Chevrolet Based Class C *UPDATED AGAIN*
I do not want to start a war or a bunch of flaming, but I have to ask. What are the problems with a Chevrolet Based Class C? Other than they are hard to find. They are easier to find now I have rea...
Forum Discussion
New to the site, first-time post. I just read all 20 pages of this thread :)
When I was a kid, my family had a 22-foot Tioga bunkhouse (Dodge chassis, 440), and I took turns at the wheel when I got my license. After my brother and I were out of high school and not vacationing with our parents anymore, they sold it and were out of RVing for a while, then later got a small Pace Arrow class A that they used for some years.
Wanting to show my kids how great RVing is, we rented a 31' Jamboree from El Monte in June and hit the road for a week, and I got to take my dad on a road trip the way he used to take me. The kids mostly liked it, but my wife (a first time RVer and not a good road traveler) said that if we do it again, leave her home with her garden. I'm pretty sure she'll never even set foot in one again lol.
Anyway, the Jamboree was built on the Ford E450, and I got used to the handling, but never liked it. It porpoised easily, and the slightest variation in the pavement would really turn the wheel; ditto for sudden gusts, the "bow wave" when passing semis, etc. I was constantly borrowing from Yakov Smirnov and saying, "In Soviet Russia, motorhome drive YOU!" because it really felt like that.
On the upside, low-speed handling was good, and I was pretty happy with the power of the Ford V-10. Even with 6 passengers and our gear, I only dropped below 60 on the steepest parts of the Buckman Springs Grade (I-8, east of San Diego) on the last leg of the return trip.
I liked RVing as much as I did when I was a kid, and will find some way to get my wife to agree to buy one :-)
The info about Chevy-based motorhomes in this thread has been very informative, and I now would like to drive one. Will certainly do so before buying. I'll rent at least one more time before then, too, and will try to specify a Chevy, although in terms of used vehicles, a Tioga 28T looks like it would fit our needs pretty well among non-bunkhouse model, and I have yet to see one on a Chevy chassis in the rental fleets. That the Ford is rated to pull a 5000 pound toad and the Chevy only goes up to 3500 is a plus for the Ford, and while the 6.0 Vortec is a pretty capable engine, I've got to wonder how it would do in a 28-foot motorhome hauling a toad that could seat 6 on steep western grades.
Would also consider a small (~34 feet) class A if it was a bunkhouse model. Whatever it has, it has to legitimately sleep 5 (myself, dad, my three kids) and who knows? Maybe my wife will join us again some day ;)
Thanks again for all the info on the merits of Ford Vs. Chevy chassis. Sadly, it seems my beloved Dodge isn't in the class C chassis market at all, so I'll be sleeping with the enemy no matter what ;)
When I was a kid, my family had a 22-foot Tioga bunkhouse (Dodge chassis, 440), and I took turns at the wheel when I got my license. After my brother and I were out of high school and not vacationing with our parents anymore, they sold it and were out of RVing for a while, then later got a small Pace Arrow class A that they used for some years.
Wanting to show my kids how great RVing is, we rented a 31' Jamboree from El Monte in June and hit the road for a week, and I got to take my dad on a road trip the way he used to take me. The kids mostly liked it, but my wife (a first time RVer and not a good road traveler) said that if we do it again, leave her home with her garden. I'm pretty sure she'll never even set foot in one again lol.
Anyway, the Jamboree was built on the Ford E450, and I got used to the handling, but never liked it. It porpoised easily, and the slightest variation in the pavement would really turn the wheel; ditto for sudden gusts, the "bow wave" when passing semis, etc. I was constantly borrowing from Yakov Smirnov and saying, "In Soviet Russia, motorhome drive YOU!" because it really felt like that.
On the upside, low-speed handling was good, and I was pretty happy with the power of the Ford V-10. Even with 6 passengers and our gear, I only dropped below 60 on the steepest parts of the Buckman Springs Grade (I-8, east of San Diego) on the last leg of the return trip.
I liked RVing as much as I did when I was a kid, and will find some way to get my wife to agree to buy one :-)
The info about Chevy-based motorhomes in this thread has been very informative, and I now would like to drive one. Will certainly do so before buying. I'll rent at least one more time before then, too, and will try to specify a Chevy, although in terms of used vehicles, a Tioga 28T looks like it would fit our needs pretty well among non-bunkhouse model, and I have yet to see one on a Chevy chassis in the rental fleets. That the Ford is rated to pull a 5000 pound toad and the Chevy only goes up to 3500 is a plus for the Ford, and while the 6.0 Vortec is a pretty capable engine, I've got to wonder how it would do in a 28-foot motorhome hauling a toad that could seat 6 on steep western grades.
Would also consider a small (~34 feet) class A if it was a bunkhouse model. Whatever it has, it has to legitimately sleep 5 (myself, dad, my three kids) and who knows? Maybe my wife will join us again some day ;)
Thanks again for all the info on the merits of Ford Vs. Chevy chassis. Sadly, it seems my beloved Dodge isn't in the class C chassis market at all, so I'll be sleeping with the enemy no matter what ;)
