What do you look for in a Diesel Pusher MH?

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Campfire RV

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Well, our family has thoroughly enjoyed the past four years traveling the country and taking local camping trips in our 30ft class C motorhome for about 30,000 miles. When you figure I work full time and my daughter is still in school, that works out to just a little over 7,000 miles/year which isn't too shabby! Well, my wife & I have been discussing selling our MH and upgrading to a DP for more power, durability, luxury and space. We are also thinking of selling our house and purchase some land here so possibly living in the MH for a year or so until we get a new house built.

I've never dealt with diesel anything so everything diesel is going to be foreign to me. So, what are the things I should be looking for in a diesel pusher? What are some of the good quality DP MH's out there? We don't want to spend a fortune on one and I've already seen several nice looking DP's online around the $150k area that appear to suit our wants. We would like to have one that is still fairly new say 2012 or newer and we are looking at length size around 32-36ft range. Also, I would appreciate any feedback with regards to positive and negative sides to owning a DP.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for all the info upfront!!!
 
Look for the same things you would in any RV. As far as shopping is concerned, you really don't have to be concerned much about it being diesel rather than gas. To be sure there will be a learning curve on diesel maintenance and such, but choosing the RV is the same regardless of chassis type. Floor plan, construction quality, evidence of good condition and attention to maintenance, that sort of thing.
 
Gary gave you good advice.

Just something to consider is that in later model DP's, shorter lengths (32'-36') seem to be limited.  These days the manufacturers seem focused on building longer coaches, 40' and up.  That seems to be based on demand.  If you are willing to drop back a few years, you may increase your choices.  Also, you can get nicer, higher end coaches within your budget. 
 
There are some "diesel things" that are nice to have, e.g. side radiator instead of rear, Allison 3000 or 4000 transmission instead of 2500, fuel fillers on both sides, larger fuel tank, etc, but none of them should bee primary decision factors in the choice. More like tie breakers after two or more good coaches have been identified. First and foremost you are buying a house that moves and those needs should trump everything else.
 
My list.  Serviceability.  Are the filters (air/fuel/oil) easy to get to.  Is the engine water pump easy to replace.  How about the air dryer for the compressor?  If it has an Allison transmission you have no worries as they are easy by design.

Her list.  Floor plan and color.

Guess who's list won.
 
8Muddypaws said:
My list.  Serviceability.  Are the filters (air/fuel/oil) easy to get to.  Is the engine water pump easy to replace.  How about the air dryer for the compressor? 
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Yep, no doubt.  Everyone is different, of course, but I fall on the same side as the above.  I wanted side radiator, big pass thru basement, huge amount of fresh water, big holding tanks, big space for battery bank, and lots of open space on the roof for solar.  All the more "common" concerns (apparently) were of little to no importance to me (colors, fabric design, carpet, appliance style, etc...).  I had nobody to compromise with so I won!!!  Yay me!!  ;D
 
Hi Josh. I don't want to come across as being anti-diesel pusher, after all I have one. They're usually more comfortable to ride in, many (but not all) are better suited for climbing and descending grades and they seem to be somewhat heavier duty than their gas counterparts. However, those things come at a price. For example, over the last three years, the annual service costs for our 2011 Tour (oil changes, filters, genset service etc.) has been 4 to 5 times that of our 1999 V-10 Tiffin Allegro - and that's when nothing was wrong.

For example, I replaced our chassis batteries yesterday, because a cell shorted out in one of them and fried the battery. Since they were five years old, I replaced them both. They are heavy duty Group 31, 1000 cca batteries, and they cost $330.00 (total) through my local Freightliner outlet. By comparison, the chassis battery in our Allegro was a single standard car-starting battery.

My point is, when it comes to maintainance (routine or otherwise) everything is notably more expensive for a DP. Of course you can do a lot of the maintenance yourself and save some money, but it's still going to cost more than the same type of maintainance on a gas coach. Does it break the bank...? That depends on how big your bank is, but I wouldn't buy a DP just for the sake of having a DP. The ride, quality and power of many newer gas coaches has improved significantly in recent years. Some of them are really nice, and it's hard to beat the reliability and cost effectiveness of that V-10. Just food for thought.

Kev
 
Sun2Retire said:
So you're saying Buddy had no say in the process?!  ;)
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You caught me Scott!  He did not set paw in the new coach until it was "ours".  We did have some disagreement about "common use" areas for a couple weeks.  He seemed to think the window above the kitchen counter was better than all the other windows in the coach. We got it sorted out ok - at least to MY satisfaction!  ;D

Josh; Kevin's comments are right on the money.  A DP is an entirely different "class" of motorhome - in terms of capability. Think Ford Escort vs Porshe 911.  If you don't need the performance (weight carrying capability), the DP may just be added expense.
 
We just sold our 2005 40' Holiday Rambler, and after 7 years of ownership, I found it very expensive. Many of the costs such as tires, batteries, windshield and oil changes and so on were outrageous, and I did most of the oil changes and filter changes myself We could live with the cost of fuel and 7-8 miles per gallon as fuel is cheap right now. If we do buy again, it will be a class c or A, but will be a v10 gas. You have to have a lot of money on hand to support that DP.


Bill
 
You might think of a gas class A for a few years and if you travel many miles then think DP.  As said, they are more expensive to purchase, new or used.  Routine maintenance is expensive compared to gas.  We have a 1999 Bounder, 34J, Ford V10.  We are getting older and don't travel as much as we used to.  Perhaps 3,000 per year but stay longer in one place.  I can do a lot of the maintenance myself and the V10 is bulletproof.  We love the floor plan, everything works so we keep the old guy......he is out in the barn now, lookin' good.  Shopping is fun and does not cost much. 

 
 
No matter what kind of motor home you buy, the primary consideration should be the floor plan. If you don't like the floor plan, you won't like anything else about the coach, either.

Having said that, a diesel rides better, is MUCH quieter and is an overall more robust design. They are more expensive to maintain than a gas-powered coach, but they also provide more creature comforts.

I would suggest you set your sights a little higher and look at 40-foot coaches. They are built on a longer wheelbase chassis and they drive and handle much better than the shorter coaches.
 
I would suggest you set your sights a little higher and look at 40-foot coaches. They are built on a longer wheelbase chassis and they drive and handle much better than the shorter coaches.
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Not being one to argue (much) but Im gonna argue this one. ;D I have a 38 foot and it drives easy and handles like dream. I really cant imagine something handling better.

I agree with the others who said look for the floor plan you want, along with the features you want, i.e, washer/dryers, oven or not, bunks or wardrobe, split bath or extra baths etc.

 
We bought our DP used .... for us it was floor plan and features.  Since we bought used - the whole floor plan thing was more a case of passing on anything we found unacceptable than a case of deciding what we wanted up front and then making a lengthy search in the used market to find it.  Our "gotta have" features list was similar .. we wanted a king sized bed, we wanted hydronic (Aquahot) heating, etc.  There are a few things in the coach we ended up with that we probably wouldn't have purchased if we had ordered new ... and likely a couple of things we would have ordered that weren't in the coach we purchased.  But, we were pretty easy to please in that regard. 

If you haven't driven a DP ... be prepared for a little bit of a learning curve.  Driving it isn't difficult .. but it is different.  Same thing goes with maintaining a DP.  There's more to it than a gas engine.  Also, be a little prepared for some sticker shock.  It does cost more to maintain.  You won't be clipping coupons from the Sunday paper for cheap tires, oil changes, brake jobs, etc.  Be prepared to pay a premium for your DP chassis and power plant. 

Good luck in your search!
 
Personally I think it makes more sense to sort out the diesel or gas question before even thinking about floor plan.  You can get pretty much any floor plan you like in gas or diesel.  Unless of course you want something more than 40 feet.  Then you are limited to a diesel.  Before you get to the floor plan you need to look at usage.  If you think you'll be doing a lot o driving, and a significant amount of that will be in the mountains, then diesel is the way to go.  Too many white knuckle situations driving the gasser.  Braking on the long down hill grades is my number one concern.  Wondering if I'm going to kill the transmission on a long up hill grade going 25 to 30 mph with the V10 pushing the red line makes me nervous.  Then driving down the middle of the lane with minimal effort is a real plus.  The longer and heavier motorhome usually wins in each of these situations.  Not effected by wind as much and the longer wheelbase goes a long way to keeping you on track.  Storage is another consideration.  Especially for a full timer.  Some of the gassers have less than a 1000 lbs of cargo carrying capacity.  That will be a challenger for most full timers.  Once you've addressed those issues, then floor plan.  For me, floor plan is way down the list.  If I don't like the looks of the coach I move on. 
 
Something also not mentioned is are you planning on towing a vehicle behind the motorhome. You will want enough power to tow easily. We had the 400 hp Cummins in our coach and it towed like a dream. Highly recommended.


Bill
 
why do you say Side Radiator. I bought our DP due to a friend has a 1/4 million dollar DP  with a side rad and blew his rear third wheel tire. tire wrapped around the rad.ripping it practicallly out of the body..over $50,000 in damage.    whats going to happen to a rear rad ?
 
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