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

scrubjaysnest
Explorer
Feb 08, 2016
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.
Snowman9000
Explorer
Feb 08, 2016
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
rjf7g
Explorer
Feb 08, 2016
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 -
Tiger4x4RV
Nomad
Feb 07, 2016
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.
Islandman
Explorer II
Feb 07, 2016
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.

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Class B Purchase Advice

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