Why a class A gas over class C?

OLYLEN wrote:
The best is the one I have NOW. Each has a place and some advantage over the others.Now if I were a rich man and no other hobbies I would have a nice B 4x4, a 30'C with two slides and a 45' DP with ALL the goodies and an RV barn for them all and maybe a wife suited for each OH and the butler/maid.

LEN

:) I hear ya :)

The best is the one I have NOW. Each has a place and some advantage over the others.Now if I were a rich man and no other hobbies I would have a nice B 4x4, a 30'C with two slides and a 45' DP with ALL the goodies and an RV barn for them all and maybe a wife suited for each OH and the butler/maid.

LEN

For me the main difference is it is way easier to go to the coach from the seating position in a class A than a class C . If your towing you may want to think of a pusher as the towing capability is way higher than gas, annnnnd there is no hump(gas) between the seats. That alone gives you more living area.

We had an A. For two people it's great. The front area around the driver and passenger seats is wasted space once you're in the campground. The big windshield is nice, except when you're driving in 27 degrees, which I have done a few times. The elbow room while driving the class A is nice, I really liked that. For sleeping more people the class C might be the better choice, considering it's the one with the sleeper over the cab version. They tell me that the class A rides more stable. The class A gasser that I had was a bear to drive in a strong crosswind. If I had it to do over I would take time to look at class Cs a little better. Not saying I would have gone that way. The A served us well.

One thing to note; if you're a DIY guy like me the A can be a bear to work on, depending on the design. In mine the radiator was stuffed way back in there. So, everything from radiator to water pump, master cylinder, was hard to get too. I think the van front might make service and repairs easier. I managed to get any repairs and service done on the A.

We really had some awesome trips in the old class A. When I retired, for the first time, we stayed in it for a month at the beaches.. Loved every minute of it. We took a lot of great trips in both freezing cold and heat and were always comfortable. Really, you will do fine with either an A or a C. Personally, I would look for the size you want, when in doubt go bigger (for most people). Then if used I would want new tires and a full servicing to get me started.

The chassis you choose might mean more in the long run than A or C. Get horsepower and don't worry so much about gas mileage. RVs love gas. There's mountains that need climbing.

Most of all, if it ain't fun, don't do it.

I will admit that I miss the sun-shading ability of the overhead bunk from my class Cs, but I sure love the huge expanse of visibility that my class A provides, both driving and camped. Double edged coin! :D

In my case, anyway, my A is 100% easier to work on than my Cs were; access to the engine on the Ford van cab is a bear, whereas my Workhorse class A is wide open from either side inside the wheelwells, and from front to back under the engine cover inside, not to mention rolling in underneath on a creeper with no need to jack it up (unlike the C).

This is from an 11 year owner of a 36' long Kodiak based super C. Why did I choose this over a Class A?
Let me count the ways. Yes, the Super C and lower end A’s have similar house appointments all from the same makers and many living area floor plans are similar. For us the Super C had an oven, a big deal with the person I travel with. The seats up front are used as storage when stopped but the area above is not lost as it is a large entertainment center with two large storage cabinets and a full width pull out drawer for more storage or a 7’ long bed with the pad provided. Then for some of us there is a large advantage to a Super C based on a commercial truck chassis due to its design and intended use. The truck is used as a box truck, small passenger tour bus, flat bed tow truck and a few dozen other applications. It is used, abused; beat up, flogged, ridden hard and put away wet by employees who have no respect for the vehicle. Now, if I use the rig as if I was the owner and cared about its care and feeding the truck will outlive me. Then some of us like the driving position of a truck cockpit which is not much different from my full size van in steering wheel and peddle position over the Lazy Boy chair in the corner of a family room with picture window feel ahead of the front wheels. Unlike in a regular Class C legroom is there for people up to 6’10” with another foot of room between the back of the seat and the slide. Finally, all of the pieces which go around or move are up front under a clam shell hood where all fluids and filters are easy to see and change without removing a panel under the bed or the closet. Oh yes, did I mention cooling of the engine, transmission and turbo inlet temperature? All cooling radiators are up in the cool air in front of the large heat generating pieces of metal rather than the last thing in the rig way behind the hot metal out of the fresh cooling air. The dash air on its lowest temperature setting with the fan on low was too cool for my wife as we climbed out of the Colorado River eastbound on I-40 when the outside air showed 104. And the water temp gauge actually moved two needle widths to the right on the long climb out. Get in, turn it on and drive. It’s as complicated as an anvil with few systems to monitor and maintain. It’s a truck, nothing fancy. Also let me add one other difference to consider. Try driving west for a few hours on a hot summer day with the sun in your eyes and a huge expanse of glass allowing the interior to heat up. On my Super C the sun rarely gets to the side windows and almost never shines through the windshield until the end of the day when we are at our destination. The large front overhang is not visible to me above the windshield and does not interfere with seeing out to drive. And since we do not sightsee from inside the rig the lack of Class A glass is not an issue. Just another thought, do you know how little it costs and how easy it is to replace a truck windshield? Factor that difference into your future expense with a Class A.
I get 9mpg towing a small car or not as I drive faster not towing. The rig holds 80 gallons of diesel and I spend them frivolously. Again, your mileage may differ and be happy whichever way you go.

rockhillmanor wrote:
...a huge window that comes crashing in often killing the occupants even on a slight read end of 20mph...

...Plenty of info out there regarding these huge windshields regarding the dangers and how often they fail...

Complete BS. Care to show us that "info out there" regarding people getting killed from the class A windshields crashing in/failing? Or any data at all showing that class As are more dangerous than class Cs (actual data, not conjecture)?


To the OP; there are many reasons to pick one style RV over another, and those reasons may change over time. Our first 2 RVs were class C, and they worked well for us. But neither had main floor beds; only the overhead and the convertables (dinette, couch). A rear bedroom takes up valuable living space in the floorplan; typically an A can more easily accommodate that because of the longer length, while the same bedroom in a C can really tighten up the remaining living space. Still, they worked well for us with 3 kids (and their occasional friend(s)), since most of our time is/was spent outside anyway.

Our current RV is a class A. Same sleeping capacity as our Cs, although this time we have a rear bedroom rather than the overhead (at my age, walking to bed IS nicer than climbing to bed!). But there are a number of reasons we moved to a class A. More walk around living space, including a usable cab area. Unbeatable view out the front. Huge increase in storage, water, waste, fuel. Our kids are adults now, but often still come with us along with their significant others. While we still spend most of out time outside, the extra space, storage, water, etc. that the class A provides works great. For us. For you? Well that all depends on you.

Txsurfer wrote:
Can somebody give me examples of class A’s with the pulldown Bunk over the driver seat. I am thinking with a small child this is the way to go

Tiffin class A gassers offer such a bunk as an option.

I figure if I go class A I will either need a bunk model or the pull down overhead bed. My kids is only 2.5 year old now so I have some time before he starts complaining about comfort.

One problem that I have noticed with C's is I have yet to be in one that has comfortable seating where you can stretch out and watch a movie etc..

big jim 2 wrote:
Yea, you are there except you are about three above the crash.

a huge windshield for seeing America and beyond.

No engine up front to absorb any impact, 'NO' airbags to save you and your partner to be able to continue seeing America after an accident, and a huge window that comes crashing in often killing the occupants even on a slight read end of 20mph which doesn't help you being three feet above the crash.

Even if that huge glass windshield doesn't come crashing in they all will crack from any type of impact necessitating replacement.

Plenty of info out there regarding these huge windshields regarding the dangers and how often they fail and need to be replaced. Just do your homework to be informed before you decide which MH you want to buy.

I have owned both Class A's and Class C's. Got so excited with my first Class A purchase that I failed to notice they don't have life saving air bags. :(