What Makes Diesel Motorhomes Such An Attractive Buy?Generally when people start talking about diesel motorhomes, they are referring to the "diesel pushers", which are the Class A motor coaches powered by a diesel engine which is situated at the rear of the vehicle - hence the name. It would be safe to say that nearly all RV's around $150,000 would be diesel motorhomes. Once you start getting up to that level of luxury and size you require all the extras that come with diesel engines - heavier duty truck parts which equals more highway stability, balance, power and braking. This improved driveability and safety is what people are looking for but it does come at the extra cost of about $40,000. These types of diesel motorhomes are the really serious "high liners" in the industry. Everything about them speaks of class - luxurious interiors plus serious features such as large holding tanks, super battery banks, supersize tires and huge carrying and towing capacity. They belong to people who are on the road for a great deal of the time, if not full time, and cover anything up to 20,000 miles per year. The coaches are usually built on chassis which are customized to floor plans. This then ensures proper weight distribution and optimum placement of things such as the generator. Even though there will be a larger price tag which always accompanies diesel motorhomes, this is offset by reduced fuel consumption, better resale value, and increased driveability. It is normal for the diesel engines to be turbo charged which means that they will always have plenty of power at the ready. Many people initially are nervous about making the decision to go diesel, particularly when accompanied by air brakes, but this soon passes. Once converted to a diesel motorhome, it would be a very unusual situation for someone to want to go back to gas. Even though diesel motorhomes are traditionally thought of as belonging to the luxury coaches, you will also now find them becoming increasingly popular in the B and C classes. It is common knowledge that a diesel engine will far outlast a gas driven one, and this makes the diesel motorhome a far better proposition for the rental companies. You can imagine how much power some of these smaller motorhomes have with their turbo charged diesel power, even when fully loaded. Many RV'ers when they upgrade their motorhomes will be faced with the decision of either changing to diesel or staying with gasoline. Because of the higher servicing fees associated with diesel engines, the money that they save of fuel economy is lost. So in other words, the operating costs sort of equal out. But what people do find is that driving a diesel motorhome makes easy work of difficult driving conditions. Whenever power is needed, the diesel is more than ready for the task. The diesel motorhome generally has the motor at the back, which makes for very quiet driving conditions. This means that conversations can be held in a normal tone of voice. Generally speaking though, a diesel motorhome is just like the others, except it takes a little knowledge initially, but once you have driven for a while, it quickly becomes second nature.
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