Class C quality with heated underbelly, double pane windows.

Hi Rockhillmanor,

I had Insulbright covers made for all windows, skylights and vents and for a cab separator. Storage becomes an issue pretty quickly.

memtb wrote:
rockhillmanor, Most who use motorhomes for cool/cold weather camping should use an insulated custom made curtain between the living quarters and driver area. Even a simple wool blanket (doubled, and done at home on a standard sewing machine), cut to fit, will offer a pretty good insulated wall!

rockhillmanor, Most who use motorhomes for cool/cold weather camping should use an insulated custom made curtain between the living quarters and driver area. Even a simple wool blanket (doubled, and done at home on a standard sewing machine), cut to fit, will offer a pretty good insulated wall!

For those who are “creatively challenged”, or do not have access to a sewing machine... I’m sure that the job could be “out-sourced”!

You can double pane, triple pane, quadruple pane the windows in the coach area, but you STILL have a single pane windshield and side windows in the cab. Which IS where ALL of the cold comes in. So imho its a moot point. :W

My advertised "heated" tanks on my first Class C turned out to be nothing more than they split my heat vent in the bedroom and sent half of the bedroom heat to my sewerage bay.

I found out that little tidbit when winter came and the bedroom was freezing cold with the furnace on high.....cause half the heat was going to warm my tanks.

Whatever you decide to buy when they say heated underbelly, heated tanks, heated anything?

Get on your hands and knees and LOOK at what they are calling heated and how. :C

Consider a Lazy Daze 27 foot model (a couple different floor plans). The cabinets are first rate, no particle board. The windows are double pane standard, not optional. There is a queen size cab over bed and main floor couches/beds as well. I don't think the pipes are enclosed, but extra insulation is available as an option. Many on the west coast take theirs up into the Sierra for cold weather camping. Good luck with your search.

Bigfoot and TripleE come to mind. Both made in Canada, but designed for cold climates. The Bigfoot has “enclosed”, heated, tanks and valves. If purchased with the optional “Winter Pkg.”, you get auxiliary rear heater, Motoraid water heater, solar reflective thermal pane windows. The previous owner of our unit ( cross country skiers) used it at a -17 F, with water in unit, with no freeze-ups. They “did” add quilted foil insulation in a few critical areas to aid in freeze protection. This is our first winter with this unit, and have only had it down to single digits, so far....with “no” freeze problems. We hope to try it out at below zero sometime in the near future!

Everything seems very quality, but... interior woodwork could be a little nicer. Has decorative wood grain plastic on some of the cabinetry. It appears to be quality, looks attractive, but... it’s not finished wood. I guess we’re spoiled by our 5th wheel!

Mike & Carol - have a look at the Leisure Travel Van line-up. They are the "new" Triple E product.

Also note that we seriously looked at Phoenix Cruisers a few years ago and found they could not be exported to Canada - something about the way the gas lines are installed.

We were very fortunate to get one of the last Ford Chassis based Regency units. We are very satisfied with it - well built and as with previous units, well insulated.

Wow, Triple-E is quite impressive. They went the extra mile to assure best hot & cold weather protection. Does anyone know what they cost when they were new?

The best Class C's I have seen for cold weather are the Triple E's. There was a late model with cabover but I have not seen any advertised.
They are no longer made but some are around.

Look for Triple E GT29T.



Built for cold weather, triple slide, heated enclosed basement, double pane windows, heat from engine piped to basement while driving.

Overview:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E12T6I23u8w

Cold weather testing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vttAv4b-24U

The Phoenix Cruiser B+ cap is not an upper bunk by default, but can be ordered to be a small one for a child or for bulk storage as pictured in this old 15 year old PC. A new PC would look somewhat different, but this gives you an idea on what to expect. I would request that large finished board be avoided to get max room up inside.


Here is a picture early in the manufacturing process showing the size and insulation of an open B+ cap. Note the van roof has been cut away for easy entry from the house, and to open up the interior. With an upper bunk, I would make certain they do NOT cut the roof to maintain best roll-over protection.


PCs are designed for cold weather camping. The walls, floor, and ceiling are well insulated. Here is a cut-away of the floor. Note the steel beam and durable protective under-belly plastic shielding.


Thermal pane windows are optional. Ordering a PC without an optional slide out will be much warmer than one with a slide out. All PCs come with interior heat-protected plumbing and fresh water tank. The exterior waste tanks are insulated and have large 12V heating pads, similar to that used for heated seats.

Our PC-2350 has no slide out and has double pane insulated glass. The only cold of significance we deal with comes from the Ford cab area. We drape an old comforter across the two front seats and tuck it around the outer edges to eliminate low-drafts. It would be easy to completely seal the front cab from the house if we had an upper bunk as pictured above because the van roof would not be cut-away, creating a clean vertical surface to seal well with a comforter from the bunk to the floor.

There are quite a few class C's that have enclosed plumbing, including the tanks, without having a continuously enclosed underbelly. If the goal is for it to be usable in cold weather, this is quite sufficient if done properly. It's pretty hard to enclose the underside of a truck chassis and still allow for the drive shaft, axle, exhaust, etc. to go where they need to go (at least without making the unit a lot taller than it otherwise would be). A trailer has a lot fewer odds and ends to worry about, so enclosing the whole underbelly is a good bit easier there.

Phoenix Cruiser has nearly everything you want except for the cabover bunk and are quiet well built units.