Forum Discussion

rlepperson's avatar
rlepperson
Explorer
Dec 16, 2014

6" 2" Tall

The Class C motor homes (Sprinter is an exception, but I am not interested in diesel) that I have seen are difficult for me to drive due to my 6'2" frame, as the "dog house" cuts back the rear motion of the seat. Some of Class C's are an inch or so too short for my height. Does the Class B+ allow the drivers seat to recline for more leg room than a "typical C" and is the roof adequate on any or all models to allow for standing up and stretching?

15 Replies

  • At 6'6'' I needed all the extra room also,I found that one built on a Chevy Chassis was so much better than the ones built on a Ford Chassis.
    Here is what I found.

    Length The Chevy is 9 inches longer.

    But the real story is the interior.

    The area from the Dog House to the kick panel,the floor board where your feet are.

    The Chevy is 18 inches wide and mostly flat.

    The Ford is 15 inches wide but has a 2 inch rise that is 5 inches wide leaving only 10 inches of flat floor.

    With the seat pushed back as far as it goes on both the Ford And Chevy. Both having Stock Factory seats
    I found.
    Foot well depth to front of seat. Chevy 31 inches Ford 27 inches

    Seat back to steering wheel. Chevy 26 inches Ford 23 inches

    Front of seat to Dash. Chevy 29 inches Ford 23 inches 6" More leg room!

    Dog House width,measured at dash Chevy 15 inches Ford 23 inches 4 inches less knee room for passenger and driver.

    Dog House depth into cab from dash Chevy 8 inches Ford 11 inches

    There are quite a few Class C or C-(notice that I did not say the fictional Class B+) that are built on a Chevy Chassis

    One Example is The Leisure Libero that may fit your needs.
  • j-d wrote:
    Something with a Chevrolet chassis will help in the "C" market. Their "van" cab offers more space than Ford.


    Nine inches more, in fact! Well, not all of that added length is in driver legroom, but still it's quite noticeable. I am also 6-2, and have eliminated Ford van-based units (E350/E450) from my search for this exact reason.
  • j-d's avatar
    j-d
    Explorer II
    Welcome to the Forum! And just in time for the Holidays!

    Something with a Chevrolet chassis will help in the "C" market. Their "van" cab offers more space than Ford. I'd say, Get Thee to a mega-dealer or RV show and browse around. Indiana and Iowa may not be just around the corner, but they're well within travel range if you want to visit some of the builders.

    Watch out for interference from retracted slides when you evaluate driving position. You'll need a floor plan that doesn't restrict any of the legroom and reclining capacity the cab offers.

    A couple builders, Tiger and Host come to mind, build on a pickup chassis instead of a van. Something there might appeal to you.

    Make builders and dealers work to get you into the RV community. You may end up looking for used units on private sales, but the dealers, builders and shows are where you'll see enough units to get an idea what you want.
  • Each Class C model design (with or without slides) will most likely be slightly different, dimensionally, from every other Class C model design.

    Just look for a Class C that does not restrict tipping back of the driver's seat-back - after also sliding the drivers seat back the maximum amount.

    I'm also 6'2". Our 24 foot Itasca Class C without a slide has the back of it's forward dinette seat right up against the back of the Ford driver's seat whenever the driver's seat is slid all the way back. However, Winnebago mounted the dinette seat back using a piano hinge along it's lower edge so that, when not in use, it can be tilted down and away from the back of the driver's seat - thus allowing the driver's seat back to be tilted back quite a bit after also sliding the driver's seat all the way back on it's rail.

    Quite an ingenious design by Winnebago, and it fits me fine for long driving runs.

    However, slides may present a difficult clearance design challenge whenever they start right behind the driver's seat.
  • An alternate option-

    I'm 6' 3" and very comfortable in my pickup truck used to tow our TT originally and now our 5th wheel.

    For comfort (both driving and relaxing while camping) you might consider a truck or SUV and TT setup