Thinking of getting a Class C used
Howdy well after loosing my job back in june....i am faced with now getting out of my apt which is a waste of $... so i am looking for some good info on buy a used "C" to full time in iam not looki...
Forum Discussion
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.
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.
