Claas A/ Class C

Class As may give a better driving view, but class Cs shade the driver better from the sun...and I hate having to sit in the sun while driving!

rgatijnet1 wrote:

Desert Captain wrote:

rgatijnet1 wrote:

Kayteg1 wrote:
I think the biggest difference is crash safety.
ClassC has a cabin that has crash and roll-over ratings.
ClassA none.
ClassA gives you more cabin comfort and option to use front seats while "camping".

Exactly how many Class C cabins have been tested in a head on collision with several tons of cabinets, furniture, and appliances attempting to crush you from behind? :B

As bad as this crash looks it was probably survivable with the air bags {not found on most A's}, deploying. Look at the damage closely and imagine that coach was a Class A... two dead for sure. In an A you are sitting atop the front wheels with no engine in front {look at the picture again noting where those Class A folks would have been at impact}.

As far as things rushing and crushing forward that does not appear to be the case here and how would an A be any different? Roll a Class A onto the passenger side and hope for no fire as getting out can be problematic.

For the record lots of C's have front seats that swivel and if yours does not aftermarket swivel kits are available for most coaches.

Lastly, IMHO: the smiley face accompanying the photo in this post is in very poor taste. :R

You know and I know the smiley face had nothing to do with the picture. It had to do with the ignorant comment about Class C's being tested for crash worthiness.
The airbags would have held the people upright and prevented them from absorbing the impact of the debris behind them that would have crushed them.
There is not one single Class C that is tested for crash survivability and just because there is an airbag that does not mean that there was ever any testing for crash or roll over protection.
With a class A, you will be sitting several feet above a collision with an automobile rather than right at the same level. A head on with an automobile will be bad for the automobile and not so much for the people sitting well above the crash in the Class A.

You really need to look at your post again, pay particular attention {as I previously suggested}, to where the folks in a Class A would have been at impact. Several feet above the the impacting auto, which may or may not be true, doesn't buy you an ounce of safety. They would have been shredded by the impact, at least from the waist down and then there is that huge fishbowl windshield disintegrating to take out the rest of them.

The cab of the Class C is actually reasonably intact, the drivers side door pillar is unbent and there is nothing to indicate that anything came forward into the cab from the interior of the coach. As you noted the airbags would have kept the driver and passenger upright and secured by their seat belts giving them at least a decent chance of surviving though serious injury most certainly was part of the equation.

Come on man.... your explanations doesn't wash, man up and admit the smiley had no place in your post.

:S

tnrv'er wrote:
Occupants will be 2 adults & 2 small dogs.

Most Class A units are set up for 2 people. C 's usually have more sleeping areas.

If you had kids I would say get something with bunks. Setting up and taking down a dinette or Jack knife sofa gets old, real quick.

If you decide to rent a C to try, later test drive a few A's. The A is not difficult to drive.

SoCalDesertRider wrote:
The van/truck cab and chassis vehicles are crash tested like pickups and vans are crash tested. Also, the complete vans that van cab/chassis vehicles are derived from are crash tested as well. They all have to meet NHTSA and USDOT safety standards before they are approved for sale for use on US highways.

No, the completed class C motorhome coach is not crash tested. However, the vehicle upfitter company that finishes the incomplete cab/chassis vehicle into a completed motorhome must certify that it meets all applicable standards and there are standards and procedures that must be met when modifying anything on the cab/chassis part of the vehicle during the completion process.

Nice spin, comparing a complete vehicle to one that is all cut up, frame extended, and with tons of particle board stuck on the back of it. When ANY RV is completed, either as a Class A, B, or C, it must meet all of the basic DOT rules about seat belts, brakes, gross vehicle weight, etc. These all have minimal if no affect about crash worthiness. The seat belts may make it easier for the rescuers to find the body.
Any pickup that is tested, loses a lot of it's strength as soon as the body is cut apart to use it as a different type of vehicle. It no longer meets any crash certification at all. Cutting out the back of a pickup cab sure makes it nice to get to the back of the Class C and also makes it easy for the stuff in the RV to come forward in to the cab during a crash. NO Class C RV's or Class A's are tested in any type of crash situation by any government agency.
A Prevost bus chassis may have a certification as a passenger bus but I'm sure that same certification is not applicable once it is turned in to an RV with slides.
Face it, all RV's are unsafe in a crash.

The van/truck cab and chassis vehicles are crash tested like pickups and vans are crash tested. Also, the complete vans that van cab/chassis vehicles are derived from are crash tested as well. They all have to meet NHTSA and USDOT safety standards before they are approved for sale for use on US highways.

No, the completed class C motorhome coach is not crash tested. However, the vehicle upfitter company that finishes the incomplete cab/chassis vehicle into a completed motorhome must certify that it meets all applicable standards and there are standards and procedures that must be met when modifying anything on the cab/chassis part of the vehicle during the completion process.

Desert Captain wrote:

rgatijnet1 wrote:

Kayteg1 wrote:
I think the biggest difference is crash safety.
ClassC has a cabin that has crash and roll-over ratings.
ClassA none.
ClassA gives you more cabin comfort and option to use front seats while "camping".

Exactly how many Class C cabins have been tested in a head on collision with several tons of cabinets, furniture, and appliances attempting to crush you from behind? :B

As bad as this crash looks it was probably survivable with the air bags {not found on most A's}, deploying. Look at the damage closely and imagine that coach was a Class A... two dead for sure. In an A you are sitting atop the front wheels with no engine in front {look at the picture again noting where those Class A folks would have been at impact}.

As far as things rushing and crushing forward that does not appear to be the case here and how would an A be any different? Roll a Class A onto the passenger side and hope for no fire as getting out can be problematic.

For the record lots of C's have front seats that swivel and if yours does not aftermarket swivel kits are available for most coaches.

Lastly, IMHO: the smiley face accompanying the photo in this post is in very poor taste. :R

You know and I know the smiley face had nothing to do with the picture. It had to do with the ignorant comment about Class C's being tested for crash worthiness.
The airbags would have held the people upright and prevented them from absorbing the impact of the debris behind them that would have crushed them.
There is not one single Class C that is tested for crash survivability and just because there is an airbag that does not mean that there was ever any testing for crash or roll over protection.
With a class A, you will be sitting several feet above a collision with an automobile rather than right at the same level. A head on with an automobile will be bad for the automobile and not so much for the people sitting well above the crash in the Class A.

scrubjaysnest wrote:

tnrv'er wrote:
Originally i was thinking of buying a used class C motorhome. Then i started looking at smaller (30') class A's.

What is the advantage or disadvantage of one over the other ?

We have owned both. Couldn't see the traffic lights when stopped unless half a car length back with the C. The over head bunk is hard to climb in and out of and also blocks the view when fall leaf peeping. Like our 25 foot A much better then the C we had.

Yes, i'm aware of that. But you can get class C's where the coach ends at the top of the windshield, eliminating the over hang. Don't need the over head bunk anyway. It's replaced with a entertainment center and or storage.

rgatijnet1 wrote:

Kayteg1 wrote:
I think the biggest difference is crash safety.
ClassC has a cabin that has crash and roll-over ratings.
ClassA none.
ClassA gives you more cabin comfort and option to use front seats while "camping".

Exactly how many Class C cabins have been tested in a head on collision with several tons of cabinets, furniture, and appliances attempting to crush you from behind? :B

As bad as this crash looks it was probably survivable with the air bags {not found on most A's}, deploying. Look at the damage closely and imagine that coach was a Class A... two dead for sure. In an A you are sitting atop the front wheels with no engine in front {look at the picture again noting where those Class A folks would have been at impact}.

As far as things rushing and crushing forward that does not appear to be the case here and how would an A be any different? Roll a Class A onto the passenger side and hope for no fire as getting out can be problematic.

For the record lots of C's have front seats that swivel and if yours does not aftermarket swivel kits are available for most coaches.

Lastly, IMHO: the smiley face accompanying the photo in this post is in very poor taste. :R

tnrv'er wrote:
Originally i was thinking of buying a used class C motorhome. Then i started looking at smaller (30') class A's.

What is the advantage or disadvantage of one over the other ?

We have owned both. Couldn't see the traffic lights when stopped unless half a car length back with the C. The over head bunk is hard to climb in and out of and also blocks the view when fall leaf peeping. Like our 25 foot A much better then the C we had.

Anything that starts as an incomplete, cut-away van cab and bare rear chassis vehicle and is finished by adding a motorhome house body onto the chassis and attached to the cut-away cab, is considered a class C, so far as I know.

A class B is a complete, one piece factory van body vehicle, which the interior is filled with RV living accessories.

A class B+ is a class B van body vehicle with RV features inside, that has a raised roof added on top of it, so far as I'm aware.

The Sprinter van RV's I've seen appear to be class B or B+. I haven't seen any class C Sprinters so far. That doesn't mean they don't exist though.