Looking at 24’ Class C’s with diesels...

That’s interesting... I had a V10 and it had significantly less power than my power stroke towing the same 5th wheel through the same Canadian Rockies.

Thanks for the info. Your points about CCC are legit. I appreciate all the input.

Our 24 foot Class C has never felt underpowered with it's V10, but the highest we have ever traveled in it was only 11,300 feet.

Maybe higher than that I would have begun to notice a power decline. However our 24 footer is a bit unusual in that for the size it is, it's built on the E450 chassis instead of the usual E350 chassis. What this means is our differential ratio is 4:56, which probably keeps the V10 higher on it's torque and horsepower curves at all speeds for improved pulling power on all grades and at all altitudes.

For even a small Class C built on a chassis with a diesel engine, I'd want a higher GVWR diesel chassis than what's currently being used here in the U.S. for small Class C motorhomes. There are various advantages to going with a chassis designed to handle considerably more weight than that of the finished motorhome ... pulling power being one of those advantages.

ron.dittmer wrote:
Just my opinion....

There are three main reasons to get a Mercedes Sprinter or Ford Transit diesel in the shorter lengths.

1) You plan to rack up many many miles, for example following sports teams around the country or full-timing in it. This so your improved fuel economy will be put to good use.

2) The rig you love most is offered only in a diesel.

3) You simply like the idea of owning a diesel

Otherwise I feel you would be better off with a Ford E350 chassis, or the Chevy 3500 chassis.

If the rig is exceptionally small around the 22' length, consider a smaller Ford V8 engine instead of the V10, similarly with the Chevy engine selection. You will see improved fuel economy by doing so, and you wouldn't utilize the power of a bigger engine.

Diesels are harder to find service, repair, and parts, along with very steep maintenance and other servicing costs, especially out in nowheresville. The Chevy 3500 and Ford E350 is quite the opposite.

Also consider that with either diesel chassis, your generator will be either propane or diesel, and your load limit will be more limiting.

As far as a couch versus a dinette is concerned, we opted for the dinette especially because we also have an easy chair in our shorter 23'-8" rig HERE. It was the right decision for us. A couch instead would have been a really big disappointment.

Thats a nice rig. Thanks for the pics!!!

I’m pretty much decided on the diesel. We have traveled at altitude quite a bit and foresee the same with this rig. I have found that gas engines just don’t cut it at elevation. It’s just not comfortable. I do appreciate your comments though.

Thanks for the replies everyone! Please keep em coming if you think it may help.

Good info about the couch vs dinette!

I really like the Leisure Vans but I really don’t like their floor plans.

Just my opinion....

There are three main reasons to get a Mercedes Sprinter or Ford Transit diesel in the shorter lengths.

1) You plan to rack up many many miles, for example following sports teams around the country or full-timing in it. This so your improved fuel economy will be put to good use.

2) The rig you love most is offered only in a diesel.

3) You simply like the idea of owning a diesel

Otherwise I feel you would be better off with a Ford E350 chassis, or the Chevy 3500 chassis.

If the rig is exceptionally small around the 22' length, consider a smaller Ford V8 engine instead of the V10, similarly with the Chevy engine selection. You will see improved fuel economy by doing so, and you wouldn't utilize the power of a bigger engine.

Diesels are harder to find service, repair, and parts, along with very steep maintenance and other servicing costs, especially out in nowheresville. The Chevy 3500 and Ford E350 is quite the opposite.

Also consider that with either diesel chassis, your generator will be either propane or diesel, and your load limit will be more limiting.

As far as a couch versus a dinette is concerned, we opted for the dinette especially because we also have an easy chair in our shorter 23'-8" rig HERE. It was the right decision for us. A couch instead would have been a really big disappointment.

We recently bought a used Forest River Forester 23-24ft. 2017 Class C, with 7000 miles on it-still under Factory Warranty, from a Dlr. It is a Chevy 450 chassis/truck with a V8 gas engine. We took the small trip to check it out-no issues-so, we took a big trip-about 4000 miles-5 weeks time-no problems w/truck or camper. Some reasons I bought this RV as versus getting new. Figured the original owner had gotten the wrinkles ironed out-it's a Chevy so problems can pretty much be handled anywhere we might end up-has a 50+ gal gas tank which gives a pretty good driving range. Buying from a Dlr. gave me some assurance that they had checked it out before they sold it which they had and gave me a list of everything they had done. And the price after some arm twisting was in the 50,000 area plus T.L. I am a Firm believer in "Murphy's Law" and for that reason didn't get a diesel or Mercedes truck-places we go to don't always have a Mercedes Dlr./Repair Shop-most have diesel repair shops-mostly for Ford, Chevy or Dodge diesels. I have owned a Ford diesel truck for years and found out had hard it is to find a good diesel mechanic/shop. Lars

you forgot to look at LTV leisure travel van. www.leisurevans.com ,they are top of the line. ours is getting up there in age a 2007 ,but runs like new ,just turned 41k, we have the I 5 MB diesel ,and log 20mpg almost every time.pulling boat to AZ it gets 17teen. have the bed in back and front table folds to bed ,two people its the very best out there.

Finance's small class c (B+) has the couch. I would prefer the couch over dinette.

We had a small class A that was dinette only. After a few trips I took it out and replaced it with a couch.

There are Cs on RAM chassis, too.

In my opinion, the best quality would be the Tiffin, followed by the Winnebago. Another high quality unit would be the Dynamax Isata 3. All the rest were notably poorer in quality when we were looking. Do not overlook the units on the Ford Transit 350 HD chassis. That little diesel and chassis are really smooth! We ended up with the Winnebago Fuse. One last caution- do not overlook the CCC ratings. Some of those units are horribly limiting. Our Fuse has a CCC of 1278 pounds....surprisingly higher than most of the heavier Sprinter chassis rigs.