I have been wanting another motor home and thinking about the pusher style . I know very little about diesel engines let alone rear transaxles. I know plenty about gas and can do everything on them but back to the subject. Which pusher chassis are most trouble free? I'm thinking about a used high end unit. Any suggestions from those experienced in these would be greatly appreciated.

A DP does not have a transaxle, it will have a truck rear axle, a very dependable Allison 6 speed tranny and usually a Cat or Cummins 6 cylinder engine. After 04 my preference is a Cummins over a Cat. I would say the major of chassis are trouble free but some handle better than others... a tag axle makes a huge improvement and is needed for CCC on units 40'+.I plan on using mine for another 12 years.:W

Mr. Kenny,Well, it depends how 'high-end' you want to go. We had excellent service out of 2008 Dynasty Roadmaster chassis over the 7.5 yrs. that we owned it (bought new and sold on Consignment in 2014).Prevost chassis's are considered 2 million mile chassis's. Their parts, suspension and everything else, are very robust. Prevost chassis coaches have real front and rear bumpers and can withstand a pretty good hit without destroying the whole structure.But, they need just as much maintenance to keep going but are built for easy/quick repairs. Windshields are about $450 each, radiators and CAC's are easy to get to as the grill on the side radiator opens for maintenance.Just food for thought.MM.

My first two rigs were gas - our third is a DP (as noted in my sig below)- once you go DP, you never go back!. The difference is like plain biscuits vs Double Chocolate Cake!!My personal experience: a gasser needs more regular maintenance and the engine components are subject to more frequent failure / replacement (starter, generator,belts, etc) as gassers are mostly built on lighter frames. A DP is usually built on a heavy-duty truck or bus chassis and the whole complex is much more robust - but the regular maintenance is still a MUST!! Oil change on a gasser at 6 months - about $50. Oil change on my DP each year - $250. (Shop rates are over $110 hour here, so labor is a big part of the cost - if you can DIY, the cost is MUCH less! (But at 79 years, I am happy to pay the labor cost.)If you would like an extensive pre-purchase checklist for a DP, just send me a PM - I have a couple that may be of use to you.

I have had two "gassers" and one diesel since 1972. Have had my current 2003 Safari DP, am the original owner. No comparison!! The diesels are more expensive to acquire but not necessarily more to maintain. The Allison 6 speed tranny on most DPs are bullet proof no so on many gas RVs. Any of the major diesel engines are also bullet proof if maintained correctly. I would never go back to a gas RV !!!

wvabeer wrote:I have been wanting another motor home and thinking about the pusher style . I know very little about diesel engines let alone rear transaxles. I know plenty about gas and can do everything on them but back to the subject. Which pusher chassis are most trouble free? I'm thinking about a used high end unit. Any suggestions from those experienced in these would be greatly appreciated.I was and am in the same boat with you, when it comes to Diesels, but after much thought and research, we chose this one for a lot of reasons and it's always about money too. When money isn't an object, as some will claim, I could go on and on with what's available out there.With our choice, we also got an American brand, that we like, without paying for the name and there's not much in the way of a quality build that this coach doesn't have, IMO.Is it perfect in ever way, hell no and when you find one that is, please direct me to it.

Thinking about a pusher | Good Sam Community

Mile_High
Explorer
Nov 23, 2016
wvabeer wrote:
Mile High wrote:
If you go big enough, you can tow that F150, and possibly with the camper (not knowing what that camper weighs).

I'll probably not tow my truck with the camper. I might tow the truck with a side by side in the bed or couple motorcycles. Yanno, fun stuff. ;)

Yep, I'm thinking of that with mine - need the F150 first :)
wvabeer
Explorer
Nov 22, 2016
Mile High wrote:
If you go big enough, you can tow that F150, and possibly with the camper (not knowing what that camper weighs).

I'll probably not tow my truck with the camper. I might tow the truck with a side by side in the bed or couple motorcycles. Yanno, fun stuff. ;)
tropical36
Explorer
Nov 21, 2016
Mile High wrote:
If you go big enough, you can tow that F150, and possibly with the camper (not knowing what that camper weighs).

You're most likely right and for pulling four down. Problem sometimes lies with heavy hitches on car trailers and such and even though many of these hitches have a 15Klb tow/1500lb tongue weight rating and a GCWR to go along with it, the rear axle could already be at max., once you're loaded for the road. Just wondering how many check all this out before buying. I thought I did when observing the CCC to be plenty, but then found that this CCC isn't necessarily evenly distributed and just saying for those who might have the need and have been mislead.
Mile_High
Explorer
Nov 21, 2016
If you go big enough, you can tow that F150, and possibly with the camper (not knowing what that camper weighs).
Gjac
Explorer III
Nov 21, 2016
wvabeer wrote:
Gjac wrote:
I see you have a truck camper now, what size MH are you considering? If you are used to dry camping in remote areas you may want a shorter MH and that would change the discussion some what. What type of camping do you prefer and where do you plan to camp?

I will probably never get rid of the truck camper as it is great for short excursions or short stays. One piece of advice I heard from one person was buy one nicer then your house and you won't mind being gone for months. So a large one that can pull a toad is what I think I want. We will camp anywhere nice places or in the middle of nowhere. As long as there are fun things to do, we will camp there.
. Based on this a 40 ft DP is in your future. When I went to Alaska I saw a lot of truck campers and the sites they were able to camp at that we could not. Sounds like you have the best of both worlds.
wvabeer
Explorer
Nov 21, 2016
Gjac wrote:
I see you have a truck camper now, what size MH are you considering? If you are used to dry camping in remote areas you may want a shorter MH and that would change the discussion some what. What type of camping do you prefer and where do you plan to camp?

I will probably never get rid of the truck camper as it is great for short excursions or short stays. One piece of advice I heard from one person was buy one nicer then your house and you won't mind being gone for months. So a large one that can pull a toad is what I think I want. We will camp anywhere nice places or in the middle of nowhere. As long as there are fun things to do, we will camp there.
BigRabbitMan
Explorer
Nov 18, 2016
The first question you must answer to yourself is what size of coach you are looking to get. If it is a smaller one, most likely you will need to get a gas coach. If a larger coach, then diesel. In the middle you have the choice of gas or diesel.

I am a rare one in that I converted my gas pusher coach to a diesel pusher coach. I much prefer the diesel for torque at lower engine rpm which means quieter and better fuel mileage (the coach stayed the same weight!). I also prefered the pusher configeration when my coach was gas, but there was only a few of those made for a few years in recent time(the UFO chassis).

Really look at the size and configuration before you look at the power plant.
J-Rooster
Explorer
Nov 18, 2016
A good place to start browsing for used DP's is : wwwDeMartiniRV.com they are a high volume RV Dealer
Gjac
Explorer III
Nov 17, 2016
I see you have a truck camper now, what size MH are you considering? If you are used to dry camping in remote areas you may want a shorter MH and that would change the discussion some what. What type of camping do you prefer and where do you plan to camp?
bluwtr49
Explorer II
Nov 17, 2016
One small detail that separates the higher end coaches is, as was mentioned, full body paint and if the graphics are continuing on the sides of the slides. On some the graphics are so artfully done it's difficult to even tell the slides are extended.

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