Short Class A diesels

We just purchased a new Class C (2018 Winnebago Fuse, 23T) but during our search we also looked at short (that is, < 30 ft) Class A motorhomes thinking that perhaps a Class A might be preferable as it would give us more interior space. One thing that I noticed while looking is that every short Class A motorhome was a gasser and I wanted a diesel, thinking it might give us a bit better mileage on the road. I also looked online, but could find no new short diesel Class As, so I began to wonder if any manufacturer even makes a short diesel Class A any longer.

In all of my online searches I only found one < 30 ft diesel Class A and that was a 2017 Winnebago Via, but that model was no longer available in 2018 and the shortest available diesel Class A I could find was 33 feet (one model), the next 35 feet (one model) and then suddenly the 37 foot and longer models all seemed to be diesel. By now the question as to why we could not find a short diesel Class A is academic since we have our diesel 24 foot Fuse, but I still wonder why. I found plenty of short gasser Class As, but no diesel. Is it the extra cost of the diesel? Are short Class As all aimed at the budget market? Or is there some mechanical reason? Or are they available and just not at the dealers we looked at?

I am thinking about when we replace our Fuse in the future.

It is a mix of reasons, and yes part is that there is an industry attitude of bigger is better, it is very hard to find any sub 34 ft coach that is not marketed as an entry level coach.  Also there are some inherent balance issues with diesel pushers that make their minimum practical length somewhere around 32 feet, even at this there have been many poorly balanced 32 ft diesel pushers built over the years, giving them a bit of a reputation for poor handling.  There are also no front engine class A diesel chassis out there since the Freightliner FRED was discontinued with the big economic meltdown of a decade ago.

A diesel is certainly more expensive initially and for maintenance so why put it in a coach that doesn?t need it for performance? Big, heavy coaches need diesels so you just accept the cost. I know Tiffin has a 33? diesel, but I haven?t looked at one. I had never thought about the handdlong issue Isaac brings up, but it makes sense. Anyone with a short rear engine diesel want to comment?

Isaac-1 said:

It is a mix of reasons, and yes part is that there is an industry attitude of bigger is better, it is very hard to find any sub 34 ft coach that is not marketed as an entry level coach.  Also there are some inherent balance issues with diesel pushers that make their minimum practical length somewhere around 32 feet, even at this there have been many poorly balanced 32 ft diesel pushers built over the years, giving them a bit of a reputation for poor handling.  There are also no front engine class A diesel chassis out there since the Freightliner FRED was discontinued with the big economic meltdown of a decade ago.

Click to expand...

I was not aware that all diesel Class As are pushers. I had assumed that there would be some front engine diesel Class A motorhomes. Perhaps there are some mechanical issues I was not aware of that mandate that Class A diesels be pushers.

It seems a shame. During our search I found a couple of really nice short Class As. The Thor Vegas model we saw was about 26 foot and had a great floor plan for us and my wife just sat in it with the slides extended wondering at all of the room, but it was a gasser and I really did not want to deal with 7-8 mpg if I could avoid it, so we ended up with the shorter Fuse.

UTTransplant said:

A diesel is certainly more expensive initially and for maintenance so why put it in a coach that doesn?t need it for performance?

Click to expand...

I was looking for a diesel for fuel economy. We put a lot of miles on our RVs and I thought that between the lower per mile fuel costs and the higher trade in value I could recover the cost of the diesel and, even if I could not, I could expect longer engine life. As far as engine maintenance costs are concerned we generally take our RVs to the local auto dealer for servicing. They should be experts on those engines and they are a lot closer and a lot less expensive than the RV dealer.

There are some front engine diesel coaches.  Some were built around 2007 on the Freightliner FRED chassis, and the current ones are Super-C's (e.g. Jayco Seneca) built on a Freightliner or Ford medium truck chassis. None of them are or were shorter than about 34 ft.  Winnebago built a 32 ft DP for several years in their Jiuyrney model, but it was never a good seller and was abandoned.


Currently no chassis manufacturer is making a front diesel Class A chassis, so any coaches are Class C's, using a truck cab as the foundation.

Buying a diesel to save on gas is just plain silly. It is like marrying Dolly Parton so you would not have to buy her records.

SeilerBird said:

Buying a diesel to save on gas is just plain silly. It is like marrying Dolly Parton so you would not have to buy her records.

Click to expand...

LOL SeilerBird your showing your age....Records?? ;D

A short diesel, maybe 30 feet with a full wall slide and a king bed, would get me looking again.  I'm not holding my breath since it appears more buyers are looking for 40 footers.  But just in case, and if I don't age out, I'll be looking. 

Tiffin makes the Breeze in models 31(31.5') and 33 (33.5')it uses the Cummins ISV5.0 275HP

Newmar makes the New Aire, 3 models all 33' 10", Cummins ISB 360HP, 800FTLB Torgue
also the Ventana LE 34' 10" also the ISB but 340/700

Ken & Sheila said:

Tiffin makes the Breeze in models 31(31.5') and 33 (33.5')it uses the Cummins ISV5.0 275HP

Newmar makes the New Aire, 3 models all 33' 10", Cummins ISB 360HP, 800FTLB Torgue
also the Ventana LE 34' 10" also the ISB but 340/700

Click to expand...

The Tiffin Breeze only comes in 33? now, but used ones in 31? should be out there.

Edit: I didn?t see the 31? Breeze on the Tiffin website, but I did see a number of them on dealer sites so I stand corrected. I did note the dealers were charging much more for a 31? Breeze than I paid for my 2018 Allegro RED 37PA! Shop wisely folks.

UTTransplant said:

The Tiffin Breeze only comes in 33? now, but used ones in 31? should be out there.

Click to expand...

Still shows on their website?
In the past one issue with short diesels was a lite front end because of all the weight hanging on back. Had a friend with a 32 ft Beaver and his wife complained that she needed a sports bra to handle the front end bounce. Beaver ended up added weights to the front end. Now this rig was non-slide and had a Cummins C, not the lighter B. I gather that with the weight of slides and using the Cummins B this isn't an issue in current rigs, but who know if they went down to 30 ft.

Front engine would be fine, but the front engine diesels didn't sell well.

Ken, no question about porpoising.  Can't be much fun.  But I'm guessing the old short Beaver was pretty heavy in the rear with an older technology 8.3 or larger Cummins. 

SeilerBird said:

Buying a diesel to save on gas is just plain silly. It is like marrying Dolly Parton so you would not have to buy her records.

Click to expand...

I understand your point about the economics, but I disagree with your conclusion. Personally I would rather deal with a higher initial cost and lower operating costs, plus the probability of a greater trade-in value, than deal with the higher operating costs, but your opinion is noted.

The problem is you often don't actually get lower operating cost, the better fuel economy is offset by higher costs for oil changes, filters, and other routine maintenance.

Isaac-1 said:

The problem is you often don't actually get lower operating cost, the better fuel economy is offset by higher costs for oil changes, filters, and other routine maintenance.

Click to expand...

A lot of it depends on where you get your oil changes or other maintenance, and how often you need to do those. And the trade-off also depends upon how far you drive during the year, and where you drive as the price difference between diesel and gasoline varies in different parts of the US.

In addition the decision about whether to use gas or diesel may depend upon non-monetary concerns. I understand the economics involved, but still prefer diesels.

Gizmo100 said:

LOL SeilerBird your showing your age....Records?? ;D

Click to expand...

Might be worth it for a wet t-shirt contest.....

Gizmo100 said:

LOL SeilerBird your showing your age....Records?? ;D

Click to expand...

Hmmm... I thought "records" was short for "recordings." Are there no recordings today?  :

SeilerBird said:

It is like marrying Dolly Parton so you would not have to buy her records.

Click to expand...

If that's an option, I'd do it!!! 

If Mike just wants a diesel he should stick with that decision as long as it's an informed decision. But there won't be a lot of choices in the length he is looking at.

I just wonder if he's deluding himself in thinking that a diesel will be a better investment. Purchase price, operating costs and maintenance is higher, in some cases much higher. The slight improvement in fuel mileage vs overall operating costs just can't be justified if he's looking to save money.

But there are other very good reasons to own a diesel. Quieter ride, air suspension and generally a better build on the house portion to name a few.