I want to talk about one of the most controversial issues regarding gas or diesel engine. When purchasing a Motorhome either with a Class A, Class B, or Class C you want to take your time and make the right purchase for your needs. What will best fit you needs a gas engine or a diesel engine? Let’s look at the advantages and disadvantages of each engine.
Having a gas engine in your motorhome the engine is going to be up front in the coach between the driver and passenger seats.
Gas Engines
The two most widely used gas engines in a motorhome are the Ford Triton V-10 with 6.7 L and the GM V-8 with 8.1 L. The powerful Ford 6.8L, 3-Valve Triton® V10 gas engine delivers 320 horsepower and 460 lbs.-ft. of torque. The GM Vortec 8100 V-8 16-valve pushrod engine is rated 330 hp at 4,200 rpm and 450 lb-ft of torque at 3,200 rpm.
With the Ford engine still most properly used today that you will find in the majority of the RVs today. I don’t think the 8.1 l is still being built.
Diesel Engines
The two diesel engines that are used in the diesel pushers are the Cummins and the Volvo. Cummins offers many engines rated from 275 hp to more than 600 hp, Cummins offers power and reliability for every type of motorhome on the market. Volvo D13 offers twelve power ratings from 375 to 500 hp.
Then with the smaller coaches pretty much all class C’s that have diesel will have the diesel engine up front just like in the truck. But a large majority probably over 90% of motorhomes will have a diesel engine in the back of the coach it’s what’s called a rear engine coach or a DP diesel pusher.
Looking at the difference here the diesel is going to have more power and a lower RPM than the gas engine. This will put less stress on the diesel engine which will last longer.
Engine Noise
It is call that because with the engine in the back and is like it’s pushing the coach. The really nice thing about having the engine in the rear is that when you are driving it’s very quiet. You really could barely hear the engine at all.
Now when you have your engine up front in the coaches then it is going to be very noisy and driving, you’re going be constantly hearing that engine. Even louder when you are pulling up a hill. Because the gas engine is going to be struggling to go up the hill as to the diesel engine.
Here with the diesel engine is placed in the back it is going to be quieter to be able to hold a conversation. Yes, I have heard some people that has a gas engine and they say it is not that bad.
Fuel Mileage
Let look at the difference between the two on fuel mileage. This is going to be hard to put a hard number on because the are going to be many variables.
How much does your coach weigh? Are you towing a vehicle behind your coach? What part of the country are you traveling in. Is it flat in the plains or small rolling hills or are you going thru the Rocky out west? As you can see that it can have a very wide range. So, your gas engines can be anywhere between 6 to 10 MPG. You will be able to see a higher MPG in the smaller RVS like the class Bs.
What about the diesel MPG? The average MPG for a diesel engine is going to range between 8 to 14 MPG. Like in the gas engine depending on where you are traveling will determine your MPG.
Here again you are going to get a better fuel mileage with a diesel engine.
Fuel Prices
Now what is the different going to be in the fuel price? This is going to change all the time depending on the economy. But when is am writing this article the national average for gas is $2.37 per gallon of gas. Saying this it is going to be higher out west and the north east. And will have lower prices in the south and Midwest.
Now let look at diesel prices. The national average for diesel is going to be in the $2.92 per gallon price range. And again, will fluctuate depending what part of the country you are in.
Ok, here we are going to see that the gas prices is going to be cheaper than the diesel price.
Let look at some other different between a Gas coach and a Diesel coach. Like where the generator is going to be.
Generator
With the diesel engine being in the rear the manufacture has used the area in the front to put the generator. But with the gas engine in the front they have put the generator in the rear of the coach. You may say what make the difference about that? Well when you are not in a RV park and don’t have full hook ups you may need to run the generator at night to run the AC to stay cool. So with the generator in the rear where most beds are it will be noisy for you to sleep. But with the generator up front it will be a lot quieter.
Frames
What are the differences in the frame of the coaches?
If you have a Ford V 10 engine in your coach, you are going to have a frame that is built by Ford. Most likely it is going to be the same frame that was built for a F550 or larger Ford. That is going to mean that it is going to be light duty compared to a frame built for a diesel. This means you are not going to be able to care as must stuff as a diesel coach.
Having the engine in the rear and the engine being heavier you need to beef up the frame. Freightliner and Spartan build a lot of frames for the smaller diesel coaches and for the larger coaches they are built by their own manufactures. With the frames built heavier that means you will have more storage compartments and are able to have a larger payload capacity.
Also, with having a diesel engine you will have engine brakes. You can push a button in the cab that will engage the engine brakes that is used to help slow the coach down your coach when you’re going downhill or coming up to a full stop. Which this will save your brakes, so you don’t have to ride the brakes.
Maintenance
What is the maintenance cost going to look like between the two?
The gas is going to be less expensive because it has less filter to change. It is going to be more like servicing a truck.
Now for a diesel, the cost is going to be higher. You will have a fuel filters to change that a gas engine will not. Yes, you will be able to go more mile between services with a diesel but is going to cost anywhere from 50 to 100 dollars more to service. Also, with a diesel engine
The good thing about the DEF tank you will only need to fill it about every 5th tank of fuel.
Conclusion
I have given you a lot of information here between the different of the two coaches. And there are a lot more stuff that is have not talked about here.
What are you planning to use your RV for? Are you just going to use it to go camping a few times a year? Or maybe you are planning to live and travel full time in your RV.
Being said I know of people that travel full time in their gas engine coaches and like it. But owning a Gas engine coach it is going to be built lighter and you are not going to be able to have as much cargo as a diesel. It is going to be louder to drive. This will be something you will need to figure out.
But looking at diesel coach it will cost more to own. The diesel engine is going to give you more power to climb the mountains and hills. You will be able to tow more and have a larger cargo capacity.
What I would say is if you are going to be living full time and traveling in your coach even though it will cost you $50000 or more dollars to own. I think you would like the diesel engine coach more. And the diesel engine will hold it resale valve longer than a gas coach.
Hope this has helped you on your decision on what you would like to buy.
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