teacher14
Huntington BEach, CA
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Ok,
We have a beautiful 35 ft. fifth wheel and f350 diesel truck. I have been trying to convince my husband to get rid of both and buy a class a. He won't buy anything unless it's a diesel, but price is an issue too. What is the gas mileage of a 35 ft gas motor pulling a toad? Could be a class c also. We have a honda civic that we could pull behind it. Just trying to find out positives of gas motor vs. diesel if there are any.
Thanks
Vickie
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funtogo
Amory,Ms.38821
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I had a 30 ft. Southwind with a 454 gas mtr.It got 7-9 mpg on average.
Johnny
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thomasinnv
where ever i stop
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with that size of a coach, and pulling a toad to boot, you may be dissapointed with a gasser after having had a diesel. not saying the gasser won't do well, just saying the diesel will do better, in power and mileage.
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Fishinghat
Western Washington, USA
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Fuel consumption should be 10% to 25% better with a diesel over gas, and the ride may be significantly better. We have a diesel pusher and love it. We get about 10 to 10.5 mpg, and with our previous class C, we got 6 to 7.5 mpg.
Visit some dealers and take a few coaches out for a drive. See the difference first hand. Good luck on whatever choice you make.
Holiday Rambler Navigator DP, Hummer, and Honda VT1100C Shadow
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klenger
Tucson AZ
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Consider a FRont Engine Diesel (FRED) as a compromise. See sig for mine.
BTW, the Honda Civic may not be towable 4 down. Good luck on your decisions. We just switched from a 28' 5th to the MH in my sig.
2008 Tiffin Allegro 32BA FRED Class A Motor Home
2008 Honda CRV, Blue Ox, SMI DUO Stay-in-Play Brake
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grant135b
Ohio
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Mileage would depend on several factors, including driving habits, terrain, weight of the toad, headwind vs. tailwind, etc. In my experience with a P30 pulling a 2,500 lb toad (a Saturn SL2), we generally get about 8.5 mpg on mostly flat interstate with the cruise set at 60 mph.
For a more wide-ranging example, on a 7,000+ mile trip two summers ago, over mountains, across deserts and plains, and through everything from snow flurries and sleet in Montana to 110+ degree temps in Nevada, we got a low of 4 mpg crossing the coastal range on a steep, twisting road in CA, to a high of 9 mpg cruising across the plains. The average for the whole trip was 7.5 mpg, but with the distances we had to cover, I didn't always necessarily keep the cruise set at 60 (sometimes closer to 70). If my goal was to maximize my mpg's, I think we could have done a bit better.
In general, a diesel will usually get slightly better mileage than gas, but will cost more in initial purchase price, maintenance and upkeep, and due to diesel fuel being up to $1 more per gallon than gasoline, it will be more expensive to refuel. Ultimately, it depends on how you use the coach. If you need the extra tow capacity of a diesel, or if you typically put 100k+ miles on a coach, or if you're going to full time and thus want/need something bigger than 38', then those would be important factors in favor of a diesel. Then again, some people just want one to say they have one.
Your mileage may vary.
* This post was
edited 11/30/08 11:25pm by grant135b *
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Economical Handyman
S. California
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Take a test drive on I-5 over the grape-vine, shoud help you make a decision. Comparing gas or diesel Class A MHs, is not apples & apples.
As far as MPG, to many variations could cause good or bad MPG.
* This post was
edited 11/30/08 11:30pm by Economical Handyman *
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Deen
Vancouver, WA
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teacher14 wrote:Ok,
We have a beautiful 35 ft. fifth wheel and f350 diesel truck. I have been trying to convince my husband to get rid of both and buy a class a. He won't buy anything unless it's a diesel, but price is an issue too. What is the gas mileage of a 35 ft gas motor pulling a toad? Could be a class c also. We have a honda civic that we could pull behind it. Just trying to find out positives of gas motor vs. diesel if there are any.
Thanks
Vickie What year Civic?
Any Civic after 2004 is NOT towable according to Honda. But, you can tow anything you want if you're prepared to pay to get it set up right or pay to fix it when it fails. But since there are no transmission pumps for Honda's, its a matter of fixing it after it fails.
Deen - Vancouver, WA
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SteveRankin
Sequim, WA
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As DeWayne pointed out, comparing gas & diesel MH's is no simple matter. At the 35' size you mentioned, you're approaching the upper limit with a gas MH but the lower limit with a diesel.
A diesel engine is inherently more efficient than a gas engine and the fuel itself contains more energy than gasoline. As a result, a diesel engine should get 25-30% better fuel economy than a gas engine doing the same amount of work. It is true that diesel fuel does cost more today, but the extra MPG is usually enough to pay for the difference in fuel prices.
And like DeWayne pointed out, a ride over the Grapevine would illustrate the difference. Both gas & diesel coaches will pull the grade at similar speeds, but the gas engine will be about 6" from your right foot and turning 4000 RPM, while the diesel will be about 30' behind you and running at only 2000 RPM. They both get the job done, and in the campground you can't tell the difference. But on the road, the diesel is much more relaxed.
Steve & C. J.
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jerseyjim
New Jersey
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Bottom line: Diesel gets better milage....but fuel costs about a buck a gallon more than gas.
I think that more than evens things out.
Buy what you want.
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