real world mileage, diesel vs gas

Finding a newer than '10 DP with no slides is not gonna happen. Look for around a 2000 year model holiday rambler endeavor. This is an extremely nice coach at an affordable price. The 5.9 cummins is awesome and will leave you wondering why you struggled with the POS P-30 and gutless 454. The air ride is awesome. Air brakes are awesome. Jake brake, awesome. Allison 6 speed, awesome. There are literally no downsides. Having a slide is really nice too. Mine has a 13'6" slide in the living room that makes it extremely roomy.

glamisorbust wrote:
I have a '99 HR endeavor 38' DP with the 5.9 cummins 275hp. I get 7.5mpg in the heavy duty mountains of northern AZ pulling a 2006 honda CRV. On flat ground pulling the same CRV I get about 9.5mpg. Pulling my 26' flatbed loaded up with sandrail, several ATV's, fuel, firewood, extra tires, etc. I get about 9.5 also. This is in the 62 MPH range. Extremely happy with the DP.

I had a 1994 Georgie Boy on the P30 chevy chassis. What a POS. Brakes sucked, power sucked, and the best it ever got was about 6mpg. Wouldn't pull my trailer faster than 60mph. It's a thing of the past.

We have a "99 35' (34H) 4 Winds/Thor on a P-30 chassis... totally under sprung for the weight so added an extra leaf spring in back and larger front coils to get coach back level, but the 454 struggles and gets 6 mpg downhill with a tail wind.
If I could find a '10 or newer DP with the same floor plan and NO slides I would buy it.

I have a '99 HR endeavor 38' DP with the 5.9 cummins 275hp. I get 7.5mpg in the heavy duty mountains of northern AZ pulling a 2006 honda CRV. On flat ground pulling the same CRV I get about 9.5mpg. Pulling my 26' flatbed loaded up with sandrail, several ATV's, fuel, firewood, extra tires, etc. I get about 9.5 also. This is in the 62 MPH range. Extremely happy with the DP.

I had a 1994 Georgie Boy on the P30 chevy chassis. What a POS. Brakes sucked, power sucked, and the best it ever got was about 6mpg. Wouldn't pull my trailer faster than 60mph. It's a thing of the past.

its all relative - and god knows you cant take it w/ you thats for sure !

I tell people GO, while you can (don't wait for retirement....cause theres no guarantee that anyone will make it TO retirement)....go now while you're still working & can "afford" it.

I dunno, MPG can be important with an RV. Many folks tend to ignore it, but seriously, it really can add up - especially if you like to go on serious adventures all over the country.

What we did was bought a Class A bounder for closer/local trips when gas is high. Then we use the C Toyota (4 cylinder) to travel the whole country. When gas is low, they switch. :)

34 ft gasser, 7 mpg with the 460 Ford engine.
Safari 38 ft DP, about 7 mpg. 300 hp Cat.

chadk66 wrote:
repairs isn't a concern to me. I can do all that myself. Sounds like a no brainer. I'm pretty sure I can get a 5.9 cummins to do 12 mpg. Be fun to try it. I overhauled my kids 5.9 in his 2000 dodge. did some other things to it and chipped it. gets 22-23 going down the highway. 16 pulling his 34' toy hauler. I'd be at a loss for words if I can't get an RV to do 12.

The arithmetic is if you drive 5000 miles a year, the savings between 8 and 12(which you will never get) is $800. Big deal.

You say you can work on it but on the side of the road when it quits, what do you do?

I'm not saying picking sides but based on my experience diesel will cost you more in the long run, just differently than gas.

An example. I fought brake issues with my gas coaches. DP brakes will last 100K miles or more.

Turbo, check engine lights on a DP ARE PRICEY.

If you are worried about mileage , don't buy a Motorhome. Diesels produce more torque than gas . You can figure out HO produced from a gallon of diesel with this formula .450 to .325 (lbs/bhp/hr.)but you must factor in when you use full HP , 1/2 hp or none, like coasting down the mountain. Figure between 6 and 8.5 MPG for a 350 hp engine depending on tailwind, if you are going east out of Amarillo, west out of OKC or N out of Albuquerque. You mileage may variy. My Peterbilt averaged 6.8 MPG rated at 500 HP for 420,000 miles including mountains plains and idling in hot and cold weather.
SCOFF SCOFF 12MPG Bul)&^%$ Come to VA and hook on my trailer, GWT 10,500 and go from Va to Pittsburg and back and if you get over 10 MPG, I'll buy the fuel and the steak. No one has ever taken me up on that challenge yet

chadk66 wrote:
my big concern is how bad is the gasser going to pull down on the hills. you being from wy will know I'm sure.

I'm retired and in no hurry so my gasser is fine. Every where I go is down hill from here. Coming back home is slow. :B

chadk66 wrote:
repairs isn't a concern to me. I can do all that myself. Sounds like a no brainer. I'm pretty sure I can get a 5.9 cummins to do 12 mpg. Be fun to try it. I overhauled my kids 5.9 in his 2000 dodge. did some other things to it and chipped it. gets 22-23 going down the highway. 16 pulling his 34' toy hauler. I'd be at a loss for words if I can't get an RV to do 12.

Good fuel mileage is mostly due to weight. Do you know how many engineer's try to tweek engines to produce more miles per gallon?

If you have that special secret, you will be rolling in the dough!

Our 40,000 lb. 425 hp, 1200 lb. ft. of torque, Cummins gave us about 7.8 average (driving at 60 mph).

Our 54,000 lb. 500 hp, 1,750 lb. ft. of torque, Volvo is giving us about 6.6 mpg (driving at 60 mph).

Both motorhomes we are towing a 3,400 lb. Honda CR-V.

MM.