mercedes or gas?pros and cons

tom311 wrote:
as I divide 3.00 gas by 11 mpg I get 27 cents per mile.as I do same for diesel at 3.60 at 17 mpg I get 21cents a mile.i admit I figured a little wrong at first but is it justified at end of 1000 miles to only be 60.00 more for gas and pay premium for diesel class c??oil changes,finding service anywhere,etc. as for size we would be 24 foot size.

My two finalists were the Lazy Daze 24 and the Winnebago 24J based on Sprinter. I saw the Sprinter as having better fuel economy, better handling, and more nimble on tight roads and campsites. I saw the solid Lazy Daze as being locally built with factory warranty service and likely better paid service after warranty expired. I saw the Ford as having better service opportunities in remote areas and likely cheaper to maintain. It also had somewhat bigger tanks and appliances. I drive it 5,000 miles per year.

It is all a compromise, but those were my thought processes when buying 24'-Lazy Daze 24' Front Lounge on E450.

Never having owned or driven a diesel powered RV, I shouldn't comment but I think that "prestige" plays a part in choice of RV power plants for many. The "clackety" sound and the smell of diesel powered vehicles, especially front-mounted ones, and owners leaving them running, has been a turnoff for me.

Ditto what midnightsadie and badbob1 said. Its not just the engine, its the chassis. And you don't need cheap handling fixes or steering stabilizers. Our sprinter has even gone down 5 mile long 6% grades at 65 mph without touching the brakes while on cruise control (it did go up to 68 but came back down).

its all in the size of the rv you want ,some like em, huge others small our 25ft LTV is great, and out milage the V 6 , drive them all, and make up your own choice.

I make it a point to chat with MB Class C owners whenever we are traveling. Have spoken with more than a dozen over the last year. They are always as amazed as I am at the exaggerated mileage claims floating around out there. Every one I have spoken with says 16/17 is doable but 13 to 15 is more of a real world number, above that... not so much. Also every one I have spoken with say they are great engines, most absolutely love their rigs but when it comes to towing.... again, not so much.

I agree that you will recoup some of the initial investment (and that is a very big number), on resale but significant savings from increased mileage just is not in the equation unless you are putting on far more miles than most folks. There is good and bad to be found in any rig. The MB's give better mileage but give up power and payload when compared to the big V-8's/V-10's. You just aren't going to get both in any rig.

As always.... Opinions and YMMV.

:C

if go MB we like the Winnebago IV Q

I was struggling with the same choice earlier this year. I had made up my mind that gas was the way to go. Love my Chevy truck with the 8.1 and thought why spend the money on the MB. Test drover several ford v-10 and was happy with them. Then I drove a new Solera 24R with the MB and never looked back. Love the way it drives and handles, most of all love the room up front and ease of gtting to the back. Very happy with our choice and wanted the smaller unit. Like I said if I had not driven the MB I would be driving the Ford V-10. Glad I took the MB for the test drive, for us it is worth the extra money.
Good Luck
BadBob

OK we own a 5cyc MB and it is in a 2007 leisure travel van , just two of us, and we,ve spent over one month in the same spot camping ,fishing in arizona , yep were still married, ours is on the 3500 series chasis duel wheels ,gets just over 20 mpg ,seen 24mpg , why, diesel over gas, we like the quality of the engine, has 31k on it, just one minor problem. yep it cost a little more but IF i, ever sell it,ll come back. after all if the MB engine is good enough for FED X trucks , it,ll last me forever, my fed fed x guy says his truck has over 300k on it, same engine I have.and I love passing fivers going up the mountains.

as I divide 3.00 gas by 11 mpg I get 27 cents per mile.as I do same for diesel at 3.60 at 17 mpg I get 21cents a mile.i admit I figured a little wrong at first but is it justified at end of 1000 miles to only be 60.00 more for gas and pay premium for diesel class c??oil changes,finding service anywhere,etc. as for size we would be 24 foot size.

tom311 wrote:
as I figure it,if you get 11 with gas and 17 with diesel and then pay 60 cents more for diesel its pretty much a wash.so why would you pay 20,000 more for a Mercedes diesel class c? especially if you don't tow anything.???want to make right decision so your input is appreciated.

Your just scratching the surface with questionable numbers. Do you want a smaller more nimble RV? Do you want something very roomy with big tanks and elbow room? Do you like the work of certain builders (coach quality is important)? How many miles are you planning to use it per year? On and on. All this stuff is expensive, all takes a depreciation hit. Fuel cost is a consideration, it is the second highest cost associated with new RV in most cases.

I could easily recommend a Sprinter based RV or a Ford or Chev based RV. Depending.