High end gasser or entry level DP

[way2roll]

As we continue to shop for our new rig to start full time next year I keep teetering on gas vs diesel. (sort of full time - 6 mons at a time, break for a month, 6 months out...) My only real life experience is with gassers. We've had 2 and very entry level. While we loved both coaches and they served as great weekenders, one of our biggest complaints was ride quality. The harsh road feedback and the noise. Very loud and hard to hold a conversation. Both MH's were ACE's and poorly insulated (if at all) and light which I think worsened the harshness of the ride. Our budget puts us at a fairly new but used high end gasser, or a 4-6 year old used entry level DP (Excursion, Palazzo, Sportscoach etc) I don't want to go any older. I am aware of the difference in how a DP rides vs gasser, night and day. But what about a higher end gasser - like a Newmar or Tiffin ? Do they ride smoother and more quiet than an entry level coach despite being on the same F53? And how dramatic is the difference between say a Canyon star or Allegro than an entry level DP? Do all DP's ride pretty much the same or do higher end DP's ride better than entry level ones? I know I need to take some test rides and that was my plan, but as we all know doing that right now has been difficult.

There's also the question of if I need a DP at all. Our travel days will be relatively short (that's the plan anyway), and stays longer. But despite loving our previous coaches, they were a nightmare to be in while riding, and I am really concerned about ride comfort. And as we all know, plans often change and we may find ourselves with occasional long days in the saddle. I should also add I know very little about diesels. Not that I did a lot of maintenance on our gassers, but at least I was able to do standard stuff. Anything house related - I am good.

Appreciate the thoughts.

[Tinstar]

Ever consider a high end used diesel. I'm not talking about a 2018 Prevost but you can get a nice "newer" model for the money you are talking about (from what I gather). Some folks would never consider a used one but that's something you'll have to figure out. Good luck.

[PhilipB]

My uncle debated this some years ago when Newmar made the Mountain Aire in gas and dp. This was prior to current diesel emission. I said go with the DP. Heavier chassis, air brakes, Allison transmission. Cost was about 10K more new. He opted for Ford gas (460 with tag). His choice, but probably wouldn't have been mine.

[Gjac]

The one thing that rarely gets mentioned in the gas vs diesel debate is what size MH do you want. If you want a smaller size MH to travel to NP's,Sp's,or NFS CG's in the 30 -34 ft range I would look at something like the Tiffin Baystar. If you want something larger in the 37-42 ft range then look at a DP. Another thing to consider is performance on hills A 38-40 ft DP with 300 HP that weighs 30,000 lbs will not perform as well as a 30-34 ft gas MH with 362 HP that weighs 15,000 lbs. A gas chassis will have the sane eng in any length. A DP in general will have less HP in the shorter lengths. It is HP to weight ratio that will determine the performance. Every choice is a trade off and I think people in a 24 ft TT, TC or DP all enjoy their camping experience.

[Ductape]

We’ve had both. DP is certainly nicer to drive, because of the quiet and the air ride. Maintenance is significantly more complex and expensive. Advantage DP during the driving portion of your travels.

The quality of the house is what matters during the parked portion of your stays. Things like insulation, dual pane windows, ducted air and better materials and cabinetry make living in it a more pleasant experience. Advantage for better brands like Newmar or Tiffin (whether gas or diesel) vs most of the lower tier brands.

Spend your time touring a bunch of units. Sit inside with the HVAC running and listen to the TV or have a conversation. Look inside the cabinets and bins. And drive them. Only you can decide what features are important for you.

[pianotuna]

I've had both gas and diesel. I won't own another diesel.

Noise can be ameliorated by adding air tabs.

Ride can be improved by going to a spring shop and having modifications made.

[K_Charles]

A few years ago we went looking for a class A but only wanted to spend 50 to 75 thousand. A few DP's that we looked at did not ride as good as some gas ones. One was even louder. We went with an older gas. We only go about 8 or 10,000 miles a year but have never stayed more then 2 weeks anywhere.

[Tom_Barb]

We over bought when we bought ours and have never been sorry. we are now on the 20th year in the NEWMAR, we use it as our extra house when we have company.
We have 74,000 showing, never had any problems find parking space, with the 40'
I would advise you find a 40' in the 2000=2007 range with the interior you like.
We get about 9 MPG on the highway, cockpit noise is very low.
we just replaced the 6 tires (second set) 2009-2019.
the air ride bags were changed in 2017, they were leaking bled down in 2 days.

we have never been sorry we bought quality and cared for it.

[FloridaRosebud]

Unfortunately, a gasser will never ride as smooth and quiet as a DP. We have a 2006 National SeaBreeze with the F53, V-10. Not really noisy except if I'm climbing a 7 or 8% grade, but that doesn't happen too much. For us, floorplan and size were the most important things, then price. My guess is, if you get a DP you will have no regrets. If you get a Gasser, well, maybe. It's like not wanting to spend the extra money on a bigger fridge, then after a few months you wish you would have gotten the bigger fridge. Sound like you would be happier in a DP. Just my 2 cents....

Al

[thelazyl]

As to the difference in ride between varying levels of DP's - I suspect you will get many answers. I have a used entry-level Fleetwood DP on a Freightliner chassis. The ride is very pleasant - quiet, smooth, and cool. In terms of ride quality I haven't been in a gasser that comes close.

When I was younger a gasser was fine for weekend travel while the kids were home. Now that I am nearing retirement I plan to stick with DP's.

We, too, were looking first at floor plan and condition. We had a choice between a newer gasser and a DP. We picked the DP and have never regretted it.

[way2roll]

Thanks for all the replies so far. Our "plan" is to tour the US - without too many details if that makes any sense. To Dennis' point, I think we have a high level plan but will sort of meander, finding unplanned things between planned destinations. There's a handful of must see places but the rest is going to include a great deal of figuring out where we want to go next. Camp times will probably only be a week at a time, and travel days in between. We plan on short travel days but I can envision some long days mixed in. I will be working - I work remote full time - so we'll be camped at a minimum Mon-Fr most weeks. DW and son will be sight seeing/recon and hone down the best places to take me when I'm not working. I am lucky in that my wife is fantastic at finding really cool places that I would have never thought of.

Anyway, hope that helps with how we plan to use the coach. Our priorities so far in shopping is floorplan, quality, dependability, and ride/comfort. We do plan on buying used as I have bought new and trying to sell them later you get killed on depreciation. Hoping to have less depreciation hit and most of the bugs worked out.

Side-note -I know that no one buys a coach with the intent of resale, RV's are not an investment by a long stretch. But I have to think about what the value of either coach will be in 5 years or so. Will a then - 10-12 DP be worth more or less than a 5-8 year old gasser - relative to what I paid? I understand there are a lot of variables and this is speculation.

[rgatijnet1]

You need to look at the way you use an RV to make your final decision. We have friends that only travel from the North to the South as the season changes. In the meantime they are parked and living in the coach. In other words, their coach spends very little time on the road going from destination to destination. I'm guessing that they May only put 4000 miles per year on their RV.
On the other hand we spend very little time parked at any one location. The longest we have ever spent at one location was two weeks. For us the yearly mileage was closer to 20,000+.
If you are one of those that does not plan on traveling a lot and racking up the miles, I would go with gas. If you plan to be on the move regularly, then diesel may be a better choice.
Naturally the MAIN thing to consider is whether or not the "house" is comfortable and suits your needs when you are parked.

[Horsedoc]

Just my humble opinion here
We have had three diesels. They first was weak and you had to get up a head of steam going down the hill in order to get up the other side without dropping into low. It was a Cummins, I believe a 220 or such. We kept it for 6 months or so and sold it back to John Bleakley Motorhomes and bought a new coach with a 300 Cat engine. Great ride as well. It cruised well on the interstates when we were traveling in the west a lot. Best coach for the money we ever owned. Then the last diesel was a 40 footer with the 425 Cummins. Very good ride but loved that diesel fuel. Too heavy actually.
My wife has MS and got to the point where it was impossible for her to get in and out of the steps on it. We decided to stop RVing for that reason. We talked one day and both admitted how much we missed it. I started looking and found the present coach, a gasser, with a wheel chair lift and handicap features. I believe Newmar considers the Canyon Star their top of the line gasser. While it looks good and has all the features that makes it easy for a handicap person to use, the ride is not what we had with the last two diesels.
I said all that to say this. If your future involves a lot of long days and long travels in mountainous country, buy the niecest diesel your budget will allow. Short journeys and such, buy quality a quality gasser and save a lot of money.

[Dale_Traveling]

Difficult selection. The newer gas rigs are getting pretty close to the mid priced diesel concerning the house side living amenities. A Newmar Canyon Star or a Tiffin Open Road Allegro will give a entry level DP a run for the money once parked at the campsite. The DP will out class a gas rig when going down the road but considering the ratio of time parked as compared to time actually moving it makes the decision all the more difficult.

If I was considering going full time then a diesel pusher, part time it's a flip of a coin while weekends are for gasoline.

[Executive45]

I've had many gassers and a few diesels. IMO, gassers are great for weekends and going to football games and Nascar. Full timing..not so much. We went from a 29' Winnebago to a 40' diesel and have never looked back. The ride was so much more comfortable and quiet. We have never turned the radio on in our coach as we like to actually talk to each other when traveling so to be able to do that without the roar was nice. The difference in ride and handling come from the weight of the coach as you'll find the diesels are much heavier. That said, when we finally did go full time, we upgraded to the 45' with a tag axle. THAT made a world of difference too. No more being pushed around while on the road. Remember things change as you full time. We 'wasted' the first year by going to places we 'always' wanted to see. Then the light bulb came on and we then just traveled and saw what was "out there". We've put over 100,000 miles on our coach mostly staying a couple weeks in one spot although we did try camp hosting for a couple years too. As far as Newmar and Tiffin, they are still on the same chassis as say a Winnie. Their fit and finish might be a little better but the ride is only as good as the chassis they sit on. To me, the pleasure of the drive is just as important as the pleasure when you arrive at a destination. Arriving somewhere refreshed is so much nicer than arriving harried. Go look at some of the gassers and diesels and make your own conclusions. Remember the old adage though, "Don't drive a diesel unless you have your checkbook with you". You'll find many 5-6 year old diesels that look and drive like they're brand new. Ours was a repo, a year old, when we bought her. Saved almost $350k off list.....Dennis

[theoldwizard1]

way2roll wrote:
I am aware of the difference in how a DP rides vs gasser, night and day. But what about a higher end gasser - like a Newmar or Tiffin ? Do they ride smoother and more quiet than an entry level coach despite being on the same F53? And how dramatic is the difference between say a Canyon star or Allegro than an entry level DP? Do all DP's ride pretty much the same or do higher end DP's ride better than entry level ones? I know I need to take some test rides and that was my plan, but as we all know doing that right now has been difficult.
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There's also the question of if I need a DP at all. Our travel days will be relatively short (that's the plan anyway), and stays longer.

Lot's of questions ! No real world experience, but IMHO, I don't think the extra cost of a DP is worth it for you, especially based on your last statement.

Besides the new engine and transmission that is coming for the F53, Ford has done other chassis upgrades. These likely will not show up until the 2021MY MH start shipping, which could be as late as spring of 2021.

Watch this video Ford 7.3L and F53 chassis