Thinking of getting a Class C used

Ford, Toyota, Chevrolet, Dodge, VW, do not make motorhomes, though their trucks got used as platforms to build on. Dodge and VW sold them for a while, someone else made them.

Except where the platform is too small for what was asked of it, those choices are six of one, half a dozen of another. Actually, it is partly an age thing. Dodge was the first supplier of van cutaways for motorhome builders, then GM entered the market, Ford entered the market, Dodge left the market, and Ford became dominant. Buying 1969, it is going to be a Dodge. Buying 1980, might be Ford or Chevy. Buying 1996, most likely a Ford but maybe 10% built on Chevy.

Motorhome manufacturers today are Winnebago, Forest River, Thor in the mass market, but more brands than manufacturers because Winnebago has Itasca brand, Forest River owns the Coachmen brands, and Thor has at least three brands of Cs. Recently, and in era you might be shopping, would be Fleetwood (Tioga and Jamboree), FourWinds division of Thor producing Dutchmen, FourWinds, and Chateau, Coachmen making Coachmen, Shasta and Georgie Boy, Holiday Rambler division of Monaco making Cs with Monaco, Safari, Holiday Rambler brands, R-Vision with Trail-Lite brand, Gulfstream making Ultra, Yellowstone, Conquest and BT brands.

Premium grade C manufacturers, at least from pricing, would include BornFree, LazyDays, Dynamax, Coachhouse, Carriage, Phoenix Cruiser. Some use construction techniques different from the mass market, others hand build a similar construction to the mass production box of laminated panels. Holiday Rambler built brands are kind of in the premium group, building a framed house, and further back, skinned with aluminum.

In your price range, you are going to find mass production models that have held up because they were cared for, and likely older premium models that have held up for the same reason. When I see older (30+ years) C motorhome still in use I see mostly Winnebago, Fleetwood, and Midas. The first two probably because they made so many.

But you can also find 3-5 year old Cs from premium brands that are almost junk, because they weren't maintained, were abused, were stored badly and not used. So I suggest you don't worry about brand, especially on your budget. Don't even worry much about age. What you want is something about the right size that is in good condition, well maintained. This usually means well used, because an owner using a RV is more likely to be the owner continuously fixing the little problems before they become big problems, while an owner not using a RV may be letting it sit out in the weather to rot.

Did a quick search on RVTrader, $5000-10,000 price range. Most C's late 1980's to early 1990's, most on E-series Ford, although some earlier mini-C's on Toyota fall into that range. A lot of Fleetwoods, but also many brands no longer made (like Honey, forget about that one) and some earlier model years, into the Chevy era, on brands like Lazydaze.

You have to shop carefully, in this age and price range you may see a lot of damaged C's, newer ones priced down, before you find a well cared for gems. Don't get tempted by the "that's not too bad, I can fix it" idea. Some late 90s C's come into the market at these prices because they need to be fixed before usuable, and the previous owner got an estimate for the fix that convinced him to sell and start over.

pnichols wrote:
We RV all the time with friends who have a 1995 Fleetwood Jamboree 24 foot Class C. It's in immaculate shape and everything works because they spend the personal time and/or $$ to keep it that way. HOWEVER, the husband knows how to fix stuff and their RV shows it.

I'd stay mainstream when used Class C shopping ... go with an older Winnebago or Fleetwood product.

Thanks sparky:B

We RV all the time with friends who have a 1995 Fleetwood Jamboree 24 foot Class C. It's in immaculate shape and everything works because they spend the personal time and/or $$ to keep it that way. HOWEVER, the husband knows how to fix stuff and their RV shows it.

I'd stay mainstream when used Class C shopping ... go with an older Winnebago or Fleetwood product.

I am stuck on this now.......name a few good MFG...ford / toyota,,ect

Do you know where you are going to park it? What will that cost? What about utilities? There are a number of blogs by people living off the grid in assorted size RVs. They might be worth a read before you decide on RV type or size.

there was another guy here a couple of weeks back with almost the same quest. You siad you have $8K, well another 2 will generally get you a mid to late 90's which would actually be better if you are going the rv route. You can get a good small Travel Trailer for about 1/2 that but again you need to know what you are looking at and determine if it fills the bill.

Another thing to be wary of where the rv/trailer comes from. East cost where you are at, fla, southern states have exposure to salty air etc. Corrosion becoame a big factor to worry about. I was going to get a rv from canada/NE and all the outer cabinets were salt corroded, the frame and undercarrage has rust etc. So consider where you will try to purchase. Look at craigs list froma round the various parts of the country. You can find TTS/the rv's I mentioned and once away from the snow bird areas can be had reasonably. There are several mid to late 90's in my area for 10 or less so dont jump too soon, ask for help many are willing to assist.

Thanks for the info ya'll,.....sparky

I bought a 1984 Class C less than a month ago for 800$. For this money I couldn't be too picky but from this experience I will look for the following for my next purchase:


1. Good tires, not too old. Tire sizes on older RVs are hard to find and expensive especially since you have to buy 6 of them. At 200$ per tire you're looking at 1200$ just there without installation
2.Good transmission. Last time I checked, here in Canada it was between 1500 and 2000 $ to have a tranny rebuilt. Add to this the cost of taking it out and putting it back. You can have many engine parts changed for that kind of money. I might be wrong on this one, and things may be different where you live but that's my personal opinion.
3.Water leakage. This is very tricky. The RV might look fine for an untrained eye but rotten inside the walls. If it's small leak it can be an easy fix if you're a handymanny but if it's something major you're looking at big numbers to have it fixed in a shop or many hours to do it yourself. Also you need space and tools. Unless you are ready to put lots of time into repair and renovations I would look on youtube and get some info on where to look and what to look for. Water can leak in many place from different sources, roof, floor, sides, can come from rain or snow or from inside, toilet, plumbing, tanks. When you start looking be prepared to go on the roof and learn what to look for. But most of all get information and training as much as you can before looking.Lots of info here on the forum.
4. Check all appliances. Ask the seller to start and demonstrate how everything is working, including furnace, stove, water heater, AC, even toilet. I haven't tried it in mine and when I did , the valve was not opening so I might need to have it fixed or replaced with a new one which costs over 150$.

Generally look for an RV that has been used rather than one that has been sitting around. Sitting is more damaging than using it. Also ask the seller as many questions as can, how often was used, how often was serviced, was it checked regularly for leaks, was the chassis serviced.

All the best

The book I have is "RV Vacations for Dummies" but "RVing Basics" by Bill and Jan Moeller is probably more useful for a buyer, as the first book does not have much about selecting or taking care of a RV. Both are somewhat dated, with respect to costs and places to go, but the basic advice has not changed.

If you are thinking about constantly moving, a small C is probably not too bad an idea, but moving it around will be expensive. Currently about $0.50 a mile just for fuel, for mine. And it makes for poor local transportation.

If you are thinking about setting somewhere for a while, a small travel trailer is probably a better choice. For one person, the smaller the better because you can move it with a smaller tow vehicle and fuel costs can be much lower. You may also find better construction, and thus better condition, in some of the smaller trailers (thinking particularly now about old Scamp trailers I've seen). There were a few C motorhomes in the 70s and 80s with molded shell construction comparable to these small trailers, but they are hard to find, and what you will find are mostly assembled boxes ready to leak at the seams, and deconstruct themselves as water gets in.

Unless you are renting space long-term in a low-cost rural area, or can find that the isolated "free" spaces work for your lifestyle, renting a space where you can hook up a RV for use might be almost as expensive as an apartment or a room in a house. Maybe more expensive, depending on population density and land values.

If you are looking at a mid 80's - 90's MH and you are not a good mechanic, then you really should take someone along who knows what they are looking at or line up a reliable service shop to do a PMI. It will be money well spent.

My 1983 Jamboree had MANY hidden surprises and I am a good mechanic. I bought it for $5800 (should have only paid $3500 in hindsight) and I am into it for about $9000 at this point. That is not including the 120 or so hours of dedicated construction work on the cabover rebuild.

Jose