Class A Concerns - RV-Dreams Community Forum

MS601 · RV-Dreams Community Member

Class A Concerns

The Bear II · RV-Dreams Family Member

David and Annie,

With kids of your ages I was wondering why you weren't considering a toyhauler trailer or 5th wheel. It seems having the garage area to carry toys, use a living space and bedroom would be a natural fit for a family your size. A crewcab pickup, large van or suburban type tow vehicle would provide room for the kids as you travel.

That being said in my opinion Class A is the best choice between an A & C. I feel an A gives you the most liveable space and storage dollar for dollar.

Yes you will have expenses, with tires and preventative maintenance being the most common. Tires last about 5 years if well cared for. All RVs eventually suffer from electrical, plumbing, mechanical, appliance and more failures. The costs between an A and C for these types of repairs/replacements is about the same. An A maybe higher on mechanical repairs. The several RVs we have had suffered some quality type issues when new and then seemed to have few problems for the first 10 years. Over 10 things like refrigerators, air conditioners, toilets begin to fail. Roofs become an issue around 15 years....

Truck and trailer/5th wheel combos are the least expensive, especially if you already have a truck/tow vehicle with enough capacity for a new trailer/5th wheel. The trailers can be equipped with all of the backsaving goodies like the MHs (leveling systems, auto awnings, sat dishes...).

-- Edited by The Bear II on Friday 23rd of January 2015 11:20:12 AM

-- Edited by The Bear II on Friday 23rd of January 2015 11:21:38 AM

MS601 · RV-Dreams Community Member

We have thought about fifth wheels but I really don't care to tow a big camper anymore - been there, done that. We towed our 27 ft Trail Vision out to the Black Hills 2 years ago and I didn't enjoy it much. We really like the idea of being able to use the bathroom and kitchen while traveling.

I noticed that most Class A's have fiberglass roofs, whereas most Class C's have the rubber roofs. This is also a selling point for the Class A in my mind.

David

TRAILERKING · RV-Dreams Family Member

MS601 wrote:
We have thought about fifth wheels but I really don't care to tow a big camper anymore - been there, done that. We towed our 27 ft Trail Vision out to the Black Hills 2 years ago and I didn't enjoy it much. We really like the idea of being able to use the bathroom and kitchen while traveling.
I noticed that most Class A's have fiberglass roofs, whereas most Class C's have the rubber roofs. This is also a selling point for the Class A in my mind.
David

Do you both plan to sit down for dinner while in motion? Hahaha.

My class A has rubber roof. I have no issues but definitely more upkeep. Back in '99 with my vintage the 'glass roof was in the higher end expensiver coaches. I'm not sure if now a day they even do the cheaper units in 'glass.

MS601 · RV-Dreams Community Member

When we went out west with our TT we found that eating lunch in it was a bit of a hassle because the slide out was right in the way unless you put it out. Also, if we went with a fifth wheel we would have to get a new tow vehicle. What we have now is a Ford Expedition.

So what are the upkeep costs that you have had on your Class A? I saw somewhere that a set of tires was $2300. Obviously it would depend on size and brand, but is this about right? Also, do you tow a vehicle behind?

TRAILERKING · RV-Dreams Family Member

Maint. costs on a diesel class A are a lot more. Oil changes for one. Also if one can't do any of the maint. themselves then they are paying someone to have to do it. Good tires, depending on size, can be $600.00-$800.00 up here but I don't know about in the states. You will have to research and weigh all the options.

I also pull an old '09 Impala on a dolly sometimes. Thinking of an enclosed trailer of about 20-21' long but will be very limited where you pull it around. Especially what campgrounds you can get it and/or store it. Unless get an awesome l o n g pull-thru.

-- Edited by TRAILERKING on Friday 23rd of January 2015 12:56:26 PM

MS601 · RV-Dreams Community Member

Thanks to everyone for the great information. It does help a great deal.

I still don't know what the final decision will be. My wife likes Class C's so I have a feeling that is what we will end up with wink But the storage and overall room are still an issue for me..however the maintenance costs might just tip the scales back in my wife's direction.

Either way the main point isn't so much how we do it, but that we DO it.

Thanks again.

David

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

Look for Lazy Daze or Born Free Class C's, they are both very well built. They can be hard to find, since they sell fast when available.

kb0zke · RV-Dreams Family Member

"We are wanting to do some extended part time/full time RV living. Currently we have a 27 TFT. tow behind that we will be selling. We are Mom, Dad, and 3 kids ages 7, 12, and 15." I'm not sure what you mean by "extended part time/full time RV living." It sounds to me like going out for several months at a time. I wish more families had the ability to do that.

You have the beginning of what I call your "mission profile." You need to to add to that whether you will go to a destination and stay for several weeks (or longer) and then move on to the next place, or whether you will be moving several times each month. Then, what will you do the rest of the year? Occasional weekends out, maybe a long weekend or a week, or will the coach just sit? Since you are going to be going back home you won't need to take EVERYTHING with you, as we full-timers have to do, so you can pack for the trip at hand. Storage SPACE isn't going to be an issue. WEIGHT might be.

You mentioned a toad, and that makes a great deal of sense. Once we got used to the idea that we would have something towing something else we were able to put things in perspective. Make sure that you can actually tow your existing car four down. If not, you will need either a dolly or trailer. Setting up a vehicle to be towed isn't cheap, and the base plate (the part that goes behind the front bumper) is unique to that make/model/year. The braking system may be able to be moved to your next vehicle.

Pay attention to weights. The difference between the Gross Weight and the empty weight is what you can carry. That "what you can carry" is the weight of the people, pets, food, water, fuel, propane, clothes, etc. Then there is gross COMBINED weight. That is the weight of the coach AND toad. Often, Class C coaches come up short here. Gas Class A coaches are somewhat better, and Diesel Pushers are the best. This is a general rule, and individual coaches may come out better or worse than this. It is your job to figure out what you need.

Now the big question: Where do the kids sleep? If all three are the same sex, you have less of a problem than if you have one and two. The older two definitely will want privacy, and the youngest one will, too, if not immediately then very soon. We had a Class C when our three (two girls and a boy) were in junior high. Our Minnie Winnie was old and small. The girls slept in the cab-over bunk. The dinette and sofa made into a wide bed, so I slept in the middle with our son on one side of me and my wife on the other. We got ready for bed one at a time, and everyone had to sleep in something that the rest of the family could see. If one of the girls had to go to the bathroom during the night she had to literally walk over (through) our bed, and if it happened to be the one on the inside BOTH girls had to get down.

This is going to be a family adventure, and the whole family should be involved in selecting the coach. If even one of you is unhappy with that coach that person will NEVER enjoy the adventure, and eventually it will destroy the fun for everyone else. While you, as the adults, obviously will make the final decision, PLEASE listen to your children and get their input. Take your time in deciding on a coach - and buy a used one for your first coach. You WILL get it wrong the first time, no matter how much research you do. The more research you do, though, the closer you will come the first time. Ask lots of questions. Take a Saturday and go visit a dealer, go to an RV show, or talk over what you need and want. Don't focus on specific brands, or even a class yet. Just figure out your needs and wants. Listen you your children's comments, and after a visit to a show or dealer, spend a few hours talking about what you learned.

Jo And Craig · RV-Dreams Family Member

Does the Class C have a bed in the corner... butted up against 2 walls? If so, the wife might lose any religion she might have crawling ON the bed to make the bed. A lot of people don't consider this irritation until it's too late. Just 2 more cents worth.

Neil and Connie · RV-Dreams Family Member

MS601 wrote:
We really like the idea of being able to use the bathroom and kitchen while traveling.
David

Make sure you pull over first, in any state with a seat belt law doing that is illegal.

A-S Travelers · RV-Dreams Family Member

MS601 wrote:
When we went out west with our TT we found that eating lunch in it was a bit of a hassle because the slide out was right in the way unless you put it out. Also, if we went with a fifth wheel we would have to get a new tow vehicle. What we have now is a Ford Expedition.
So what are the upkeep costs that you have had on your Class A? I saw somewhere that a set of tires was $2300. Obviously it would depend on size and brand, but is this about right? Also, do you tow a vehicle behind?

With either the Class C or A gas, you are limited to towing no more than about 4000-5000 pounds. I don't know if you are thinking about towing the Expedition or not, but it is too heavy except for the bigger diesel pushers.

There is a world of difference between towing a 5'er and a TT. Much easier towing a 5'er. Keep in mind, especially when full timeing or long timing you are not going to drive 1500 miles in a few days to get somewhere, spend a week or two and return. You will will travel 100-200 miles and set up camp again for some period of time. One week to a month or more is common.

Tires for a class C are around $250 each installed for good tires. Tires for Class A are more like $400-$450 installed. Tires are expensive, but you only need to replace them when they get old, about 5-7 years.

Except for tires, the maintenance of a class A gas is the same as for class C. They use the same engine and transmission, with a few minor differences.

I see a problem with you traveling in either a class C or A.

That is the weight of the passengers and all the stuff you need to carry. Unless you are going to have one adult drive the Expedition with everyone in it, and the other the MH. At best with either the class C or A you are limited to about 2500-3000 of cargo, including passengers and what is in your holding and fresh water tanks. The fluids in those tanks are about 8.3 pounds per gallon. Keep in mind many MH's are in the 1000-1500 pound cargo range. So shop carefully. Your clothes, food, books, pots/pans etc, and other stuff, you need to carry, that will very likely weight about 2000 pounds. Even just two retired folks in an RV carry 2000 pounds of cargo unless they work really hard at limiting what they carry.

The class C does sleep more people with the cab over bed. There are not a lot of Class A's with a bunk bed so sleeping room gets to be a problem.

With either the class A or C you need to be sure to have seat belts for everyone and they really need to stay seated on the sofa or at the dinette table while moving.

The bottom line is there are no easy answers. There is lots to think about.

A-S Travelers · RV-Dreams Family Member

Think about renting both a class A and a class C for a long weekend. No they are not cheap at $150-$250/day for class C and $200-$400/day for class A. However it could save you the cost and hassle of spending the $30,000-$70,000 for the MH only to find out you really must go with the 5th wheel.

MS601 · RV-Dreams Community Member

I guess I should have been more clear; we are not thinking of towing our Expedition. We know it would be too heavy. The tow vehicle is something for further down the line, and we would get something much smaller at that point.

As far as sleeping goes our kids have no issues with sleeping in the same space. We only have 3 left that would be going with us. They all sleep in the living room of our TT now. Up until our oldest daughter left for the Navy, and our next oldest son got too old to want to go we had 5 kids all sleeping in our 27 ft trailer. We used the dinette, the jackknife sofa, and a cot. Not optimum by any means!! Now thinking about having just 3 on a sleeper sofa and the dinette seems like an expansive luxury to them.

We also realize that fifth wheels have lots of advantages, it's just that we prefer the motor home thing over a towable...again, just our personal preference. After 5 years of doing it I really don't want to tow a camper anymore - fifth wheel or bumper. But that is not to say that we don't see that fifth wheels are VERY nice. We just don't want one.

The choice for us is Class C or Class A, and either one will have to be gas. We can't afford a diesel pusher. Thanks again for all of the input. it is really helping us a lot, and we appreciate everyone taking the time to offer their experience and suggestions. You guys are the best!!

A-S Travelers · RV-Dreams Family Member

Make very sure, before you commit to buy the MH, to pile the two of you and the kids in the MH and take it to the nearest "CAT" scale and weight it. Be sure to position it on the scale so the front axle is on one part of the scale and the rear axle is on the other part. You really need to know what your real weight is on each axle as well as total weight. Once you know your weights, find the sticker somewhere in the MH, which shows the GVWR and the weights for each axle. Then subtract your real weight from the GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Record) and find out what your cargo capacity is. Check your axle weights as well and then think about where you will store your stuff. Sometimes most all the storage is in the rear and you may only have 500 pounds before you exceed the max axle weight.

It is really, really important to not overload the MH. It literally can be a killer to overload the suspension & tires. 100 or 200 pounds is not a problem. It is very easy to be a 1000 pounds or more over weight.

"CAT" scales are located all over the place. Just google: "cat scales near me" to find one near where you are going to purchase the MH. The scales are very easy to use. Just drive up on the scale, drive forward until your front tires are on the front platform and your rear tires are on the next platform back. (there are 3 platforms so 18 wheelers can drive on and weight the front, drive and trailer axles) Now punch the call button and tell them you are an RV and need the weight for your personal use. The go to the office and get your ticket. It only costs about $15.

jlb27537 · RV-Dreams Family Member

You will need a Class A, if possible one with 22.5 tires. 5 people plus gear will overload a class C. As suggested WEIGH IT BEFORE YOU BUY IT.

Learn what GAWR, GVWR, GCWR is and do the math on what ever you decide on BEFORE YOU BUY IT.