Right class c for me?

Just some info. to help answer your questions. We have a 27 foot Class C that has crossed the country a couple of times. We drove through, had dinner in towns like Ft. Collins, Estes Park, Jackson, Cody, and others, and never felt the need to have a toad. We even parked at the Santa Monica pier parking area without difficulty. So, relatively easy to drive and park for a big vehicle. Others like having a toad, but that's a personal choice.
Many owners of the brand we own boondock and even fulltime in their 27, including forest service roads. But, as noted by other posters, its the OCCC that's important. So, I think a family of three will find a 24-27 footer adequate for most of your needs.
Lastly, when our children were little, we put their car seats on the dinette bench seat and held them in place with the RV seat belts. In that RV, the dinette was immediately behind the front passenger seat.
Hope this helps.

We, too, are a family of three and just made the move from a TT to a class C last spring. We LOVE it. We also were thinking Sprinter when we started thinking C, but as we shopped and researched we realized that a Ford or Chevy chassis was a better fit for us. Both from an initial purchase price standpoint, but also from a repair standpoint. Since we both work full time and are not fulltime RV-ers, each day on the road is precious to us. So we decided that we'd rather have something that could be most likely fixed in just about any town in the US with parts that are in stock or easy to come by. Sprinters are a little more specialty and we felt that while repairs could be made, it would likely involve a tow to further away and/or a wait for parts. Not a big deal if we were fulltiming, but a big deal when the office is waiting for us.

We bought a previous rental, which allowed us to get into our 2008 Winnebago within our budget, and we've been very happy. Even at 31 feet we have been able to get into state parks without a problem. We do need to be more selective about sites than with our TT and of course with our PUP, but we haven't been completely shut out yet.

And just a future warning...you mentioned not hitting RV parks - just make sure that you never expose your little one to one, otherwise you'll hear the whining for game rooms, pools, wifi etc. when you're at one of your beloved state or federal spots (speaking from experience here!) We balance out our trips to take turns pleasing everyone, but will certainly head back to more natural settings after DS ages out of coming with us.

Depending on how you plan on using your rig the most, CCC can be a huge consideration. I subscribe to the "more is better" school of thought. Our 24' E-350 comes with 3,368# of CCC and while we will never get close to the max it is nice to know that it is virtually impossible to overload it.

This opens the door to traveling with a full 40 gallon tank of fresh water, 55 gallons of fuel, bringing the spare (Honda), generator, firewood, all of the tools and toys I might ever need or want. Some C's particularly rigs with slide(s) sacrifice CCC for the additional floor space (which gets back to how you use it - which is more important?).

Not every CG has full hook ups and I've seen dump stations out of order or so backed up that waiting wasn't an option. The point being full grey and black tanks add a lot of weight which some C's with limited CCC simply cannot support.

I doubt you will find a Sprinter in your price range and while I am not a fan of buying a retired rental it might be a way for you to get the rig you want and stay within your budget. I would look for a slide less floor plan that you can live with that comes with lots of CCC and outside/bay storage. The Ford and Chevy chassis' are what you will likely end up with and that is not a bad thing. The sprinters are pricey and you will never save enough in fuel economy to pay the premium they come with.

As always.... Opinions and YMMV. Good luck! :C

i was looking at the Sprinter based RV when we started looking. The thing that turned me off was the CCC. Many of the places we like to go have either limited or no access to water. I miss the extra room up front but really like the LD's CCC. Neither my wife or I pack light. The CCC also took out some other RVs on E350 and Chevy platforms - mostly those with pop out sides.
Many of those other RVs would have been very nice rigs if we camped differently so please do not take this as a knock on them.

midnightsadie wrote:
we,ve had class A,s C,s and TT ,we now have a sprinter 25ft short story were never going back to the others. I have more leg room when driving than the others ,20 plus mpg ,I 5cyc diesel . what more do you need.

Ive got a Coachman Freedom Express class C., 24' , sleeps 4 adults and 2 kids. Its just myself in it and I just love this thing. It would be ideal for a small family too. The outside storage is 103 cu. ft. which is monstrous for cargo. Gets about 11 mph on the highway if you keep it out of passing gear going up inclines . VERY maneuverable around town and comfortable to drive. Very reliable so far and ive had it for 5 years.

Its a Camping World design which Coachman built for Camping World. VERY well thought out and great use of space. Ill bet you could get a 5 year old Rig like this for under $28 k. having low mileage.

My model is a 21QB . In fact, ive thought about selling mine and going back to a Class B Van RV or a small Travel Trailer since I RV alone.

we,ve had class A,s C,s and TT ,we now have a sprinter 25ft short story were never going back to the others. I have more leg room when driving than the others ,20 plus mpg ,I 5cyc diesel . what more do you need.