Next motorhome gas or diesel?

(QUOTE) "I'm different I bought ours because of the 8.3 cummins and allison tranny, wife bought it because of the layout and no slides. The only other engine I would have settled for is the Cat or 8.1 Chevy gasser. We dont do fords"

Will, I know exactly how you feel. My Dad owned GM dealerships for many years, all over the Pacific Northwest (and I grew up working at them). If there would have been a choice of engines when we bought the Ford-equipped coach, I probably would have opted for one with a Chevy engine - but in all honesty, in more than 12 years, that Ford V-10 never caused us ANY trouble at all. I have no experience with the Chevy 8.1, and I'm quite sure it's a great RV engine, but if anyone were to ask my opinion of the Ford V-10, I'd have to say that I was very impressed with its reliability and power in our 32 foot Class A.

Kev

I wonder why they never build an RV's like an aircraft with weight savings in mind.
In a high end RV not one single thought is ever given to weight sayings.

Everything in a high end Motorhome is all about solid hard wood glass faced cabinets, with solid ceramic tile floors and counters ,solid glass shower doors, solid wood pocket doors, with solid brass hinges, and if begins to weigh too much, ...just get a bigger motor and chassis . ...they're up to over 600 horsepower and over 48k lbs now.

I saw a show on TV about building corporate jet interiors, Everything looked just as beautiful inside them as a Newell coach does but it was all done with weight in mind. Everything was covered with beautiful bookmarked curved burlwood veneer over Carbon fiber and aluminum foam core panels.

You can't say it's because an aircraft doesn't get bounced around like a RV does either.

If they got the weight down like an aircraft, maybe we could get 30+ MPG out of a little turbo'd 4 cylinder diesel engine.

The european RV builders are building Rv's a lot different that we do.

jglass said:

I always figured a V10 gas engine would be perfect for out next used motorhome. Lots of them for sale but I'm told the V10 is know longer manufactured or is it.

Click to expand...

Where did you hear the rumour that the V10 is no longer being manufactured??

Considering the 2015 line up of motorhomes with V10 engines, one would suspect that your information is somewhat flawed.

Stan Birch said:

Where did you hear the rumour that the V10 is no longer being manufactured??

Considering the 2015 line up of motorhomes with V10 engines, one would suspect that your information is somewhat flawed.

Click to expand...

and Dodge still has a pretty cool 500 horse gas powered V10 ..it'd be neet to see one of those in an rv.

I started 1978 with a class c coachman class c gas (chevy) upgraded to a 1984 Winnebago class A 454 gas. In 1997 to 1996 coachman class A 34 ft dp 6 speed Allison Spartan chassis with a cummings kept the coachman till 2009. Went without a coach for a year or so looking to down size found a 1996 allegro class A 454 gas and we love it. Now I think you might understand this reasoning everything for a diesel  is costly, air filters are $65 oil for them are in gallons parts are very high had to replace the computer on the Allison it was $2400. This is why I went back to old reliable 454. Another issue in Texas anything over 26000 lbs  you have to have a class B license to drive it. I'm not saying don't buy a diesel just be aware of the cost involved in owning one and maintaining one. Maintaining any rv is costly but diesels are a good bit higher in my opinion. Keep the shining    8)   

I saw a show on TV about building corporate jet interiors, Everything looked just as beautiful inside them as a Newell coach does but it was all done with weight in mind. Everything was covered with beautiful bookmarked curved burlwood veneer over Carbon fiber and aluminum foam core panels.

You can't say it's because an aircraft doesn't get bounced around like a RV does either.

Click to expand...

Actually, you can -- the bouncing around in an RV is different from that in an aircraft. And aircraft are fragile, even the corporate and airline jets. Granted that they're strong when it comes to air loads and g-loads, but on many aircraft you can damage the aircraft just by putting your weight in the wrong place, or by pushing or stepping in the wrong place. The No Hold, No Step and Push Here signs on an aircraft are for good reason. And, those interiors are very costly, several million dollars for one aircraft. You could buy several Newells for the cost of one of those interiors.

But in any case, in the aircraft you have to consider weight, and that's part (only part -- they're extremely low volume, and have FAA certification to deal with) of the reason they're so expensive -- yes, even more so than top end coaches.

If they got the weight down like an aircraft, maybe we could get 30+ MPG out of a little turbo'd 4 cylinder diesel engine.

Click to expand...

Weight is a relatively minor consideration in gas mileage, compared to wind resistance, at least at highway speeds. At residential street speeds and/or stop-and-go operation, weight becomes a much bigger consideration, of course.

Both Ford and Chrysler/Ram have limited V10 production and make it available only in vehicles that have heavy load requirements, basically their truck lines. And GM did away with the 8.1L gas V8 as well. For most purposes all three companies can meet horsepower needs with smaller, more economical engines and thus boost their CAFE (mpg) ratings. And diesels handle the heavy duty demand for most buyers.

Larry N. said:

Weight is a relatively minor consideration in gas mileage, compared to wind resistance, at least at highway speeds. At residential street speeds and/or stop-and-go operation, weight becomes a much bigger consideration, of course.

Click to expand...

the weight is a major consideration because many RV mfgs are building the body structures out of aluminum in an effort to cut down the maxed out chassis GVW weights, Most Rv's run around town right at the max weight that the chassis will allow.

it would be cheaper faster and stronger to use welded steel frames and not screwed together aluminum body structures. but they are trying to stay under the GVW limit of that chassis and still give you the solid cherry glass door cabinets and 1/2" thick ceramic tile floors.

as for the gas milage on the open road with the cruise control set, yes the fuel milage is almost the same, but a hill or some traffic will change all that.

I know from years of driving trucks at the end of a trip a empty truck will get better fuel milage that a truck that is loaded within a  few pounds of it's max GVW.

Luckily that the police are not enforcing vehicle GVW license requirements (in more and more states now) because of the problems with impounding a large rv , but if there ever is an accident involving an RV over 26k or one with air brakes it means many rv drivers are technically an unlicensed and unqualified driver, and thus at fault.

most DP have a GWV over 26k lbs so you need to check the drivers license restriction in your home state,
you may find you need a special license for that air brake diesel pusher you're driving.

if the rv'er would be at fault then why don't they require any cdl's to buy or drive them? I have been to the dot and point blank asked if my coach required a cdl of any kind, air brakes, I think it shows 32,000 loaded. their answer, no cdl required for any rv in the state of Arkansas. and we are not the only state.

so if I were to be in a wreck, and of course it wasn't my fault. how would I legally be at fault?

kevin said:

if the rv'er would be at fault then why don't they require any cdl's to buy or drive them? I have been to the dot and point blank asked if my coach required a cdl of any kind, air brakes, I think it shows 32,000 loaded. their answer, no cdl required for any rv in the state of Arkansas. and we are not the only state.

so if I were to be in a wreck, and of course it wasn't my fault. how would I legally be at fault?

Click to expand...

ok, that means you are a properly licensed driver in every state.
but in many states (if you live in that state) you need a NonCommercial CDL license to operate a vehicle over 26k gvw.  most attorneys know in court a non licensed driver is automatically at fault.


it's not like buying a gun, pay in cash  you don't even need a drivers license to buy an RV.

I don't know if this is up to date but here is a partial list of the state requirements...
http://changingears.com/rv-sec-state-rv-license.shtml

I don't know if you have seen those giant billboards all over the roads with some attorney asking if you have been in an accident with a semi truck you could get a large settlement,

the reason is if the truck driver has any problems with his CDL drivers license endorsements/ health card or the truck is overweight on any wheel then the truck driver is automatically at fault.

now imagine how that Prius owner's attorney is gonna look at your big huge D/P ?

Boy has this gotten off topic.
Local use about five hundred miles or so and usage of about once a month gas is the way to go, anything else maybe and only maybe a diesel.

ironrat said:

Boy has this gotten off topic.

Click to expand...

well the drivers license thing may play a part in the choice of your next RV depending on what state you live in.

That could be but the license does not know the difference from gas to diesel in an RV.

ok I hope this isn't coming off as a argument, but if my mh is taged in ar. and they don't require a special license. if you have a wreck in a state that does require it, how does that work? will you get a ticket? I know with doing window tint, that you are required to be legal in the state your taged in. to me looks like if it weighs that much, has air brakes, and that long, you should have to have some sort of license. jm2c.

Your home state drivers license is valid in all other states.

kevin said:

ok I hope this isn't coming off as a argument, but if my mh is taged in ar. and they don't require a special license. if you have a wreck in a state that does require it, how does that work? will you get a ticket? I know with doing window tint, that you are required to be legal in the state your taged in. to me looks like if it weighs that much, has air brakes, and that long, you should have to have some sort of license. jm2c.

Click to expand...

if you are legal in your home state you won't get a ticket in a weight limit state,

but. this was copied off of the AR state DMV site and you may want some clarification to this.

Instruction Permits (except Motorcycle Permits), Learner?s Licenses, Intermediate
Licenses and Class D Licenses authorize an individual to operate an automobile or
any other four-wheel vehicle with a gross weight rating (GVWR) under 26,001 pounds,
provided the vehicle is not designed to transport sixteen or more passengers (including
the driver), and the vehicle is not transporting material defined as ?hazardous material.?
For information concerning driver licensing for persons who may operate vehicles
with a GVWR over 26,000 pounds, designed to transport sixteen or more passengers
or transport ?hazardous material,? please refer to the Arkansas Commercial Driver
License Manual.

there may be a motorhome exception but I didn't see one.
You should be careful about a law that may not be enforced by the highway patrol,.... but would be enforced in a court of law.

I would actually like to ask the opinion of the experienced RVers in the forum.  I didn't want to open a new thread since this is the subject of my inquiry.  I am looking into buying an RV.  Right now I am contemplating a large Super C/C+ versus a Class A.  I have driven a  friend's 40 ft diesel pusher a year back when I first started thinking about it.  There are 7 of us, and I expect  that with a Class A, I will need to tow a vehicle that can accommodate 7 passengers.  I anticipate this will need to be a minivan or a large crossover.  My concern is that a Gas powered RV will not have sufficient power to tow a 4500+ lb vehicle.  If traveling South, mountains are not an issue, but going anywhere North from where we are would mean mountains (Va, WV, TN etc).  What is your experience with towing a heavier vehicle with gas?  Having driven a diesel, I loved it, but I've never driven a larger gas RV.  If I buy a large Class C, I will probably not tow.

It's not so much the engine, but the towing capabilities.  You need to get familiar with the various weight terms, like GVWR, GCVWR, etc.  A good place to start is this article from our forum library.

Emoryallen...

We just returned from a, nearly, 2000 mile RV trip. Of course, while I'm driving, I can't help but glance at other RVs and I saw many, many large, newer gas motorhomes on the freeway pulling full-size cars and trucks. The newer gas coaches have really come a long way in their ability to tow.

Kev