Gas vs Diesel ride

wdweldon · 07-14-2016, 11:08 AM

Is there a real ride/comfort difference between a Gas and Diesel based Class A?

greystroke · 07-14-2016, 11:21 AM

I have not driven the new Gas Models but Diesel Class A usually have air suspension which gives a very smooth ride. If it is a DP then you have less noise upfront which makes the ride more relaxing.

TarasParents · 07-14-2016, 01:01 PM

You probably didn't realize you've opened up a big can of worms. You are going to get so many personal opinions. Get out the duct tape so you can wrap your head before it explodes!!

Ok, here is mine and my wife's "personal" opinion. In the eighties before the advent of diesel pushers we had an Chevy P30 chassis with a 454 engine. It had supplemental front air bags you manually set. We found the ride acceptable and engine noise ok. Went back to trailers for many years and in 2011 bought a Fleetwood with the Ford Chassis. Engine noise was terrible, hard to converse when up a grade much less flat land, wandered on the road. A rear trac bar helped the tail pushing the front end.
Filling the water tank helped load the suspension but, we weren't happy. Too stressful driving long distances. Today there are many chassis upgrades you can do, yet it's still what it is.

While at the 2014 RV show we saw a diesel coach which while beyond our pocketbook [have always paid cash, dislike financing toys] we decided to go for it.
All the new coach quality issues aside we would not consider a gas chassis, at this time. Heard the new Fords are much improved, that's nice!

Air bag suspension is much better as far as wander and handling [set your tire pressures appropriately for either one] not much thump,thump, thump on roads with expansion joints. The number one issue for us is the QUIET, we can have a conversation at a normal level. Further, I find I'm not as physically tired or stressed.

Yes, floor plan is important, this one fits us to our liking. Many say it's how it accommodates you on arrival and set up, true, we like to enjoy the journey as well.

I'm sure I've forgotten to mention other important issues, this is just one diesel owners personal rant. Enjoy whatever floats your boat!!

Jim T. · 07-14-2016, 01:20 PM

We are very happy with our 2013 Newmar 39 foot Canyon Star on a Ford F53 chassis (26000lb). Haven't made & don't need any suspension changes from stock. We did add a 5Star Tune, which changed the transmission shift points.

Jim & Shirley & Abbie (Scottish Terrier)
2013 Newmar Canyon Star 3911
2005 Dodge Grand Caravan - Braun Accessibility Modified Toad
Remco Lube Pump
5 Star Tune
Progressive Industries EMS-HW50C
Coach Net Emergency Road Service
FMCA 378968

Vectraguy · 07-14-2016, 01:28 PM

I would rather drive my 20 year old Vectra Grand Tour on a Freightliner chassis than have a new gas coach. The ride is quiet and I can steer with one hand. I have about 4000 lbs of cargo capacity, so I often carry 50 gallons of water in the event we need to overnight at Walmart.
Diesel Generators rock! And, as mentioned,carrying capacity is often lower on gas, many new gas coaches with multiple slide outs have less NCC than you would expect.

Cousin Ed · 07-14-2016, 03:36 PM

We had a 2001 Adventurer (Ford), a 2005 Suncruiser (Workhorse) and they were fine the ride was not great but not bad. We now have a Journey (Freightliner) and it is far and away better, in ride, handling and noise. There is no comparison. It cost a lot more to buy and maintain.

Honwing · 07-14-2016, 03:55 PM

Purchased a 2016 Winnebago Vista LX 27N with the Ford V10 on May27th at Camping World in Portland Oregon. Extremely noisy due to engine and Windows. Coach is nearly impossible to keep on the road. Unit is now in service at Winnebago in Forest City , Iowa. Techs who drove it can't believe I drove it back to the factory 1,700 miles in this condition. Will know more tomorrow whether they have improved the ride.

HD Ultra · 07-14-2016, 04:17 PM

What more can I say or add? Look under my post and my club affiliations, and you clearly get where I am coming from. Can't see where I would ever go back.

mmartin · 07-14-2016, 04:23 PM

DP's ride smoother, quieter and are much cooler in the cockpit area.

1ciderdog · 07-14-2016, 09:51 PM

I have no idea of suspension improvements the newer models but I can tell you my 2004 with air suspension rides much better than the three previous motorhomes I owned. If I were curious and thinking about buying a new motorhome I'd take them for a drive for comparison purposes.

Atom Ant · 07-15-2016, 07:43 AM

Best bet would be to try a few of each. I learned a lot through those Dealers that didn't have any qualms about taking one out for a short run.

JBP · 07-15-2016, 02:40 PM

I agree with Atom Ant. Drive a high end gas like the Adventurer and a diesel like the Meridian. Try to get the same length. There gas is about 24000lb and the diesel is about 28000lb.
My 2015 class C has a lot less engine noise than my 2012 class C. Big change.

Atom Ant · 07-15-2016, 03:45 PM

I will admit, unless the wind is entertaining me, I get a bit sleepy driving. That big comfortable chair, no real noise, perfect temperature, nice I-Max view in front of me............

If we would have got the Tour we looked at with the vibrating air conditioned seats, my wife would have to poke me with a stick every few minutes!

Digger29 · 07-15-2016, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TarasParents

You probably didn't realize you've opened up a big can of worms. You are going to get so many personal opinions. Get out the duct tape so you can wrap your head before it explodes!!

Ok, here is mine and my wife's "personal" opinion. In the eighties before the advent of diesel pushers we had an Chevy P30 chassis with a 454 engine. It had supplemental front air bags you manually set. We found the ride acceptable and engine noise ok. Went back to trailers for many years and in 2011 bought a Fleetwood with the Ford Chassis. Engine noise was terrible, hard to converse when up a grade much less flat land, wandered on the road. A rear trac bar helped the tail pushing the front end.
Filling the water tank helped load the suspension but, we weren't happy. Too stressful driving long distances. Today there are many chassis upgrades you can do, yet it's still what it is.

While at the 2014 RV show we saw a diesel coach which while beyond our pocketbook [have always paid cash, dislike financing toys] we decided to go for it.
All the new coach quality issues aside we would not consider a gas chassis, at this time. Heard the new Fords are much improved, that's nice!

Air bag suspension is much better as far as wander and handling [set your tire pressures appropriately for either one] not much thump,thump, thump on roads with expansion joints. The number one issue for us is the QUIET, we can have a conversation at a normal level. Further, I find I'm not as physically tired or stressed.

Yes, floor plan is important, this one fits us to our liking. Many say it's how it accommodates you on arrival and set up, true, we like to enjoy the journey as well.

I'm sure I've forgotten to mention other important issues, this is just one diesel owners personal rant. Enjoy whatever floats your boat!!

I couldn't agree more with everything he said in this reply but I'll take it one step further, we purchased a new 15 Winnebago Vista 35F gasser last spring and we were both not happy with how it drove and yes and the noise of the V10 right underneath of us was very noticeable. The ride was our main concern. It wandered all over the place and was very busy when the trucks passed us. You were constantly making steering corrections when driving it. I did my homework and swapped out the shocks and installed a rear trac bar and while the ride greatly improved it still was a two hander for almost the entire drive and that made the journey not so enjoyable for us. Loved it when we got to our destination but generally didn't care much for the drive there. We traded it for a 15 Itasca 36G DP and I got seriously crapped on the last time I wrote this but you just can't compare the ride on either coach. The DP goes straight down the road with no wandering whatsoever and isn't affected by the wind of a passing semi truck. It just rides so so much smoother. The brakes are WAY better and its faster (not going to win any races with it though) it gets much better MPG especially when pulling my enclosed trailer or my wife's Jeep. We lost like $12000 trading the 15 gasser in for the new coach but in ours minds it was worth every penny. You can't put a price on piece of mind and that's what we have with the DP coach. I can drive it with one 1 finger and it's WAY less fatiguing to drive because I'm not fighting the coach the entire drive to wherever we're going. Just my humble opinion so take it for what it's worth.

Newbie31ul · 07-15-2016, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Digger29

I couldn't agree more with everything he said in this reply but I'll take it one step further, we purchased a new 15 Winnebago Vista 35F gasser last spring and we were both not happy with how it drove and yes and the noise of the V10 right underneath of us was very noticeable. The ride was our main concern. It wandered all over the place and was very busy when the trucks passed us. You were constantly making steering corrections when driving it. I did my homework and swapped out the shocks and installed a rear trac bar and while the ride greatly improved it still was a two hander for almost the entire drive and that made the journey not so enjoyable for us. Loved it when we got to our destination but generally didn't care much for the drive there. We traded it for a 15 Itasca 36G DP and I got seriously crapped on the last time I wrote this but you just can't compare the ride on either coach. The DP goes straight down the road with no wandering whatsoever and isn't affected by the wind of a passing semi truck. It just rides so so much smoother. The brakes are WAY better and its faster (not going to win any races with it though) it gets much better MPG especially when pulling my enclosed trailer or my wife's Jeep. We lost like $12000 trading the 15 gasser in for the new coach but in ours minds it was worth every penny. You can't put a price on piece of mind and that's what we have with the DP coach. I can drive it with one 1 finger and it's WAY less fatiguing to drive because I'm not fighting the coach the entire drive to wherever we're going. Just my humble opinion so take it for what it's worth.

I couldn't agree more. We traded in our 2015 Jayco Precept 31ul this past April for 2011 Itasca Meridian DP. It's a world of difference in the driving experience. So much smoother, quieter and easier to drive. Our gasser wandered all over the road. We drove it to Key West this past March and it was not a fun drive. We test drove the DP in April and it was a no brainer for us to trade up. We lost about $10,000 on the gasser, but agree it was well worth it. We love our new to us DP.