Hi All, glad I found your forum.My wife & I are close to retirement and planning on purchasing a Class B, or possibly Class C. We would prefer a van size, because we want something as driveable, parkable, off-roadable and decent gas mileage as an SUV-sized car. And because we pulled a 27' trailer behind a big Suburban years back, and I was never quite comfortable with all the length on the road and hitching/unhitching at the site.I can see there is a wealth of good posts & pointers already posted here about "best choices" and I promise to dive deep and do my research with your links.In the meantime, I would appreciate any recommendations about the best Class B's out there, in terms of floor plans, reliability, driveability, etc. Our parameters are:- Can spend $45K to $85K, and would probably be happier with recent used over brand new- Just 2 of us, no family members will ever join in, so a comfortable Queen bed and a not-too-cramped toilet/shower will suffice. TV/electronics are also not important. And no one taller than 6'.- Smooth, quiet driveability IS important- All our trips will be in non-wintery climates, mostly the highways and National Parks of in the Southwest or Pacific NorthwestAlso, in the try-before-u-buy consideration, any advice about finding places that rent Class Bs in or near So. California. We know it's pretty easy to find Class C rentals, but Class B?? Can't seem to find any vendors that do those.Thanks in advance for any advice. See you on the road

Craigslist is a good place to look for used Class B's in your general area where you will be able to go look at them. You will no doubt do a lot of comparison shopping over the next few months, just take your time and when you finally find one that suits your ticket be sure to have it inspected by a good mechanic. Personally I like the Pleasure-Way brand; we had one and it was a gem, they're well made and factory support for any questions that may come up is excellent. A 2-5 year old Class B will save you a lot of money and should be good for many years of travel. Shop private parties as much as you can to avoid high sales talk and hefty commissions although Van City in St. Louis is a good place to look and they have lots of units and price them fairly.

Go to Roadtrek.com. Look under Locators, click the Rental tab, search places within 250 miles of Los Angeles. I found 5 locations which rent Roadtreks.

Are you sure you mean AND here "comfortable Queen bed and a not-too-cramped toilet/shower"? I have a rear entry American Cruiser and I have a huge bathroom by class B standards. However, in order to make a queen bed, you eliminate all other places to sit and it is not easy to get out of bed. We have opted to sleep in the two twin bed configuration, but still we are making up the dinette bed every day or sitting outside or sitting on the side of our beds (which is not bad). Don't get me wrong, we love our class B but it has no where near the room of other campers we have had (two pop-ups, three trailers, and a class B). So, if it is roominess you want without sacrificing comfort, go with a class C. Here's our floor plan -

rjf7g wrote:Are you sure you mean AND here "comfortable Queen bed and a not-too-cramped toilet/shower"? I have a rear entry American Cruiser and I have a huge bathroom by class B standards. However, in order to make a queen bed, you eliminate all other places to sit and it is not easy to get out of bed. We have opted to sleep in the two twin bed configuration, but still we are making up the dinette bed every day or sitting outside or sitting on the side of our beds (which is not bad). Don't get me wrong, we love our class B but it has no where near the room of other campers we have had (two pop-ups, three trailers, and a class B). So, if it is roominess you want without sacrificing comfort, go with a class C. Here's our floor plan - That's a great floor plan for a touring RV IMO. I like it so much I looked up a youtube video for one. Most B's are claustrophobic for me. Yours seems light and not as jam packed.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9uoAEoejVk

We had a class c and are thinking about a B in the future when/if the TM no longer works for us. The problem as we see it is you have to make up the beds every day.Put up the bedding to use the rest of the camper, get it down and make the beds for sleeping. It was a hassle with the C and what stops us pursuing the B route at the current time.

Class B Purchase Advice | Good Sam Community

25 Replies

My_Roadtrek
Explorer
Feb 13, 2016
I don't remember that, but very possible they made that statement, but I haven't heard anything about them recontinuing the Class B's.
Roadtrek was/is dominating the B market, and LTV decided that small Class C's was their niche.
Maybe Mumkin will see this and chime in, she's pretty up on what LTV is doing.
Teja
Explorer
Feb 13, 2016
My Roadtrek wrote:
LTV makes quality Class C's, but they no longer make Class B's. The Unity is a Class C, and there are some owners over there.

I thought their cessation of makng Class Bs was only temporary...wasn't there an announcement at the end of 2014 saying they hoped to resume production of the Free Spirit in about a year? It seems like the demand for Class Bs is as high as ever, so I wonder why they would discontinue them.
Aly
Explorer
Feb 11, 2016
coolmom42 wrote:

FWIW, I know of 2 companies with fleets of Sprinters that are replacing them with Ford Transits, due to the continual headaches with the Sprinters. Sure the diesel engines may be great---but if the electronic controls, AC/heat, or transmisions are constantly falling apart, the engine is irrelevant.

Just for the record, I don’t think Sprinters are junk by any stretch of the imagination. I own one and love it. I could say why I hate other makers, but what relevance is that to the forum? However when people post garbage like above, with hearsay information, it ticks me off. ’The engine is irrelevant!’ ya okay, hehehehe.... Sorry.
Aly
Explorer
Feb 11, 2016
See below. Not sure how to delete a post as the quote didn’t display correctly.
My_Roadtrek
Explorer
Feb 10, 2016
LTV makes quality Class C's, but they no longer make Class B's. The Unity is a Class C, and there are some owners over there.
Teja
Explorer
Feb 10, 2016
How 'bout Leisure Travel? We've had a couple of late-year Leisure Travel models - the Free Spirit and the Unity - come up for sale in my area. High price tags- $$85K-$100K for 3-4 year old models with 20K-30K on the odometer. But the slide out makes for large pull-out or Murphy beds, the drawer space is beautiful, and the rear bath/shower is nice & large.
Shearwater
Explorer
Feb 10, 2016
If Sprinters were "a piece of junk" there would have been complaints all over this forum. I've been a member for 12 years and I've never seen anything to support that statement.
burlmart
Explorer
Feb 10, 2016
the American Clipper floorplan is superb for a B. since the OP also included Cs, a 19' Chinook or Born Free will give same layout w/ a bit wider space, and vertical sidewalls for a more comfy head space.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaLfNDsUO2U
AsheGuy
Explorer
Feb 10, 2016
I know a lot of Sprinter Class B owners and I don't know of any that consider the Sprinter a piece of junk. Quite the contrary.

As has been pointed out before in these forums, commercial use of a vehicle is a different animal from RV use or private use of any kind.
Aly
Explorer
Feb 09, 2016
"FWIW, I know of 2 companies with fleets of Sprinters that are replacing them with Ford Transits, due to the continual headaches with the Sprinters. Sure the diesel engines may be great---but if the electronic controls, AC/heat, or transmisions are constantly falling apart, the engine is irrelevant.”

Wow, didn’t realize the Sprinters were such junk. Thanks for that.