Petrol / LPG VS Diesel (1 Viewer)

[pappajohn]

Just a thought Snooky, you do have category C1E or C+E on your licence, don't you ?
Without C1E/C+E you can't drive an RV or tow a trailer over 750kg.

 

[snooky]

Yes I've got my Class 1 licence. I didn't realise you needed that. How does insurance go on these ? Specialist places ? And is it expensive to insure ? I'm only paying mid £300s per year for my current Motorhome. I'm looking for around 21-26ft as any bigger would be far to big for the drive then it starts getting more expensive on fuel.

 

[Puddleduck]

Ah ok, seems lpg is the better option then.
Can anyone recommend a good trustworthy place that won't charge the earth around North Yorkshire/ Cleveland area to fit lpg ?

Autogas 2000 in Thirsk. You also get a discount for being an MHF member.

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[snooky]

Autogas 2000 in Thirsk. You also get a discount for being an MHF member.

That's good to know I'll see which one I go for as and when I sell mine. Am I gonna get more MPG going petrol /gas and towing a race car and enclosed trailer

 

[pappajohn]

You'll get less MPG on gas than petrol but at half, or less, the price of petrol you effectively double your MPG....£ for £
you only need a Class 1 (C) if going over 7500kg...Which at 7 mtrs is very unlikely to apply anyway.
Under 7500kg needs either C1 or C Class
To tow a trailer over 750kg you need E category as well.
With a pre 1997 C1E test pass you are restricted to a train weight of just 8250kg
Post 2013 pass and it increases to 12000kg.
Not sure about pre 1997 HGV 1 (C) weight rules.

 

[snooky]

I passed my test in 90 and HGV 1 in 95 so should be ok. I used to have a ford econoline 5ltr on LPG in early 2000s when Gas was 29p ltr. I alway look at it £ for £ so if diesel does 18mpg and petrol does 14mpg then on gas it's gonna do a couple of mpg less but it's only half the price so nearly doubles the MPG £ for £ value. I'm just hoping the right one comes up at the right time.

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[pappajohn]

At 7mtrs its still going to be around 6000kg so wouldn't expect much more than 10mpg on gas, especially towing over 2000kg.

But it's still going to be 20mpg + (£ for £ equiv)

A 2.8 diesel fiat based C Class won't do much more than that so for the power and comfort its not bad at all.

 

[snooky]

That's how I'm looking at it mate. Ours does about 100 miles to 1/4 tank just going to a camp site with no trailer but when I was towing it has been doing 75-80miles per 1/4 tank and takes about £80 to fill up from a low tank.

 

[hadders]

Hi I had 6 RV's of various sizes so have experienced a range of engines. Out of the more modern types the worst I had was a 6.8L V8 Ford Diesel which was fitted in a C class Dutchman. It was the noise too - terrible! The best engine was a petrol 7.4l V8 chevy which was far better than the V10 Triton I had in a 37ft Fourwinds Magellan. I was lucky on one RV to have a LPG converstion with two long range tanks, this was excellent and a major cost saving when compaired to my friends Gulfstream when we did a trip to Italy. Personally the best diesels are in the A class pushers.

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[Dodgey]

@snooky The front and rear caps are fitted onto a bed of sealant over the main roof covering then the joint covered with a flow seal (self levelling sealant) usualy with a trim screwed on first. This joint is recommended to be resealed now and again and some get keen and run eternabond tape along the length. A little paranoia with water ingress on any motorhome isn't a bad thing me thinks?
If there has been ingress there will be signs inside, use your eyes and nose, or a damp meter if you have and understand it's use.

 

[snooky]

Sorry for more questions on this matter but advice from people who know is better than jumping in both feet first and been wrong, so has anyone had any experience with 7.3 ford diesel power stroke motors ? Reliability and realistic fuel economy on 9.6mtr C class.
Thanks

 

[olley]

The engines fitted to all RVs are big and slow revving and last a longtime, looked after they are very reliable.
You won't get anymore than 10-12 or less out of a petrol, scotjimland got around 15 on his cummins diesel Georgy boy, weighed around 10 tons I think.

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[snooky]

That don't sound bad as I think this is 6.3t but only 8t with my car and trailer on back. Might I see 17 mpg without car on back on a good run ?

 

[olley]

I doubt it, 15mpg was to my mind very good, plan for 12-15 and hopefully you won't be disappointed. To be honest if your concerned about mpg don't buy an rv.

 

[snooky]

I think everyone is concerned about MPG at some point from what I read or they would just set cruise to 60 or 65 and let it go instead of feathering the throttle on hills and taking cruise control off on hills also but when I go racing I could do nearly 500 mile round trip a couple of times a month and other mileage in between. I'm just trying to get a honest opinion of what they do as some say they do 12 while someone else with same RV gets 18 !
My ex European 2.8td pulled my Drag car and trailer easily and was doing around 18 mpg while cracking on but wasn't tagged to pull that weight but by the time I've spend money on entry fee and entrance fee and Fuel for race car etc etc it gets very expensive and just trying to get an idea of what would be best engine for me.

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[tacr2man]

a great deal about mpg is how you drive it , drive hard and at max performance and its surprising how little mpg you can get , I managed to get 12mpg with a landcruiser rapid response unit in Australia on a shout , 200km round trip, flat out there and pootle back , normally you would get about 22mpg . Having said that there is a basic consumption that no matter how you drive you will not better.
Olleys figures are pretty much ball park for RVs with large engines.
The bigger RV engines will do the same job as the smaller EU engines , use more fuel doing it but for a lot longer .