24 ft Class C with full wall slide

[Gjac]

Has anyone purchased a 24 ft Class C with a full wall slide and queen bed like the Thor 24F or Jayco 24B or something similar? Over all was it a good decision? Also I notice some models have a large rear storage bay that goes under the bed all the way through to the other side, some seem to go half way through. Anyone know which models have these large storage areas? Lastly what is the ride quality like?

[Bea_PA]

Following this thread, we had HWH on both our gas and diesel Class A MH, did not go with a slide on this one because I was afraid of the gear system, learned a lot here and will look at Winnies with the Lippert, unless I hear bad news on them. Thx for all the info

[bobndot]

Re slides in class c's and class A's .
The A's might be using hydraulic slides and the A's might have a little more beef in the framework of the coach where the slide slides. The headers on A's might have more room above the slide to build a more beefy header. That might be the reason the A's coaches seem to have less issues, especially flexing.
Remember not move a coach once you deploy a slide. I have seen people pull into sites and deploy the slide then find out they are too far away from the pedestal and move the coach back n forth to get closer and then level it...all with the slide hanging out . That's a good way to crack your sidewalls of your coach as well as possibly bind the slide it the frame.

[Gjac]

rogerddd wrote:
Gjac, We have a 2018 Thor 4 Winds 24FS - bed and living area slides on the driver’s side. It is our first motor home and I think we learned a lot.

Overall was it a good decision? It was a good learning decision. We traded a 5th wheel camper and felt good about the exchange. We are now shopping for another motor home (not Thor) with some of the features we missed in the one we have. Thor, probably like all manufactures, delivered an RV initially needing multiple warranty work repairs. The micro is low so it is not as easy to access as I would like. The access to the toilet with the slide in requires moving the slide out some. We have a Girard instant hot water heater (DW hates it). Hooked up to city water with a pressure regulator it almost works. Dry camping – not to good (hot and cold, hot and cold, etc.)

I like the roomy living space, rotating driver and passenger seats, open overhead area which we use for storage, adequate inside cabinet storage, access to the bed with the slide extended and it has a comfortable bed (we use an added mattress topper)
Storage? Outside storage compartments are very good, some are big enough to store plenty
Models with large storage areas? I don’t know.
Ride quality? We have a Mercedes chassis (diesel) and it is very easy to drive and comfortable to ride in.

Thanks for the report Roger, are you now looking for a larger MH? Had you looked at other 24 ft MH's before buying the 4 Winds?

[Gjac]

bobndot wrote:

Do you know which makes have those?

I'm sorry, no. Are you looking for full pass thru storage tall enough for bikes ? I do remember seeing some units with compartments like that.
If that's the case, I will try to retrace my steps and shake my brain. Hopefully something will stir my memory .
I did save a lot of stuff when I was looking for my unit. I guess you can call me an RV research hoarder. :B

I was thinking of the Leisure Travel van 'Wonder RTB model. Its a small class c or B plus, however you want to classify it. Rear twin bed model has the bike storage. However if you are in the 'more room slide mode', the Wonder would be too small for you.

Yes , that is the pass through storage bay I was referring to, although much bigger that the ones I have seen on small Class C's and A's. I never saw this RBT model before, too bad it didn't have a slide.

[rogerddd]

Gjac, We have a 2018 Thor 4 Winds 24FS - bed and living area slides on the driver’s side. It is our first motor home and I think we learned a lot.

Overall was it a good decision? It was a good learning decision. We traded a 5th wheel camper and felt good about the exchange. We are now shopping for another motor home (not Thor) with some of the features we missed in the one we have. Thor, probably like all manufactures, delivered an RV initially needing multiple warranty work repairs. The micro is low so it is not as easy to access as I would like. The access to the toilet with the slide in requires moving the slide out some. We have a Girard instant hot water heater (DW hates it). Hooked up to city water with a pressure regulator it almost works. Dry camping – not to good (hot and cold, hot and cold, etc.)

I like the roomy living space, rotating driver and passenger seats, open overhead area which we use for storage, adequate inside cabinet storage, access to the bed with the slide extended and it has a comfortable bed (we use an added mattress topper)
Storage? Outside storage compartments are very good, some are big enough to store plenty
Models with large storage areas? I don’t know.
Ride quality? We have a Mercedes chassis (diesel) and it is very easy to drive and comfortable to ride in.

[way2roll]

Gjac wrote:

way2roll wrote:
Thor and a few others use Schwintek slides. Originally these full wall slides were prone to failure. The slide mechanisms were too weak. The answer to this solution was adding a 3rd rail at the top. While I haven't heard of any more failures since this "fix" I vowed never to own an RV with a full wall slide using the schwintek mechanisms. You may never have an issue but do some homework on the types of slides used. I think Winnie stopped using them for that very reason. My $.02.

I think just about all the newer MHs use these slides now at least the ones I have seen. A slide on a 24 ft C would be a lot smaller than on a larger A where you here about these problems. The slide system on my 1996 GBM MH is HWH and I never had a problem with it. I can crank it out in in with a hand crank but never had to use it.

I know Winnie and FR, Newmar etc all use another brand. Newmar actually makes their own although I know we are talking smaller RV's. Jayco appears to use a Lippert slide mechanisms as indicated in pics of the "channel" type setup and a 2 rail system as opposed to Schwinteks 3 rail tooth and gear. I would agree with you that on a 24 footer a full wall slide is relatively smaller and lighter than a class A and probably poses less risk. Like I said, I haven't heard of any failures going to the 3 track setup, but personally the whole schwintek slide thing scares me. That's my personal opinion. They could be just fine but some homework an due diligence never hurts.

[bobndot]

Do you know which makes have those?

I'm sorry, no. Are you looking for full pass thru storage tall enough for bikes ? I do remember seeing some units with compartments like that.
If that's the case, I will try to retrace my steps and shake my brain. Hopefully something will stir my memory .
I did save a lot of stuff when I was looking for my unit. I guess you can call me an RV research hoarder. :B

I was thinking of the Leisure Travel van 'Wonder' RTB model. Its a small class c or B plus, however you want to classify it. Rear twin bed model has the bike storage. However if you are in the 'more room slide mode', the Wonder would be too small for you.

[Gjac]

way2roll wrote:
Thor and a few others use Schwintek slides. Originally these full wall slides were prone to failure. The slide mechanisms were too weak. The answer to this solution was adding a 3rd rail at the top. While I haven't heard of any more failures since this "fix" I vowed never to own an RV with a full wall slide using the schwintek mechanisms. You may never have an issue but do some homework on the types of slides used. I think Winnie stopped using them for that very reason. My $.02.

I think just about all the newer MHs use these slides now at least the ones I have seen. A slide on a 24 ft C would be a lot smaller than on a larger A where you here about these problems. The slide system on my 1996 GBM MH is HWH and I never had a problem with it. I can crank it out in in with a hand crank but never had to use it.

[Gjac]

Bob, I know what you mean about those storage bays. On my Class A they are just ABS roto-molded plastic, I had to reinforce mine with plywood because they stared to bow out on the bottom. I hated the thought of losing full basement storage with two pass trus but when I saw those large rear storage bays, some looked like you could store 2 bikes in them, that was a trade off I was willing to make. Do you know which makes have those?

[bobndot]

Just a few thoughts:
That full wall slide will add weight to that side. On a 450 it probably won't matter too much but it might on a 350 :@
So you don't get stuck if a problem occurs , do yourself a favor and learn the mechanics of your slide so you can release it to get it back in if it gets jammed in the deployed position. The larger the slide the more people you will need to push, 'if' it can be pushed back in.

Make sure your floorplan will offer you a means to balance the load from side to side.
If you decide on having air bags . Some people add air bags with a dual path system in order to accomplish the load balance.
Some mfg.'s offer bags as standard or optional equipment. ex: Sunseekers come thru with the less expensive single line air bags but Sunseeker LE's do not have any bags. If that's a priority for you make sure the you see the physical bag , don't take a salesmen's word for it.

Be advised getting an rv dealership or truck shop to add aftermarket bags might be a challenge or if any agree to do it be very labor expensive depending where you live. Shops like to order their owns parts and not have you buy them on-line.



My experience with storage bins/compartments.
Some of them are not very stout as far as the mounting of them. The bigger they are the more we carry in them.
Many owners have to reinforce them somehow in order to carry any kind of weight .

My simple fix:
I only carry very lightweight items that I seldom use in my OEM bins and have covered the bins using some leftover flooring strips equally spaced apart to support a load, 3" wide oak flooring crossmembers and a plywood cover. I left about 10" of access room so I can reach under the plywood to reach those seldom used items. An old awning rod acts as a 'hook retriever' extension pole .
I have a solid 1.5" lip around my full width rear bin where I screwed in (attached) the crossmembers (supports) then placed the plywood on top of them. Now I have a solid platform to carry heavier items. Otherwise those flimsy bins will eventually pull down from the edges where they are mounted and who knows what would happen at that point.

[way2roll]

Thor and a few others use Schwintek slides. Originally these full wall slides were prone to failure. The slide mechanisms were too weak. The answer to this solution was adding a 3rd rail at the top. While I haven't heard of any more failures since this "fix" I vowed never to own an RV with a full wall slide using the schwintek mechanisms. You may never have an issue but do some homework on the types of slides used. I think Winnie stopped using them for that very reason. My $.02.