considering a diesel for small class C

[mountainsam]

After selling our 5th wheel a couple months ago my wife and I have talked about the Class C motor homes. Since we are more concerned with the travelling rather than camping we are thinking of a C in the 25 foot range with 1 slide. Several brands offer this, some with diesel and some with gas. I have driven probably 2 million miles around the country in the past 50 years, mostly with gas engines. The last 12 years I have had strictly diesel. I know the advantages of both so I don't want the typical gas vs diesel conversation. What I would like is some insght on these smaller diesels as to reliability and comfort. What stories do you have travelling in these small rvs? Possitives and negatives.

[Snowman9000]

mountainsam wrote:
Good info. Thanks for the input. Besides the Mercedes engine I believe I have seen some with a small ford diesel. Are they out there? About the Class B, everything we have looked at have been priced about the same as a high end Class C. I like the B but can't see the value there. If money were no issue it would be a nice B for sure. I will be staying in or under 80k for new and 50k if used. And to be fair, I really don't know where the Class C stops and the Class B starts.

In the official industry terms, there is no such thing as a B+. But regardless, all of the big class C companies now make B+ models. In 2017 there are going to be quite a few nice small Ford Transit diesel B+ models. Some are already on the market. They cost about like a small C, and definitely way less than a B. I predict they are going to capture a lot of the B business.

[Old_Crows]

I suggest comparing the cabs of th "'merican" chassis cabs and the Sprinter. Today's Ford & Chebby cabs are little changed overmy CiL's '70s Chevy cabbed Coachman Leprechaun. You will appreciate the Sprinter's comfort, roominess, HVAC and quietness. They are also efficient and have plenty of performance.

[mountainsam]

Good info. Thanks for the input. Besides the Mercedes engine I believe I have seen some with a small ford diesel. Are they out there? About the Class B, everything we have looked at have been priced about the same as a high end Class C. I like the B but can't see the value there. If money were no issue it would be a nice B for sure. I will be staying in or under 80k for new and 50k if used. And to be fair, I really don't know where the Class C stops and the Class B starts.

[Gonzo42]

We have had only two failures with ours. First was a glow plug, second was an EGR valve. Neither terminated our trip, but the second one had us limping home. Only after that was I informed that if I had shut down the engine it probably would have reset the valve, but I was afraid to turn it off.

Both issues co$t a few hundred dollars at the mechanic.

Other than that there are the usual little maintenance items common to any RV. This is our first RV and we have no plans to sell.

[pnichols]

JaxDad wrote:
I've got an 'old school' 24' class C on a Ford chassis, a buddy has a 24' on Sprinter chassis.

To me, the M-B chassis just feels waaaay smaller than the North American units do.

I don't see any savings with those diesels either, the huge price premium eats up any mileage savings.

X2. I agree 110%.

I really hate to see the Ford E350/E450 and Chevy 3500/4500 cutaway chassis fall away in the U.S. Class C world. It's almost as if the change is being kindof forced upon us. I don't buy the "diesel is superior" or "gas mileage reigns supreme" arguments as the reasons/excuses, either. IMHO, it's primarily a profitability issue with manufacturers wanting one "world vehicle" line of trucks to manufacture no matter where they're shipped ... hence diesel engines and generally reduced capacity/smaller cutaway Class C chassis models becoming the norm to build on here in the U.S..

We love the rugged, stable, powerful, and well-behaved handling that the Ford E450 provides under our 24 foot Class C. We've climbed as high as 11,300 feet with it and it's V10 power pulls our weight at speed easily. It's wide rear wheel dully stance holds it rock solid in strong cross-winds and curves. Our particular rig's design even has excellent chassis component and coach structure ground clearance for when we take it off-highway rockhounding.

[Eugarps]

MountainSam,

Advice given to me: "If you tour more than you camp, get a Class B. If you camp more than you tour, get a Class C." For my travel style of moving at least every 2-3 days, traveling solo, and boondocking extensively, a Class B makes or even a truck camper more sense.

JMHO, and certainly your mileage may vary,

Bill

[theoldwizard1]

With these smaller engines, try to stick with a smaller, lighter motorhome.

[wendyly]

I have a 24' C on a sprinter chassis. Mine has 2 slides, one for the dinette, and one in the rear for the bed.

Pros: great gas mileage...we get about 16mph which drops to about 12 when we tow our jeep. Because of the size, I haven't yet met a campsite I can't access, and stopping at a grocery store is easy, because I don't need a lot of room. So far our only issued with reliability was having the Nox sensors go bad this summer on our first day of a trip to Yellowstone, but fortunately Mercedes of Boise was able to fix it it and we were on the road by evening. The power is a huge plus for us, because we often travel up and down mountain roads. because the have the rear slide, we have an almost walk around queen bed, and that slide extends our length to nearly 28 feet.

Cons: space is at a premium. We actually have a good amount of outside storage, but inside storage is tight. I would give my right arm for a little more kitchen space, and the bathroom is super tight. The dinette is our only seating, and I wish I had the sofa instead. If we want to watch a movie, we have to make the dinette down or one of us had to end up with neck strain from the angle.

All in all we are happy with our choice. It is perfect for us now, and we only suffer with the space when we bring along a couple of the teenagers, but that is pretty rare. I think we could even adapt it for full time living by removing the mattress from the overhead bunk and putting some storage bins up there. We even take one of our cats along, and he has plenty of space.

[JaxDad]

I've got an 'old school' 24' class C on a Ford chassis, a buddy has a 24' on Sprinter chassis.

To me, the M-B chassis just feels waaaay smaller than the North American units do.

I don't see any savings with those diesels either, the huge price premium eats up any mileage savings.

[midnightsadie]

ours a LTV with the I 5 MB engine is great we get a little better mpg than the newer ones .just the two of us and we travel to AZ and back yearly. have stayed in the hills for months at a time, and its been great , we had a big class A and found you really don,t need all the space. the engine has been no problem,it did have a filter on the blower go bad, but never stopped the rv. p.s I like 20 mpg.and it,ll run 65mph or better with no hic,cups.bad winds slow you a bit but you got that in any rig.