Class C purchasing help - input welcome

drick wrote:

SRockwood wrote:
Are you flat-towing the Heep, or flat-bed? Figured since you had a toyhauler already, you'd continue trailering out the toys, etc.

Is there a 27' Seneca?

We went from TH to Class C. Ended up with a 31' Coachmen. Ford V10 isn't bad at all, except on fuel. Even still, my CTD Dodge didn't get much better mileage towing the same exact TH as my V10 Excursion did, and other than revving higher, wasn't hugely different on the grades (maybe 5mph in peak speed at the steepest parts). Noise was actually lower in the V10 because CTD isn't exactly a trolling motor...

We will likely flat tow the Jeep, and to be clear we are dumping the rest of the toys, the Jeep is it moving forward.

The Seneca's I’ve found all range between 34-36'. The 27' number just represents what we have now, and my low water mark.

The reason for diesel is due to durability, wear and tear, and resale value vs. power &MPG (although my Duramax gets way better mileage than my old gas Silverado) perse.

Hope this helps clarify my thoughts and thanks for the input!

Ah, roger that. Scratch the tank idea then! :)

Reliability wise, with all the smog equipment and super-ultra-high fuel pressures a modern diesel is saddled with, I'd say the reliability is a wash between the two, and not likely to be a concern for most motorhome users unless you're talking about renting it out. After you factor in repair cost and availability of parts, the gas is ahead from a downtime and cost standpoint. I think the primary motivator for a modern diesel is in the power department, not in the reliability department. Just too many things to go wrong with a Common Rail diesel with 20k+ psi fuel pressures and injectors, DPF, EGR, urea injection and VNT turbos.

Resale value is definitely higher with a diesel, but if you buy mildly used, the hit isn't so bad. Having just bought a lightly used model, a 2011 31' Class C gas with slide is going to be in the $30-50k range, with most around the $40k mark. A 2001 31' Class C gas with slide is going to be in the $15-35k range, with most around the $25k mark. Not terrible considering the 10 year delta and the fact that most companies won't finance something older than a 2007. Hell, most anything 2007 and newer is about the same price, with a steep drop-off once it gets past the no finance zone.