RUV's

Someone mentioned them on the forum a couple months ago, I said the same thing, they're just short motorhomes .
It's a marketing thing to help sales.
To me it's the same as a SUV. They're just station wagons. :)

They are a little different in this respect, they are a small class A but on the Ford E 350 chassis. The cab that normally remains in a Class C is removed (or not delivered with) and the entire house is built on the chassis just like a class A. Thor branded the RUV term and they are about 6' longer than a standard SUV. Frankly I've never seen an SUV with a bed kitchen and bathroom and electric bunk but maybe I am not looking hard enough. Minnie Winnies were actually a Class C MH. The AXIS and Vegas RUV's are more like European Class A's than A U.S. Class C and nothing really like any SUV I've seen.

Effy wrote:
They are a little different in this respect, they are a small class A but on the Ford E 350 chassis. The cab that normally remains in a Class C is removed (or not delivered with) and the entire house is built on the chassis just like a class A. Thor branded the RUV term and they are about 6' longer than a standard SUV. Frankly I've never seen an SUV with a bed kitchen and bathroom and electric bunk but maybe I am not looking hard enough. Minnie Winnies were actually a Class C MH. The AXIS and Vegas RUV's are more like European Class A's than A U.S. Class C and nothing really like any SUV I've seen.

No one said a SUV has a bed, kitchen and bathroom. I did however compare a SUV to a station wagon, meaning it's a marketing thing for sales. :)

gbopp wrote:

Effy wrote:
They are a little different in this respect, they are a small class A but on the Ford E 350 chassis. The cab that normally remains in a Class C is removed (or not delivered with) and the entire house is built on the chassis just like a class A. Thor branded the RUV term and they are about 6' longer than a standard SUV. Frankly I've never seen an SUV with a bed kitchen and bathroom and electric bunk but maybe I am not looking hard enough. Minnie Winnies were actually a Class C MH. The AXIS and Vegas RUV's are more like European Class A's than A U.S. Class C and nothing really like any SUV I've seen.

No one said a SUV has a bed, kitchen and bathroom. I did however compare a SUV to a station wagon, meaning it's a marketing thing for sales. :)

Gotcha, I mis-interpreted your post. Sorry. :)

This segment is hot. As another poster said, the RUV term was coined by Thor to describe the Axis/Vegas But you have other small class A's like the Winnebago Brave and Vista, Forest River FR3, Thor ACE, Coachman Mirada and, to a lesser extent, the Tiffin Allegro Breeze as well as others. If I ever upgrade my class C, it will be to one of these RV's.

RUV is a marketing term for a small class A as posted earlier. The fact that it is on a different chassis than say the F53 does not change the classification, it is still a Class A.

This is very similar to the Class B+ which is actually a Class C with the optional bunk over cab area removed and streamlined. So in reality it is a Class C minus the bed, but a designation of C- would have been a non starter from a marketing perspective.

For me comparing wagon to SUV is like comparing ClassB to DP.
Don't forget about cross-over wagons/SUV
US marketers are top of the line and when it comes to brainwashing the customers, incomparable with rest of the World.
As old wisdom says, buyers beware.

Kayteg1 wrote:
brainwashing.

That pretty well sums up the RUV conversation. :)

Looks like a short A to me. Maybe we should come up with different names for each length category. 26' - 30' = RUV, 31' 36' = RUV+, 36' - 40' = RUV++, 40' and over = very, very big RUV.

My DW bought a CUV and if I don't want dinner all I have to do is call it a station wagon, which it is, and the smoke starts rolling out of her ears.

My first class A was a whopping 23 feet. The smallest Winnie at that time was all of 19 feet. The chassis underneath was a 1 ton truck. RUV's are mostly a higher tech revisit of the past. That said I concur that they are more marketing than substance. Like my old Class A, little consideration was given to weight, balance, or cargo carrying capacity. I seriously considered changing to one but decided the F53 was a superior chassis to construct a short class on, and they are available. When I was looking I told all the sales folks I wanted all the amenities of a 35 foot class A in 24 feet - without compromise. Naturally - not possible!

Look carefully at how you, or someone you paid, would service or repair the RUV. Basically it becomes the owners problem, and a difficult one.

There is a forum devoted to RUV's. Should be studied carefully. I have a neighbor who had so many issues develop with theirs that they never completed any trip they started and traded it within a year - and their malfunctioning slide extended n it's own on an interstateo as they were delivering it for the trade. But, that's a sample of one, and there are lemons that show up in every brand and model. Like all forums, you have to interpret the posts. Owners with problems are more motivated to post. Some are delighted with their choice.