20 or 25? (or 22, 23 or 24)

[Callmesharkdanc]

Hello Folks!

I'm looking to make the jump into the world of the class C's!
You'd be surprised at how much time you can spend online researching these things. addicting, almost. (like motorcycles on Craigslist....)

Anywho, I have a couple quick questions for all you uber knowledgeable people who've gone before me.

Originally, I was looking for a 20' class C (Or B+) but I'm starting to wonder, how different are the 24' or 25ft'ers?

It would just be me, a skinny, mid 20's dude, for weekend trips, so I'm not worried too much about the size, comfort-wise. What I'm more concerned about is the usability/maneuverability of the longer ones.

On one hand, I can see the extra 3-5 feet being a hair more comfortable, but what are the tradeoffs? Heavier, and longer, obviously.

So my question is this; How much of a difference does the extra 4-5 feet make? There will likely be a a lot of boondocking. Trips down to the coast/beach. (I live in Dallas, only 4-5 hours from Galveston)

Would I be shooting myself in the foot by going with just a 20'er? or would it be that much more comfortable to drive? Driving into town for supplies, through Houston traffic, down scenic 2 lane roads, Etc.?

I sure do appreciate all opinions.

I'll likely be getting a '90-'03 model. hoping for a truck chassis (as opposed to the van chassis. I hear the doghouses are a pain in the arse.) Likely Ford or Chevy (I love the look of the Little Toyota's, but fear the horribly underpowered 4 cyl engines.)
Or perhaps a Chinook.

Thanks again.

_Ryan

[path1]

I'll likely be getting a '90-'03 model. hoping for a truck chassis (as opposed to the van chassis.

Good luck with that. There some around but not many.

[RvBill3]

We have a Sunseeker 2300, which is actually 25 ft. in length. We have found it to be very easy to drive in all kinds of situations, including heavy city traffic. Parking in a parking lot requires a couple of spaces, but is no problem. I have not encountered any campsite that was too small. Even the smallest is usually rated at 25 feet. I doubt if there is any difference in driving between something around 20 feet and 25 feet. Pick the floor plan that works for you and good for it.

[BobandShaz]

Shop for floor plan you like!!! That is #1

[MobileBasset]

Only you can select your priorities, but I will mention that the listed length of a vehicle, the model name/length and the true (maneuvering) length are 3 different things. My model is 25B, the listed length is 26.6 ft and my storage facility says it is 28ft. (I haven't measured it myself, I keep forgetting to bring the tape). So when you compare candidates, be sure you have the correct info to address your priorities. Also width varies quite a bit, with some small C's being over 100 inches wide. The itasca Navion, made to be maneuverable, is 90 inches wide. It has a slide to make up for the narrow profile. And height also becomes an issue in out of the way places where the tree branches are low.
The longer, wider isn't much of an effect for me in driving through traffic but it is an effect when deciding if I can pull into some restaurant or other business. Are the parking spaces large enough, will I be able to get out etc.? Like you I travel alone and have no one to provide special parking and backing guidance.
Happy hunting.

[PghBob]

Ryan: As always, it depends. My first question to you is, do you plan on towing a car or other vehicle? If you have a tow, then you do not need to worry so much about driving in traffic to buy groceries or other errands, so a short length RV is not an advantage in this case. If you don't tow, then a shorter unit may be helpful in traffic and parking. Another question is, do you plan on boondocking in national forests or the like? RV sites in some federal and state lands may place limits on the size of RV that can park there. If planning on boondocking a bit, a shorter RV will likely be beneficial. Given these two issues, let me say that we have a 27 foot Class C and we have not encountered any problems with the two things I mentioned above. I think you should just compare the floor plans of a couple of different sized RVs, and see which you like best.

Bob