Moving to Class C from TT Need Guidance

We have only a 24 foot Class C, so we don't need to tow for our travel, sight-seeing, and camping. What we would like to be able to do occasionally, though, is have a rental place bring a Jeep to us for off-road exploring from where we're camping with our Class C. I doubt they rent jeeps and bring them to you ... have you heard of this being available?

For what it's worth, here's a partial list of some of the stuff we always bring along in our 24 foot Class C:

- Digital thermometer inside your RV that shows the outside air temp.
- Voltmeter on the dash going to the house 12V system so that when going down the road you are SURE that both the alternator is charging the house batteries and that your refrigerator is getting the 12V it needs.
- Ammeter somewhere on the wall that shows how much current is going into, or coming out of, your house battery bank at all times.
- Reverse flush system for the grey/black tanks.
- Hookup power adapters for every conceivable campground power receptacle situation/combination.
- Black tank dumping hose extension(s) to provide at least 30 feet of reach.
- Outside 12V receptacle and a long extension cord for it so that when dry camping you can run items such as lights, fan to shoo away the flies, etc. at a picnic table.
- High pressure air compressor in case you ever have a slow tire leak and have/want to make it to the next service location. - As large a tool box as you can fit somewhere and know how to use.
- Spare quart(s) of generator oil and engine oil.
- A portable or built in inverter .... pure sine wave if you can spend the $$.
- A designated junk drawer inside your rig for everything .... repair tape, spare fuses for, spare flashlight batteries, cable ties, glasses repair screwdriver set, spare outside hose inlet protector cap, velcro strips, etc..
- A long freshwater hose to both fill your tank or use for water hookups when the faucet is a long ways away.
- An adapter for the above hose so you can hook it to a drinking fountain for water at primitive campgrounds.
- An pressure reducer for the above hose for hookups so you don't damage your RV's internal plumbing from excessive campground water pressure.
- A set of jumper cables to help other campers and serve as backup for going between your house and chassis battery(ies) in case your boost relay won't engage someday when you need it most because your chassis battery won't start your engine.
- A spare tire with the jack and tools that go with it to change a tire.
- Plenty of leveling blocks for occasional spectacular sites that might require as much as 4-5 inches of lift on each of the four(4) rear duals.
- Cover for the windshield.
- A wall clock that you can see from as many places inside as possible.
- Magazine racks velcro'ed on the wall at one or more locations inside.
- A shovel .... full size if you can figure out where/how to carry it.
- A tree branch trimmer, if possible, for those rare but spectacular camp sites that haven't received enough TLC from the maintenance crew.
- Fishing poles and a tackle box just in case.
- A complete medical kit that you buy or put together yourself.
- An electric heater for when you have hookups.
- A long coax cable for TV hookups at campgrounds that offer it.
- A portable fold up picnic table for up to four to eat at for those ocasional sites that have no table, a bad table, or when you pull into site intentionally "the wrong way" (see "Another consideration" below) thus putting the site table on the wroing side from your awning.
- At least two chairs for the above.
- One or two full blown lounge chairs so you can really kick back on those "it really doesn't get any better than this" occasions.
- Another consideration ..... all my hookups are long enough so we can pull into hookup campsites "the wrong way" where the hookup facilities are on the opposite side of where it's intended they be used. This permits better positioning at certain sites for the view, or for putting your awnings together when traveling with another RV.

A lot of good ideas so far,I keep all my sewer hoses and fittings in a Rubbermaid Tote,this keeps them away from everything so it won't contaminate anything.

As already stated, be aware of your weights and tail swing ! Sewer hose I can’t help with ( ours has a bin to keep the hose where the sewer hook up is located) . I can’t imagine not having a toad, we pull our Jeep JK that we had previous to the C. Other than that you will really like traveling in the C ! So much more convenient to be motoring down the highway and my wife being able to use the rest room, grab us snacks, drinks, etc. I’m good for about 3 to 3.5 hours before I need a stretch and bathroom break ( wife seems about every 1.5 hrs) so less stopping .

Best of luck with your C and enjoy it !

Relax. It's not that big a change. We had 2 trailers before we switched to a MH and we have always towed a car since having the MH. The biggest thing is that you cannot back up with the MH when towing a car, so look ahead and make sure you can get out before going anywhere.

It's difficult to give specific advice since every MH is different. You will soon find out what works for you. Our MH has a 4" square metal tube that holds 2 lengths of sewer hose. There is a pass thru in the rear that holds many things, including the table top barbecue and many other things. The cab-over area also holds lots of "stuff".

I did install shelves in almost all the cabinets and that increased the amount of "stuff" we could carry.

Hope you enjoy your new motorhome.

Depending on how the sewer outlet is set up, if it's in an enclosed compartment, you might be able to put in something like the Coachmen inverse snorkel arrangement. This basically consists of a swiveling closet (as in toilet) flange mounted to the compartment floor, and attached underneath to a 90 degree elbow, a length of pipe, and a screw-in cap with a tether tied to it. The hose stays in the pipe and attached to the outlet all the time, and when it's time to dump you just undo the cap on the end, rotate the snorkel unit out, and extend the hose to the dump connection. The tether is there to keep it from swinging around too much while en route; it's attached to the body of the motorhome somewhere convenient.

I'm not sure I'm describing this all too well. If it's not clear, I can post a picture or two later.

About the other things, besides the tail swing, be aware that you will not have as tight a turning radius, and the pivot point is further back (along the rear axle, as with all vehicles). It's necessary start turns a little bit later than with a truck, and important to watch both sides when maneuvering in tight quarters.

After 15 years and two TTs we moved to a Class C last year. Did about 160 days last season and learned a lot. They are very different animals.

1 - We did the whole season without a toad and didn't miss it, but this year we moved some vehicles around and will be towing a Jeep. More of a convenience than a necessity for the way we camp, but there are 'what if' concerns that drove our decision.

2 - Watch rear axle weight. It's very easy to be within GVWR while being over the rear axle weight - especially if you're carrying water. My water tank in my Winnebago sits on top of the rear axle.

3 - Handling gets a bit odd when carrying more than a half a tank of water even with the air bags inflated to carry the extra load. Nothing major or dangerous - it just 'feels' different.

4 - On the driver's side of my Winnebago all the way aft I have two panels - one for the power cord and one for whatever. The whatever panel is where all my sewer requirements go. After a dump I give the hose a good rinse and then join the ends to prevent leakage, stow it in the 'whatever' panel and I'm good to go. I don't have a rear bumper, and for clearance and access reasons I didn't want to put anything under the rig.

5 - Pulling my toad is a non-event after pulling my TTs. I can feel it, but it doesn't impact the trip whatsoever. I installed a good braking system in the the Jeep that really takes the worry away.

6 - I don't miss pulling my TT at all, but I do occasionally miss the interior space. I traded out of an Arctic Fox 28F into the Winnebago Aspect 27K and it's smaller, but we knew that going in. 99% of the time I'd choose the Winnebago over either of my TTs. In terms of mobility and getting into and out of campsites and all of that the Class C wins hands down. Once in a while I miss the extra room we had in the TT.

7 - In my trunk area I use a couple of bins for the small stuff and the rest of the stuff is strategically stacked. I can post a picture once we reload it for the season, but my standard load is:

Trunk

2 easy up tents
2 large cushion chairs
2 sun shade umbrellas
3 hoses
1 portable gas heater and bottles
1 30 X 72 collapsible table
1 LP tank
2 footstools
1 folding clothesline
2 walking sticks
1 telescoping wash handle
2 Large Wash Tubs
5 foot step ladder
20 leveling blocks

Front Passenger's Side Panel

Emergency gear
Tools
Surge Protector

Rear Passengers Side Panel

Collapsing Entry Step
Extra Shoes and Boots

Inside the camper we had a tall narrow cabinet next to the fridge that we split in two by installing a shelf. Other than that we worked through the season to organize all the shelves and such to work best for us. It took some trial and error but most of that was due to us adjusting to the smaller size compared to the TT.

Every single time we change our config I go back to the scales. Watch the axle weights. In a Class C there isn't a lot of ability to move weight around so you have to be careful.

That's all I can think of.

I always Enterprise - they pick you up !

X2 on the tail swing - there is a lot going on behind the rear wheels and it doesn't pivot like your trailer did.

X3 on your payload / yellow sticker weight. I'm assuming that's redundant for you as you've had a TT prior.

Four and half years ago we went from out 22' TT to our current 24' Class C. We were ready to start taking longer trips {as in Coast to coast} and I did not want to shlep a trailer that far. I don't think you will have much of an adjustment, if it worked in the TT it will, perhaps with a little modification, work in the C. Yours is quite a bit bigger than mine so be very aware of tail swing, especially in the beginning. Gas stations will require extra vigilance at least initially.

I have a spare sewer hose that fits nicely in our square rear bumper but beware of loading anything heavy on the bumper. Bicycles, storage bins, and spare tires do not do well as the leverage they exert can quickly overcome most Class C bumpers.

Get your rig weighed ASAP as closely loaded to a real trip scenario and then adjust your PSI according to the tire manufacturers load table for the load they will actually be under. Your coach should not need an alignment but if you have any handling issues after getting the PSI right you may want to have it checked. Don't be in a hurry to run out and buy a lot of aftermarket junk to improve the ride/handling or performance. You should be good to go with a quality coach like your Winnie.

As for Toad or no Toad it all comes down to how and where you will use your new coach. My 24 fits just about anywhere so we never needed one. That said, I now often tow my Harley, not for Toad duty but because it is so much fun to ride in the many wild and wonderful places we visit.
Renting a car is certainly another option that works well in some locations and not so much in others.

As always... Opinions and YMMV.

Good luck!

:C