New to RV'ing

Hi Folks,
I'm new to this forum and new to RV'ing.  I've rented a class C a few times.  My wife and I are looking to buy a motor home and wander around the country for a few months and are terribly confused at what to buy.  We're confused about whether to go class A or class C, gas or diesel.  We have some strong wants including a separate rear bedroom, a sofa and if possible a comfortable chair, and a dinette.  We've looked at the Gulfstream Endura model W6316EH which seems to have everything we want, but I read some people found it was not of high quality.  We are not going to drive an hour or two and camp.  We intend to put many miles on it and live in it for a month or two or maybe more.  I was concerned about gas engines in the mountains with power.  Also, we'll probably go used (would like to spend less than $80K) and I hear gas engines only go 50 to 100 thousand miles before needing overhaul.  Diesels are just broken in at that mileage.  If I bought a used gas with 30,000 miles a good piece of its life is used.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you!

Hi Ed, and welcome to the forum.

Gulf Stream stopped making motorized RVs a while ago but I understand they're still making some towables. I've never owned a Gulf Stream product but there are some on this forum who have/do, hopefully they'll chime in.

There are several manufacturers that make Class A motorhomes with the features you mentioned, and possibly some Class Cs as well, but I've never owned a Class C so I'm not too sure about that. As to the diesel/gas decision, there are varying opinions on that too, you just need to decide which best suits your needs. Diesel motorhomes tend to be somewhat more expensive to buy and operate (I've owned both), but our diesel-pusher doesn't break the bank.

Diesel powered motorhomes do offer a bit more power for climbing grades and for towing, but many newer gas powered motorhomes usually have plenty of power for climbing and towing (neither are speed demons). Diesel-pushers do usually offer a quieter and smoother ride than many gassers, because the engine is way behind you vs. between the driver and passenger, and most diesel-pushers that I'm aware of are on an air-ride chassis.

My suggestion to perspective motorhome buyers is to focus on finding a floorplan they like, then see if it's got all the amenities they want. Most of us spend a lot more time living in our motorhomes than driving them, so a floorplan that you don't really like will be a constant PITA. It's amazing how much those little things you thought you could live with will eat away at you. When it comes to engines and transmissions, most current RV manufacturers use many of the same drive-train components. Higher quality cabinetry, better brand name components and overall better build quality are things that you usually end up paying more for. Take your time, do a lot of internet research, go to some RV shows and ask a lot of questions here. Good luck.

Kev

Thank you so much for your feedback!

Hi Ed, I'm a Gulf Stream owner.
Last year we bought our first motor home, a 29', 2000 Gulf Stream Ultra Sport, Class C.  It's on a Chevy 3500 Chassis, and had approx. 90K miles when I bought it.
I was a bit concerned about the miles, but since my former Ford pickup had between 150 and 200K miles, without any problems, and still ran strong when I traded it for my CRV, I wasn't all that concerned about the mileage on this motorhome.
Also at the time, my neighbor, a long time RV'r, who had been a gas and diesel mechanic for 40 years, looked it over, checked all the major components, and found it to be in excellent shape for a 13 year old MH.  He told me some of the commercial GM trucks he worked on, lasted over 250K miles, with this same engine.

I had two big issues I had to address immediately.  The first was, the vehicle needed a tune-up, and shortly after I bought it (for $9K), it lost power, and showed an error code.  I had it towed to a local truck/RV garage (thank you, Good Sam), that came highly recommended to me by several friends.  It was two sensor problems (crank sensor, and air intake sensor), which were both minor issues.  I also had the oil and other fluids changed, and all belts and hoses checked, before taking any long trip.  This cost me under $500.

The second issue was the roof.  The former owner, a great guy, who did most of the work on the MH himself, repaired an area on the left rear corner, that caught a tree limb.  Unfortunately he didn't repair it correctly.  He used the correct rubber product to patch the torn rubber roof, however he sealed it with silicone caulk, about 2 yrs. earlier, and didn't hold up, causing water to get underneath, and start to rot the plywood underneath.  He used silicone caulk to seal ALL the rest of the seams on the motor home, causing the front seam on the cab overhead to leak, also making the plywood underneath to get wet.  I had the plywood under both areas replaced, new rubber put on both areas, sealed the seams with roof tape and liquid roof.  That ended up costing me $800.  I dug out all the silicone caulk myself, and recaulked it with the proper Dicor roof caulk, and DAP acrylic caulk around windows, marker lights, and other seams.

None of this has anything to do with the overall quality of the coach, or the manufacturer, which I am as satisfied with (or dissatisfied with as the case may be) as  I would have been with just about any other MH we looked at.  Except for the high end motorhomes, such as the Prevost, I found the lack of quality in the materials used, the lack of fit and finish, and just the overall cheap look of just about everything in the MH, such as furniture, fabrics, window treatments, and the wall paper boarders used all over the interior. We've made it ours, for short money, mostly by taking down the items that bothered us, like the paper boarders (the glue was a challenge), the window treatments, which are GONE, and replaced with custom made curtains, and new custom made slip covers for the sofa (until we decide if we want to replace it with another sofa or chairs), front seats, and dinette seats (which we'd like to replace with a smaller table and two chairs).  I'm so glad my other half can sew!  The layout and the mechanicals of the truck and MH was what we focused on when we bought it, the rest we could update ourselves, to our taste. 

Overall we've been as happy with the Gulf Stream as we would have been with any other make or model.  We've been all over Fl., the Southern States, and a trip last summer to New England (over 2600 miles on that trip), and have put almost 9K miles on it since we bought it.
The way we use it, the Class C works for us.  Space in a larger Class A (especially with slides) would be nice, and something I would consider with our next MH., but more than anything else, I would like a King Size Bed, which is almost impossible to find in most motorhomes, and was the one thing I had to settle on, and something I'm really not able to change.

Late model gas engines run far longer than 50k miles and usually well over than 100k, even in a heavy duty application like a motorhome. Good maintenance is essential, of course.

Horsepower is horsepower, so a 340 hp gas engine can move the same coach as a 340 hp diesel. The difference is in the rpms required - the gas engine will have to rev 2x or more than the diesel to deliver that hp. Most people don't want to hear their engine screaming at those high rpms, and it does indeed accelerate wear. I would not rule out a gas engine coach as long as weight and transmission are well matched to engine capability. That said, you will enjoy the diesel a lot more - the low end torque delivers plenty of hp down in the rpm range you can most easily use it. And the rest of a diesel pusher package, e.g. air suspension, rear engine, heavy duty Allison tranny, etc., makes for a fine coach.

Thank you all for your input.  It's very helpful.
Best regards,
Ed