Gas vs diesel for towing

I have searched the site and could not find anything regarding this question, if someone knows where I can find the answer please post a link so I can research it.

We will be going to look at a gas 36' Fleetwood bounder on Saturday and I am wondering which is better for towing a vehicle up the mountains gas or diesel?

I have read the many viewpoints on why one is better than the other for various reasons but cannot find anything on towing vehicles. This will be our first motorhome and don't want to buy one and have problems with towing. We have a Toyota Camry that will be towed in case that matters.

Thanks for any help you can provide

Mike

swove said:

I have searched the site and could not find anything regarding this question, if someone knows where I can find the answer please post a link so I can research it.

We will be going to look at a gas 36' Fleetwood bounder on Saturday and I am wondering which is better for towing a vehicle up the mountains gas or diesel?

I have read the many viewpoints on why one is better than the other for various reasons but cannot find anything on towing vehicles. This will be our first motorhome and don't want to buy one and have problems with towing. We have a Toyota Camry that will be towed in case that matters.

Thanks for any help you can provide

Mike

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Well here goes the can of worms getting opened up again.    ;D    Either one will pull your car up a hill. A dp may go faster if the engine is big enough or it may go slower than a gas engine, all depends on what is in the power plant. A gasser has a 5,000 lb tow limit and some dp's have up to 10,000 so you do the math. There are many other factors to consider for a coach other than just pulling a car and there is unlimited information on forums to help you with your decision, good luck.

If pulling within the rated capacity, both will get you to the top. Some diesels will just get you there faster. The gas engine will be noisier also when it's revving 4000-5000 rpm right at your feet.

swove said:

I am wondering which is better for towing a vehicle up the mountains gas or diesel? ...  if someone knows where I can find the answer please post a link so I can research it.

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The answer is visible out on any interstate highway.  Take a look at the trucks.  Ever seen a semi tractor trailer combination powered by a gas engine?  You won't.  There's your answer.

There are discussions pro and con gas vs diesel ad nauseum on the forums, with people mostly arguing in favor of what they own.  But diesel powerplants are the workhorses of choice out on the open roads. 

There's no free lunch, however.  A diesel engine will do more work, and do it longer, than a gas engine of the same displacement, but it will also cost more to operate.  It's just another illustration of "you get what you pay for".

Thanks for the responses everyone, yeah I agree that they both will get you up, just the diesel will do it faster. We went ahead and bought the gas bounder; so I will expect the noise going up the mountains and just live with it.  ;D  Felt the cost of the diesel outweighed the noise and slower towing uphill of the gas I will be towing my Toyota Camry. I pick up the motor home Wednesday our first one so we are looking forward to it.

swove said:

Thanks for the responses everyone, yeah I agree that they both will get you up, just the diesel will do it faster. We went ahead and bought the gas bounder; so I will expect the noise going up the mountains and just live with it.  ;D  Felt the cost of the diesel outweighed the noise and slower towing uphill of the gas I will be towing my Toyota Camry. I pick up the motor home Wednesday our first one so we are looking forward to it.

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what yr bounder???and congrats on the purchase...I love buy'n motorhomes..

2013 Bounder 36 foot. We pick it up tomorrow and they are putting us up in the local Koa through Saturday to check for any issues we may find. We bought it from Lazy Days in Tucson AZ

swove said:

2013 Bounder 36 foot. We pick it up tomorrow and they are putting us up in the local Koa through Saturday to check for any issues we may find. We bought it from Lazy Days in Tucson AZ

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We bought our coach at Lazydays in Seffner, FL in June and the delivery process was very good. We stayed on the dealer lot the first night and made a list of issues and questions we had and they came and fixed all of them pretty quickly. We spent money to stay at Lazydays' campground, literally across the street, the second night to get practice on getting set up, etc. It sure is nice that they put you up in a campground for three days to work out the kinks.

Our budget did not offer us the option of buying a diesel coach. It would have been nice to not have as much noise while driving, but we would have not been able to camp because we spent all our disposable income on just the coach.

Have you made sure the Toyota Camry is towable? 

Marsha~

We also bought from Lazy Days in Seffner, FL and stayed overnight. During the delivery, the tech made a list of items to be fixed. After he left us, we added a couple more items that we discovered. The next morning, with the way the light was shining in, we could see that the vinyl tiles in the galley were bubbling up. We pointed this out to the delivery manager before they took it to  be repaired. So our advise is to relook at everything again in the morning light. Also be sure to bring some simple foods to cook, so that you can use the microwave, convection oven, stove top, etc. Obviously you will be running the A/C, but you might want to turn on the furnace. We didn't test ours until 5 months after delivery on the coldest day in February when the temps were in low 30's. This is when the furnace only ran a few minutes and then stopped working!

Congrats on your purchase and good luck.

So we got back Yesterday as they gave us another day. The entire process was smooth and easy of course their were some issues but the service advisor repaired everything we found during the walk through and what we found after. Our salesman promised a lot of things that were not done when we picked up the motorhome, but everything he said we would get they did it.

Yes we did verify the Toyota is towable we called the dealer to make sure. We did not try the furnace but are planning a trip to flagstaff in three weeks and we will try it then thanks for the advice dream chasers.

One big issue was when they delivered the tow dolly, the advisor showed me how to attach the car, and I did attach it however I wasn't shown how to loosen the straps. My wife and I took it home to the storage lot which on Sunday was empty and no one around and I could not get them loose. After one and half hours I did call my service advisor and he did answer however i did not understand what he was saying, and he said he would email me a you tube video showing how to loosen them but He never did get back to me. I got a friend to pick us up and Luckily I called another friend a few hours later and he helped me loosen the straps and I am trying to practice attaching and taking the vehicle off trying to make sure that does not happen again ?.

Overall though it was a good experience and we were happy with everyone at lazy days. Now I just hope the more I drive the motorhome I won't wobble so much while driving

kdbgoat said:

If pulling within the rated capacity, both will get you to the top. Some diesels will just get you there faster. The gas engine will be noisier also when it's revving 4000-5000 rpm right at your feet.

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If you dose your gas pedal and keep the engine in the ? 3500 RPM and it will perfectly climb any mountain without being too noisy !

500tq is the same gas or diesel...the difference is the weight of each... my gas  v10 pulled the 6% hill 20 miles an hour faster than the  cat 350 hp in a 34' journey..the difference was the weight...

swove said:

The entire process was smooth and easy of course their were some issues but the service advisor repaired everything we found during the walk through and what we found after. Our salesman promised a lot of things that were not done when we picked up the motorhome, but everything he said we would get they did it.

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It is nice to hear a positive "delivery" experience story.  Thanks!