Gas or diesel shuttle bus?
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RoamerRV428
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gas is a cheaper vehicle purchase most times.
gas is great for easy cheaper fix engine.
gas is more readily available if out and about in places where stations are few and far between.
gas is good 'for more easier' driving terrain but big driving up and down mountain type roads and big grades could mean more wear and tear.
just a few
diesels are fab for strength thru any driving.
usually more expensive on the vehicle you are buying.
more cost to maintain but do have a 'longer shelf life' on the engine
diesel is more expensive than gas but again, you got the power engine to rely on when required
SO THAT is just some pros and cons for it all. I know the 'engine experts' will come and chat but we debated on diesel vs gas alot of times when buying trucks and hubby will only buy diesel trucks LOL
just a small bit of info and more powerhouses on advice will hit your thread.
gas is great for easy cheaper fix engine.
gas is more readily available if out and about in places where stations are few and far between.
gas is good 'for more easier' driving terrain but big driving up and down mountain type roads and big grades could mean more wear and tear.
just a few
diesels are fab for strength thru any driving.
usually more expensive on the vehicle you are buying.
more cost to maintain but do have a 'longer shelf life' on the engine
diesel is more expensive than gas but again, you got the power engine to rely on when required
SO THAT is just some pros and cons for it all. I know the 'engine experts' will come and chat but we debated on diesel vs gas alot of times when buying trucks and hubby will only buy diesel trucks LOL
just a small bit of info and more powerhouses on advice will hit your thread.
I’ve had a diesel ClassB for 14 years, with about 220,000 miles on tow of them, and would have nothing else.
highdesertranger
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A Diesel engine is about 2x more efficient that gas. It is also a much simpler engine. A diesel has a ton more torque per cubic inch of displacement. However with all the electronics they throw on them now-a-days that throws the simpler out the window. Todays diesel engines are quite finicky, expensive to work on and repair, and way to complicated for their own good.
I love the older mechanical diesels but I hate the newer electronic diesels. Add to this the fact that Ford has not produced a good diesel since the 7.3 in 2003 and Dodge took the absolute best diesel engine ever produced for a light truck and totally ruined it.
IMO unless you are a diesel tech or you get an older mechanical diesel, buy a gas engine.
Highdesertranger
I love the older mechanical diesels but I hate the newer electronic diesels. Add to this the fact that Ford has not produced a good diesel since the 7.3 in 2003 and Dodge took the absolute best diesel engine ever produced for a light truck and totally ruined it.
IMO unless you are a diesel tech or you get an older mechanical diesel, buy a gas engine.
Highdesertranger
As a former bus garage supervisor I just don't like smaller shuttle buses period. Same for Class Cs with a van front end. My advice is to get a conventional box truck or one ton truck and build a box on it. GM big block injected gas engine and 4L80E transmission would be my choice. If you are a diesel mechanic and confident you have the money and skills to deal with it that is okay also maybe even better if you know how to maintain and modify them to last.
I struggled with the same question, like anything else there are pros and cons. I ended up with a Ford E450 26 passenger shuttle with a gas V10 engine. Year- 2000, 116,000 miles on it when I started out 9 months ago, now has 131,500.
There are 2 issues with this make/model. Transmissions are prone to failure after 100,000, mine has been replaced at a cost of $3,400.... And the engines are known to blow a spark plug or two out of the block which can be fixed for around $500 (mine has been fine so far)
All in all I have been satisfied with mine. Any vehicle is prone to problems, best advise is to buy the lowest millage one you can afford and have a good sized emergency fund.
Good luck
God Bless
There are 2 issues with this make/model. Transmissions are prone to failure after 100,000, mine has been replaced at a cost of $3,400.... And the engines are known to blow a spark plug or two out of the block which can be fixed for around $500 (mine has been fine so far)
All in all I have been satisfied with mine. Any vehicle is prone to problems, best advise is to buy the lowest millage one you can afford and have a good sized emergency fund.
Good luck
God Bless
Scott3569
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I would most definitely go with a gas, I drove tractor trailer for 13 years, diesel engines are expensive to work on..
B and C
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Gas engine mechanics are everywhere if work is needed, even in small towns.
I have a Chevy Express (cutaway) 3500 with a 454 (7.4L) and the 4L80E transmission. Great combo and I pull most grades in 3rd gear, rarely second. My rig weighs almost 10,000 Lbs. It does have a 456 posi under it.
I have a Chevy Express (cutaway) 3500 with a 454 (7.4L) and the 4L80E transmission. Great combo and I pull most grades in 3rd gear, rarely second. My rig weighs almost 10,000 Lbs. It does have a 456 posi under it.
I read often that it’s hard to find someone to work on a Diesel engine, but that has not been my experience.
If not one town, the next, and everything parts can be drop shipped.
Just sayin’. They are workhorses, too.
If not one town, the next, and everything parts can be drop shipped.
Just sayin’. They are workhorses, too.
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eDJ_
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highdesertranger
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I really don't understand the hard to find a mechanic or fuel thinking either. Anywhere you have agriculture, ranching, farming, mining, logging, construction(heavy and light), Marine, oil/gas industries, trucking, etc. You will find diesel engines and of course people that fix them. Where exactly can you not find diesel fuel or diesel mechanics? Highdesertranger
I think the idea that it’s hard to find people to work on diesels is what we would call back in the day “an urban legend”.
B and C
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I just came from littlefield, tx. A guy in a sprinter (I know, not a made here one) had a turbo problem (surprise) and no one there could work on it. He was going to have to limp it into lubbock to get it worked on. Littlefield is a farming community. I could get my gas van worked on there easily if needed.
highdesertranger
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I would agree nobody wants to work on a Sprinter. But that's more of it being a Mercedes than it being a Diesel. From what I hear there's not a lot of Mercedes dealers that even want to work on them. Highdesertranger
The plastic turbo resonators are a pia, and I had one replaced while traveling by an Aamco in Georgia a couple of months back.
Some people carry an extra one with them, and I’m going to have this one pre-emptively replaced next spring with an I think aluminum one.
We/I had our first one serviced for years at Peterbilt, but I found a mechanic at an independent tire place in my town who can do all routine maintenance, so I have used them for 5 or 6 years now.
I always know who is working on it, he checks for wear and other issues underneath that I can’t see, and is much less expensive than Peterbilt.
I had an issue with mine in Wyoming a couple of years back, and found an independent shop that serviced all the Sprinter Vans that were FedEx or UPS, one of those, and he ordered my part, plugged me in to electricity and let me stay in his lot until it came in and was fixed.
There are a lot of Sprinter vans out on the road, only some of them are RV’s, so I find the places that work on them and go there.
I have had to go into a Mercedes dealer just a few times in 14 years with two of these.
I had 193,000 miles on my first one when it was totaled in an accident, and it was still going strong.
Some people carry an extra one with them, and I’m going to have this one pre-emptively replaced next spring with an I think aluminum one.
We/I had our first one serviced for years at Peterbilt, but I found a mechanic at an independent tire place in my town who can do all routine maintenance, so I have used them for 5 or 6 years now.
I always know who is working on it, he checks for wear and other issues underneath that I can’t see, and is much less expensive than Peterbilt.
I had an issue with mine in Wyoming a couple of years back, and found an independent shop that serviced all the Sprinter Vans that were FedEx or UPS, one of those, and he ordered my part, plugged me in to electricity and let me stay in his lot until it came in and was fixed.
There are a lot of Sprinter vans out on the road, only some of them are RV’s, so I find the places that work on them and go there.
I have had to go into a Mercedes dealer just a few times in 14 years with two of these.
I had 193,000 miles on my first one when it was totaled in an accident, and it was still going strong.
I will echo Bullfrog's comment to buy a truck based chassis rather than a van based one. The front ends and tires on the van chassis (even 450 or 4500 models) will not hold up to a heavy vehicle. For 20 years we used van based E450 ambulances and went through tires, brakes, shocks, and other front end parts much sooner than we should have. Bill C
