Benefits of a Diesel Class A Motorhome

As the owner of a gas coach, one of the advantages of a diesel coach that is rarely mentioned is being able to use truck lanes at a truck stop to fuel. Our gas motorhome is medium sized at 31', but when we're towing a car, it can still be a pain getting in and out of a gas station. You best be paying attention. There's not many gas stations that have the pump islands parallel with the street anymore.

The Chevy 454 (7.4L), 8.1L, Ford V10 and the new 7.3L motors are truck motors. They're known for long life when properly cared for.

I find it curious the way that Ford increased the towing capacity on their later model motorhome chassis while still running the V10.. Makes me suspicious it had more to do with advertising that true capability.

Buy what you can afford, keeping the cost of regular maintenance and unexpected repairs in mind. It can get substantial. We like our class A, but haven't been able to get out near as much as we thought we were going to, life got in the way. By cost factor, I think we would've been better off with a towed unit and it's simpler maintenance, but it's hard to get past the panoramic view from that huge windshield, and the "vacation" or "special travel" feeling that we get because we're not in a daily driver.

JOHN SCHRETLEN = re: CA Diesel emissions checks - Yes, California has proposed a requirement that all Diesel RVs entering the state have to be smog checked, and certified - every year! - before being allowed into the state. Of course they will charge for it, even though it is only a really quick check of plugging in the OBD meter to see if there are any emissions faults. If none - you are OK, but if any found then you must have repairs done or leave the state. But I also do not think this has actually passed as law - yet. Sure you will hear lots more about this on all the RV internet sites.

As to it's impact on tourism and trucking - good observation. CA has already gone after Diesels - greatly impacting, and upsetting - the trucking and shipping industries. For example - in 2015 they started requiring that older diesel trucks had to replace their engines with newer models. This even applied to some diesel boats docked in CA ports. Apparently they even have some requirements for ships coming into CA ports.

The Port of Long Beach is the busiest port in the country, receiving many containers (mostly from Asia) which then get transported all over the US. What they realized was that the ships coming into port emitted lots of Diesel exhaust, as did all the trains which then headed East carrying all these containers. So they have gone after shipping (not sure about trains) to reduce this pollution. Trouble is, it did not stop there and so they are now going after all diesel vehicles of all types.

Now its hard to argue against cleaner air - but everything comes at a cost, and with trade-offs. As a long term CA resident I have learned that many CA politicians are oblivious to un-intended consequences of their actions, and I think you are correct in assessing that the impact of requiring an annual smog certification of all Diesel RVs coming into the state will strongly discourage many. Even if their diesel RV is clean - the cost and annoyance of having to do this will keep some away from the state. And not even sure how the State plans to enforce this. We will see.

Good, balanced article.

As full timers for the last 3 years in a 38' Winnebago Gasoline model we have learned that what we did right was buy a good used, but top end model which has lots of luxurious features. Maybe not all those mentioned.above which many Diesels have, but we were able to buy it at a very good price, leaving money in the budget to go to Lithium batteries, more solar, do some upgrades, etc.. It has enabled us to travel back & forth across the US - to all 4 corners yet with enough power to still pull our Toad along.

Would we ever get a Diesel? Probably yes if we came into some real $$ with which to do so. But the point is that even with a smaller budget going with a gasoline motorhome still enables all the travel anyone could desire.

Thanks!

Excellent and balanced article on the pros and cons of a DP. We have a 43' DP and spend at least 4 months on the road. We like the power that allows us to easily tow our Rubicon and driving the coach is very comfortable. We enjoy the creature comforts a big coach has aboard that make long trips more enjoyable. Having a dishwasher, stacking washer and dryer, central vacuum, make "living" a lot less of a chore. I'm occasionally in envy of smaller RVs that can be towed places we can't go, but I wouldn't want to trade the amenities that come with our big bus.

Hi Guys,

I think for the benefit of your readers I should contribute something. Although it's true diesels usually have much more amenities and generally nicer ones as well, there's a big trade-off. In this article I think you partially covered this but I'll put the magnifying glass on it for a minute. The maintenance schedules for all the workings on a typical diesel chassis is much more involved than that of the gas versions. All of that costs a lot of money. Unfortunately, many diesel owners have been victims of break downs due to the complicated nature of the systems those rigs have- especially post-emission ones that were built after 2009. I'm sure you've seen stories about this on many forums. A typical diesel owner should follow a builder's maint. regimen as closely as possible to help avoid some of the events but some are unavoidable. I think you guys take excellent care of your rig and that's what's necessary for a good long life and pleasure using your rv. Although it's true that a diesel engine should go a long time before it's done, I see many more new diesels on the road these days than older ones. Owner's generally trade them in long before any life-ending engine trouble shows up. In addition, even though the engines are capable of going a long way- the house portion of the rv would probably deteriorate a lot sooner. The argument about fuel mileage is almost awash. Diesels these days are only getting slightly more mileage than gas ones, and this is funny- why would any motorhome owner complain about fuel mileage? There's one thing I can't argue about...no smog checks on diesels. For me, I have to get my rig smogged every two years...an extreme rip off in my State of Ca. There's a little cloud on the horizon though. Our State wants to have all diesel rv's smogged in the near future, even ones from outside Ca. visiting here. We'll see what happens with that.