Some Noob questions
Good day, all.
DW pretty much shot down the idea of a truck camper so looking at other alternatives to our 40ft 5th wheel. Me, DW, and 10 and 12 year old girls.
Been looking at motorhomes. Got lots of experience with TT, Popups, and on our second season of our bath and a half fifth wheel. A fine unit...just too much trailer for what we need.
Started looking at 35' and under Class Cs. Really like the Winnie Via since it has an outdoor kitchen option which appeals to us. But would require us to tow something -- and we don't own anything that can be flat-towed at the moment. Not as interested in pulling a dolly with us.
Started looking a the Sprinter-based Class C units by various manufacturers and really like them. Can get a kid in the cab-over and one in the dinette and think it will have plenty of space for us as weekend warriors that don't spent much time inside anyway.
A few questions:
1) For those that drive a 25' Class C, is the idea there that it's small enough to run around on day-trips or into town with so you don't need to take a car along as well? Seems like finding parking for a small Class C wouldn't be all that terrible. It's only a few feet longer than my F-250
2) For those that do that, is it a PITA to put necessary things away prior to travel? DW brought this up and it's a good point. We leave out the coffee maker, foam soaps at each sink, any plant we take along, maybe the drying rack has some stuff in it, toiletries on the sink, etc. None of this is difficult to put away, of course, and maybe it means making some changes to facilitate this, but curious what folks do.
3) It isn't often that I come across this, but some cg sites are tilted both front to back AND right to left. I imagine leveling a camper out in two planes could be frustrating since you would potentially have to level 3 tires out at 3 different heights. And if we ran around town and came back, that would mean doing it multiple times. I know HWH makes nice kits for these Sprinter chassis to ease that burden...and maybe that's the way to go, but again, just curious.
4) Generators: I like the idea of dry-camping -- something we can't easily do now with my fiver. I have read that the typical 3,000ish watt Onan generators will consume about 3/10ths of a gallon of diesel per hour at 1/2 load or 6/10ths of a gallon of propane at half load. Has this been your experience? For a small Class C that holds roughly 14 gallons of propane (equivalent to 2 30lb tanks?), that could mean burning through a whole tank of propane in less than 24 hours if you need the A/C and you're pulling some watts. Diesel would seem like the way to go...but I've read that the diesel fumes can get tiresome after a while, but the propane doesn't have the same issue. And speaking of generators, why are some manufacturers installing them on the curb side of the coach...with the exhaust pipe sticking straight at the under awning area where one might have some chairs or a picnic table set up? Seems like you'd naturally want to install it on the street side.
I'm sorry this has gotten long. I have never owned a MH...so I'm doing some research. DW and I plan to attend the Hershey show next month to touch a bunch of stuff that interests us.
Thanks for your time.
DNC
DW pretty much shot down the idea of a truck camper so looking at other alternatives to our 40ft 5th wheel. Me, DW, and 10 and 12 year old girls.
Been looking at motorhomes. Got lots of experience with TT, Popups, and on our second season of our bath and a half fifth wheel. A fine unit...just too much trailer for what we need.
Started looking at 35' and under Class Cs. Really like the Winnie Via since it has an outdoor kitchen option which appeals to us. But would require us to tow something -- and we don't own anything that can be flat-towed at the moment. Not as interested in pulling a dolly with us.
Started looking a the Sprinter-based Class C units by various manufacturers and really like them. Can get a kid in the cab-over and one in the dinette and think it will have plenty of space for us as weekend warriors that don't spent much time inside anyway.
A few questions:
1) For those that drive a 25' Class C, is the idea there that it's small enough to run around on day-trips or into town with so you don't need to take a car along as well? Seems like finding parking for a small Class C wouldn't be all that terrible. It's only a few feet longer than my F-250
2) For those that do that, is it a PITA to put necessary things away prior to travel? DW brought this up and it's a good point. We leave out the coffee maker, foam soaps at each sink, any plant we take along, maybe the drying rack has some stuff in it, toiletries on the sink, etc. None of this is difficult to put away, of course, and maybe it means making some changes to facilitate this, but curious what folks do.
3) It isn't often that I come across this, but some cg sites are tilted both front to back AND right to left. I imagine leveling a camper out in two planes could be frustrating since you would potentially have to level 3 tires out at 3 different heights. And if we ran around town and came back, that would mean doing it multiple times. I know HWH makes nice kits for these Sprinter chassis to ease that burden...and maybe that's the way to go, but again, just curious.
4) Generators: I like the idea of dry-camping -- something we can't easily do now with my fiver. I have read that the typical 3,000ish watt Onan generators will consume about 3/10ths of a gallon of diesel per hour at 1/2 load or 6/10ths of a gallon of propane at half load. Has this been your experience? For a small Class C that holds roughly 14 gallons of propane (equivalent to 2 30lb tanks?), that could mean burning through a whole tank of propane in less than 24 hours if you need the A/C and you're pulling some watts. Diesel would seem like the way to go...but I've read that the diesel fumes can get tiresome after a while, but the propane doesn't have the same issue. And speaking of generators, why are some manufacturers installing them on the curb side of the coach...with the exhaust pipe sticking straight at the under awning area where one might have some chairs or a picnic table set up? Seems like you'd naturally want to install it on the street side.
I'm sorry this has gotten long. I have never owned a MH...so I'm doing some research. DW and I plan to attend the Hershey show next month to touch a bunch of stuff that interests us.
Thanks for your time.
DNC
