100K to spend, Gas or older DP?

OK here it is. If you buy the gas you will want the Dp, If you buy the Dp you will think the service is too high, if you buy the gas you will be pissed at me as I go by you on ever hill. Look at everything you can, drive everthing you can, and then buy what you want, not what we tell you too On that note..BUY A DIESEL 

joester and kevin are both right on with their thoughts. Buy your last coach first, buy the diesel.

There is no doubt that there are plenty of outstanding gas units available. But it is almost impossible to find a gas unit over 37 feet long. When you get to a larger motorhome a diesel is a requirement, not a option. And I have yet to hear a diesel owner talk about upgrading to a gasser. One problem I have with a gasser is that it will be an American built engine. I have never owned an American built gas engine with over 50k miles that didn't use at least a quart of oil ever 500 miles. Stop in the gas station, fill up the tank, fill up the sump. Buy the diesel and be happy every after.

seilerbird said:

There is no doubt that there are plenty of outstanding gas units available. But it is almost impossible to find a gas unit over 37 feet long. When you get to a larger motorhome a diesel is a requirement, not a option. And I have yet to hear a diesel owner talk about upgrading to a gasser. One problem I have with a gasser is that it will be an American built engine. I have never owned an American built gas engine with over 50k miles that didn't use at least a quart of oil ever 500 miles. Stop in the gas station, fill up the tank, fill up the sump. Buy the diesel and be happy every after.

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Wow and to think I have only owned 1 engine that used oil like that and it was German. I have a ford v10 with over 70k that is still going strong, and a fleet of chevys and fords some with over 200k that don't use oil like that.

the DP is the better coach for sure but Gasers have their place. I like mine and am glad I bought it. I will move up to a DP but it will be a way differnet coach then my first one. My life has changes a lot in the past 7 years and my needs as well.

wayne

seilerbird said:

One problem I have with a gasser is that it will be an American built engine. I have never owned an American built gas engine with over 50k miles that didn't use at least a quart of oil ever 500 miles. Stop in the gas station, fill up the tank, fill up the sump. Buy the diesel and be happy every after.

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I am not a american car fan however I have owned several american made vehicles over the years & only 1 of those consumed lots of oil... the POS northstar V8 in my caddy needed replaced at 59K miles, consumed several qts a week.... horrible engine!!!  Every other GM engine that I have owned with over 100K miles consumes zero oil presently 112K miles so with my present yukon xl  thus I completely disagree with that statement.   

I've owned over a dozen American made cars and vans in the last 50 years and the only one that used any significant amount of oil was a 1952 Studebaker that got 8mpg of gas and 50 miles per quart of oil   None of the others used more than a quart between oil changes and I drove many of them over 50,000 miles.  Some had about 100,000 on the odometer when I traded them in.

The worst oil-guzzler I've ever had is the 1972 VW bug we have right now......oh, wait, it's not an American car. Never mind.

Wendy

I am very pleased with my current gas RV, 2005 Winnebago, Adventurer. Previously I was pleased with my Pace Arrow Vision Gas.
The previous Holiday Rambler, with the 454 gas engine did have problems with the mountains out here in the West.
When you say you can get similar rigs, gas/ diesel: what about the bells and whistles of the interior. When I was looking I was able to purchase the Adventurer, with all the deluxe features, for about the same price as the Bounder, with basic interior.
I opted for gas. No regrets.
Diesel can tow a heavier car, if that is a concern. 

"The previous Holiday Rambler, with the 454 gas engine did have problems with the mountains out here in the West."

Which year was that rig? Old enough to have a carburetor instead of EFI?

My year 2000 454 (7.4L) has  a lot of guts going up hill at 7,000 feet.  But it's MPFI and that makes a big difference.

Wendy said:

The worst oil-guzzler I've ever had is the 1972 VW bug we have right now......oh, wait, it's not an American car. Never mind.

Wendy

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bingo

I had a next door neighbor who loved English cars. His big complaint about English cars is that there was more oil on the outside of the engine than there was in the crankcase.

seilerbird said:

One problem I have with a gasser is that it will be an American built engine. I have never owned an American built gas engine with over 50k miles that didn't use at least a quart of oil ever 500 miles. Stop in the gas station, fill up the tank, fill up the sump.

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Wow,


I used to be a German-built-only guy but after the huge repair costs for constant things like CV joints, shocks, etc. I switched to buying non-German. 

My first non-German car was a 1989 Ford Explorer that lasted me 230K and I dumped it when all it needed was a clutch.  That one was expensive in that I had to replace a cracked head at around 80K, but I bought it used and figure the prior owner let it overheat, 'cause the cracked head was an issue very soon after purchase.

Next I went with a used Nissan 300ZX that ran 175K before it was too expensive to justify repair (flaky clutch again). 

I still have a 97 Dodge Ram 1500 V8 5.9L with 215K on it, and all I have replaced is a water pump (twice) and a U joint.   

Now I've got a 2005 Mustang GT with about 65K and have not had to do anything at all other than routine oil/filter changes.

I guess you have worse luck than I do Seilerbird...

seilerbird said:

One problem I have with a gasser is that it will be an American built engine. I have never owned an American built gas engine with over 50k miles that didn't use at least a quart of oil ever 500 miles.

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You must not have owned an American built engine for many years. There used to be a lot of engines (USA made or not) that ate a lot of oil. Seems to me, based on the many cars I have owned in the last 15 years or so, that's no longer true. I have several (seven) American gas vehicles now, (two Mustangs (2002 and 1999 <both 3.8L>) , one 97 Sebring <2.5L> , a 99 Dodge Ram Truck <5.2L> , 97 Jeep <5.2L> SUV, 96 Saturn <1.9L> & the RV listed below) all with more than 100,000 miles (except the 2002 Mustang, which only has 40K miles) that use less than a quart between oil changes. In fact, I rarely check the oil in any of them because  it's so rare for them to use any. And I put on a lot of miles, often going to Reno and back almost every week during the summer. I often go more than 5,000 miles between oil changes and by then they are usually ALMOST a quart low. IOW, I get better than ten times what you're claiming.

But more than about 25 years ago, engines were a lot different and many ate a lot of oil.

No, I haven't owned an American engine in years. I quit wasting my money on them.

seilerbird said:

No, I haven't owned an American engine in years. I quit wasting my money on them.

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Now, you can try them again. Everything has changed.

BTW, I have owned countless cars and have yet to have any that did NOT have an American name. I had one gas engine last to 385,000 miles (V6 in a Olds Cutless)  without a single engine problem and several make it to almost 300K. Those did eat oil, but they were older vehicles (1980's). But I never even heard of a Japanese gas engine lasting to such mileage without a problem, so we could never know what the oil consumption would be on those at such mileage.

The V6 Cutless was the only engine that I have owned to get low oil pressure and that was when I junked it at 385K.

Now to get back on subject, I once thought I wanted a diesel, but I hear gasoline engines do better when they spend a lot of time sitting. Diesels are supposed to be better when you never give the engine a break. IOW, are used very often, especially for heavy loads.

I might take two long RV trips per year at the most. And will spend more time working on it than using it, but I enjoy working on RV's and even fixing things.

If I were going to spend 100K, I would go for diesel if I were a fulltimer that changes locations a lot, gasoline otherwise. But there are several other things to consider that have already been mentioned in this thread.

Found a couple of Bounder 38S units but I'm also considering an 06 Newmar Ventana 3936 or an 06 Discovery 39S for around the same price point.  From what I have read around the forums, those are also decent units.

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Either the Discovery or the Ventana is a much better rig than the Bounder diesel. Not knocking the Bounder, but it is the entry level model and a modest step up in price for one of those buys a lot of improvements. Not always big things that are visible right up front, but they are there. When you buy used, the difference between the entry level and the low-mid range is very small.

RV Roamer said:

Either the Discovery or the Ventana is a much better rig than the Bounder diesel. Not knocking the Bounder, but it is the entry level model and a modest step up in price for one of those buys a lot of improvements. Not always big things that are visible right up front, but they are there. When you buy used, the difference between the entry level and the low-mid range is very small.

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Thanks Gary.  Found a 2008 Newmar Ventana 39' with 11,000 miles for $120K from a private seller.  Sounds like a very good deal to me considering LOW NADA on an 08 Ventana is $140K ?!?!  One thing I did notice is the 08 diesel seems weaker than the prior and later years:

07 Ventana - 330hp - 1,000 lb torque
08 Ventana - 350hp - 750 lb torque
09 Ventana - 360hp - 1,050+ lb torque

I see the 08 has the ISB engine...better fuel economy?  May sacrifice towing power though...my towing load is 6,500lbs...wish it had the beefy torque like the other years.  BUT, the price seems attractive...

I'd be leery of the ISB engine with that tow load too.  On the other hand, 350 hp and 750 ft lbs would have been a powerful engine just  several years ago.  I've got 370 hp and 1200 ft lbs and still wish I had more on the serious grades.

350 hp and 750 ft lbs would be serious slow on grades with a 6300# towed depending on the weight of the Ventana.  If it is near 30,000#, it will really slow things down.

I have a gross weight of the MH about 29500# with a 4800# towed with a 300 CAT with 860 ft-lbs of torque and it is OK but another 2000# would reallly slow things below acceptable to me at least.

Just my thoughts,

Jim Godward said:

350 hp and 750 ft lbs would be serious slow on grades with a 6300# towed depending on the weight of the Ventana.  If it is near 30,000#, it will really slow things down.

I have a gross weight of the MH about 29500# with a 4800# towed with a 300 CAT with 860 ft-lbs of torque and it is OK but another 2000# would reallly slow things below acceptable to me at least.

Just my thoughts,

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I don't agree. I think another 2000# would not be noticeable. You are not lifting the weight you are dragging it with greased wheel bearings.