Gas vs diesels

Kayteg1 wrote:

DrewE wrote:
For the vast majority of motorhomes, the relative longevity of the engine is irrelevant. ..

Maybe for you, but picture average Joe who buys nice and clean few years old gasser, that he uses for 3 years, keeping it in pristine condition.
Than at over 200,000 miles he wants to sell it and move to newer one.
What kind of pricing can he expect for his pristine motorhome?
All that after paying the heavy penalties in the past years at gas pumps.

So we have a gas motorhome that's maybe 8 years old and has 200,000 miles on it? The only way I can see that being even remotely likely is if the first owner was a rental company. It averages out to 25,000 miles per year over the RV's lifetime, two or three laps around the US every year. That's a lot of travel, a lot more than typical RVs go through.

If one is an entertainer or other traveling professional who uses the RV for travel and housing, then certainly the longevity of the powertrain may be a valid consideration. For leisure use, even full-timing with no fixed abode, I stand by my estimation that the difference between the lifespan of a gas or a diesel powertrain is irrelevant. (I also find it rather impressive that this theoretical owner of an RV with 200,000 miles on it has somehow kept it in pristine condition...that's a lot of use and general wear and tear no matter how it's figured.)

As to what effect the mileage would have on the selling price of a used motorhome independent of condition, I have a hard time saying. Certainly the lower mileage unit would command a somewhat higher price. I wouldn't guess it's a tremendous difference when compared with the overall depreciation of the motorhome. Buying vehicles with an eye towards the eventual residual value has always seemed a strange idea to me anyhow (with the obvious exception of collectible vehicles purchased as investments, rather than primarily for one's own use).