Thinking of Purchasing a Class C

We purchased a 2003 Class C Jayco DS after having a truck camper for many years. I looked around for over a year before coming across what we wanted:

No dinette, they are very uncomfortable and used very little, we prefer a couch option, and it came with a table that sits in front of it if we eat in. Which we do not very often, unless the weather is bad, we set up and eat outside.

No bunk beds. We have grandchildren and considered it, but after talking to others, most recommended against it. Kids grow out of them quickly and space is nearly useless after that. It wasn't long at all, and our grandkids were sleeping outside in tents, with their father most of the times we were together.

If we had to do it over again, we would look for the walk around bed in the 26 or 27-foot range. But right now we have the smaller bed in the back and the large overcab bed which works great for us.

We enjoy the couch for sitting, napping and we have an easy chair across from it that is moveable. The couch is on a slide, our only slide.

Hope that helps a bit..

The curbside dinette is not something I had thought about but you make a good point. Since the grandkids go with us most of the time it would be good to be able to watch them from the coach.

FLgator01 wrote:

The only thing I don't like is the slide in the bedroom. I'm afraid it would be hard to,use the bed with the slide in. What I mean by that is when are parked at a rest stop or Walmart I would have to crawl over the wife in the middle of the night. Thinking about it, maybe that could work to my advantage.

Yes it may at that :B The one thing I really like is the curb side dinette,My last RV was a bunk house with the dinette on the passenger side and it was great,when the Girls were outside we could sit there and watch them at the camp site,with it on the other side like mine now, you can't see the camp site and when camping in a park all you see is the other peoples camp site,I would like to see my own when sitting and eating or relaxing.

IAMICHABOD wrote:
There is always the Thor/Four Winds 30D It has 2 slideouts,to get Bunks it will be hard to find one without them.

The only thing I don't like is the slide in the bedroom. I'm afraid it would be hard to,use the bed with the slide in. What I mean by that is when are parked at a rest stop or Walmart I would have to crawl over the wife in the middle of the night. Thinking about it, maybe that could work to my advantage.

There is always the Thor/Four Winds 30D It has 2 slideouts,to get Bunks it will be hard to find one without them.

You might want to take a look at the Jayco 31fs. Reading your post, you described the same problems I was having. I have a 31 FS and there is a couch, double bunks, dinette across from the couch, queen bed, and over cab bunk. I never have to break down the dinette. The nice thing about the double bunks is you can throw all your baggage on the top bunk if not used. Jayco's over cab bunk is much more roomy than in years past. You can also look at a Sunseeker that has the double bunks. The Sunseeker has a lot of nice features, but I inspected closely and prefer'ed Jayco's construction. Good luck with your quest.

31 foot Cambria with 2 slides. Slides make a huge difference in space. My entertainment center is up front, we chose to not have an overhead bunk. With having a slide up front I can use my swivel recliner to sit in the morning while they are asleep on the dinette. Spend some time at shows and dealers and have the kids get in the bunk beds.I personally would go bunk bed ,they can be used for storage or even for you or spouse on the occasional restless night.

ksg5000 wrote:
One kid can sleep in the overhead and the other on the dinette bed - we just put a blanket down to cover the fabric and let the kids sleep in their sleeping bag - easy peasy.

That's and idea worth thinking about.

Dick_B wrote:
Depending on when you plan to purchase I would talk to some `C' owners in the campgrounds around your house and ask the same questions.

That's a great suggestion. If they are willing we could also look at their units and get a feel for the layout. Could do that at a dealer but it would be nice to see one with "stuff" in it.

kerrlakeRoo wrote:
I guess the first few questions to that would be,,,,,
Are you looking at frequently having the Grkids along or occasionally?
Are the parents usually coming too?
Is this for extensive touring or week or less trips?

If kids only occasionally converting a sofa and dinette isnt that bad, if frequent you may want something with twin bunks. If the parents come also, Overhead bunk would be appreciated as well.
If usually just you and DW, you may want to configure for that.

Look for instance at the Jayco line. They have 26' class A and C units with Queen bad, sofa, dinette and overhead bed or 31' with twin bunks as well. Not suggesting a brand, just showing floor plan differences.
Also suggest you consider that GK's will become teens that start doing things that halt travel, from sports leagues to church and school activities, they may not be travelling as often as you hope.
Good luck

The kids will be 6 & 8 the first of the year so a bit away from the teen years. They do go with us most of the time. As a matter of fact the live with us at the moment. We have a Winnie Drop now and one thing I do not like is when I get up in the morning I have nowhere to sit since the kids are sleeping on the converted dinette. I was thinking when traveling the dinette and couch would be good pretty comfortable for passengers. Also we normally stay in rest stops or Walmart while on the road so do not like to take down and put up the dinette daily. Thank you for your input. It's always good to hear from those that have "been there, done that".