife nor I would ever think of looking at a diesel rig again.

 

[fishslayer]

Never was a fan of diesel..i can fix anything on my gas rv..but it requires very little repairs. And gas is way cheaper

 

[Vint]

And gas is way cheaper

Actually, fishslayer, with my Open Roads and Greenlane diesel fuel cards, probably more than half the time during our travels, we paid less for diesel than what the posted price was for 87 unleaded. As an added benefit, we used truck stops such as Love's and Pilot/Flying J's, where there was plenty of room to maneuver and pay at the pump. I would also expect a Ford V8 Class C to average 9 mpg at best, probably more like 7-8 mpg, whereas my diesel averaged between 10.5-11 mpg.

Yeah, if it wasn't the cost of repair and upkeep, I'd stay with diesel, but those $$$$ far outweigh a couple of miles per gallon less in economy.

 

[Boat Bum]

If your diesel requires DEF then that should be considered as part of fuel cost or cost to run.

 

[fishslayer]

Actually, fishslayer, with my Open Roads and Greenlane diesel fuel cards, probably more than half the time during our travels, we paid less for diesel than what the posted price was for 87 unleaded. As an added benefit, we used truck stops such as Love's and Pilot/Flying J's, where there was plenty of room to maneuver and pay at the pump. I would also expect a Ford V8 Class C to average 9 mpg at best, probably more like 7-8 mpg, whereas my diesel averaged between 10.5-11 mpg.

Yeah, if it wasn't the cost of repair and upkeep, I'd stay with diesel, but those $$$$ far outweigh a couple of miles per gallon less in economy.

Actually mine is a V 10 and gets about 9 or 10 mpg here.. gas is also 3.41 today.. was 2.09 before the fake shortage. I dont do 3000 mile trips..usually under 1000 round trip but if it breaks, probably a trip to autozone and im back on the road.

 

[TR25]

If you don't want the headaches, but like the lifestyle, a modern towable RV combined with a late mode gas tow vehicle works just fine.

Cummins are great engines. It's the platform aftermath they are put in. Those air brakes weren't the cummins engine. The war on diesels started in 2008, so personally I'd not buy anything after that. Pick the diesel wisely and you'll be OK.
The problem is lack of QC and frankly, care, in the rv (and auto) manufacturing industries. My newest truck is 2005 for example.

I used to run gas, then went to diesel due to towing/carrying loads in the rockies. No longer do that, so went back to gassers.
I have a HD 3/4ton smallblock gasser now from the 90s. Just took a trip in it w/a camper on top and got 15m/g. I can live with that. I also have a 26ft bumperpull I get the same mpg with, but offers more room and can park it and leave it somewhere.

My truck, truck camper, and bumperpull all came in for less than the OPs first repair bill on his DP motorhome. There are great deals out there, especially considering how terribly things are built nowadays.

I agree most would be better served with a bumperpull or even a 5th wheel rather than a motorhome, where it's all in one. People need to get out of the "it's a house" POV of an RV as then it gets heavy and complicated...and costly quickly.

 

[Vint]

The air chambers are part of the Freightliner package/chassis setup, which, admittedly, is Freightliner's low-end chassis used on the Sportscoach entry-level diesel motorhomes.

But the $25K I got taken for at Velocity Freightliner in Raleigh, whether the repairs were needed or not, was all part of the Cummins Diesel engine. EGR parts, EGR Cooler, Wiring harness, Exhaust Manifold, and assorted parts, bolts, and shop rags at $350!, not once, but on three invoices, I'm not kidding, and of course, labor at $240 an hour.

Cummins reminds me of the old Harleys before, I believe, 1986, where Harley freaks loved to tell you their engine would last over 100K miles. Never mentioning if they could even start the junk, oil leaks running their driveways, torn leg muscles from the kick-starter back snapping on you, and everything else wrong with them. But, they sounded nice.

 

[Boat Bum]

'83 Lowrider purchased new

If I have to explain, you wouldn't understand.