Which motorhome would you have diesel pusher or gas?

[jerryseay]

If you had a choice between a 40 foot diesel pusher or the same size, gas engine, which would you choose? And why? The majority of my travels are in the state of Texas so I don’t travel a long distance. I will be towing a 2018 Honda CRV. Most of my travels will only be four or five days at a time. And does anybody have a guesstimation on Miles per gallon for a 40 foot diesel pusher?

 

[DennisT]

Well, we had a class c 32 foot and now have a 41 foot super c Newmar Superstar.

After the years of maneuvering around normal gas pumps, even in our 32 foot one with our toad behind I’ll never look back now that we use the semi pumps.

I’m sure others will chime in as well but the mileage is about the same for us - we have gone up from 8 in the class c to 9 in the super c. That is running the same speed between the two.

Diesel is much quieter as well. The gas engine up front made a lot more noise than the diesel even though it is still up front.

 

[Joe Hogan]

Regarding fuel mileage, 6-8 mpg, depending on speed and A/C or not.

 

[BGMAC]

If you had a choice between a 40 foot diesel pusher or the same size, gas engine, which would you choose? And why? The majority of my travels are in the state of Texas so I don’t travel a long distance. I will be towing a 2018 Honda CRV. Most of my travels will only be four or five days at a time. And does anybody have a guesstimation on Miles per gallon for a 40 foot diesel pusher?

I guess for me that would depend on how you plan to use it. Diesel pushers are quite, more torque, but with a much higher price tag. For me, I don’t use it as much as others on here, so I could not justify the cost. Now I have made mine quieter with additional sound insulation and it travels down the road nicely even though it does not have air suspension. It tows fine too. I tow a 2018 Nissan Rouge on a dolly with no problems. Can’t even tell it’s back there.
If my use changes I might look at a pusher.

 

[jaydee325]

I thought this video was a balanced view.

 

[RandyB]

I started with a 28' Ford chassis class A. I threw a lot of time, effort and dollars at it to improve the handling and ride. I made it better, but it was still fatiguing to drive. Sawing the wheel every time a vehicle passes is ridiculous. After switching to a 40' Freightliner chassis, I'd never go back. 7 MPG on the diesel. Diesel is more expensive to buy and maintain, but it's worth it. Add Newmar's Comfort Drive and you've got a real nice package.

Mine has the solid front axle and a single rear axle, so the next step up is to independent front suspension and a tag axle. That should be awesome.

 

[Jabber Jaw]

Here is another perspective! I chose GAS......for a number of reasons.
My coach is 38', a Newmar Canyon Star, & at the time, it was the nicest , uplevel, "Gas" coach available!
I did a significant amount of research, prior to ordering it.
The biggest reasons for going "Gas" were, initial purchase expense, at the time a comparable "Diesel" was about $56-60,000 more. Price of fuel, almost $1.00 per gallon higher for diesel. Annual maintenance expense, arguable about cost, but seemed to be about $1,200-$2,000 annually, depending on what was done. The gas coach about $200-$400.
And a significant impact was how much travel, etc, were we going to do, so at what point do I draw the line on the expenditure! Turns out, I love the travel, DW goes along to get along!

Diesel has advantages, rear engine, more torque, quieter, and handles better. And sometimes, better fuel mileage.

But, some of these differences can be improved upon, in a Gas coach!!
The biggest thing, adding Liquid Spring suspension, which will make the coach ride equal to, & in some cases better, than a comparable diesel coach, with a "SOLID FRONT AXLE & LEAF SPRINGS"! The luxury coaches, i.e., Dutch Star & above, have independent front suspension! And cost $200,000-$400,000 or more, than my lowly "gas coach"! I might add, that I've driven over 20,000 miles now with the "LS" suspension, and it has been a pleasure to drive. Adjustable settings allow for differences in road conditions, wind, etc!! Yep, it was expensive, $25,000!
BUT, adding it to the initial cost, still about $40,000-$50,000 less expensive! Figured I could do a lot of "glamping" for $50,000!
Added insulation to the "dog house" area & surrounding floor area makes it much quieter, except when climbing up to about 10,000' or so.......only had to do that a few times though!
Added an "engine tuner" which somewhat helps performance, but not fuel economy.

Summary, this worked for me, I am extremely happy with my "gas" coach, & travel all around with my "NEWMAR" friends that have "Diesel" coaches, & "Gas" coaches too! When parked, we ALL have wonderful luxurious coaches, which we enjoy, & also enjoy each other's company!

This is a perspective, of why one would own a "GAS" coach! Hope you enjoyed this little "epistle"!

And by the way, while at the Newmar International, I saw a fabulous 2024 "LONDON AIRE" that I would like to own, but my "old mizer" side, no way you're spending $760,000+

HAPPY RV'ing......Whatever You Drive!!

 

[turbopilot]

If you had a choice between a 40 foot diesel pusher or the same size, gas engine, which would you choose? And why? The majority of my travels are in the state of Texas so I don’t travel a long distance. I will be towing a 2018 Honda CRV. Most of my travels will only be four or five days at a time. And does anybody have a guesstimation on Miles per gallon for a 40 foot diesel pusher?

The answer to this question is complicated and really depends on your primary area of operation. I had a Class A until two years ago. The diesel chassis worked relatively well. Then for the last 2 years I have been pulling around a 25' Airstream with a gas hybrid F-150 PowerBoost.

I operate primarily out West where the density of quality diesel and gas stations is much lower than East of the Mississippi. Out West you have to really plan your fuel stops. My hybrid F-150 had an effective operating range of about 300 miles towing the trailer. With conservative planning that meant I need to find a gas station at about 220 miles range with approaches and turning radius suitable for pulling 47' of truck and trailer into gas pumps made for an automobile. This is a constant challenge, made worse with the lower density of stations in the West.

My new Class A should have a range of about 700 miles, but most importantly the 52' foot total length of the Class A and Toad will easily be accommodated at the truck lanes in all the major truck stops. So the Class A plus Toad provides a significantly enhanced operating envelope to find a quality locations to fill tank without the fear of finding your self jack knifed into a fuel island made for autos looking for gas.

All of this gets worse the longer your total rig size gets. So economics aside, moving around the country is generally easier with a long Class A rig with a diesel engine.

I have watched these long Class A gas rigs with a TOAD get hung up in the crowed gas islands enough times to know that is a real problem.

The good news is that both Flying J and Loves seem to be installing more RV lanes with both gas and diesel. That solves this problem. But right now the majority of locations do not have RV lanes. And out West were the density of Flying J and Loves is much lower finding one with an RV lanes is a rare pleasant surprise.

 

[Wemustrv]

If you had a choice between a 40 foot diesel pusher or the same size, gas engine, which would you choose? And why? The majority of my travels are in the state of Texas so I don’t travel a long distance. I will be towing a 2018 Honda CRV. Most of my travels will only be four or five days at a time. And does anybody have a guesstimation on Miles per gallon for a 40 foot diesel pusher?

Diesel Pusher. It is quieter in the when driving, I like it for towing our F150 SuperCrew. As for mileage we get 9 mpg when not towing and average 7.5 - 8.0 mpg while towing.

 

[Trav_lr]

Test drive each and if you can, hook up your CRV. That should help in making your decision.

 

[Jim]

I live in the mountains so I like the torque of the diesel. And I especially like the engine brake when I'm going down the other side.

 

[Texas Clodhopper]

You've gotten some good information but you're the final decision maker. You most likely know already that the 2018 Honda CR-V is only towable on a dolly.

 

[rvkev]

If you want to know from a diesel guy, I would choose the DIESEL. If Honda made a CRV (Compact Recreational Vehicle) diesel for America I would buy that too.

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On the other hand, are you towing the CRV four down?

 

[jerryseay]

If you want to know from a diesel guy, I would choose the DIESEL. If Honda made a CRV (Compact Recreational Vehicle) diesel for America I would buy that too.

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On the other hand, are you towing the CRV four down?

that's going to be the next question . that had been the plan but I have been told that the 2018 cr-v cannot be towed four down.

 

[Joe Hogan]

According to the updated 2018 CRV User manual, p457:

"Towing Your Vehicle: Your vehicle is not designed to be towed behind a motor home. If your vehicle needs to be towed in an emergency, refer to the emergency towing information.2 Emergency Towing P. 64"

https://techinfo.honda.com/rjanisis/pubs/OM/AH/ATLA1818OM/enu/ATLA1818OM.PDF

 

[rvkev]

The last CRV that you can tow four down is the 2014. On other forums, I do not recall which forum, there is conversation of leaving the motor running to tow the 2015 and up, with all four wheels on the ground. Since you are in Texas, I assume you have front wheel drive. I was NEVER a fan of four-wheel drive CRV. Generally all wheel drive is an over sell by the dealer. You may be able to tow with a pain in the neck car dolly, front wheels up?

 

[Tnedator]

My thoughts.

Not sure what chassis they are using on gas coaches, but if still the F53, it is WAY sub par to diesel pusher chassis in terms of handling on the road. There are some improvements that can be made, but not much.

As mentioned above, life is much easier in the commercial truck lanes. When I was in a 33' gasser pulling a jeep, there were several times I wound up getting blocked in, even when trying to be careful, use outside lanes, etc.

The gas engine located between you and the passenger is LOUD, with four capital letters. We used to blare the music and mostly gave up on talking unless we wanted to scream at each other.

All that said, from a cost perspective, when I looked at models (originally looking at class Cs) that had both diesel and gas versions, at that time, it was typically about a 100k mile payback before fuel savings on the diesel offset the higher cost for the same model in a gas, so for the vast majority of people, the better fuel mileage will never pay off -- certainly not buying new, unless you plan to put a LOT of miles on it. You also have to look at the fact the service will be more on the diesel, so that difference will add up over that 100k miles as well.