2000 Minnie Winnie 31C - Newbie

j-d wrote:

Not built for offroading. You don't want to rack the coach with a twisting motion. Probably get stuck in anything soft/sandy/muddy/wet, even deep gravel. There will be well over a ton on each of the front wheels.

Any sort of somewhat serious off-roading is certainly not a good idea for most any class C (if not specifically built for that sort of thing), I entirely agree. However, many dirt roads carefully driven over are not a big problem, particularly if one is cautious about things and goes slowly.

Class C motorhomes actually have better traction than one might expect. I had no troubles with mine (on a '98 E-SuperDuty chassis, before it was renamed to be the E450) on some pretty rough roads in Alaska, including construction areas where they were grading or laying down quite a little bit of gravel. Smallish amounts of racking are easily accommodated by the suspension; roads don't need to be perfectly flat and level. Obviously there are varying degrees of these things, and a Jeep or pickup can accommodate significantly rouger conditions than a motorhome.

I suspect the bigger limitations are more related to height, width, length (and hence turning radius), high center of gravity, and ground clearance/breakaway angles. The width and height are especially constraining in wooded areas with low branches.