Class C bashing

pnichols wrote:
We take our small-but-fully-loaded 24 foot Itasca Class C two-wheel drive offroad in the desert (in dry weather) all the time - albeit driving carefully and slowly when we do.

Here's some of my thoughts regarding our Class C as compared to a truck camper:

pnichols, thanks for the really well thought-out post. This is useful information. I think you misunderstand some things that have become common in TCs, so I'll offer some evidence to the contrary below, but I am impressed with some of the points you make and am interested to learn more.

pnichols wrote:
- It's on Ford's ton-and-a-quarter E450 chassis ... heavier duty than most of the common everyday truck campers ... including of course the dually ton chassis "350/3500" class pickups under many truck campers.

- Since a Class C coach structure is mounted right down onto the truck frame, the center of gravity of a properly built Class C can wind up lower than that of a truck camper. This is of course an advantage for off-highway use.

- Due to our small Class C being on this chassis ... we enjoy the ruggedness, added frame stiffness, and reliability of "chassis overkill". Chassis overkill provides such advantages as minimum chassis twist under the coach on rutted roads, more than adequate brakes, more than adequate engine/transmission cooling, and more than adequate towing/pulling power due to a low differential gear ratio. This low differential ratio is especially nice for very slow speed travel offroad without resorting to torque conversion (heat generation) within the transmission - as we sometimes travel at only 7-10 MPH in certain offroad settings.

- We can carry "any amount of added creature comforts we want", weight-wise, because the motorhome with full tanks is still over 2200 lbs. lighter than the chassis maximum. How many truck campers have a margin this high?

Agreed, many people pile top-of-the-line TCs on 3-series trucks that look like they are ready to tip backward. Of course, one is free to buy a 4-series instead. But what you cannot get with most hard-side TCs is such low overall height and associated center of gravity, so C class wins that for sure.

I'm not sure I buy that there would be as much difference if a TC owner chose similar engine, differential ratio and whatnot - except that a TC is normally much heavier, which is another plus for class C.

That said, I'm still leaning toward a TC (large one with a 4-series truck or smaller TC with 3-series still seems to compete with class C on some important points below)...

pnichols wrote:
- Our water supply is 45 gallons. A lot of TC's don't have anywhere near this gallon capacity.

- Our grey water tank is 29 gallons, and it's contents can be off-loaded into the black water tank in case it fills faster than the black tank. A lot of TC's don't have anywhere near this gallon capacity in their grey water tank.

- Our black water tank is 39 gallons. A lot of TC's don't have anywhere near this gallon capacity.

- Our built-in propane tank capacity is 18 gallons. Most TC's don't have anywhere near this gallon capacity.

These claims are all wrong from what I have seen. Take a look at even the smallest Arctic Fox TC (the 811 at the bottom of the page) here:

http://www.truckcampermagazine.com/truck-camper-buyers-guide/arctic-fox-camper


The 811 has the same or better water capacity and it gets much larger with the bigger models.

I think there's about 8 gallons in a 30lb propane tank, so that capacity is close but a win for your class C, which I hadn't seen before - for instance, the 24' Phoenix Cruiser I was looking at only carries 42lb. Tiger's monster Siberian only carries 50lb. Is yours unusual?

pnichols wrote:
- Our shower roof has room to spare above my 6'2" frame. How many truck campers can provide this?

- Our air conditioner is adequate for any desert heat and can be powered by a built-in generator. How many truck campers are set up like this?

- Our black and grey water tanks are 12 volt heated for drycamping in cold weather. Keeping them warm via the propane furnace is not required.

- Our fresh water tank is contained within the coach interior so it cannot freeze in cold weather if the propane furnace is used during cold weather.

- We can get to the coach area from the cab without leaving the vehicle. How many truck campers can do this?

- Because of the above, when combined with our relative small coach area volume, the Ford cab air conditioning and heating can also handle the entire coach volume. This capability backs up the coach's more than adequate air conditioner and propane furnace.

I think some things like if/how water tanks are kept from freezing can get subjective, but I'm very encouraged to hear there are class C with winter capabilities like that.

It's definitely nice to be able to use truck climate controls to affect the living quarters! From other responses, I've started to gather that a big factor for many people is the sense of space a class C gives you, while TCs can feel more cramped. I can understand that, but I haven't been seeing strictly money-to-specifications comparisons go the way of the class C. Smaller refrigerator is another item.

pnichols wrote:
- When we get to our campsite, we have two queen size beds and one full size bed available (we normally use both queen size beds for sleepiing). How many TC's have this?

On the contrary, I've been seeing class C floorplans where you might have two beds, but they always have to fold out. Or you have a bed in the cabover, but it's pretty small. Most TCs have large always-ready beds in addition to at least one fold-out. But it does sound like you have a lot in your short class C, so you've got my interest piqued.

pnichols wrote:
- The main engine alternator has heavy cabling going to the coach batteries so these batteries can be charged up very quickly and fully when traveling or while only idling the main engine. Not all truck campers can do this.

Definitely a crucial win for class C in my opinion.

pnichols wrote:
- Our main built-in generator can power "every need, if required", so not even a propane system failure could cause us to have to abort a camping trip.

- Since the built-in generator draws from the main 55 gallon fuel tank, we could go a few days with no propane fuel and/or no sun (for solar). Only certain diesel TC's with diesel marine appliances fed from the main truck fuel tank can do this for any length of time.

You do know that many TCs have a generator or space to add one, right? Given, you hardly ever see diesel generators - only LPG ones (I think?). Although I think most TCs have refrigerators that run on propane and class C don't seem to make that a common option(?).

pnichols wrote:
- In addition to the partial list of advantages listed above, we of course also have the raw storage room for a whole bunch of safety, convenience, and backup reliability items that truck camper users can only dream of: Such as the room to carry along a portable generator to back up the built-in generator and the room to carry two full size lounge chairs, four regular chairs, an outside table, two chair side-tables, a full size shovel, an outside dog pen, fishing gear, a full power air compressor, a gas BBQ, a gas burner to backup the galley cooktop, an oven, a microwave, a well-stocked tool box, 100 feet of fresh water hose, 25 feet of sewer hose, etc., etc.. We carry all of this and more without attaching anything to the outside roof ladder, without piling anything into the shower enclosure, and without piling anything onto the beds when traveling

Now you really have me scratching my head! :) Storage in class C has been baffling me, as it seemed obvious that it should have much more but I wasn't seeing that was the case. Maybe I was mistaken or wasn't looking at the right class C. Definitely going to look at Itasca right now. But please do tell, WHERE do you fit all this?!?

Again, excellent post, thank you!