diesel class c

klutchdust wrote:

DouglasC wrote:
Everyone seems to like the fuel economy and perhaps quietness (depends on what models one is comparing) of a diesel but what about the initial cost? Every diesel based Class C (eg. Winnebago View or Fuse) is $30 to $40 thousand more than a comparable Ford E350/E450 based motorhome. You can certainly buy a lot of gas for that price difference. Not everyone wants to pay over $100,000 for a motorhome. That's why Ford still sells many thousands of the E350/E450 cutaway chassis to the RV industry each year.

AND, as soon as you mention Mercedes Benz in a parts store or repair shop their eyes light up.
Been there, done that with MB autos.Loved my 300D though
.
My thoughts point mainly to this. If you need service as you venture across the fruited plain, your chances of getting a Ford V-10 repaired and down the road far exceeds your chances of having your MB repaired.

For the sake of fuel consumption and the initial cost, do the math. Love my Duramax in my pick up though.

AND be sure and be putting some fuel lubricity additives in your tank if you are using Diesel. With the sulphur content being lowered and now the added DEF fluid, injectors are not lasting as long as they once were. My local small diesel engine man in town has lots of trucks waiting for such items. On the Duramax ,it's 3K for 8 new injectors.

Just wanted to point out that your last paragraph sounds like DEF is part of the combustion process which it is not. DEF is part of the exhaust system and not the engine which would not effect the injectors. And, new/newer diesel engines are geared/designed for ULSD (Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel). Most engine manufacturers say to NOT add anything to the fuel.

Safe travels,
MM.

FunTwoDrv wrote:
OP...When discussing this topic with Sprinter owners, a few subjects seem to come up quite often; Fuel mileage.........

Gary

I’ve had that talk with several Sprinter owners myself. The tone usually changes when you point out how much the engine that gets you such fantastic mileage costs you in the first place.

As with pickups, very, very few people ever keep / drive them enough to get anywhere near getting their purchase price back let lone saving any money.

As an example, at $2.50 / gallon for both gasoline and diesel, a gas RV getting 9 mpg will cost ~$0.28 / mile, a diesel RV getting 20 mpg will cost ~$0.13 / mile. A savings of $0.15 / mile, or about $375 on a 2,500 mile trip.

If the Diesel engine cost only $20,000 you would need to drive 135,000 miles to begin to save anything.

AJR wrote:
If you do not like the sound of a V10 in a class C. Get one with a Chevy chassis. Just my two cents….

Well ... the Ford V10 sound is certainly closer to the sound of a Ferrari V12 than the Chevy V8 sound is. :)

A Ford V10 idles ultra quiet and smooth ... being just about vibration-free as felt on the coach floor. We sometimes idle our RV's V10 for an hour or so here and there in noise sensitive camping areas so as to partially recharge the coach batteries at high boost current rates from our stock Ford 130 amp alternator.

If you do not like the sound of a V10 in a class C. Get one with a Chevy chassis. Just my two cents….

klutchdust wrote:

DouglasC wrote:
Everyone seems to like the fuel economy and perhaps quietness (depends on what models one is comparing) of a diesel but what about the initial cost? Every diesel based Class C (eg. Winnebago View or Fuse) is $30 to $40 thousand more than a comparable Ford E350/E450 based motorhome. You can certainly buy a lot of gas for that price difference. Not everyone wants to pay over $100,000 for a motorhome. That's why Ford still sells many thousands of the E350/E450 cutaway chassis to the RV industry each year.

AND, as soon as you mention Mercedes Benz in a parts store or repair shop their eyes light up.
Been there, done that with MB autos.Loved my 300D though
.
My thoughts point mainly to this. If you need service as you venture across the fruited plain, your chances of getting a Ford V-10 repaired and down the road far exceeds your chances of having your MB repaired.

For the sake of fuel consumption and the initial cost, do the math. Love my Duramax in my pick up though.

AND be sure and be putting some fuel lubricity additives in your tank if you are using Diesel. With the sulphur content being lowered and now the added DEF fluid, injectors are not lasting as long as they once were. My local small diesel engine man in town has lots of trucks waiting for such items. On the Duramax ,it's 3K for 8 new injectors.

and remember if that $30/40 K is being financed, the cost is really more like $40-50K.
bumpy

DouglasC wrote:
Everyone seems to like the fuel economy and perhaps quietness (depends on what models one is comparing) of a diesel but what about the initial cost? Every diesel based Class C (eg. Winnebago View or Fuse) is $30 to $40 thousand more than a comparable Ford E350/E450 based motorhome. You can certainly buy a lot of gas for that price difference. Not everyone wants to pay over $100,000 for a motorhome. That's why Ford still sells many thousands of the E350/E450 cutaway chassis to the RV industry each year.

AND, as soon as you mention Mercedes Benz in a parts store or repair shop their eyes light up.
Been there, done that with MB autos.Loved my 300D though
.
My thoughts point mainly to this. If you need service as you venture across the fruited plain, your chances of getting a Ford V-10 repaired and down the road far exceeds your chances of having your MB repaired.

For the sake of fuel consumption and the initial cost, do the math. Love my Duramax in my pick up though.

AND be sure and be putting some fuel lubricity additives in your tank if you are using Diesel. With the sulphur content being lowered and now the added DEF fluid which also has an injector and is subject to failure, fuel injectors are not lasting as long as they once were. My local small diesel engine man in town has lots of trucks waiting for such items. On the Duramax ,it's 3K for 8 new injectors.

OP...When discussing this topic with Sprinter owners, a few subjects seem to come up quite often; Fuel mileage, storage capacity and towing capacity. Familiarize yourself with these as it relates to your travel expectations and you'll probably be quite comfortable with your decision.

Gary

I have a Ford 2003 E450 Class C Diesel. Its a Winnebago Minnie 24.5 ft with 7.3 PSD
Very rare Class C. Its in pretty good shape, not showing to much age. it has a
Gearjammer Under/Over Drive setup. Propane Genset. Mechanically have not really had any problems. 7.3 PSD has a great rep its only knock is that it's old tech, but it runs strong!!! Have upgraded to a 4" exhaust,installed an engine cover sound deadener and rearranged the engine and house batteries.
Moved 2nd start battery to step and went with one 12v marine eliminated the 2 6v gc batteries. Do most of the regular maintainence myself oil( 15qts oil & filter ) and brakes. There is a lot of talk about fuel mileage I get around 10 mpg towing a Subaru Legacy, get over 400miles on range. All in all very much Satisfied...

Bought the interior layout that we thought was best for us.
Murphy Bed with no slides and less than 23 foot.
It happened to be on a MB 3.0 turbo diesel.
Couldn't be happier with the whole package.
Know that oil changes cost more and when something breaks it will be expensive.
I can live with the extra expenses with such a great running vehicle.
16.5 MPG was a bonus.

davelinde wrote:
I makes me wonder how the my huge profile, really heavy 2001 Volvo did so well and a recent smaller vehicle is so much worse.

Two reasons, one is the diesel being inherently more efficient due to significantly more btus in a gallon of fuel, and the second is that these "full C" motorhomes have nearly the same profile as your Volvo setup- most are pushing 11' high and 8 1/2' wide. So you are pushing almost the same amount of wind, which matters as much as or more so than weight.