Class A or Class C

[Jimmy61]

Hello all.  New member here.  I have made up my mind to go full-time.  I plan to boondock and park at out of the way places.  I really don't have any desire to spend much time in RV parks.  I'm thinking an ~28 foot Class C.  When I look at smaller Class A's it seems the bang for buck is with them. 

 

What would the difference be between:

a)  cost of maintenance

b)  ability for a small Class A to be driven down the same roads as a Class C?  Would anyone advise to stay with a Class C for someone that wants to boondock alot?

 

Jimmy

[sandsys]

Both our 24' Class C and our 35' Class A had diesel engines so maintenance was a wash although the smaller one did get better mileage. That extra 11' length and two extra slides provided a lot more room inside but the need to tow a car with the Class A limited where we felt comfortable going. As in most things there are positives and negatives to both classes. It can be hard to decide which is best for YOU but only you can answer that; all we can do is tell you how it was for us.

Linda Sand

[Kirk W]

Welcome to the Escapee forums! If you were to share more information about yourself, it would be much easier for members here to give you advice on what your choices may be. Nobody can tell you what is best for you but we can share our experiences and observations. The best RV is a very subjective thing and one that is the cause of a great deal of debate among even the most experienced RV owners.

The maintenance cost of any motorized RV is going to be very similar to the cost of a truck and an RV. No matter what RV you choose, you have to do things like oil changes and other regular maintenance that is based on miles traveled and your RV will have some maintenance on the RV and it's equipment. All RVs have pretty much the same maintenance issues and all chassis have similar also. Even when you compare diesels to gasoline chassis, the annual expenses are not that different. The age and the quality of the RV is a much bigger factor in maintenance costs.

There is not a great deal of difference in the roads that your RV can travel if the class A and the class C are both of similar length and weight. Most people do not take either one over unmaintained roads for very much distance but if you were to visit some of the Bureau of Land Management Long Term Visitor Areas, you will find a cross section of RV types there which is similar to that found in any RV park. As you travel into the national forests and such the roads become more challenging and the number and size of RV declines. Successful long term parking in remote areas is more a matter of the equipment you add to an RV than it is of the type of RV. I have never seen any documented numbers of types of RV found in long term dry camping areas, but I suspect that class A's are far more common than class C's.

[filthy-beast]

Since you want go full time, most of your time will be spent living in it, not driving it.  Find the floor plan that you want to live in first.

[StraitRVing]

My wife and I full-time it in a 33 foot Class C.  As the others have said, there are pros and cons for both.  Make a list of what you must have in the RV and what you want in an RV.  Make sure the unit you pick has the "must haves" and then some of the "wants."  Find a floor plan that works for you.  Remember, this is supposed to be enjoyable and fun.  🙂 

 

[SWharton]

Why don't you rent a Class C for a week, then rent a Class A.

[ToddF]

Here's why I have stuck with the Class C...(I've never owned or operated a Class A).

Ford E450 - easy to maintain, drive, park, and get in and out of. 3 Doors instead of 1.

Lower to the ground, clearance is seldom an issue. (I'm 1-2 feet shorter than most Class As). It's not as intimidating to climb up on the roof, so I can wash my own rig and sweep leaves off the slide toppers with ease.

Bed over cab. Use for guests and as a daybed. Lots of soft storage space. Adds a feeling of open space.

Rear overhang means I can back in to almost any campsite.

Class A owners report a great view out the front. I prefer the "shade" as I don't like driving in the hot sun.

My Class C has an 80" queen bed in the bedroom, a huge dinette, a full size couch that turns into a 3rd bed, and 3 TVs.

A Class A might have a bigger fridge, a washer and dryer, more underneath storage, and a marble shower. (These are things I don't need).

Hope this helps you think about what is important to YOU, since after all, that is what matters.

 

[Jimmy61]

8 hours ago, filthy-beast said:

Since you want go full time, most of your time will be spent living in it, not driving it.  Find the floor plan that you want to live in first.

True, and that's why I mentioned the smaller Class A's seem to have more room.

[Jimmy61]

6 hours ago, StraitRVing said:

My wife and I full-time it in a 33 foot Class C.  As the others have said, there are pros and cons for both.  Make a list of what you must have in the RV and what you want in an RV.  Make sure the unit you pick has the "must haves" and then some of the "wants."  Find a floor plan that works for you.  Remember, this is supposed to be enjoyable and fun.  🙂 

 

Does the overhang of a 33 footer ever jam you up?  Does it drag alot?

[Jimmy61]

7 minutes ago, ToddF said:

Rear overhang means I can back in to almost any campsite.

A Class A might have a bigger fridge, a washer and dryer, more underneath storage, and a marble shower. (These are things I don't need).

Hope this helps you think about what is important to YOU, since after all, that is what matters.

 

Why would the rear overhang be any different than a Class A when backing up?

Same here, I don't need all the foo foo things.

This will be my first RV.  I'm single, retired military, 58 years old.  I don't need much.  I want to be able to bee bop out in forest areas but not be crunched in a tiny rig.  I have no desire to full time in RV parks, too many people.  I really want to be out in the open, whether it be in some wooded State park or desert BLM land.  Most of my time will be spent between Texas and the west coast (northern).

A Class C that has a couch with rear bed would be perfect.  Or a Class A of similar size would fit the bill too.  I know what too small for me would be, but not what too big would be, getting into the "off the beaten path" dispersed areas.

 

[Lou Schneider]

Many Class A's of that length have their holding tanks and plumbing tucked up higher in the chassis than a Class C.  I'd be leery about taking a Class C or trailer off road if there's a possibility of scraping or puncturing low, exposed holding tanks or plumbing.

[2gypsies]

We boondocked a lot in national forests and BLM and saw a both Class As and Cs.  You can safely do it in both IF you don't plan to boulder hop.  We found national forest lands to have good roads - never an issue with our 40' MH.

I would look for one without a long overhang.  They ride a lot better and if you have to go down a slope or through a wash the tail won't get hung up.

 

The Class A would ride higher which would be a benefit.  They also have more storage space in the basement.

Good luck in your search!

Edited October 22, 2019 by 2gypsies

[jpcoll01]

As to where you can go. I saw a Class A DP at the top of High Mesa in the Uncompahgre National Forest this week...it was impressive. I’m sure it took them several hours to get it up the switchbacks but it was in good shape and they had an amazing camping spot. So where one will go is largely up to you!

[ToddF]

If a back in site is officially 26 or 27' deep, I can still back into it with my 33' rig. There are often curbs or boulders in the back or a soft area behind the "pad".

Yes, on rare occasions, the issue of bottoming out the back in is a problem. But my lower to the ground Class C with the big back side, handles just fine and because it is lower to the ground, is SAFE to drive. Much less chance of being blown over or tipping over in an accident. Center of gravity is substantially lower than a tippy Class A.

[Barbaraok]

I guarantee you that a big Class A isn't tippy.  Ours is on the smaller size and at 31K pounds we don't get pushed over by passing semis like we did with the Class C (29 ft)we had  before full timing.   And since we have airbags, we never worry about the bottoming that we had to be careful of with the Class C.   Actually on the Class C we had skid wheels, or something like that, in the back to help with the dips in lots of Texas roads.  

I loved the Class C and it was great for long weekends, short weekends, 2 week vacations, but wouldn't be great for full timing. I wanted to travel in comfort, with a w/d, a convection microwave, etc.  Pass through basement storage, never worried about not having enough storage space or worried about carrying weight.   Also, our Class C didn't have slides, which meant it was pretty small on rainy days - - and when you spend a few months in the spring in Western Washington, having a little more room for off-days becomes a 'need' not a want.   Plus our tanks are so much bigger.  We have 100 gallon fresh water, 100 gallon grey water, 80 gallon black water and 100 gallon diesel.   We can go for 11-12 days without dumping.  The ride on the air bags is superb and the view very good going down the road - and the exhaust brake makes coming down steep mountain grades in the west easy to do.  I drive about 1/2 of the time and the view makes it easy for me to see what is  going on around me.   As to sun in the after noon, you do sit back a little and we've never had a problem.

 

 

[2gypsies]

3 hours ago, jpcoll01 said:

As to where you can go. I saw a Class A DP at the top of High Mesa in the Uncompahgre National Forest this week...it was impressive. I’m sure it took them several hours to get it up the switchbacks but it was in good shape and they had an amazing camping spot. So where one will go is largely up to you!

We've been up there, also. I don't recall any difficulty.😊

[sandsys]

Another advantage of a Class C is it has a true truck cab which is a safety feature that can come in handy during an accident.

Linda

[rbertalotto]

After looking at dozens of class A and C units, when we make the jump from travel trailer to a MH it will be a Super C......nothing like the raw durability and robust over the road truck under you.

[StraitRVing]

15 hours ago, Jimmy61 said:

Does the overhang of a 33 footer ever jam you up?  Does it drag alot?

No jam ups or dragging.  There is a tail swing that I keep alert to when making turns.  If there is a steep entrance or exit on the paved road, parking lot, or driveway then I take it at an angle to decrease the chance of the rear dragging.  It does have bars on the frame underneath to protect everything should it bottom out.  I do not try to force it into places.  

[StraitRVing]

2 hours ago, rbertalotto said:

After looking at dozens of class A and C units, when we make the jump from travel trailer to a MH it will be a Super C......nothing like the raw durability and robust over the road truck under you.

Super C is what I am looking at to purchase in a few years.  They are nice.

[Rover]

We had a Class C for 12 years and a Class A before that. We knew that when we went fulltime we were going to have to have either a Class A or a fifth wheel. There just was not enough storage space in the Class C, especially basement storage. And we had a large C at almost 32’. 
 

Vicki

 

[sandsys]

1 hour ago, Rover said:

We had a Class C for 12 years and a Class A before that. We knew that when we went fulltime we were going to have to have either a Class A or a fifth wheel. There just was not enough storage space in the Class C, especially basement storage. And we had a large C at almost 32’. 

It depends on what you want to store. We lived full time for 1 1/2 years in a 24-foot Class C. We are indoor people so we had two camp chairs for visiting with other people but no charcoal grill.

Linda

[ToddF]

Money is a big part of my decision to go Class C. My new Minnie Winnie was $92K inc sales tax and license. 3 slides and HWH levelers. A comparable Class A Diesel would have been more than double this, a figure I couldn't afford.

If I win the lottery, I will buy a Class A to try it out. I'm sure it would be fun to try on for size! Especially now that I know it won't tip over in the wind.

[Kirk W]

36 minutes ago, ToddF said:

A comparable Class A Diesel would have been more than double this, a figure I couldn't afford.

Which is the reason that we, and may others choose to go fulltime in a gasoline powered class A. Long ago I discovered that no matter what sort of RV you have, the scenery looks just as good and the sun is just as warm as it is for those in the most expensive RVs available. What is important is that you enjoy your RV travels, not what the "experts" believe that you should have done. 

[Barbaraok]

2 hours ago, ToddF said:

Money is a big part of my decision to go Class C. My new Minnie Winnie was $92K inc sales tax and license. 3 slides and HWH levelers. A comparable Class A Diesel would have been more than double this, a figure I couldn't afford.

If I win the lottery, I will buy a Class A to try it out. I'm sure it would be fun to try on for size! Especially now that I know it won't tip over in the wind.

We purchased a 3 yr old used DP when we started.  Had everything we wanted, and have had it for 14 years now.