Mostovi
Danville
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New to the site, so hello to everyone. Will be moving into the motor home world soon. I had pretty much settled on DP or large super C, but I've read several posts here where some folks said some diesels are actually more sluggish than gas. Contrary to all I've ever heard. Can those of you with more experience than myself please explain? Thanks!
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ScottG
Bothell Wa.
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Joined: 02/25/2005
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Diesels dont have that instant response off the line like a fuel injected gas engine. Where they shine is once they get moving a little and in the hills.
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DutchmenSport
Indiana
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Joined: 10/10/2006
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Don't know about motor homes, but my diesel 3500 duly pick-up truck ... well?? If I stomp on the "gas" peddle, the rear tires spin and if on gravel will throw gravel half a mile! When driving, if I stomp on the "peddle", it lunges like a jack rabbit. When towing, if I do jack-rabbit starts, I can get a pretty good edge on a lot of smaller cars.
I'm on my second diesel duly. I remember I was really shocked how much of a jack-rabbit kick-off my first one had, when I did that the first time. It whipped the socks off any gasoline auto I think I ever had.
Now ... a motor home can have 20-30 thousand pounds of weight the engine has to over come inertia. Even 18 wheelers, when driving just the tractor and no trailer, have phenomenal pick-up. Add the trailer loaded, and they lumber to get up speed.
Depending upon the size of engine and the weight of the motorhome, could account for a much slower "Jack rabbit" experience.
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Dutch_12078
Winters south, summers north
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You're not likely to beat anyone "off the line" with any motorhome, no matter how it's powered. Low end "kick" would be a really foolish criteria for selecting an RV.
Dutch
2001 GBM Landau 34' Class A
F53 chassis, Triton V10, TST TPMS
Bigfoot Automatic Leveling System
2011 Toyota RAV4 4WD/Remco pump
ReadyBrute Elite tow bar/Blue Ox baseplate
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DrewE
Vermont
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I would not worry about what fuel the motorhome uses or what powerplant it has from a performance standpoint. It's going to be rather on the sluggish side compared to a car no matter what, but likewise it will get you where you need to go regardless. Some may be a little quicker than others going up a mountain, but that's relatively little of your travel time.
Acceleration off the line depends on how much power you can get to the wheels relative to the weight of the motorhome. Many diesel pushers are heavier than gas motorhomes, and don't have correspondingly more power, so they are slower in initial flat-out acceleration. For climbing a hill, again weight vs. power comes into play, but the power also has to overcome air resistance which is probably closer to equivalent across motorhomes. At altitude still another difference comes into play since gas motorhomes generally are not turbocharged while diesels are, and so the gas one will see power drop off more due to the thinner air.
The net of everything is that a lightweight gas motorhome may well accelerate faster than some diesel motorhomes that have higher weight or lower power output, while other diesel motorhomes will outperform them. None of that matters one bit when you're sitting in a campsite eating s'mores.
That being said, I would avoid the old four cylinder Toyota pickup-based class C's if you care about vehicle performance at all.
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gutfelt
North america
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Mostovi wrote:New to the site, so hello to everyone. Will be moving into the motor home world soon. I had pretty much settled on DP or large super C, but I've read several posts here where some folks said some diesels are actually more sluggish than gas. Contrary to all I've ever heard. Can those of you with more experience than myself please explain? Thanks!
as others have said size(weight) is what dictates what engine is used and best
Diesel pushers have diesel engines because they need the torque of diesels to push the heavy load; smaller lighter class C units gas engines are very effective I think most modern Super C units have diesel power; as far as sluggish? diesels are slower and lower reving
so u don't get the instant power shot off the line for sure
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jplante4
Cape Cod
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Gear ratios in the popular Allison transmissions may make a DP seem sluggish, especially in first gear. It all comes down to torque, which in most cases the diesels win.
Jerry & Jeanne
1996 Safari Sahara 3530 - 'White Tiger'
CAT 3126/Allison 6 speed/Magnum Chassis
2014 Equinox AWD / Blue Ox
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mc.cc
Southeast
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I drive a 2007 37 foot Super C diesel with a group that I sing with. I also own a 2016 newer 36 foot Class A gasser. The weight comparison of both rigs is close. Here is the difference. The Super C diesel gets about 10 miles per gallon of fuel where my gasser gets about 6-7. The Super C has more power on hills and takes them at lower RPMS. The only downside to the diesel is that it heats up more on the hills than my gasser. The gasser is louder because of it's requirement to downshift more frequently than the Super C. The diesel is not more sluggish. I would recommend the diesel if the cost is not prohibitive.
Mark
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Ivylog
Blairsville, GA and WPB, FL.
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Once you go above 36' you need a diesel to get enough power. Put the same engine in a 32' MH and it will blow the doors off a gas rig if you start the race from 10 mph. The turbo on a diesel needs 2000+ RPMs before it makes a lot of power...making it sluggish off the line.
This post is my opinion (free advice). It is not intended to influence anyone's judgment nor do I advocate anyone do what I propose.
Sold 04 Dynasty to our son after 14 great years.
Upgraded with a 08 HR Navigator 45’...
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darsben1
near Canada in NYS/ Casa Grande, AZ
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Joined: 05/29/2016
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Rather than consider the original question I have one for you. What are your plans with the rig? Lots. of miles? Stay stationary? Some other answer. Then we might be able to guideyou to a good decision.
Traveling with my best friend, my wife in a 1990 Southwind
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