Moving On From a Diesel Motorhome Back to Gas

[Underboss]

Thinking that the class c will make you happy because you are no longer putting money into your aging dp is silly. Especially since you have yet to drive one. In comparison, they are a white knuckle drive. Also you did not or I have not read what dp, year, model you currently have.
So many factors like thinking you could go to any Ford dealer if you have an issue is not well thought out. Many Ford dealers will not touch them so you will need a Ford dealer that works on bigger vehicles. I had to do an 80 mile round trip to get to a Ford dealer to have a recall handled as the local, huge Ford dealer does not touch them. Guess who's hourly rate was higher. I was fortunate as it was a recall but I noted the hourly rates at the time.
Having mentioned that I bought a C gasser for 6 months, I will say it had a full Morryde suspension and handled well. Not many Cs will handle well without spending big bucks on suspension upgrades.
Even if your DP was entry level, the handling will shock you. So look before you leap.
As for Harleys, my current bikes are 12 and 24 years old and still not a drop of oil. I suppose I would rather push a Harley then ride a Yamaha. BTW I did have a Yamaha street bike at 16 and it was problematic.
I suggest test driving a C model for at least 30 miles on highways, during the week when there is a lot of truck traffic. Then really researching where your Ford dealer is that will service it and checking their reviews.

 

[TR25]

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.

I'd not look at ford/IH diesels after the original PS was replaced.
Duramax...there might be a good year in there somewhere, IIRC there was one year.
I think [dodge] cummins escaped until emissions invaded in 2008 and proceeded the suffocation and eradication of diesels in light trucks.

If I were to start again, I'd get an older gm/ford and put a 12valve cummins and drivetrain in it. Could probably do the whole thing for 20-25 grand and have more of a vehicle than anything 3-4x the price nowadays.

 

[TR25]

Gas engines have gotten pretty powerful. I know a lot of guys who've switched from diesel to gas for their trucks because they'll do the job without all the emissions nonsense.

CAFE mandates/rules/laws are the main driver behind the failing drivetrains in gassers. They have to make them lighter for mileage laws, then also pass the new and ever more strict emission laws....while at the same time, trying to give the purchasers what they are looking for--reliable motors with good power when needed.

So they are becoming costly, terribly complex, and prone to failures as that means lighter/smaller motors trying to perform like the larger, cast iron motors before the laws were put in place to extinct them.

Soon the only places that will be able to service your faulty, tempermental and failure prone gassers will be at the OEM dealerships.

So many good reasons to buy older vehicles....

 

[TR25]

Many class "C"s have the plumbing and tanks outside and exposed. Heating pads are near worthless and require constant power. For some the walls and windows are not well insulated and when the interior is heated the walls and windows will sweat.

Great point. Warm, moister air, when meeting colder air, the moisture in it will condense. When I get an older RV, I remove most if not all of the inside walls and replace that whispy fiberglass insulation with foam board, siliconed in place. Then I run a bead around the perimeter.

When I put the inside back together, it's 1/4" birch plywood with a kilz primer. This primer (along w/a quality latex paint) can suffice as a vapor barrier itself, so with the foam board and silicone, it gets pretty air tight snug inside.

This is also a reason why I prefer older RVs---the alum siding. I can replace the interior walls like that easy peasy and make it better. Any water damage, it's only on the wood framing and that can be dealt with by painting on waterproofing/fortifiers...and if need be, sistering another framing member by it.

All of that can be done from the inside. The outside siding, the alum, doesn't need to be touched. Newer, 'slab sided' RVs...they just fail into very costly repairs that others, shops have to address...and are very heavy.

Yeah, older vehicles, older RVs. Many good things about them.

 

[TR25]

"Those damn diesels each take 20 quarts of oil." The boat nearly bankrupted him. Boy, did he have a hard time selling it.

lol, he didn't know that going in? A lot of people buy things and don't consider much about it in depth, especially if they have a fair amount of money/credit.

I've had a handful of early dodge diesels and my 'maintenance' consisted of changing the oil and air filter. Every 2-3 oil changes I'd also change the fuel filter. That's it. Oh, and it was all doable, reachable from leaning in or if need be, getting underneath but still an easy reach.

 

[TR25]

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.

Velocity is a chain/franchise, judging from a quick net search. I used to take my dodge p/u trucks to a larger commercial facility that did commercial trucks (and RVs). I knew the people there knew how to work on these motors. Always had good service from them and quite fair pricing. And they liked working on my 5.9 p/u truck as everything was smaller and good change of pace for them I was told.

Of course, with the newer diesels, I'm sure that's changed as it's a cluster jumblemess of plastic parts and covers in a pile under the hood. Ease of access was never considered in the 'ease/lower cost of manufacturing' calculations by the manufacturer.

I never got into harleys.....I could never afford their cigarette lighters or picture frames.....

 

[Boat Bum]

I never got into harleys.....I could never afford their cigarette lighters or picture frames.....

I hear ya, I eschew anything Harley branded, except my bike.

 

[Rosy]

CAFE mandates/rules/laws are the main driver behind the failing drivetrains in gassers. They have to make them lighter for mileage laws, then also pass the new and ever more strict emission laws....while at the same time, trying to give the purchasers what they are looking for--reliable motors with good power when needed.

So they are becoming costly, terribly complex, and prone to failures as that means lighter/smaller motors trying to perform like the larger, cast iron motors before the laws were put in place to extinct them.

Soon the only places that will be able to service your faulty, tempermental and failure prone gassers will be at the OEM dealerships.

So many good reasons to buy older vehicles....

The only ones I know of that are particularly complex are the 6.4 Hemis, which have cylinder deactivation.

This is from my perspective of the pickup truck world as I don't know much about motorhomes.

 

[Vint]

I had two Kawasaki's, a 76 Z1 900 and 77 KZ900. I'm on the right.

View attachment 32339

I had a 1974 900Z1B, the second year of the iconic industry-changing Kawasaki 900s. After a couple of years, I had the 4-in-1 exhaust swapped out for two-in-one open headers. I had to have the carbs re-jetted with the headers, so I took it to a Dyno Shop, had them jet in on the Dynometer, and upped the horsepower from 80 stock to 101. In the late 70s Suzuki came out with their 1000cc bike. It soon became the new king of the road. One day, coming home from work, sitting at a red light on a newly paved expressway, a new 1000 Suzuki pulls up next to me. Guy gives me a nod, tells me nice bike, I reply the same. The light changed, and after a roll-on start, we both nailed it simultaneously. Power shifting without the clutch, I beat his butt by two bike lengths after about a half mile. I hit 138 mph according to my speedo.

Around 2000, I bought from a co-worker's husband a 1977 LTD 1000 with 1900 miles on it. He even gave me the original build certificate from Kawasaki, with the build number and signed by the factory guys! I loved that bike, sold it a couple of years ago when I wasn't riding it anymore, and my wife wouldn't get on it either.

 

[Boat Bum]

I had Jardine 4in1 headers and I would take the baffle out and scream through the Sumner tunnel into Boston, the sound was earth shattering; I was young...

 

[Vint]

Underboss, sorry, I thought I had my 2014 Sportscoach Cross Country 360DL in my signature. Rated at 300 HP and 660 lb-ft of torque when new, I had the local Cummins shop update the 6.7L engine to 360 HP and 800 lb-ft of torque, all for $351, on the Freightliner XL chassis.

Before this rig I had two gas motorhomes, a 32' Tiffin, and a 34.5 Georgetown, both on the Ford F53 chassis. I don't care what forum you go on, but you'll find many threads where new gas motorhome owners will B..tch and complain about the handling of the Ford chassis. Some will spend $20K plus to add Liquid Springs to their setup, trying to get the bread-truck motorhome to drive like the wife's Lexus. By just adding a Roadmaster steering stabilizer to my rigs, I thought they drove as they should have. And, anyone who has experience driving Ford trucks, especially commercial vehicles, will realize the F53 MH drives the same. So I'm not totally going into a class C blind on what to expect. I know the drive and the ride will not match a diesel MH.

Just like all three of my MH's, I'll do my own oil changes. For any other engine or chassis work, I would take it to the same heavy-duty truck shop I took my gas Georgetown to, which also gave me great service on my DP.

Although, as I previously posted, I have not even driven a Class C, I've been RV'ing for over 18 years. When I bought my first Tiffin MH, I had never driven one before either. When I was ready to leave the guy's house from whom I bought it, the guy said to me, "One last question, am I going to back the RV out of my driveway, or are you?" I let him back it out, drove 20 miles home with it, and backed it perfectly into my driveway. However, I did have to call "Carl" up and ask how the heck do I plug it in, and where is the power cord, lol.