Motorhome Gas vs Deisel
 

Looking at a used 2002 motor home but has the 8.1 gas engine. AnyOne have experience with them good or bad? I tow a 22' enclosed with a 3500lb stocker inside

Re: Motorhome Gas vs Deisel
 

They have real good power for a gas engine and depending on the size of the MH should tow ok.
Mileage is not gonna be good but will be comparable to other gas engine powered MH's like a Ford V10 or the older V8 460

One of my friends had one in a pickup and I drove it and it was more powerful than my '96 454 pickup. Lots of torque and that is a big plus in a MH pulling a trailer....

Re: Motorhome Gas vs Deisel
 

We used to have a Class C 33’ MH on a Kodak chassis with the 8.1. No issues towing a 24’ trailer about 9500 pounds. But as you say mileage isn’t great. But the mileage with that was about the same as our Class A diesel. 6-8.

Re: Motorhome Gas vs Deisel
 

A friend of ours had a pretty nice class a with a 8.1 it pulled fine. The things that were a pain.

1) it ate spark plug wires
2) if you didn’t feed it premium the thing wou,d start missing and backflushing injectors fixed it.
3) Big pain was transmission. It had a drum brake deal on the tail housing that broke. When it does, you don’t have park.

Power was not a problem pulling a 26 foot trailer

Re: Motorhome Gas vs Deisel
 

Been through it all. Started with a tent, then a camper on my pick up (the worst of everything I've tried). Then a 24 foot class A, Then a 36 foot diesel Monaco Dynasty.

Finally, a 2002 40 foot Monaco Executive with a 500 HP Cummins. Smartest and best rig ever. Gets just about 9 miles per gallon. I can fill up in southern Oregon, drive I 5 to I 10 and reach Arizona before needing fuel. You save $1.25 a gallon on diesel by not getting fuel in CA. That helps a lot.

Used to have to listen to my father who was always trying to find the right rig. He finally learned to get a class A with the 11 liter diesel or larger.

I've seen those 500 HP Executives with 70,000 miles go for between 55 and 70 thousand dollars. The best ones were built between 2001 and 2006. Considering what you guys are pulling you'll need horse power, BRAKES and a Jacob brake.

Loren

Re: Motorhome Gas vs Deisel
 

We have had several over the years.

I would shudder to own another gas Motorhome or Truck

Even our 6.0 Gas Tiny 21' got 6 MPH and overheated with a
one of my boy's built very light 24' Enclosed (Under7000 Loaded)
on any long hills!

If you race locally = Anything will work fine

If you travel a bunch = I Prefer the Diesel!

I tow over 100,000 miles a year delivering Stacks of trailers for my boy.

Re: Motorhome Gas vs Deisel
 

I have a local owner selling an '02 8.1 liter MH for $16,500 looks nice, 77,000 miles. Maintained but it is gas and my Suburban has the 8.1 already so I know what that one tows like. I may have to wait some more.

Re: Motorhome Gas vs Deisel
 

Had great luck with the 8.1. Had a Holiday Rambler with 8.1/Alison/22.5 tires. Good working motorhome that towed my 26 foot motorsport easily. Being Canadian....I put some miles on. I wouldnt hesitate to have another one.

Re: Motorhome Gas vs Deisel
 

My 26 ft class a with v10 ford gets 8.5 to 9mpg pulling my 24 ft trailer. My F150 gets 10mpg.Power wise of course pickup is better.The MH is adequate.

Re: Motorhome Gas vs Deisel
 

The 8.1L engine with the Allison transmission can be a workhorse.
There are a few aftermarket improvements such as better spark plug wires; the OEM wires are terrible. I believe that Ed at Fast Chips used to have a tune for the8.1L. You can get tunes for the8.1L from the following:

https://www.ultrarvproducts.com/Ultr...-Custom-Tuning

https://www.raylarengineering.com/computer-tuning.html