Diesel vs gas for Class A....also length of RV....

[sr71bbjd]

Hello!

My wife and I have been camping for 40 yrs, from tent through big travel trailer. We are now considering purchasing a used class A motorhome.

We have looked at several units and have two main questions we can use input on.

- is it worth buying a diesel and paying a premium of about $0.40-.50 per gallon? I know they have better longevity, and better torque for hills and grades, in theory....

- is there a size point of motorhome length where you start having difficulty with state parks and campground navigating? Better to hold it to 30'-34'? Is 37' a problem?

We will be up and down the east coast; from CT - New Orleans, Austin, Nashville, and plan one lengthy trip out west and back.

Any help and insights you can offer are greatly appreciated!

Jerry

[offthewall]

JnJnKatiebug wrote:

... My bad, I don't know where I got the 60mph. I don't know anyone who drives 50mph, at least not on the interstate.

I have the Cummins 330hp and tow a Jeep Wrangler 2 door everywhere we go. At 62mph it get 9mpg, at 75mph it gets 7.5mpg so I normally drive 62-65mph. On a recent trip to Florida (800 miles) I drove 62-65 all the way, which took about 2 hours longer but saved about 18 gallons of fuel or $72. We had 10 days so 2 hours made no difference to me.

Our current 34' 340HP DP seems to get better milage than the slightly larger/heavier models. I think we are soon to loose that MPG advantage with our newly ordered 2015 Newmar Ventana 40' Tag Axle 400HP DP. BUT it should be a dream to drive with the TAG + Comfort Steer - Can't wait to burn that fuel - Whoo Hoo!!!!!!

[JnJnKatiebug]

offthewall wrote:

JnJnKatiebug wrote:

offthewall wrote:

Gjac wrote:

RayChez wrote:

Gjac wrote:

offthewall wrote:

RayChez wrote:
LOL! Some of these RVer's that are saying a gasoline coach is just as good as a diesel pusher do not know what they are talking about. They should take a drive on a diesel pusher and they would never go back to a gasoline coach. Now if they do not want to spend that kind of money, that is a different story. But to say that a gasoline motorhome rides just as good is insane.

Gasoline motorhomes are OK, but not comparison to a diesel pusher. SORRY!
A gasoline engine once it starts hitting 100K it is already in the twilight of being a good engine, while a diesel is just barely getting broke in.

^^^^^ THAT

I'm with you. We've owned a 2008 gasser and now a 2010 DP. No comparison in ride or pulling power. We now have our second DP on order (2015 Newmar Ventana 4037).

We are getting almost twice the fuel mileage with the DP. The CC of our DP on order is 11,300 lbs!!! The slide out, fully pass through storage bays will be a delight on my old back and I won't miss whacking my head on the bottom of an open slide loading or unloading. The ride is heavenly due to the air suspension, engine heat and noise in the back and huge increase in torque. We could tow anything, rather than being limited to the 5,000 lbs of a gasser.

We do not FT. We like to say that with the DP, we feel like we are on vacation the second we sit in the drivers seat with the DP. The Gasser was always a hot, noisy chore to get somewhere. Since we vacation within 500 miles from home, we never have to stop for fuel with the DP. Fill it up at home and again when we get back home.

When parked, we are not 3 feet in the air since the bags drop before the levelers are down.

No way would I ever get a Ford V10 based gasser again. If I ever decided i wanted something smaller, I'd get a Mercedes based diesel Sprinter model. That is a true "alternative" to a DP. A 35-40ft Class A gasser is a "compromise".

What did your gas MH weigh vs the weight of your 34y DP? What HP do you have in the DP? What was the MPG of each? Assuming your gas MH was a 362 HP ford how did the performance compare with your DP?

I am not sure if this was for my post or the other, but the gasoline motorhome I had was a 36' F-53 chassis with the V-10 engine weighed I believe 19K lbs. I would get 8-9 mpg. Good engine, bad transmission.

The diesel pusher I bought after that has the Caterpillar engine, I get 8 mpg average. The coach is 38'long and weigh's 30K lbs. It has a six speed Allison transmission. Very good coach. Have now 60K miles on it and it is running better now then ever. Lots of power going up long grades.

Ray it was actually for the other one. I found it hard to understand that a vehicle that weight 14,000 lbs with 362 HP would have less performance and 1/2 the mpgs of one that weighed 27,000 lbs and only 340 HP. Your numbers look very normal.

I can only speak to what we experienced. The 14,000lb gasser MPG was miserable (2008 Gulfstream 31'). If I slowed down to 50-55MPH and wasn't towing, the MPG went up to 8 or so. But at 70 MPH, towing a Jeep Wrangler, it was always in the low to mid 5.x MPG. The 34y DP never gets below 8 MPG under any circumstances, is typically is around 10 towing the Wrangler, and easily 12 if not towing. That's the nearly 2x the fuel mileage as the gasser at 70MPH. Some will say "slow down" but since we still work, two hours cut off my Friday evening "commute" to a weekend getaway and two less hours home is priceless.

As for performance, the low end torque of the DP is better than the V10 Ford. HP doesn't matter much at all.

You need to check your math. Even if you drove 300 miles at 60mph that is 5 hours. To drive 300 miles in 3 (you said it saved two hours) that would be 100mph. At 70mph you would save about 45 minutes.

OMG :S Since you went there - LOL.

Our typical long weekend trip is about 350 miles one way. At 70MPH that would take 5 hours. If we were to drive 50MPH** the same trip would take 7 hours. 7-5=2. Two hours saved.

The point is if I drove at 70MPH, I got 5.x MPG in the gasser. At 50MPH, I could get better MPG but wasn't worth my time.

I used more fuel with the gasser. Travel speed is a non-issue with the DP. It's mileage is greater and more consistent at all speeds. It's also a lot more comfortable to drive at any speed and we feel like our vacation starts the second we get behind the wheel.

**I never mentioned 60MPH in my hypothetical argument since the breaking point of the gasser mileage dropping was about 50-55.

My bad, I don't know where I got the 60mph. I don't know anyone who drives 50mph, at least not on the interstate.

I have the Cummins 330hp and tow a Jeep Wrangler 2 door everywhere we go. At 62mph it get 9mpg, at 75mph it gets 7.5mpg so I normally drive 62-65mph. On a recent trip to Florida (800 miles) I drove 62-65 all the way, which took about 2 hours longer but saved about 18 gallons of fuel or $72. We had 10 days so 2 hours made no difference to me.

[offthewall]

JnJnKatiebug wrote:

offthewall wrote:

Gjac wrote:

RayChez wrote:

Gjac wrote:

offthewall wrote:

RayChez wrote:
LOL! Some of these RVer's that are saying a gasoline coach is just as good as a diesel pusher do not know what they are talking about. They should take a drive on a diesel pusher and they would never go back to a gasoline coach. Now if they do not want to spend that kind of money, that is a different story. But to say that a gasoline motorhome rides just as good is insane.

Gasoline motorhomes are OK, but not comparison to a diesel pusher. SORRY!
A gasoline engine once it starts hitting 100K it is already in the twilight of being a good engine, while a diesel is just barely getting broke in.

^^^^^ THAT

I'm with you. We've owned a 2008 gasser and now a 2010 DP. No comparison in ride or pulling power. We now have our second DP on order (2015 Newmar Ventana 4037).

We are getting almost twice the fuel mileage with the DP. The CC of our DP on order is 11,300 lbs!!! The slide out, fully pass through storage bays will be a delight on my old back and I won't miss whacking my head on the bottom of an open slide loading or unloading. The ride is heavenly due to the air suspension, engine heat and noise in the back and huge increase in torque. We could tow anything, rather than being limited to the 5,000 lbs of a gasser.

We do not FT. We like to say that with the DP, we feel like we are on vacation the second we sit in the drivers seat with the DP. The Gasser was always a hot, noisy chore to get somewhere. Since we vacation within 500 miles from home, we never have to stop for fuel with the DP. Fill it up at home and again when we get back home.

When parked, we are not 3 feet in the air since the bags drop before the levelers are down.

No way would I ever get a Ford V10 based gasser again. If I ever decided i wanted something smaller, I'd get a Mercedes based diesel Sprinter model. That is a true "alternative" to a DP. A 35-40ft Class A gasser is a "compromise".

What did your gas MH weigh vs the weight of your 34y DP? What HP do you have in the DP? What was the MPG of each? Assuming your gas MH was a 362 HP ford how did the performance compare with your DP?

I am not sure if this was for my post or the other, but the gasoline motorhome I had was a 36' F-53 chassis with the V-10 engine weighed I believe 19K lbs. I would get 8-9 mpg. Good engine, bad transmission.

The diesel pusher I bought after that has the Caterpillar engine, I get 8 mpg average. The coach is 38'long and weigh's 30K lbs. It has a six speed Allison transmission. Very good coach. Have now 60K miles on it and it is running better now then ever. Lots of power going up long grades.

Ray it was actually for the other one. I found it hard to understand that a vehicle that weight 14,000 lbs with 362 HP would have less performance and 1/2 the mpgs of one that weighed 27,000 lbs and only 340 HP. Your numbers look very normal.

I can only speak to what we experienced. The 14,000lb gasser MPG was miserable (2008 Gulfstream 31'). If I slowed down to 50-55MPH and wasn't towing, the MPG went up to 8 or so. But at 70 MPH, towing a Jeep Wrangler, it was always in the low to mid 5.x MPG. The 34y DP never gets below 8 MPG under any circumstances, is typically is around 10 towing the Wrangler, and easily 12 if not towing. That's the nearly 2x the fuel mileage as the gasser at 70MPH. Some will say "slow down" but since we still work, two hours cut off my Friday evening "commute" to a weekend getaway and two less hours home is priceless.

As for performance, the low end torque of the DP is better than the V10 Ford. HP doesn't matter much at all.

You need to check your math. Even if you drove 300 miles at 60mph that is 5 hours. To drive 300 miles in 3 (you said it saved two hours) that would be 100mph. At 70mph you would save about 45 minutes.

OMG :S Since you went there - LOL.

Our typical long weekend trip is about 350 miles one way. At 70MPH that would take 5 hours. If we were to drive 50MPH** the same trip would take 7 hours. 7-5=2. Two hours saved.

The point is if I drove at 70MPH, I got 5.x MPG in the gasser. At 50MPH, I could get better MPG but wasn't worth my time.

I used more fuel with the gasser. Travel speed is a non-issue with the DP. It's mileage is greater and more consistent at all speeds. It's also a lot more comfortable to drive at any speed and we feel like our vacation starts the second we get behind the wheel.

**I never mentioned 60MPH in my hypothetical argument since the breaking point of the gasser mileage dropping was about 50-55.

[JnJnKatiebug]

offthewall wrote:

Gjac wrote:

RayChez wrote:

Gjac wrote:

offthewall wrote:

RayChez wrote:
LOL! Some of these RVer's that are saying a gasoline coach is just as good as a diesel pusher do not know what they are talking about. They should take a drive on a diesel pusher and they would never go back to a gasoline coach. Now if they do not want to spend that kind of money, that is a different story. But to say that a gasoline motorhome rides just as good is insane.

Gasoline motorhomes are OK, but not comparison to a diesel pusher. SORRY!
A gasoline engine once it starts hitting 100K it is already in the twilight of being a good engine, while a diesel is just barely getting broke in.

^^^^^ THAT

I'm with you. We've owned a 2008 gasser and now a 2010 DP. No comparison in ride or pulling power. We now have our second DP on order (2015 Newmar Ventana 4037).

We are getting almost twice the fuel mileage with the DP. The CC of our DP on order is 11,300 lbs!!! The slide out, fully pass through storage bays will be a delight on my old back and I won't miss whacking my head on the bottom of an open slide loading or unloading. The ride is heavenly due to the air suspension, engine heat and noise in the back and huge increase in torque. We could tow anything, rather than being limited to the 5,000 lbs of a gasser.

We do not FT. We like to say that with the DP, we feel like we are on vacation the second we sit in the drivers seat with the DP. The Gasser was always a hot, noisy chore to get somewhere. Since we vacation within 500 miles from home, we never have to stop for fuel with the DP. Fill it up at home and again when we get back home.

When parked, we are not 3 feet in the air since the bags drop before the levelers are down.

No way would I ever get a Ford V10 based gasser again. If I ever decided i wanted something smaller, I'd get a Mercedes based diesel Sprinter model. That is a true "alternative" to a DP. A 35-40ft Class A gasser is a "compromise".

What did your gas MH weigh vs the weight of your 34y DP? What HP do you have in the DP? What was the MPG of each? Assuming your gas MH was a 362 HP ford how did the performance compare with your DP?

I am not sure if this was for my post or the other, but the gasoline motorhome I had was a 36' F-53 chassis with the V-10 engine weighed I believe 19K lbs. I would get 8-9 mpg. Good engine, bad transmission.

The diesel pusher I bought after that has the Caterpillar engine, I get 8 mpg average. The coach is 38'long and weigh's 30K lbs. It has a six speed Allison transmission. Very good coach. Have now 60K miles on it and it is running better now then ever. Lots of power going up long grades.

Ray it was actually for the other one. I found it hard to understand that a vehicle that weight 14,000 lbs with 362 HP would have less performance and 1/2 the mpgs of one that weighed 27,000 lbs and only 340 HP. Your numbers look very normal.

I can only speak to what we experienced. The 14,000lb gasser MPG was miserable (2008 Gulfstream 31'). If I slowed down to 50-55MPH and wasn't towing, the MPG went up to 8 or so. But at 70 MPH, towing a Jeep Wrangler, it was always in the low to mid 5.x MPG. The 34y DP never gets below 8 MPG under any circumstances, is typically is around 10 towing the Wrangler, and easily 12 if not towing. That's the nearly 2x the fuel mileage as the gasser at 70MPH. Some will say "slow down" but since we still work, two hours cut off my Friday evening "commute" to a weekend getaway and two less hours home is priceless.

As for performance, the low end torque of the DP is better than the V10 Ford. HP doesn't matter much at all.

You need to check your math. Even if you drove 300 miles at 60mph that is 5 hours. To drive 300 miles in 3 (you said it saved two hours) that would be 100mph. At 70mph you would save about 45 minutes.

[offthewall]

Gjac wrote:

RayChez wrote:

Gjac wrote:

offthewall wrote:

RayChez wrote:
LOL! Some of these RVer's that are saying a gasoline coach is just as good as a diesel pusher do not know what they are talking about. They should take a drive on a diesel pusher and they would never go back to a gasoline coach. Now if they do not want to spend that kind of money, that is a different story. But to say that a gasoline motorhome rides just as good is insane.

Gasoline motorhomes are OK, but not comparison to a diesel pusher. SORRY!
A gasoline engine once it starts hitting 100K it is already in the twilight of being a good engine, while a diesel is just barely getting broke in.

^^^^^ THAT

I'm with you. We've owned a 2008 gasser and now a 2010 DP. No comparison in ride or pulling power. We now have our second DP on order (2015 Newmar Ventana 4037).

We are getting almost twice the fuel mileage with the DP. The CC of our DP on order is 11,300 lbs!!! The slide out, fully pass through storage bays will be a delight on my old back and I won't miss whacking my head on the bottom of an open slide loading or unloading. The ride is heavenly due to the air suspension, engine heat and noise in the back and huge increase in torque. We could tow anything, rather than being limited to the 5,000 lbs of a gasser.

We do not FT. We like to say that with the DP, we feel like we are on vacation the second we sit in the drivers seat with the DP. The Gasser was always a hot, noisy chore to get somewhere. Since we vacation within 500 miles from home, we never have to stop for fuel with the DP. Fill it up at home and again when we get back home.

When parked, we are not 3 feet in the air since the bags drop before the levelers are down.

No way would I ever get a Ford V10 based gasser again. If I ever decided i wanted something smaller, I'd get a Mercedes based diesel Sprinter model. That is a true "alternative" to a DP. A 35-40ft Class A gasser is a "compromise".

What did your gas MH weigh vs the weight of your 34y DP? What HP do you have in the DP? What was the MPG of each? Assuming your gas MH was a 362 HP ford how did the performance compare with your DP?

I am not sure if this was for my post or the other, but the gasoline motorhome I had was a 36' F-53 chassis with the V-10 engine weighed I believe 19K lbs. I would get 8-9 mpg. Good engine, bad transmission.

The diesel pusher I bought after that has the Caterpillar engine, I get 8 mpg average. The coach is 38'long and weigh's 30K lbs. It has a six speed Allison transmission. Very good coach. Have now 60K miles on it and it is running better now then ever. Lots of power going up long grades.

Ray it was actually for the other one. I found it hard to understand that a vehicle that weight 14,000 lbs with 362 HP would have less performance and 1/2 the mpgs of one that weighed 27,000 lbs and only 340 HP. Your numbers look very normal.

I can only speak to what we experienced. The 14,000lb gasser MPG was miserable (2008 Gulfstream 31'). If I slowed down to 50-55MPH and wasn't towing, the MPG went up to 8 or so. But at 70 MPH, towing a Jeep Wrangler, it was always in the low to mid 5.x MPG. The 34y DP never gets below 8 MPG under any circumstances, is typically is around 10 towing the Wrangler, and easily 12 if not towing. That's the nearly 2x the fuel mileage as the gasser at 70MPH. Some will say "slow down" but since we still work, two hours cut off my Friday evening "commute" to a weekend getaway and two less hours home is priceless.

As for performance, the low end torque of the DP is better than the V10 Ford. HP doesn't matter much at all.

[RayChez]

Rodz wrote:
For those of you that think a DP is the only way to get power and handling, you're way off base. I had A 95 Coachman on a 460 Ford chassis. It was trouble free for many miles and handled very good. I pulled a heavy 3 axle race car trailer and the 3 speed trans gearing was the only thing I didn't like. On a steep hill 3rd gear wasn't enough and 2nd gear was too much. I switched to a Monaco with a 300 hp Cummins. In my opinion that didn't handle as good as my gasser and wouldn't pull the hills as good as my 460 Ford. I then bought a Winnebago Journey with a 350 hp Cat. The ride and handling was probably the best of any MH I've owned but still wouldn't pull the hills any better. The new F53 has a 5 speed to better match the hill grades and has engine braking. My V10 Canyon Star rides and handles extremely well and doesn't move around in the hard wind any different than a DP. The F53 on a 24/26k chassis is very impressive. I can maintain speed on hills that I would lose mph with my DP's. If I push it I can actually gain speed on many hills. I see reports of 12-15 mpg on DP's. Well......that just isn't going to happen. My 460 got 6.5 to 7.5 mpg and my V10 gets 8 to 9 mpg which is the same as either of my DP's and costs $50.00 less to fill the same size tank with gas. I'm 65 and this will be the last MH I'll buy so we decided to go new. At 100k+ dollars less than a DP it was a good decision and the more we drive it, the more we like it. The wife drove it home from a trip a few weeks ago. There was 30 plus mph gusting winds and she was very comfortable with the way it handled. She wouldn't touch our other MH's in the wind. DP or gas, get what you like but don't be afraid to get a gasser strictly based what you read from DP owners.

The Ford 460 hp engine was one of the most powerful gasoline engines put out by Ford, BUT! it was a gas hog. It would pass everything but a gas station.
Where a diesel engine has it over a gasoline engine is torque. I believe I read somewhere that horsepower is for speed and torque is for pulling power.

I still have to question how can your F-53 on the Canyon Star with leaf springs on the rear with possible air lifts and leaf springs on the front give the same ride as diesel pushers with air ride front and rear. It just does not happen. The F-53 that I used to have had the air lifts also made by Firestone, but they are just to lift the rear up and give it more carry capacity. Mine use to take 90 lbs of air.

[-Gramps-]

I need to add that my UFO will pull hills faster than the DPs I pass for sure. We just put 1000 miles this past month on the odometer and most of them were going up and down mountains with a lot of water, gas, and towing our Vue...the chassis performed great...7.5 mpg (who's counting really).

[Rodz]

For those of you that think a DP is the only way to get power and handling, you're way off base. I had A 95 Coachman on a 460 Ford chassis. It was trouble free for many miles and handled very good. I pulled a heavy 3 axle race car trailer and the 3 speed trans gearing was the only thing I didn't like. On a steep hill 3rd gear wasn't enough and 2nd gear was too much. I switched to a Monaco with a 300 hp Cummins. In my opinion that didn't handle as good as my gasser and wouldn't pull the hills as good as my 460 Ford. I then bought a Winnebago Journey with a 350 hp Cat. The ride and handling was probably the best of any MH I've owned but still wouldn't pull the hills any better. The new F53 has a 5 speed to better match the hill grades and has engine braking. My V10 Canyon Star rides and handles extremely well and doesn't move around in the hard wind any different than a DP. The F53 on a 24/26k chassis is very impressive. I can maintain speed on hills that I would lose mph with my DP's. If I push it I can actually gain speed on many hills. I see reports of 12-15 mpg on DP's. Well......that just isn't going to happen. My 460 got 6.5 to 7.5 mpg and my V10 gets 8 to 9 mpg which is the same as either of my DP's and costs $50.00 less to fill the same size tank with gas. I'm 65 and this will be the last MH I'll buy so we decided to go new. At 100k+ dollars less than a DP it was a good decision and the more we drive it, the more we like it. The wife drove it home from a trip a few weeks ago. There was 30 plus mph gusting winds and she was very comfortable with the way it handled. She wouldn't touch our other MH's in the wind. DP or gas, get what you like but don't be afraid to get a gasser strictly based what you read from DP owners.

[Gjac]

RayChez wrote:

Gjac wrote:

offthewall wrote:

RayChez wrote:
LOL! Some of these RVer's that are saying a gasoline coach is just as good as a diesel pusher do not know what they are talking about. They should take a drive on a diesel pusher and they would never go back to a gasoline coach. Now if they do not want to spend that kind of money, that is a different story. But to say that a gasoline motorhome rides just as good is insane.

Gasoline motorhomes are OK, but not comparison to a diesel pusher. SORRY!
A gasoline engine once it starts hitting 100K it is already in the twilight of being a good engine, while a diesel is just barely getting broke in.

^^^^^ THAT

I'm with you. We've owned a 2008 gasser and now a 2010 DP. No comparison in ride or pulling power. We now have our second DP on order (2015 Newmar Ventana 4037).

We are getting almost twice the fuel mileage with the DP. The CC of our DP on order is 11,300 lbs!!! The slide out, fully pass through storage bays will be a delight on my old back and I won't miss whacking my head on the bottom of an open slide loading or unloading. The ride is heavenly due to the air suspension, engine heat and noise in the back and huge increase in torque. We could tow anything, rather than being limited to the 5,000 lbs of a gasser.

We do not FT. We like to say that with the DP, we feel like we are on vacation the second we sit in the drivers seat with the DP. The Gasser was always a hot, noisy chore to get somewhere. Since we vacation within 500 miles from home, we never have to stop for fuel with the DP. Fill it up at home and again when we get back home.

When parked, we are not 3 feet in the air since the bags drop before the levelers are down.

No way would I ever get a Ford V10 based gasser again. If I ever decided i wanted something smaller, I'd get a Mercedes based diesel Sprinter model. That is a true "alternative" to a DP. A 35-40ft Class A gasser is a "compromise".

What did your gas MH weigh vs the weight of your 34y DP? What HP do you have in the DP? What was the MPG of each? Assuming your gas MH was a 362 HP ford how did the performance compare with your DP?

I am not sure if this was for my post or the other, but the gasoline motorhome I had was a 36' F-53 chassis with the V-10 engine weighed I believe 19K lbs. I would get 8-9 mpg. Good engine, bad transmission.

The diesel pusher I bought after that has the Caterpillar engine, I get 8 mpg average. The coach is 38'long and weigh's 30K lbs. It has a six speed Allison transmission. Very good coach. Have now 60K miles on it and it is running better now then ever. Lots of power going up long grades.

Ray it was actually for the other one. I found it hard to understand that a vehicle that weight 14,000 lbs with 362 HP would have less performance and 1/2 the mpgs of one that weighed 27,000 lbs and only 340 HP. Your numbers look very normal.

[-Gramps-]

There is a third choice...kinda

How about a gas pusher?

The wife and I love ours...we were just at the FMCA gear rally last week and did not see a coach we liked better than ours for less than 285k.

Winne Rear Gas Coach for sale.

Itasca (Winne) Latitude Rear Gas

This is the Monaco Rear Gas very close to the HR we own. (I believe I know this coach...I think it was the demo unit for Workhorse.

Monaco LaPalma Rear Gas Pusher

This coach is a real gem...almost bought one myself but decided on the HR instead.

Adventurer Limited.

[RayChez]

Gjac wrote:

offthewall wrote:

RayChez wrote:
LOL! Some of these RVer's that are saying a gasoline coach is just as good as a diesel pusher do not know what they are talking about. They should take a drive on a diesel pusher and they would never go back to a gasoline coach. Now if they do not want to spend that kind of money, that is a different story. But to say that a gasoline motorhome rides just as good is insane.

Gasoline motorhomes are OK, but not comparison to a diesel pusher. SORRY!
A gasoline engine once it starts hitting 100K it is already in the twilight of being a good engine, while a diesel is just barely getting broke in.

^^^^^ THAT

I'm with you. We've owned a 2008 gasser and now a 2010 DP. No comparison in ride or pulling power. We now have our second DP on order (2015 Newmar Ventana 4037).

We are getting almost twice the fuel mileage with the DP. The CC of our DP on order is 11,300 lbs!!! The slide out, fully pass through storage bays will be a delight on my old back and I won't miss whacking my head on the bottom of an open slide loading or unloading. The ride is heavenly due to the air suspension, engine heat and noise in the back and huge increase in torque. We could tow anything, rather than being limited to the 5,000 lbs of a gasser.

We do not FT. We like to say that with the DP, we feel like we are on vacation the second we sit in the drivers seat with the DP. The Gasser was always a hot, noisy chore to get somewhere. Since we vacation within 500 miles from home, we never have to stop for fuel with the DP. Fill it up at home and again when we get back home.

When parked, we are not 3 feet in the air since the bags drop before the levelers are down.

No way would I ever get a Ford V10 based gasser again. If I ever decided i wanted something smaller, I'd get a Mercedes based diesel Sprinter model. That is a true "alternative" to a DP. A 35-40ft Class A gasser is a "compromise".

What did your gas MH weigh vs the weight of your 34y DP? What HP do you have in the DP? What was the MPG of each? Assuming your gas MH was a 362 HP ford how did the performance compare with your DP?

I am not sure if this was for my post or the other, but the gasoline motorhome I had was a 36' F-53 chassis with the V-10 engine weighed I believe 19K lbs. I would get 8-9 mpg. Good engine, bad transmission.

The diesel pusher I bought after that has the Caterpillar engine, I get 8 mpg average. The coach is 38'long and weigh's 30K lbs. It has a six speed Allison transmission. Very good coach. Have now 60K miles on it and it is running better now then ever. Lots of power going up long grades.

[Ivylog]

14 years ago I made the mistake of buying a used 36' DP. Did not take long to realize a 40' would fit were a 36' would in most SP/NP. OP, go for at least a used 38' and save yourself some time and money as doing it in three tries like it took me is not very smart. It's also fairly expensive.

[sr71bbjd]

To all those answering my request for input and opinions, I thank you. We have decided that we will concentrate on finding a DP made by Winnebago/Itasca/Monaco, size 36-38'. This just seems the best choice for us.

I have also enjoyed the DP/Gas debate, and we've learned an awful lot.

Thanks again,

Jerry

[offthewall]

Gjac wrote:
... What did your gas MH weigh vs the weight of your 34y DP? What HP do you have in the DP? What was the MPG of each? Assuming your gas MH was a 362 HP ford how did the performance compare with your DP?

Gasser had a GVWR of 14,500. The DP has a GVWR 27,910. DP has a 340 HP Cummins. Gasser a 362 HP Ford. MPG of the gasser was 5-7. DP 9-12. I usually drive the speed limit +5 (60-70 mostly). The DP is quieter, cooler, climbs hills better, has better acceleration than the gasser. The ride of the gasser was rough owing to it's truck based chassis. The DP, smooth owing to it's bus/air bag chassis.