Short diesel (pusher)

I think that you should seriously reconsider towing another vehicle with you at all times. On a typical trip of 7000 miles, it is not unusual for us to put 3000+ miles on the toad. Besides that, with your family, there is a safety factor. If your coach breaks down, with a toad you have transportation available for them to go to the nearest place of comfort. Without a toad, you are at the mercy of whatever happens by at the area where you are stranded. After many years of RV travel, we will never make a trip without our back-up vehicle, just in case something breaks. If you read the forums a lot, you will find that things do break and sometimes they break at the most inconvenient times.

RovingTriker wrote:
I did ask about how child seats work in my other thread, but didn't get any replies to that part. So I didn't even bring it up in this one.

We stayed in a travel trailer/tow vehicle until the kids were a little older.

I would agree with a lot of posters here. You are talking about a larger family on longer trips with a shorter coach. The equation does not really add up. You’ll need to at least go 34’ to get some decent space storage and bunks. You still aren’t really compromised on what sort of places you can get into. You did not mention a budget but if you can go DP for long trips I think you would be happier. Thor makes a nice DP bunkhouse , the Palazzo 33.3 and can be had for $140-150k. Queen bed, 2 bunks, queen sleeper sofa and queen drop down bunk. That thing would sleep 10 if you had to – 8 comfortably. But again it comes down to budget. You’ll get better MPG in a new short DP too. Many owners of Tiffin Reds, FW Excursion and Thor Palazzos claim double digit MPG. Cross country that could be hundreds if not a thousand or more in fuel savings. Hard to beat the compact coach on a Freightliner chassis with a 300HP Cummins with DEF for maximum MPG. And you may want to rethink your toad. That long of a travel I am not sure I’d be without a dinghy. My rule is, better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it. Otherwise how will you do sightseeing, shopping, dining out etc? Heck a quick trip to the store becomes a huge hassle without a toad.

Sounds like I would be better off going with gas on something smaller. I just have fears of too steep of grades as we plan on a few trips to different parts of the rockies.

Some part of me really doesn't want to tow anything. Nothing against those of you that do, but to me it seems like more hassle, and I think we would be better off with hotels and better fuel economy at that point. All of my trips in the past, we would see multiple things, sometimes multiple states in the same day.
With a toad (or TT like the wife asked about) seems like I would have to find a place to leave the RV go see what we want, then back track to go get the RV, then go back the direction we just were to continue the trip. The biggest plus of the RV to me would be the ability to move around and stretch out. We would lose that when doing the sight seeing.

I really haven't even considered budget yet. More trying to find what class/engine/floorplan/etc will work best for us. Then figure out which model and start planning for that budget. I just know it won't be much. As I'm on a fixed income, and wife is full time student with a year left. We were originally looking at renting, but then figured we get into something a little older, and have some time to adjust to it. Then, if it doesn't work out, we won't be out much more than what we would have been paying for a rental or 2.

A few years will pass before we buy something. Don't want to take to small of a baby with us, and don't want to make any rushed decisions.

I did ask about how child seats work in my other thread, but didn't get any replies to that part. So I didn't even bring it up in this one.

Really going back and forth between A and C.

• Wife likes the look of A's better, while I like the look of C's.
• I like the higher driving position of the A, but some of the accident scenes of them kind of scare me.
• C's seem to sleep more, while A's seem to have more floor and storage space, plus I think I could customize the inside a bit
• A's generally have a higher CCC, but I'm used to packing light (boy scout for many years)
• C's have a regular cab with driver's door that I think would be easier for me to get into with my disability

Also intriguing to this newb is the auto/hydraulic levelers I've seen on A's but not C's

Think about how you are going to use child safety seats. Tiffin Breeze is setup for two people with light colored leather interior. Diesel if you are going to crank out the miles otherwise gas will have plenty of power. Look at the Super C's that are getting more popular.

Roving Triker,
If you are truly new at all this, then there's a serious amount of info to take in and consider. Diesels can and do cost more up front, to operate and maintenance. How much more, well that depends on all kinds of stuff. Things like "do your own maintenance", buying things like the fuel, air and oil filters on the best sale you can find. Gas units are cheaper in the fact that there's not near as much oil involved in regular oil changes. The air and fuel filters are normally a lot cheaper etc.

But, all that involves maintenance which, while it does have to be done, is not all that often. The ride, yep, a Pusher is definitely a smoother, better, more relaxfull ride but, you pay for it. You pay for it with much larger tires, heavier rig which, most of the time uses more fuel, but not always. You pay for it in terms of if and when you have to do any maintenance or, repairs on or in the engine area, most Diesel Pushers are one serious pain in the a$$ to get to and work on the engine/components.

And, you say your thinking of a short one, well some of the models have been suggested but, in all reality, there's not very many "short" diesel pushers out there. A 36' is fairly common, a 34' is fairly rare, a 32' is ultra rare and, anything less, is almost non-existent. And, the shorter the rig, ANY RIG, WITH ANY FUEL, the less and less storage you have. And, the interior layout gets really compromised with the shorter units. Sleeping arrangements for more than two, really get tight.

As far as NOT FITTING in SOME campgrounds, yes, that is a problem at some. We've been in our 36' Diesel now for over two years and have traveled to many western states and a ton of private, state and federal campgrounds and as of yet, we've not been shut out of any of them. I'm not sure what they use to determine length limits but we've been in a few campgrounds that had a limit of 34' and we fit in with plenty of room to spare.

So, lots of things to consider. Most of the later Class Cs and As too have fairly good engine cover insulation so, talking while driving is not the problem it was several years ago. Good luck.
Scott

Having read your previous posts, either go with a much longer A and pull a toad or get a C. If you end up with 5 then a C is a better choice. The V10 has plenty of power and I've gotten 9-10mpg with a 30'.

I suggest that you make sure you're concerns about a longer DP are truly valid. With the number of people you mentioned it would seem that the longer the better. As far as campgrounds go, that seems to be an opinion that some folks tout with little basis in fact. It would seem to me that comfort trumps the occasional park with a length restriction.

And, you are totally correct in you assessment of the rear engine and the driving pleasure...it's a wonderful way to travel. Downside is you hear every pot and pan rattle, window squeak, and etc.

30' is going to definitely limit any choices able to sleep several kids along with yourselves. In a DP the only one coming to mind is the Tiffin Breeze 28. The shorter lengths will really limit the storage necessary for cross country trips with kids. You might think more along the idea of 34', which will give you more choices. Check the Thor and Tiffin websites for possibilities, along with others. I would be looking at bunk models with the family in mind. You'll save money by going with the gas, but you don't say what your budget is.