Am I making a mistake in only looking at Diesels

RedRocket204 wrote:

Grit dog wrote:
Huh?
Uber/taxi/camping?
Not usually 3 words used in the same sentence....

I agree that it's not for me but remember, Grit dog's world does not equal all. There are RV'rs who only stay in RV parks near populated areas.

Not my idea of RV'ing but who am I to tell someone what they should or shouldn't like?

I concur w you. All different types of RVers, but first, OP talks about traversing the country. All of it. One will be a red pressed to get an uber, taxi, rental etc except is metro and large suburban areas. It makes sense in very limited circumstances only, whereas a toad is always there whether you're in Brooklyn or 100mi from the nearest town.

We rented RV's in 2004, 2005 an 2006 as we didn't have a tow vehicle that was set up.

It was a big pain in the beee-hind getting rental as they could not pick us up (yes, Enterprise couldn't). There were no rentals in Sedona, AZ, unless you flew into the airport (could be different now).

In Sedona, we did find a 'used car rental company' that worked out fine. But, you have have to get there. A couple of cities in those years didn't even have a rental car company to rent from (Guernville, CA comes to mind).

Nothing like having your own toad when needed. We have been known to travel across the country and never even unhooked it.

Safe travels,
MM.

Grit dog wrote:
Huh?
Uber/taxi/camping?
Not usually 3 words used in the same sentence....

I agree that it's not for me but remember, Grit dog's world does not equal all. There are RV'rs who only stay in RV parks near populated areas.

Not my idea of RV'ing but who am I to tell someone what they should or shouldn't like?

Not much for diesel Cs. Super Cs yes.
250k is respectable in a DD pickup gasser. 250k in a loaded gasser Moho dragging an anchor is not as likely.
Lots of miles and or towing diesel wins. The opposite, gas wins imo.

RedRocket204 wrote:

CountryB wrote:

ScottG wrote:
Are you going to tow a car behind if?
If so then go diesel.

I think I will need to tow when my RV adventures become longer than week at a time.

A 30 or 35ft Class C is probably too big for grocery shopping or visiting the local sights.

I'm thinking I would park at the RV site, then use a small car or jeep for local driving.

I would have a toad also as breaking down camp to go sight seeing or on a grocery/beer run would get old. However, you could always uber/taxi.

Huh?
Uber/taxi/camping?
Not usually 3 words used in the same sentence....

Mr. CountryB,

My brother and his wife had a 2014 Tiffin Allegro RED (Rear Engine Diesel) with four slides. Nice coach but in that price range you will get a rear radiator (no biggie, just keep it clean). They moved up to a 2015 Tiffin Allegro Bus (side radiator), both coaches with four slides.

Tiffin also makes the Allegro Open Road (gas model), but with four slides, you could get close to max weight. I follow a thread 'www.rvlove.com'. They have an Allegro Open Road gasser and full time in it. Good blog. They added Sumo springs to get a better ride.

The plus with diesel coaches is that you have an air bag suspension and air brakes. Coming down a mountain or long grade using a jake brake is a life-saver. Our current has a retarder which is a little stronger than a jake and has six settings. But, we weigh 55,000+ lbs. and it is needed.

Once you look at the upper end coaches, life will never be the same. Remember, happy wife, happy life! LOL!

Safe travels,
MM.

As long as the tow ratings are sufficient for the TOAD you plan on, either should be fine. If you are planning to pull a big TOAD with big MH, it may exceed the tow ratings of the gas engine, then the answer is obvious.

If you will spend a lot of time in the mountains, a case can be made for diesel as the turbo keeps the power up at altitude and an engine brake is nice for coming downhill. But if it's just an occasional trip at higher altitude the V10 will do fine.

Given your mechanical history (and assuming you would do much of your own work) if price was similar, I would lean diesel as much of the costs could be addressed by you doing your own work but if there is a big cost difference, I would go with the lower cost option.

As far as life expectancy, there is no reason a well maintained engine (gas or diesel) won't last 250k miles. By that time, the body, suspension and rest of the unit is probably junk and not worth fixing. Assuming you stick to something like 12-15k miles per year, that's a long time. Most MH's die from lack of use not overuse.

darsben1 wrote:
I think you are young enough that the higher cost of the diesel will be okay. If you were late 60's then I would go with a gasser.

I don't follow your thoughts on this - I assume you are saying that as income shrinks (later in age) a gasser would be more affordable. But the Diesel generally gets better gas mileage. But maybe not better by enough to warrant the additional cost. Or maybe you mean being younger, I have more time to amortize the additional cost of the diesel.

Are you thinking pre DEF rig? I would think that. You know diesels so you are a leg up on that part.

No, I'm looking at 2010 and up, so it will have the DEF, SCR, and whatever else the EPA makes them install.

You are theoretically safer power train wise buying a used diesel. 100,000 miles on a good Cummins diesel Vs 100,000 miles on a gasser.

The "big semis" diesels will go 500,000 before an in-chassis overhaul is needed. But the gas engines would only get around 250,000 before they were totally wasted. Of course the applications are a little different (i.e. over-the-road semi versus city driven utility truck or bus).

When I was fleet manager for city, we needed to buy some replacement buses (small 20 passenger Turtle Top buses) they had the option of diesel or gas. I wanted diesel, but the sales guy convinced me to go with gas because "GM was still figuring out what to do with their diesel emissions (DEF was just coming out)", so we bought the gas. They didn't last 100,000 miles. Some of the engines failed during the warranty. These were GM chassis/engines.
A few years later we bought some diesel buses (same size) and those easily hit 200,000 with very few problems. The diesel buses were still running when I retired. So that's why I'm weary of going gas. but maybe the technology (and build quality) has improved.

But if you do not plan to keep the rig long then GASSER wins

I always buy with the intent of keeping it forever. Even if it doesn't turn out that way - that's just the way I think.

It should be about the floor plan and the features you want on the rig more than the engine that gets you there.
Now that is clear as mud ain't it

Agreed - that's where I'm at now. Features and Floor plan first, then engine type.

rockhillmanor wrote:
You will end up only having your manufacturer/dealership to turn to for repairs and leaving your MH for days if not weeks for repairs.

Not true in most places.

Pretty much any shop that services diesel semi-trucks will also be able to do a diesel MH.

Time required to actually do needed repairs might vary wildly......but that is true of a gas model too.

Ha...same thing is happening to us. We stepped foot in the Tiffin's and are now rethinking our whole plan.

I would love to go diesel, but the options become so limited in a C.

Nice thread. Good to see one that stays on topic and is civil. Good luck with your search!