Gas Vs Diesel Yah-Yah-Yah!

[Mondooker]

Ok look, I understand diesels hold more storage, can hold and have heavier stuff. I also understand diesels have air bags and may/may not have a better ride and may/may not pull more and may/may not be quieter. But that all comes at a price!

For the sake of this conversation let’s agree on a few perimeters.
A top of the line gasser lists around $225.000.00.
A compatible diesel will be around $300,000.00.

So let’s keep our conversation located there. I don’t want someone jumping in with “hey I have a new Newmar Mountain Air and it’s better than a gasser. If you do that I’ll be prone to say something like “Im very happy for you but you’re an idiot”!

I recently spent a good amount of time in a 2021 Entegra Emblem and 2021 Coachmen Encore. Both had the new Ford V8 and the new F53 chassis. And I’m here to tell you the gas vs diesel has been blurred to say the least.

You take the difference in price and the price to maintain them and the gas stands out as an obvious winner. I’ll hear diesel owners say “Oh mine goes up hill faster” and I counter with “Have you gone somewhere a gas coach can’t”? All I hear then is Crickets. And then there’s “Oh but my diesel will go 500,000 miles and a gas will do half of that. And I say “Yes and for what you pay to rebuild your diesel, I can put in a new engine and transmission and have money left over for a month out west and summer in Alaska”! Yes more crickets.

The prevailing wisdom has been. Their all the same at the park and there's a lot of truth to that. But getting there has become much better in the new top tear gassers. I’m not saying there’s not good reasons to buy a diesel because there are. Just be smart and not buy one because someone says a diesel is better. Because that’s not necessarily right for you.

I was recently talking to someone with a known RV channel who have a Newmar BayStar and love the Coach. But they really-really-really want a diesel as soon as the can! Silly me I asked why? They looked at me as much to say “What’s wrong with you”? And I admit it’s a multiple choice questions. But if they were honest when we were done talking, they no longer had the same assurance as when the conversation started.

Get what you want but get if for the right reason and whisking a gas coach away because it’s a gas coach could be a huge mistake! Folks will add remarks below as they should. But be open minded and grounded into what you really need and then what you want will fill in nicely! Find the floorplan you like, that’s critical mass right there!

[rocmoc]

Have had all of the them. It is a lifestyle choice! Like generator or solar, sat or streaming, light beer or reg beer and on & on. We have a diesel pusher now and happy but were happy when we had the gasser and a 5er. Get what you can afford and have enough money to use your RV. Too many people over-extend on the purchase then can't afford the traveling.

rocmoc n AZ/Baja

[Mondooker]

Cloud Dancer said: “Dutch Star is far from perfect. HOWEVER, there is no gas-engine motorhome that'll match it.”

That’s my point, or at least part of it. My coach cost just undert a million bucks new. Now how could that possibly match up with a $200,000 gas coach? In short it can’t! But what it can do is strand alone as a nice comfortable coach to be enjoyed for years!

[Cloud_Dancer]

I owned, and used, five(5) pre-owned gas-engined motorhomes PRIOR to special-ordering my diesel-pusher Dutch Star. BUT, I knew from the start that there was NO gas motorhome that would satisfy my basic knowledge of RV design. The problem was, and still is, that I always insisted on paying cash for any motorized vehicle that I bought (including aircraft). This simply means that I've never bought a top shelf vehicle. I always bought a compromise vehicle.
I have a lot of experience and education, both of which have significantly enhanced my intuition. Yes, I believe you can enhance your initial intuition (requires explanation, I know).
Back to the subject: The Spartan chassis under my Dutch Star has some excellent design features, such as big tires, a 276 inch long wheelbase, a big rear-mounted torky engine with a big side radiator and big hydraulic-motored fan, a great IFS suspension with excellent steering system (with dampers), and a trick-design suspension with OPTIMUM spring rate RATIO whether empty or loaded.
I could go on and on, but I'll just say that while the comfort, the directional stability, and the handling are GREAT,....my Dutch Star is far from perfect. HOWEVER, there is no gas-engine motorhome that'll match it.

[Mondooker]

Hey Cloud Dancer, And yes I do believe we are kindred spirits. And we may have even had a few spirits to drink? I agree about our conversations on coaches.

Five spaces down from where my coach is parked is a 2021 Entegra Emblem, their top gas offering. I was talking to them outside their coach under the awning with a nice view of the lake 75 degrees and a light breeze. Yes, a nice setting for a beautiful Coach. They asked me into their coach and it was beautifully to say the least.

No... Not a diesel but a darn fine looking Class A Motorhome. Something I would hope any of us would be happy to have. But alas, you’ll not have that big diesel pump nozzle! Oh the pain of it all.

[Cloud_Dancer]

Mondooker,
Sorry I'm late. It's good to hear we might be BOF's (birds of a feather). I started racing at age 13-1/2, in a 1952 650cc Triumph (my Dad had Harleys). I also seriously got into Enduro Go Karts (won 2 National titles and got inducted into the IKF Hall of Fame). Then, got into dirt Sprint cars (with and without wings). I won several track championships in Sprints. There's a lot more to my racing story, but I want to say more about motorhomes.

[Mondooker]

Hey Cloud Dancer, Well said and we’ll done and thanks for pointing out my spelling error. Country Coach did in fact build a fine coach and are much sought after. You mentioned racing, what kind of cars did you race? I really enjoy NASCAR and have for years. Enjoyed dragsters as well, always a lot of fun.

[Cloud_Dancer]

I lived through the development of the Country Coach products when Bob Lee was in charge. And, I've done the research on the Eugene Prevost history. I built street rods during my high school years and got into oval track racing during my college years. I studied and practiced the technical elements of chassis dynamics. I became seriously interested in motorhome chassis dynamics due to the fact that I owned several during my auto racing involvement. BUT, I never puffed on a "piece" pipe nor a peace pipe.

[Mondooker]

Cloud Dancer, I think you’ve been puffing on that piece pipe too long. Country Coach ... Really?

[Cloud_Dancer]

So many of these opinions come from lack of knowledge. If you want to know exactly how to achieve the performance features you prefer, you first need to acquire a whole lot of knowledge in the field of motor vehicle chassis dynamics.
With the knowledge that I have on this subject, I will say that the only person that I know of who actually knew how to build a great motorhome (and did it) is the person who designed and built the COUNTRY COACH.

[Mondooker]

Come on IvyLog, that’s a little disingenuous isn’t it? I drive a Prevost Bus, the safest motorhome on the planet. And by bus standards no other motorhome is safe! My point and I think a reasonable one, there are some very good gas Class A motorhomes out there. Most of us have seen a DP on the side of the road showing it’s underbelly. But it never said to me “Don’t buy one”!

[Ivylog]

Haven’t looked at a gasser in decades but based on problems posted on here most are still just modified trailers bolted to a overloaded Ford chassis...all kinds of posts on handling upgrades. Leaks still a common problem, partial board cabinets with staples and glue holding them together, and poor insulation/sound quality. Granted there are entry level DPs that aren’t much better although they usually do not have the handling problems and usually better CCC.

A few DPs do not just bolt the house to the chassis.

[Bruce_Brown]

valhalla360 wrote:

way2roll wrote:
Even if power were the same, efficiency is much different. I went with the 6.7 Diesel over the gas primarily due to fuel economy. The cost in the truck was not vastly different but the mileage sure was.

With diesel costing more per gallon typically, the fuel economy no longer really holds up well. So what if you get 20% more MPG but a gallon costs 15% more.

Unless you are putting a million miles on it, you will never break even.

Locally we've flipped back to diesel being less expensive than gas.

[Mondooker]

I think we’ve wondered into the weeds. This thread is more about the Coach (shell) than the engine that drives them. Meaning you can have a great floor plan made with good materials and not be a diesel. A gas coach maxes out at 38’ where a DP with tag axle stretches out to 45’. And you don’t see a 45’ gasser because a gas engine is not made to handle that kind of weight. Let’s try to stay in our lane. 🙂

And MPG and torque and how to eat pork, although interesting, isn’t the intent of this thread. So come out of you corners and shake hands.

[valhalla360]

way2roll wrote:
Even if power were the same, efficiency is much different. I went with the 6.7 Diesel over the gas primarily due to fuel economy. The cost in the truck was not vastly different but the mileage sure was.

With diesel costing more per gallon typically, the fuel economy no longer really holds up well. So what if you get 20% more MPG but a gallon costs 15% more.

Unless you are putting a million miles on it, you will never break even.