Looking for our first used Diesel Pusher

This is an excellent site to get an idea of floorplans and prices of both diesel and gas motorhomes and other RVs:

http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/

Just hang out on these forums and you'll learn most of what you need to know. I've been looking at DP's, too, and talk to owners, read the forums, and look at used one's at the various dealers. I've learned that Tiffin has some excellent customer service from the factory no matter how old your rig is and builds an excellent RV. Newmar is also an excellent builder. You'll learn about the various chassis, rear radiators, side radiators. Seems that quality comes with price.

Bear25314 wrote:
Hi Everyone. We have owned 3 travel trailers. We really enjoy our trips but are getting ready to venture out further then our own state (Texas). We are interested in purchasing a used Diesel Pusher or Class A (gas). Not looking to full time just yet but would like to take trips about 4 times a year from a week away to maybe on month away. Any ideas where we can start educating ourselves about what to look for in a used rig and also where there are some good places online to see what is available? Our dream is to retire and purchase one to travel in 3 months during the summer and would probably buy new but we would like to start out now with a used one to enjoy till then. Thanks so much!

Where are you in Texas? Along with PPL look at some of the other places.I like PPL because they have what things sold for on their site.
Motorhomes of Texas http://motorhomesoftexas.com/
Motorhome Spechialist, http://www.mhsrv.com/
McClaines, http://www.mcclainsrv.com/
Bill

We bought, and sold, at PPL in Houston. Great people to deal with IMO.

If you hear about one that you think you would like, google it. lots of sites have floor plans on them. Helped us a lot when we were looking for our first pusher. found several, contacted them, decided which one we wanted to deal with. they sent lots of pics and we traveled to go pick it up. we had that thing for almost 10 years and just recently did the same thing to find the one we bought the first of the month.

Send me a PM - I have a couple of extensive pre-purchase checklists you may find useful.

Check for ground clearance, my 2015 Fleetwood Excursion drags both front and rear on even the slightest grades and driveways. I love the coach, just wish it had more ground clearance. JH

As a former owner of a couple of 31' gas class A coaches and now the new owner of a 32' diesel pusher, there are some big differences you should be aware of.

First, our gas mileage was 7.5 MPG over thousands of miles. Our diesel delivers 11 MPG! That's 33% better mileage. Diesel often sells for a bit more but if you put on a lot of miles the savings really add up.

Our gas coaches needed service every 5000 miles at less than $100 at a good service shop. The diesel is something under $400 for that service, but oil changes are at 15000 miles, not 5000. Diesel parts and service are nearly always more $$$$$.

There is no comparison in the ride! The air bags on the diesel make for a much better ride over our rotten Kalifornistan roads. And the rear engined pusher is so much quieter as you cruise down the road. We are real happy with it.

Of course the purchase price is a huge difference. You'll see that as you shop. We paid almost double for the '04 diesel compared to the '06 gas sale to a private party. The gas also had twice the miles on it as the diesel had.

If you don't mind the added initial expense and the costlier maintenance, I think the diesel is certainly the better coach.

I hope this helps a little...

-Dale

Bear25314 wrote:
Hi Everyone. We have owned 3 travel trailers. We really enjoy our trips but are getting ready to venture out further then our own state (Texas). We are interested in purchasing a used Diesel Pusher or Class A (gas). Not looking to full time just yet but would like to take trips about 4 times a year from a week away to maybe on month away. Any ideas where we can start educating ourselves about what to look for in a used rig and also where there are some good places online to see what is available? Our dream is to retire and purchase one to travel in 3 months during the summer and would probably buy new but we would like to start out now with a used one to enjoy till then. Thanks so much!

What is your budget? We are looking to do the same thing. We settled on a used Country Coach.