I have been looking at down sizing from a class A and have been looking at small TT's (18-24 ft) and Class B's and B pluses(19-24 ft)when I came across a short Class C about the same size as the B pluses. I was a 2019 Leprechaun 2030CB, much more storage, room inside and more water than the B's. Has anyone here traveled with a 24 ft C with out a tow car and just used the C for sight seeing and going to the store? Or have you found a tow was still necessary?

Back in the day we took a 22' Class C from CA to Newfoundland with 2 teenagers and no car. It worked out very well as we weren't parked for long so stopping at stores was easy. Every store I've ever been to has plenty of parking just not next to the entrance. One highlight was the 18 hour ferry ride to Newfoundland, Newfoundland itself and the 8 hour ride back. The ferry to PEI and PEI itself was interesting and this was before the current bridge. Yes a car is nice but we made due. Later we towed a VW bug and that was a load for the rig.

We don't have a C, what we have is a very small A. At 23', we have never found that we needed a towed. We did have one for a while, but quickly found that it was more trouble than it was worth unless you want to go 4-wheeling. We have a pair of bicycles to get around the rare big campground and I never have to worry about what is happening with the towed.Matt

I've travelled with a 32' overall class C and now towed car, most notably from Vermont to and around Alaska and back, and it's worked out well for me. Outside of cities, I haven't found parking to be a big concern, outside of large cities where I'd rather not be driving anyway, and if one's moving from one campsite to another touring along the way is no problem either. Frankly, I'm not sure there's much practical difference in that matter between my RV and a 24' one; 24' is still too long to fit in (most) single parking spaces, so you'd typically need a couple end-to-end or several side-to-side, just as I do. Maneuvering in tight areas is definitely somewhat easier with the shorter motorhome.I think a towed car becomes more helpful the longer you tend to stay in one place before moving on, while it's more hassle the more you are a traveller rather than a stayer. There's nothing wrong with either approach; different people just have different preferences and timetables. (Similarly, one's physical capabilities in terms of walking or bicycle riding might also dictate that a towed vehicle is more or less important. If it's no big deal to walk or bike a mile there and a mile back to go to a store or catch public transportation, then camping carless is a good bit easier.)

We have a 24' class c . We sometimes do not tow the car. 50/50. For short planned trips where we know where we are going to be, determines if we bring the car or not. When we go to state parks or boondock w/o hookups, we tow the car in order to use it to refill our 4 , 7 gal water jugs and take side trips to sightsee and visit friends/family. If we use campgrounds with hookups, we leave the car at home and pre-plan for food. We tend to cook at the campsite and not go out to eat. Using the rv alone has never been a problem. We get into all parking lots just like the delivery trucks do. I try to find a spot out of the way and walk the extra 300 feet to the store. I kill 5 calories doing that you know ! Each way !If we were doing a long trip where we didn't know where we were going to park/camp then we would tow the car. It carries a lot of extra EQ and supplies.

We have a 24 foot C and tow most of the time, but not always. It handles extremely well and hardly affects MPG.

Small Class C with out tow car | Good Sam Community

30 Replies

pnichols
Explorer II
Jun 30, 2020
Desert Captain wrote:
"One concern I do have with us taking our small Class C around to visit places is having to leave it parked too much off-level for long periods with it's absorption refrigerator turned on. "

Anytime we park the coach with the frig on I always check to see just how level we are. If it is even close to not being level enough I just turn it off. If you leave the door closed and don't let the coach heat up too much by opening a vent/windows or even running the fan the interior temp of the frig will change very little if any.

You just have to remember to turn it back on when you return. Between my bride and I we manage to remember to turn it off and back on every time we refuel so this ritual is not a problem.

:C

I've never turned off the frig when parked during RV trips - but once when parked at a picnic site the RV was tipped bad enough such that the frig appeared to have stopped on it's own - because the interior temp went up into the high 50's. That was a highly unusual out-of-level way to park that we've never had to do since. I probably should turn the frig off if a parking situation like that ever arises again.

I turn off all propane appliances whenever we gas up by turning off the coach's master 12V system switch by the coach entrance door. On the cab dash I have a voltmeter mounted that shows the voltage level of the coach's 12V system. Very rarely after gassing up I've forgot to turn the coach's master 12V system switch back on ... meaning we were driving with the refrigerator not cooling until I was able to pull off and turn the master 12V system switch back on. The voltmeter warned me by showing zero volts on the coach's 12V system.

I also use the voltmeter on the dash to tell me if the coach's 12V batteries are getting properly charged by the alternator when going down the road ... which has saved my bacon a couple times by telling me that the inter-connect solenoid between the engine battery and coach batteries was no longer working. When the alternator is properly charging the coach batteries, of course the voltmeter on the cab dash indicates voltages in the high thirteens or fourteens.
Desert_Captain
Explorer III
Jun 30, 2020
"One concern I do have with us taking our small Class C around to visit places is having to leave it parked too much off-level for long periods with it's absorption refrigerator turned on. "

Anytime we park the coach with the frig on I always check to see just how level we are. If it is even close to not being level enough I just turn it off. If you leave the door closed and don't let the coach heat up too much by opening a vent/windows or even running the fan the interior temp of the frig will change very little if any.

You just have to remember to turn it back on when you return. Between my bride and I we manage to remember to turn it off and back on every time we refuel so this ritual is not a problem.

:C
Gjac
Explorer III
Jun 30, 2020
Are any of you familiar with 24ft C's with a big storage bay in the rear some are pass tru's and some go half way through like the 2019 Leprechaun 2030CB I saw and test drove?
DrewE
Explorer II
Jun 30, 2020
pnichols wrote:

One concern I do have with us taking our small Class C around to visit places is having to leave it parked too much off-level for long periods with it's absorption refrigerator turned on.

The figures I've seen from the manufacturers are within 3 degrees front to back (the fridge's front and back) and six degrees side to side, if there's a specific recommendation rather than just "if you're comfortable using the RV." Three degrees is a noticeable incline; it's about a four to five inch height difference between the left and right wheels of the motorhome, or a five percent road grade. Most parking spaces are much closer to level than that.
pnichols
Explorer II
Jun 30, 2020
BillHoughton wrote:
We have a 23 foot Class C and use it for touristing around regularly. We're down to five to ten minutes to get it road-ready if we're not connected to services, the full ten if we're hooked up.

Even when we have full services, I don't tie into water or sewer when we pull in; just electricity. This makes it easier to leave and come back. If we need to top up fresh water or drain the waste tanks, I'll hook up to do that, and then put all the hookups back.

We have a preflight checklist, which helps.

When we get to town/places we're visiting, I have to pay attention to parking, but I've never not been able to find a safe/unobtrusive place to park.

That's exactly how we camp at "hookup" sites in our 24 foot Class C. We even only rarely have the awning deployed.

One concern I do have with us taking our small Class C around to visit places is having to leave it parked too much off-level for long periods with it's absorption refrigerator turned on.
BillHoughton
Explorer II
Jun 29, 2020
We have a 23 foot Class C and use it for touristing around regularly. We're down to five to ten minutes to get it road-ready if we're not connected to services, the full ten if we're hooked up.

Even when we have full services, I don't tie into water or sewer when we pull in; just electricity. This makes it easier to leave and come back. If we need to top up fresh water or drain the waste tanks, I'll hook up to do that, and then put all the hookups back.

We have a preflight checklist, which helps.

When we get to town/places we're visiting, I have to pay attention to parking, but I've never not been able to find a safe/unobtrusive place to park.
RobertRyan
Explorer
Jun 28, 2020
Harvey51 wrote:
DW and I have a 20 foot C, have never wished for a toad and very rarely have trouble parking. We would be a bit horrified at leaving our home away from home parked while shopping or site seeing. It takes all kinds of us.

Small SUV's are towed by many here, espeacilly when the Class C is about 28ft plus, bit difficult to get into some parking spaces in a town
Harvey51
Explorer
Jun 27, 2020
DW and I have a 20 foot C, have never wished for a toad and very rarely have trouble parking. We would be a bit horrified at leaving our home away from home parked while shopping or site seeing. It takes all kinds of us.
Gjac
Explorer III
Jun 23, 2020
pnichols wrote:
Also, flexibility to travel in a Class C without towing depends upon the WIDTH of it ... in addition to it's length.

We don't tow with our 24 foot Class C ... but it's "widebody" coach style (~101 inches wide) can sometimes make for white knuckle driving and parking.

However we are turtle-type RV travelers in that we like our home with us at all times, so we do take it along with us off-highway out in the boondocks on rough roads where some folks might want to use only a vehicle that they tow along. ;)
. There is something to be said for having all your stuff with you when you sightsee. I always forget some thing in the tow car when sight seeing. Need a cooler for lunch, did you pack your bathing suit and towel if a nice swimming hole appears or your fishing rod if a opportunity arises. Are there some C’s narrower than 100 ins? If so which ones are?
bobndot
Explorer II
Jun 23, 2020
DC wrote:
now if I just figure out how to squeeze both into a 6 X 10" trailer...

That's an easy fix, there is an APP on your phone, you just downsize them ! :S