A V/S C

Hi:

I know where you are coming from. Although I am 51, several back surgeries for me and a knee replacement for DW have caused us physical limitations on some activities.

We started talking about getting a C in the spring of 2012. I was off work for five months after rupturing three disks and tearing a hole in my spinal canal lifting a patient (I was a volunteer EMT). The recovery was hard, and combined with DW's knee replacement, we had to re-think how we could continue to travel and camp. We knew that the class A of our dreams was out of reach for us financially. We are both working full time, high-stress careers and we would like to retire some day, so the budget has to be a consideration.

Then, while watching a TV show on RVs, we saw the Thor ACE (A/C Evolution). That was Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. On Sunday, we went to see one. The dealer had two - both 30.1 models. We drove the one we liked and then talked. Drove a class C and talked. Drove a class A and talked. And then we bought the ACE. It has many of the features of an A, the drivability of the C and all of the features we knew were important to us. Over the last three years we'd been making notes on what we loved about our TT and what we knew we wanted in another camper someday. We got retail blue book on our trades and a huge discount from the dealer.

So, here we are month and a half later, and we love our ACE. We've been on five trips, have had a great deal of fun and no issues at all.

It used to take us an hour to hitch up and load and an hour to unhitch and set up camp. Now, we pull in, set the brake, push a button to level, chock the wheels, two minutes for hookups, push buttons for slides and awning, put out chairs and we're ready to camp. Five minutes tops from pull in to camping time.

Have a look. It might work for you. It works for us, and the budget is happy. We bought a new Honda CR-V to tow, and we still stayed within our budget.

Happy camping,
Elizabeth

D.E.Bishop wrote:
I would add one thing to what wildtoad said, Class C's Drivability is better.

By that I mean, it feels more like driving a car or SUV and generally women feel more at ease driving a C.

Personally, I like the busdriver point of view and feel.

We've had both, I prefer the visibility when driving our Class A. So no, not all women prefer the Class Cs. I did like using the Class C for short vacations/weekends and learning how to do things on it - made the transition to a Class A just a little bit easier.

And since it is a diesel we can use truck lanes at truck stops for fueling, straight in and out. I like the bigger tanks - means we can go longer without dumping. Also our tanks are in heated bays - one less thing to worry about in the winter months.

Barb

D.E.Bishop wrote:
I would add one thing to what wildtoad said, Class C's Drivability is better.

By that I mean, it feels more like driving a car or SUV and generally women feel more at ease driving a C.

Interesting! Yesterday a salesman said equal length the A was better handling and turned tighter better on curvy mt. roads. He was trying to us either as he had both. Didn't think he had a dog in that fight.

I would take an A over a C any day. Unless you get a class C with a one piece fiberglass shell you are just waiting until the leaks start in the over cab bed. If you are thinking of using that as a bed I would seriously give that a thought. If I need a ladder to get into bed I am going to sleep in the chair. I use a walker to get around and have very little problem getting hooked up in CGs. To hook up the toad is just the bars to the toad, plug in the electric cable, put the breakaway plug in that switch, put the car in neutral and flip the switch in the glove box. I did that to avoid pulling a fuse that we had to use all sorts of contortions to reinstall. It takes a few minutes to set up or get under way. Since DW has had 3 knee replacements and I have had spinal fusion we had a problem getting up the 6 steps. Thanks to the solid construction of Newmar I was able to put in a hand rail that we are both able to use to put our weight on for getting in the MH. We have had 2 Cs and 2 As over the years so that is our experience.

Having owned both I have to agree that the A is a little more roomier with the higher cab area and better view.

My Class A was the same length as my current Class C, but the Class C seems easier to park and maneuver.

BUT an A is way more expensive to maintain as is the cost of tires and service. It is higher and as such it is harder to get into and out of. My current Class C has more storage room than my old Class A. As the newer Class Cs seem to have now.

If Age and health are a factor my choice would be the C.It is easier to get into and out of, it is easier to drive than my Class A ever was and it is it is more comfortable all around. In short it suites my needs.

I would suggest you find what suites your needs and you are comfortable driving and can afford maintaining.

I would add one thing to what wildtoad said, Class C's Drivability is better.

By that I mean, it feels more like driving a car or SUV and generally women feel more at ease driving a C.

Personally, I like the busdriver point of view and feel.

More stairs on an A, typically. If that bothers you. We have a small C but will most likely get an A after our big old dog goes to doggie heaven. She could not handle the stairs on an A.

Other than that and money, I think most categories favor an A.

I have worked on Motorhomes for 34 years and the ONLY advantage I have ever seen on a Class C is-they have MORE sleeping space. I find driving and backing a Class A far easier than a Class C. I have had numerous Wives of customers, after I tell them to drive the Class A, they state they never realized how easy it is to drive one. They also stated that they found the Class A easier than the Class C. Doug

CDK wrote:

MountainAir05 wrote:
If you are not able to hook up the TT then how are you going to do the same with a class A or C. Plus if you tow that will be more to do. Good luck.

Motor home: no wheel chocks, no spring bars , no safety chains , no emergency break cable , no stabilizers, no sway control , All dealt with either bending over or on hands and knees.:R

While the above is certainly true, MountainAir05 may have been referring to hooking up water, sewer and electrical. An advantage of the A and to a lesser extent the C is the fact they are self contained. This allows you to use all functions without external hookups. Really nice when traveling. Once on site you can hook up if desired or boondock.

MountainAir05 wrote:
If you are not able to hook up the TT then how are you going to do the same with a class A or C. Plus if you tow that will be more to do. Good luck.

Motor home: no wheel chocks, no spring bars , no safety chains , no emergency break cable , no stabilizers, no sway control , no brake/light electric cable All dealt with either bending over or on hands and knees.:R