Had a couple truck slide-in's and a 30 ft. fifth wheel. Then got old with arthritis and stopped camping for awhile. Now got the urge to take some 'casual' road trips again, staying at campgrounds as opposed to RV parks.We looked at TT's and found a 25' with a slide and floor plan we liked. TV is a F150 with 80K and 10 years old, but took it on a 6000 mile trip to Alaska last summer and it ran flawless. TT is $20M new.Then I got wondering if I could find a Class C, used, for the same price as the TT, might that work out better. Without dragging this further, answers to several questions might get me started down the right path:1. Is it much harder driving a 30' Class C around town than a 25'?2. Will insurance for a used "C" be much greater than a new TT assuming street values are similar?3. Is the risk of buying a 10 y.o. "C" (assuming value ~ $20M) worth the gamble?Reasons for questions are, already I have discovered there are very few used 25' C's (with a slide) available compared to 30+ ft. C's and I have read on this site a lot of disappointment from those buying older Class C's having costly maintenance issues.

Older Class Cs on a Ford E450 chassis have a GVWR of 14050 pounds, while newer E450 chassis have a GVWR of 14500 pounds. I think the GVWR improvement came around 2008 model year. There is a correlation between length of the Class C to Occupant and Cargo Carrying Capacity (OCCC), i.e., the amount of weight the chassis can carry without exceeding the GVWR. A longer C generally means heavier weight, thereby reducing the OCCC. In other words, the longer the C, the less people, food, water, and stuff you can safely carry. Additionally, the more options on the C like slide outs and leveling systems further reduce the OCCC. So a big question for you to answer is, "how will you use the RV most of the time?". If only going to the camp grounds on the weekend, and you don't need to carry much stuff, a longer C with slides may work fine. If going on cross-country trips or full-timing, you might need to find a C with a larger OCCC so you have the capacity to carry everything you might need.Is a 30 harder to drive around than a 25? I don't thinks so. But, a 30 will be harder to park around town. Further, a 30 may be harder to park in campgrounds, especially some of the national and state parks.Can't help with the insurance question.The risk of buying a rig 10 years or older depends a great deal on how the rig was maintained. Carefully review the service records. Some on the forum advocate buying an older rig from a rental company who generally take good care of their property. But, in any case, a good first-hand examination of a potential rig is in order. The first rule is to check very carefully for water intrusion, especially around windows and the cab-over.Good luck finding your new to you rig.

I think a C is less physical labor.Smaller than 30' would be nice.Insurance is more than a TT, but if it replaced the truck then no.A 3/4 ton truck would be a better tow rig.Your choice, I like the C, and don't need a truck.

Cobra21 wrote:I think a C is less physical labor.Smaller than 30' would be nice.Insurance is more than a TT, but if it replaced the truck then no.A 3/4 ton truck would be a better tow rig.Your choice, I like the C, and don't need a truck.X10 on all of the above!The C is like driving a van. If you can drive and park a car you can easily park/backup a Class C at any CG.If you have any type of physical limitations, the Class C is the way to go. For me the 'captains chairs' in a C is the only way I can drive without experiencing back pain.IMHO, JMHO Whole lot easier than a TT. No hooking up, unhooking, set up, etc etc. Pull in, park, and open a cold one!

We're getting ready to go from a Class C to class A (2018 Jayco Alante 31V) because of our creaky knees and backs. The Class C is just to painful to clamber in and out of, and with the class A, we can just walk on the flat floor from the house to the cab area, and flop down in the captains chairs.JMHOGood luck and safe camping.

I didn't think much about a C until after we found the TT I mentioned. Rockhill and C21's post pretty much sum up why I started thinking in that direction. I know my 1/2T is marginal with a tow rating of 7100, but should be sufficient for the light weight TT we found. Replacing the truck AND buying the TT is not in the cards at our age and amount of use it will see.I favor Ford and the V10 with a cost under $20M if we go the C route. Not too concerned about load capacities as it's just us and enough toys to keep us happy on a trip, but will definitely consider CCC. I like the idea of conveniently towing a 3200# pontoon once a year for a vacation. Need to check this out. Don't see us towing a toad. Don't see us driving an additional car except for convenience on short trips.We like CofE and state campgrounds and don't remember being told "too big" when we had the fifth wheel, but will look again if we decide on a 30' C. I'm pretty sure we can manage in a 25-27' (preferably w/slide). Problem is we aren't seeing many and prices seem to be at a premium when we do. Looks like I need to research insurance costs as well.Thanks for the feed back. The search continues.(HOW THE HECK DO I PREVIEW MY RESPONSE BEFORE POSTING? "PREVIEW MESSAGE" DOESN'T SEEM TO WORK.

Just Grandma and Me---Does C make Sense? | Good Sam Community

rockhillmanor
Explorer
Jul 05, 2017
Cobra21 wrote:
I think a C is less physical labor.
Smaller than 30' would be nice.
Insurance is more than a TT, but if it replaced the truck then no.
A 3/4 ton truck would be a better tow rig.
Your choice, I like the C, and don't need a truck.

X10 on all of the above!

The C is like driving a van. If you can drive and park a car you can easily park/backup a Class C at any CG.

If you have any type of physical limitations, the Class C is the way to go. For me the 'captains chairs' in a C is the only way I can drive without experiencing back pain.

IMHO, JMHO Whole lot easier than a TT. No hooking up, unhooking, set up, etc etc. Pull in, park, and open a cold one!
Cobra21
Explorer
Jul 05, 2017
I think a C is less physical labor.
Smaller than 30' would be nice.
Insurance is more than a TT, but if it replaced the truck then no.
A 3/4 ton truck would be a better tow rig.
Your choice, I like the C, and don't need a truck.
PghBob
Explorer
Jul 05, 2017
Older Class Cs on a Ford E450 chassis have a GVWR of 14050 pounds, while newer E450 chassis have a GVWR of 14500 pounds. I think the GVWR improvement came around 2008 model year. There is a correlation between length of the Class C to Occupant and Cargo Carrying Capacity (OCCC), i.e., the amount of weight the chassis can carry without exceeding the GVWR. A longer C generally means heavier weight, thereby reducing the OCCC. In other words, the longer the C, the less people, food, water, and stuff you can safely carry. Additionally, the more options on the C like slide outs and leveling systems further reduce the OCCC. So a big question for you to answer is, "how will you use the RV most of the time?". If only going to the camp grounds on the weekend, and you don't need to carry much stuff, a longer C with slides may work fine. If going on cross-country trips or full-timing, you might need to find a C with a larger OCCC so you have the capacity to carry everything you might need.

Is a 30 harder to drive around than a 25? I don't thinks so. But, a 30 will be harder to park around town. Further, a 30 may be harder to park in campgrounds, especially some of the national and state parks.

Can't help with the insurance question.

The risk of buying a rig 10 years or older depends a great deal on how the rig was maintained. Carefully review the service records. Some on the forum advocate buying an older rig from a rental company who generally take good care of their property. But, in any case, a good first-hand examination of a potential rig is in order. The first rule is to check very carefully for water intrusion, especially around windows and the cab-over.

Good luck finding your new to you rig.

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