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Thanks for all the replies.  I think a Class C will be the right fit for me.  I simply don't need all the extravagant features of a Class A.  I'm single and plan to stay that way so a Class C will be plenty.  Plus, it seems like a hassle to find someone to work on a Class A.  The majority of house issues I'm confident I can resolve on my own.  But the running gear is a different story.  Seems easier to find a shop that is willing to make repairs on the simple Ford chassis.

Like someone else mentioned, this should be fun.  I think a simple Class C would fit the bill for me.  Maybe 10 years down the road I'll consider a Class A but for my first set up a Class C will be a good learning experience.

Jimmy

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15 minutes ago, Jimmy61 said:

  I simply don't need all the extravagant features of a Class A.

You definitely should make the right choice for your circumstances, but in this entire thread I haven't seen reference to anything I would consider an "extravagant feature" of a Class A, nor does my DP have any such features unless you consider our washer/dryer to be one.  I surely don't consider it or our residential fridge to be extravagant.  To me it sounds as if you already knew what choice you wanted to make and used this thread as a way of validating it.

Sandie & Joel

2000 40' Beaver Patriot Thunder Princeton--425 HP/1550 ft-lbs CAT C-12
2014 Honda CR-V AWD EX-L with ReadyBrute tow bar/brake system
WiFiRanger Ambassador
Follow our adventures on Facebook at Weiss Travels

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15 minutes ago, docj said:

You definitely should make the right choice for your circumstances, but in this entire thread I haven't seen reference to anything I would consider an "extravagant feature" of a Class A, nor does my DP have any such features unless you consider our washer/dryer to be one.  I surely don't consider it or our residential fridge to be extravagant.  To me it sounds as if you already knew what choice you wanted to make and used this thread as a way of validating it.

Wow!  You have never met me or spoken to me.  Yet you can make a personal assumption about me?  Hopefully I can avoid such arrogancy when on the road.  Anyway, my apologies for ruffling your feathers.  Hoping your day brightens up a bit.

Jimmy

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1 hour ago, Jimmy61 said:

You have never met me or spoken to me.  Yet you can make a personal assumption about me? 

I don't really think that anyone intended to make disparaging remarks about you but only to make suggestions. Written responses sometimes come over differently than intended. My one question would be if you have shopped a wide range of both class C and class A rigs? My own preference has been with the class A but I have known others who prefer the class C and that is OK. The location of the waste tanks is something to consider if you expect to go into rough roads when boondocking. That can be a problem with many models of RV so be sure to check it before you buy. 

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

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I don't think the use of the word should offend anyone. Given the fact that a new DP costs 4x what my Class C cost, I think the word is appropriate. It's not intended to offend those who choose to go that route. Just my observation.

Definition of extravagant

 

1a: exceeding the limits of reason or necessity extravagant claims
b: lacking in moderation, balance, and restraint extravagant praise
c: extremely or excessively elaboratean extravagant display
2: extremely or unreasonably high in pricean extravagant purchase
3a: spending much more than necessary has always been extravagant with her money
b: PROFUSE, LAVISH
Edited by ToddF
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Who said that everyone on this forum (or any other forum) bought their DPs new?  A lot of us, especially those doing research on their purchases, purchased used DPs.   

Why must every thread go the "who can full-time for less" route?

Barb & Dave O'Keeffe
2002 Alpine 36 MDDS (Figment II), 2018 Ford C-Max HYBRID
Blog: http://www.barbanddave.net
SPK# 90761 FMCA #F337834

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DPs are expensive at least partly because large truck diesel engines and heavy duty Allison transmissions are expensive hardware. Even my 20 year old drive train can fetch a price of $15-20k on the used equipment market. That's a good part of why Progressive was willing to give me a $70k agreed value policy on a 20 year old coach. Is it extravagant to use such a power plant in a MH? That's something that can be debated, but if you do, the price charged is due to the hardware not because it is overpriced. 

Sandie & Joel

2000 40' Beaver Patriot Thunder Princeton--425 HP/1550 ft-lbs CAT C-12
2014 Honda CR-V AWD EX-L with ReadyBrute tow bar/brake system
WiFiRanger Ambassador
Follow our adventures on Facebook at Weiss Travels

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3 hours ago, docj said:

DPs are expensive at least partly because large truck diesel engines and heavy duty Allison transmissions are expensive hardware. Even my 20 year old drive train can fetch a price of $15-20k on the used equipment market. That's a good part of why Progressive was willing to give me a $70k agreed value policy on a 20 year old coach. Is it extravagant to use such a power plant in a MH? That's something that can be debated, but if you do, the price charged is due to the hardware not because it is overpriced. 

Who cares?  I didn't ask about what you're posting.  What's your prupose for this remark? 

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This is what I asked:

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?

A few gave some great things to think about.  Thanks a bunch to those.  Others climbed up on their high horse to talk about their Class A, as if it's the best thing since sliced bread.

Then the arrogance of some to read their crystal ball and make statements that I "need validation" from them. 

Give me a break.  What rubbish! I see this in many forums.  The Class A crew spewing off about how great their Class A is.  How much it costs.  Blah Blah Blah. 

 

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14 minutes ago, Jimmy61 said:

This is what I asked:

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?

 

a) If a gas Class C and gas Class A in a small size that you're looking at.... very little difference. Both can be serviced by the same type of mechanic or facility.  

b) We drove our 40' Class A down good gravel roads for up to 20 miles or so or until we found a nice place to boondock on public lands.  You will not do boulder hopping with either a C or A.  We boondocked 90% of our 16 years of full-timing in all the midwest and western states and Alaska.  We also used national parks, state parks, national forest campgrounds, county and city parks. We used Corp of Engineer or state parks in the east.

Full-timed for 16 Years
Traveled 8 yr in a 2004 Newmar Dutch Star 40' Motorhome
and 8 yr in a 33' Travel Supreme 5th Wheel

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4 hours ago, Kirk W said:

I don't really think that anyone intended to make disparaging remarks about you but only to make suggestions. Written responses sometimes come over differently than intended. My one question would be if you have shopped a wide range of both class C and class A rigs? My own preference has been with the class A but I have known others who prefer the class C and that is OK. The location of the waste tanks is something to consider if you expect to go into rough roads when boondocking. That can be a problem with many models of RV so be sure to check it before you buy. 

Yes, I have shopped both classes.  Thanks for the tip to look over the underside and check for anything that looks like it might be a clearance issue.

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The jacks are the first things to drag on my class A, which is an older gasser with a tag axle that I boondock with quite a bit. Gassers are a good bit lighter than diesels, which is a consideration when going through sand washes and such. The rest of the underbelly is out of the way. I did drag my rear bumper while boondocking on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, as I had to go through a little ditch to get into the campsite even though I did it on an angle. I don't think a class C with a long overhang would have made it. 

If you'd rather a C for boondocking try to look for one with a shorter overhang or one with the overhang cut up for more ground clearance, like an expedition vehicle. I've seen a few of these last month near Moab UT as they were having an expedition vehicle rally. They sound ideal for your purpose, with great ground clearance and AWD, so will go where I can only dream of going. You might want to attend a rally and talk to some owners first about their pros and cons. Even used, they are a little pricey though.

Chip

 

 

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Jimmy61, if you didn't want information on Class As, why entitle your thread with an 'or'.    If all you wanted was agreement that a Class C was the best thing for full timing, say so.   And the difference between shorter gas  Class A and a Class C might be the storage in the basement area - limited though it would be.    Nor did you mention in the original post that you were single.   As to all of the different comments, that's how threads go and not all of those comments were directed at you, sometimes other posters bring up a question or mention something on a tangent and someone will comment on their post.  

Your use of the word extravagant to try and denigrate people who have a different view of full timing didn't help.   Do Class A owners like their rigs - of course, they wouldn't have them if they didn't like them.    I loved our Class C, we had loads of fun in it, it was very forgiving as we learned all about RVing and great for short trips.  But for two people who were going to full-time it didn't have enough room.  

Somethings that would be a problem for someone wanting to boondock for extended periods of time would be tanks that aren't  enclosed in the basement of the rig, so no heating from the furnace.  Not a problem if you chase the 70° mark, but could be a problem.  We had tank heaters on ours to help when it got cold.    Small waste tanks - if you want to do a lot of boon docking, you need fairly good sized waste tanks.   Same for freshwater tanks.  Most class Cs have just one 12 volt house battery (12 v or 2-6v) which means running generator more often or installing solar.   Just some of the things to consider.

 

Edited by Barbaraok

Barb & Dave O'Keeffe
2002 Alpine 36 MDDS (Figment II), 2018 Ford C-Max HYBRID
Blog: http://www.barbanddave.net
SPK# 90761 FMCA #F337834

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52 minutes ago, Barbaraok said:

But for two people who were going to full-time it didn't have enough room.  

For you two. The Class C the two of us full-timed in was just fine. It's those statements that don't include disclaimers that get us in trouble.

Linda

Blog: http://sandcastle.sandsys.org/

Former Rigs: Liesure Travel van, Winnebago View 24H, Winnebago Journey 34Y, Sportsmobile Sprinter conversion van

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46 minutes ago, sandsys said:

For you two. The Class C the two of us full-timed in was just fine. It's those statements that don't include disclaimers that get us in trouble.

Linda

Correct, for us, and for most full timers who go the motorhome route,  it wasn't enough room. 

Barb & Dave O'Keeffe
2002 Alpine 36 MDDS (Figment II), 2018 Ford C-Max HYBRID
Blog: http://www.barbanddave.net
SPK# 90761 FMCA #F337834

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On 10/23/2019 at 4:22 AM, SWharton said:

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

Haha, great idea. Not only with much higher price tag, with a bigger engine, heavier frame and large capacity, Class A motorhomes are generally costly to fuel. If money is your concern, then Class C would be a better choice.

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12 hours ago, Chris Coleman said:

Not only with much higher price tag, with a bigger engine, heavier frame and large capacity, Class A motorhomes are generally costly to fuel. If money is your concern, then Class C would be a better choice.

That's a common misconception.  The typical Class C, often built on the Ford E450 chassis and powered by the Ford V10 usually gets 8-9 mpg.  Our 34,000 lb Class A powered by a Cat C12 gets a very legitimate 8 mpg on the average.  Yes,  Class A's, in general are more expensive to operate, but fuel isn't a major driver in that calculation.

Edited by docj

Sandie & Joel

2000 40' Beaver Patriot Thunder Princeton--425 HP/1550 ft-lbs CAT C-12
2014 Honda CR-V AWD EX-L with ReadyBrute tow bar/brake system
WiFiRanger Ambassador
Follow our adventures on Facebook at Weiss Travels

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5 hours ago, docj said:

That's a common misconception.  The typical Class C powered, often built on the Ford E450 chassis and powered by the Ford V10 usually gets 8-9 mpg.  Our 34,000 lb Class A powered by a Cat C12 gets a very legitimate 8 mpg on the average.  Yes,  Class A's, in general are more expensive to operate, but fuel isn't a major driver in that calculation.

Our Class C was a Mercedes Benz with a diesel engine and we got 18-20 mpg. Not typical, though.

Linda Sand

Blog: http://sandcastle.sandsys.org/

Former Rigs: Liesure Travel van, Winnebago View 24H, Winnebago Journey 34Y, Sportsmobile Sprinter conversion van

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On 10/21/2019 at 6:33 PM, Jimmy61 said:

Jimmy

For me it was all about the money and length (period). I looked at the class B+ ,Nexus/Phoenix Cruiser/Coachman Concord/Safari Damara, as well as others. I settled on a used class A, 2016 Thor ACE 30.1, fairly close in length but because of the cab in a class B+ or C, the class A won. Then price, the class A was no less then $50,000 less. There is a small difference in height (10"-12") and width (2"-4") yet Almost anywhere you can put any one of those I can put my class A. But as many here have said that is all in the preference of the individual.

 

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7 hours ago, docj said:

That's a common misconception.  The typical Class C powered, often built on the Ford E450 chassis and powered by the Ford V10 usually gets 8-9 mpg.  Our 34,000 lb Class A powered by a Cat C12 gets a very legitimate 8 mpg on the average.  Yes,  Class A's, in general are more expensive to operate, but fuel isn't a major driver in that calculation.

I have to agree Doc, My gas, class A, 30' is powered by the same V10 that powers most of the class C and some B, I get a 10 mpg. Now I do not try to beat any speed records but I usually put the cruise control on about 64 mph and just sit back.

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Situations constanting come up where I am glad I own a Class C...

We stopped in at Grayton Beach SP in Florida without a reservation and were able to get a back in site that we fit into with no problem. The park had very few sites that would accommodate a longer Class A and of course those were full.

Just pulled into an Express Oil business in Daphne Alabama that I noticed had high doors. They took us right in for an oil change, top off of trans fluid, and replace air filter. The bill was $65.

Just spent the day at the USS Alabama for a tour of the battleship (awesome) and a 3:00 Veteran's Day Event (Thank you Veterans!!). With our Class C, we could easily have parked anywhere in their lot. (They did have overflow area for larger vehicles, but that is not always the case).

For a day trip like this, we take the RV instead of the toad, and find take down and set up to be a pain but really only takes 15 minutes for each. Certainly couldn't do this with a 5th wheel or trailer. Probably a "push" Class A vs Class C.

Lots of trees here at Rainbow Plantation and the lower clearance makes it that much less of an issue.

My complaints are few. The Minnie Winnie is DARKER inside than our previous Lazy Daze (a company known for big windows and slides). I am used to it now. What you gain in large screen tvs mounted on the wall and slides, you lose in window space and interior light. And the shower stall is flimsy (plastic insert) compared to the solid fiberglass unit that comes with a Lazy Daze. Otherwise happy.

 

 

 

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One thing that hasn't been mentioned is towing something behind the MH. Many people think that they can use a Class C just like a car, only to discover that before they leave the campsite to go grocery shopping they have to stow everything just like they would when getting ready to drive 250 miles. Then, when you get done with the shopping, you have to level and set up again. Consider towing something that you can use for the running around.

Another point to check, whether Class A or Class C, is check the difference between empty weight and gross weight of the rig. A full tank of fuel, full propane, and half a tank of fresh water can really eat into the available weight capacity.

David Lininger, kb0zke
1993 Foretravel U300 40' (sold)
2022 Grand Design Reflection 315RLTS

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3 hours ago, kb0zke said:

Many people think that they can use a Class C just like a car, only to discover that before they leave the campsite to go grocery shopping they have to stow everything just like they would when getting ready to drive 250 miles

Depends on how you travel. In our Class C we always ran errands while moving from one campsite to another anyway. Since we rarely put out anything more than a doormat and generally used water from our tank so only put out the hose when actually filling the tank, packing up was not a problem. It mostly meant moving our laptops from the table to their carrying bag.

Linda Sand

Blog: http://sandcastle.sandsys.org/

Former Rigs: Liesure Travel van, Winnebago View 24H, Winnebago Journey 34Y, Sportsmobile Sprinter conversion van

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17 hours ago, sandsys said:

Since we rarely put out anything more than a doormat and generally used water from our tank so only put out the hose when actually filling the tank, packing up was not a problem.

How many years did you live that way? We lived on the road for 12 years and some here have been fulltime for much longer than that. We lived in the RV the same as in a stick house so we were not always packed to move. 

Edited by Kirk W

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

            images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqFswi_bvvojaMvanTWAI

 

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