Limitations to gas Class A

[Kwalsh]

Can anyone speak to traveling in the mountains with a gas Class A? My husband and I are ready to purchase a new or almost new motorhome to carry us through our retirement years. I am also afraid that a gas motor will leave us stranded in places where we can't find rental cars and I understand it is not good to tow with a gas engine. We are not sure we can afford a diesel right now so just trying to be well informed before we make a big decision. We are national and state park campers for the most part but long to see the Black Hills and places like Yosemite and Glacier National Forest. Thank you for your comments!

[msmith1199]

rgatijnet1 wrote:

Wrong Lane wrote:
One limitation with a large gasser is buying fuel.

It is getting harder and harder to find locations where the pumps are parallel to the station. Now days many places have pumps that are perpendicular to the building and with the toad connected it can be a challenge. Even some of the large truck stops have difficult fueling lanes for a large Class A gasser with a toad.

Meanwhile my friends with DPs can use dedicated lanes with lots of room and fast fill pumps.

I do most of my camping within two days of home base and based on trial and error have discovered which stations are motorhome friendly and which to avoid.

Not a big deal but certainly a minor limitation of sorts

Safe Travels!

A large diesel coach has the exact same limitations except that it is actually worse. Sure the large truck stops have a diesel lane, if you happen to have a large truck stop along your path of travel. If not, you are in the same position as a gasser EXCEPT, not all gas stations have diesel. I've stopped at many small gas stations with a few pumps that I could easily get in to for gasoline that did not offer diesel fuel.
Since I travel a lot of the back roads of America, that was one of the reasons that I decided to replace my diesel coach with a gasser. In some areas out West, it may be 100 miles between gas stations so you can't be too picky.

And the gas stations that have diesel often don't have it at every pump. So once you get in there you have to look for the green hose to find which pump you can get into. But that's why I got a Pacific Pride Account.

[Bumpyroad]

Get "the next exit". has RV friendly locations in red. mostly accurate.
bumpy

[rgatijnet1]

Wrong Lane wrote:
One limitation with a large gasser is buying fuel.

It is getting harder and harder to find locations where the pumps are parallel to the station. Now days many places have pumps that are perpendicular to the building and with the toad connected it can be a challenge. Even some of the large truck stops have difficult fueling lanes for a large Class A gasser with a toad.

Meanwhile my friends with DPs can use dedicated lanes with lots of room and fast fill pumps.

I do most of my camping within two days of home base and based on trial and error have discovered which stations are motorhome friendly and which to avoid.

Not a big deal but certainly a minor limitation of sorts

Safe Travels!

A large diesel coach has the exact same limitations except that it is actually worse. Sure the large truck stops have a diesel lane, if you happen to have a large truck stop along your path of travel. If not, you are in the same position as a gasser EXCEPT, not all gas stations have diesel. I've stopped at many small gas stations with a few pumps that I could easily get in to for gasoline that did not offer diesel fuel.
Since I travel a lot of the back roads of America, that was one of the reasons that I decided to replace my diesel coach with a gasser. In some areas out West, it may be 100 miles between gas stations so you can't be too picky.

[Wrong_Lane]

One limitation with a large gasser is buying fuel.

It is getting harder and harder to find locations where the pumps are parallel to the station. Now days many places have pumps that are perpendicular to the building and with the toad connected it can be a challenge. Even some of the large truck stops have difficult fueling lanes for a large Class A gasser with a toad.

Meanwhile my friends with DPs can use dedicated lanes with lots of room and fast fill pumps.

I do most of my camping within two days of home base and based on trial and error have discovered which stations are motorhome friendly and which to avoid.

Not a big deal but certainly a minor limitation of sorts

Safe Travels!

[msmith1199]

Yeah Bumpy, I've gone round and round about what additional toys to get to bring along and I've gone through a few from boats to quads. I now have two quads as toys, but I can only bring both if I don't bring the toad. So to solve that problem I traded in one of the quads and got a two seater quad. So now if I want to bring the toad (which is a pickup) I can put the two seater quad in the back of the truck and bring it along and then the wife and I can both go out on it. But if I'm going someplace just for the quad riding and don't need the toad, I can bring both quads on a trailer. I'll stick with this set up for a while except next spring, I'm going to add two kayaks to the toy list. I'll be able to bring those on a rack on the toad too.

I do have a friend who has a 5th wheel and also a boat. We haven't been camping together and he was complaining about having to leave the boat behind or having the wife drive a second vehicle towing the boat. I told him the solution was simple. We'll camp together and I'll tow his boat behind my motorhome and then we'll have his truck to get around in while there and he has his boat too. So now I have a new camping buddy.

[Bumpyroad]

msmith1199 wrote:
Bringing a toad along is not an issue at all between a gas rig and a DP. How big of a toad may make a difference, but that usually isn't an issue with most people.

at one time I thought I wanted to pull a double decker trailer, car on bottom, boat on top, and a DP was the only way to get that done. then I came to my senses and got an inflatable boat. 🙂
bumpy

[msmith1199]

Bringing a toad along is not an issue at all between a gas rig and a DP. How big of a toad may make a difference, but that usually isn't an issue with most people. I have seen larger DP's pulling Chev Suburban's or even 3/4 ton full size 4x4 pickups as a toad. You probably aren't going to do that too easy with a gas motorhome, but then again the vast majority of people would not want to. In my opinion, even though I sold mine, the very best all around toad for RV's is the Jeep Wrangler. It's easy to set up to tow, it's fairly light, and most people get RV's to get off the beaten path and there isn't anything out there much better than a Jeep Wrangler to get off the beaten path.

[Kwalsh]

Again thank you all for the wonderful feedback! The info didn't come from one source actually just various people, articles, etc. and yes, probably DP owners! LOL! I figured we should go straight to the source and your comments have helped us to make an informed decision. As for the stranded part, I was terrified we would be "stranded" at the campground without a way to get around if we could not tow! Now maybe I'll finally get that jeep I've always wanted too!

[msmith1199]

I have owned both. My first motorhome was a Rexall 32 footer with the Ford V-10 and the current motorhome is a Tropical 35 footer with a Cat 330 HP diesel. If I were to race those two motorhomes side by side in the quarter mile the V-10 would win the race hands down. It had plenty of power for a 32 footer and the acceleration with the gas engine was much quicker than the diesel. What I got with the diesel is a much smoother ride and much more capacity for both carrying and towing.

Both motorhomes had 100 gallon water tanks. With the gas motorhome I could tell how much water I had in the thank based on performance. I could really tell when that tank was full. With the diesel engine I can't tell any difference between an empty water tank and a full water tank. The same was true of having the toad along. I towed a Jeep wrangler when I had the gas motorhome and it towed it just fine, but I could tell when it was back there versus when I drove the motorhome without it. With the diesel motorhome I couldn't tell the different in power with the Wrangler or without it. I now have a much heavier toad, a Dodge Dakota 4x4, and I can tell when it's back there, but the DP pulls it just fine.

So to answer your question it's all about what you want. If you're going to be spending a lot of time in the RV and traveling all over, you'll probably like a DP better than a gas rig.

[ljr869]

Regardless of gas vs. diesel, if you're state & nationak park camper I would think length is more important. If you get some 45' diesel monster, you're limiting yourself.

[JaBob]

Drove a W-22 for eight years pulling a 2400 lb toad and never had it fail me. Everything around your engine will fail long before it does. Braking is important and is superior on a DP. Ssve your money, go gas.
Bob

[Mark_111]

For past 3 years I have towed my car over 20,000 miles including over the Canadian Rockies and through the mountains from British Columbia to CAlifornia with my gas Guzzler. No problem whatsoever. My toad is about 2,900 lbs. IF I was towing something about 8,000 to 10,000 lbs. I'd consider a diesel.

[-Gramps-]

Noise or nose? Maybe both!

[427435]

Well, one limitation to a gasser is you can't hold your nose quite so high in the air (like some on this forum)!!!! LOL