Non-Cramped Bed in 24 Feet?

Hi Jay,

Sullivanclan from Grand Junction Colorado. Just a few years ago we sold our Dodge Pick up and Northstar Truck camper and purchased a used 2003 Ford 450 Jayco 25-D FT, a class C motorhome. (We had super luck with the Northstar family business and overall quality)

Though I miss the truck and ability to get a bit off road, we are really pleased with the additional space in the motorhome, especially during cold or wet weather. It does have a slide and the couch instead of that uncomfortable dinnet which you use just for eating. I also have one easy chair. We also have the corner bed and the large bed over the cab. We don't sweat the challenge with making the bed, just toss a comforter over the top.

Expyinflight wrote:
We love our 'non' slideout rig also. After the previous motorhome with 2 slideouts that leaked, malfunctioned at inopportune moments, and needed several repairs, I vowed....never again.
It is just the two of us, so don't care about having the dance floor.
More than enough room, and we easily make it work.
As stated above, our non slideout unit is also easy to heat, easy to cool.

Double ditto. We're non-slideout RVers too.

We aren't full-timers and that's the only reason to have a slideout imo especially if you hang out inside your rig alot. So it depends on what you do when you're camping: rig-dwellers or sight-seers.

We don't stay longer than a week or ten days and we're always out and about instead of staying inside the rig. We're the kind of vacationers who only stay in the rig to sleep and on rainy days, eat.

Slideouts are an extra worry on the checklist and like others have said it can be a source multiple headaches.

bobndot wrote:
JayMartin, have you actually tried out the corner bed floorplan ?...

No not yet. I suppose another big difference between making the bed in a C and a TC is having all sorts of headroom that wasn't there in the truck camper. Thanks for the tips on making up the bed and sewing sheets together.
Jay

JayMartin, have you actually tried out the corner bed floorplan ?

When we went from TC to the class 'c' corner bed floorplan , we tried making the bed in the same fashion as our former TC's , from north to south .
We find it much easier to make the bed from east/west. Tuck it in along the passenger side first then tuck in the bathroom side. That way you can reach in to pull it taught towards the bathroom and make it look nice n neat.
It seemed to be an easier make.

We have also used a zipped together double king and double zipped together queen sleeping bad set in a lighter weight and used 2 top sheets sewn together as a full liner that can be easily washed.
That was the easiest to use and it feels like sleeping in a regular bed, not restricted. Just do not sew the sides of the two sheets all the way up (sew it 1/2 way). Leave room to get yourself easily in/out. It was just like having a Travasac. or rv sleep system.

ron.dittmer wrote:
We who love slideless, are a rare few.....very rare.

I would not say we who love slideless are very rare.

Add us as well to the list of the "slideless" on our class C for pretty much every reason you mentioned.

I recall another discussion here regarding slide/no-slide and there were a fair number who elected no slide.

JayMartin wrote:
Are there 24' floor plans with no slide and where the bed isn't in the corner as in the above layout?
Jay

That would only be a cab-over bed (above the driver and passenger seats). Otherwise you have to get a lot longer for what is called an island bed. They are nearly non-existent in brand new fashion with maybe LazyDaze offering it. There are a few old ones out there starting around 29' long and get longer from there.

I just took this floor plan off the LazyDaze website. The rig is 31 feet long.


There are some old shorter ~27' rigs with a double bed straddled across the back wall which provides full access from one side, but I have not seen them in many years.

If you want to get a bit funky, check out the Winnebago Rialta 22FD with easy entry from one side. They are very compact and are only 21'-8" long. But beware of capacities and weights. I consider them ideal for a single traveler who is a minimalist. There is a Rialta following. A 2003-2005 will have a more powerful engine.

Are there 24' floor plans with no slide and where the bed isn't in the corner as in the above layout?
Jay

We have a 24ft with a slide, it has broken twice, in the last 18 years. Both times it was a 10 cent roll pin.

We like a slide, and would not want a small rig without one. (even taking into account the problems we have had) Our slide is a Swintech, which is actually a pretty simple mechanism, once you understand how it works.

But, as a nod to those who don't like slides, this. last time I had my cousin help me fix it. Now he is a 40 year machinist, one of those guys who built his own airplane, can fix anything. His comment was, not very well engineered, built just about as cheap, as possible. Which as a long time RV owner did not surprise me in the least, considering how they build the rest of the rig.

But in my opinion the good things about a slide outweigh the bad, at least for us. Others of course may reach a different conclusion

We hate troubles with our small Class C when out and about in it - and we have been blessed by very few troubles with it. Some folks assume that "troubles" will come in life and don't care to be negative-thinkers enough so as to figure out how to insure that ownership troubles are minimized when shopping for an RV. Added complexity means more chances for failure. I think there's a niche in science that studies that relationship.

Our Class C was pretty much fully loaded and optioned when we bought it. It had sat on the dealer's lot for about a year before we bought it (hence, the coach batteries were about ruined and the roof vents were close to being sun-cracked).

It took me a couple of years before I figured out why it had most likely sat unsold so long - it had no slide(s)!

We love it's options, features, and reliability and plan to keep it running and usable for many years. I'm hoping beyond hope that gas powered recreational vehicles are allowed to stay on the road long after run-around daily transportation has all been converted to electric powered personal vehicles and electric powered public transportation vehicles. :)