24 ft ClassC MH downsides

[Gjac]

I have been looking at 24 ft Class C's on the internet, have not test drove any yet. I have a 32 ft Class A now. Are there any down sides like handling? Any issues with FW slides? I realize obvious issues like smaller living space, less storage, less fresh water but are there any other issues or concerns I should be aware of? Also I noticed one that had a large storage bay under the bed in the rear, which makes and models have this storage bay?

[dicknellen]

I have a 24' class c and many times thought I would like to have a 32' class a again. Why do you want a 24' class c? My favorite motorhome was new 1990 Winnebago Superchief class A. Loved camping in it and enjoying the view thru the big front windshield. Many times I have wondered why I sold it and purchased a 5th wheel. Now I have a class c. If your staying with a gas class c you not going to see much MPG improvement. I also thought with the 24' class c I would not want a toad, went without one for awhile and didn't like not having one. Don't jump into downsizing. Dick

[bobndot]

Hi Gjac, I will answer your questions as best I can and explain why I bought what I did. I apologize up front for its length.

Gjac , " Is it common for a 24 ft to be built on a 450 Chassis? "

---Yes, from what I have seen it appears that the 450 is being used more and more but I do not know the exact numbers and what brands. I think some folks were overloading the 350's even on the smaller 24-25 ft models. The 450 seems to have a heavier frame and maybe a little larger brakes . It could probably get by using a lighter front spring set up.
I also tow a toad as well as a few other trailers depending, so my 7500 lb tow rating of the 450 was a good thing.


Gjac," I was thinking of just storing bikes, my rubber raft and fishing stuff in the rear bin."

---I'm not sure about storing the bikes. Might not fit in most compartments plus their weight on those bins would not be a good idea. You would have to have the needed height to carry them on the added supports over the bin. The rear end tends to pound over the bumps, stressing the bins.
Another option is buy a metal basket, like a bicycle basket, that fits inside the bins and secure it to the bins top edges, using that solid perimeter framework. The basket then supports the weight without stressing the bin, it acts like a 'bin liner'. (Not to be confused with that ex-terrorist)

The raft could be a little heavy and bulky too. I used to carry a Sea-Eagle 285 but only carried it inside the rv on the solid floor. My bikes go onto my hitch bike-rack, either on my toad or on my rv. I now carry a kayak or canoe on top of my toad or in and on my 5x12 v-nose utility trailer when I bring that .
A few people remove dinette cushions and install bike fork support tie-downs on the plywood base. Remove the front tires and lock down the forks to carry the bikes inside the rv. I would also strap it thru an eye-bolt so the bike doesn't accidently go through the window if the fork lock lets go. I know it's unlikely but its just a strap and 1 minute of your time.



" Do most 24ft C's have a 158 in WB? "

---I really do not know, but 158" is common as far as I have seen. I guess it would depend on the brand. I didn't consider the WB , I was concentrating on other needs this time.

I know there are other brands of C's that owners really like but when I looked at them, I could not find a full queen bed 60x80 innerspring plus 'extra large' baggage compartments in a non-slide unit. Full queen in a 60" width corner beds gives you a slightly smaller shower of 24x30. We do fine with that.
The other thing important to me was the extended season use so I could head up to north country by the border where the weather changes every hour. I needed all 3 options, so the brand didn't matter.
I placed digital thermometers in key areas to see what was going on regarding temps.
The FR Sunseeker has all water lines inside the rv routed thru heated areas. Designed to flow from strategically located ducts like the one inside the water pump compartment. That duct also heats under the bed and freshwater tank . That heat creeps up inside the interior shower wall, thru an opening at the bottom of the wall to where the shower plumbing is located. Under both sinks and under the raised floor are also heated to protect those lines.

I found this unit and it had everything we wanted, so we went with it knowing we had to optionally tweak up the suspension . But, it has been a solid build for us.
I would not jump into suspension upgrading until its been driven awhile, then decide. Do the alignment and experiment with tire psi.

What is important is the safety ratio of length.

Below is a commonly used calculation and formula:

** Measure the entire length of the RV, including bumpers.
Measure the distance from the center of the front tire to the center of the rear tire.
Divide the length of the wheel distance by the length of the RV.
Multiply that figure by 100.
For example, if your coach is 38 feet long and the distance between the center of its front and rear tires is 20 feet, you would

Divide 20 by 38 to get .526.
Multiply .526 by 100 to get your wheel base ratio which is 52.6.
Any figure above 50 is considered acceptable, but the higher the better. The rule of thumb from the RV industry is 60 or more to maximize highway driving safety.
My unit is 54.86% , well that's good I guess . I should get myself a Mustang emblem for this thing 🙂


Gjac,, " Were your suspension upgrades because of the length/WB or common to most C's".

---I'm not 100% sure but I think it was that plus the full cabover size . The whole package can sometimes act like a sail in a crosswind. I can still feel wind pushing me at times but all upgrades have greatly reduced things.
Im crossing bridges often and drive interstates so I feel a lot of wind traffic. Its a lot more controllable on back roads.
When I first drove it across a large bridge coming home from the dealer , it was very windy and I was looking for the life jackets and wishing I had the Sea-Eagle. But getting it aligned solved that. 😉 The rest of my upgrades were less of an impact but imo, still worth it. I did things one at a time.
The track bar helped the crosswind and bow wave push , the sways solved the rocking side to side and the turns on back roads were smoother, less stressful and didn't feel my toad push me into corners as it did from the start. Rear track bars limit the ever so slight side to side axle movement which transfers to the front end.

I would think a 26-27 ft unit with a longer wheelbase and higher ratio would probably handle better and maybe not need all the extra upgrades but im not really sure. I can only fit a 25 ft in my driveway.

But now after doing these upgrades if fine with the handling of my 24, its nice driving back roads as well as highways.

I hope my info helps you make a sound decision,
Bob

[rjstractor]

BFL13 wrote:
Interesting figures for the newer 24s.

The newer trucks have more capacity GVWR than the older ones did, so that also affects Cs, which I had not thought of before.

A C is an RV added to an "incomplete truck", which could also have been made into an ambulance, eg. So same C on a same size newer truck will eat less of the GVWR than with the older truck.

Above, we have 24s with more like 14,400 GVWR while our 1991 28 has 11,000 GVWR. Loaded we scaled at 12,232 (actually 5,560 kg). We are under on the front and over on the back. Can't be helped as it is at rating for the back when empty. How it is.

On wheel base and overhang, ours is 176" WB and 140" overhang. Maybe 30" more up front ahead of the wheels. So a "24" would be 288 with maybe 30 up front? So call it 258 less 158 WB = 100 overhang at the back.

158/100 = 1.58 and 176/140 = 1.26 so the overhang is more with our 28.

OK, so with newer Cs you should look at their numbers carefully to see what is really going on.

Yes, things have come quite aways in the nearly 30 years since your rig was built. Even the new E350 has up to 12,500 GVWR as well as much more power.

[Gjac]

I think the WB ratio that BFL13 mentioned is the WB/L of MH. In other words his has a WB of 176ins and a length of 28 ft x 12ins/ft or 336ins or a ratio of .52. A 24ft MH with a WB of 158in would be .69 which in theory be much better.

[BFL13]

Interesting figures for the newer 24s.

The newer trucks have more capacity GVWR than the older ones did, so that also affects Cs, which I had not thought of before.

A C is an RV added to an "incomplete truck", which could also have been made into an ambulance, eg. So same C on a same size newer truck will eat less of the GVWR than with the older truck.

Above, we have 24s with more like 14,400 GVWR while our 1991 28 has 11,000 GVWR. Loaded we scaled at 12,232 (actually 5,560 kg). We are under on the front and over on the back. Can't be helped as it is at rating for the back when empty. How it is.

On wheel base and overhang, ours is 176" WB and 140" overhang. Maybe 30" more up front ahead of the wheels. So a "24" would be 288 with maybe 30 up front? So call it 258 less 158 WB = 100 overhang at the back.

158/100 = 1.58 and 176/140 = 1.26 so the overhang is more with our 28.

OK, so with newer Cs you should look at their numbers carefully to see what is really going on.

[PatJ]

I think most models with the corner bed has the large storage container. The outside storage was very important to us which was one of the reasons we went with that floor plan, but I think every manufacturer has that plan. We also went with a no-slide plan for several reasons, one is the slides really cut into outside storage. We went with a Thor 23h (24'10" by tape measure) and one reason was because it has the largest outside storage we could find. It holds the mounted spare tire/jack/lug wrench, all the chairs and tables, a Yeti 45 and 35, 20" kids bike, cornhole boards, portable fire pit, Coleman Road Trip, full-size 5 gal propane cyl, two milk crates full of sewer hoses and fittings, 120v 2 gal air compressor, and all the spare tool bags all at once. And I'm sure I'm missing some things.

With this length you should have no issues with overloading. We are 2200 below GVWR when fully loaded for a trip, and the front axle is closer to the limit than the back.

[Gjac]

bobndot wrote:
I have a 2018 Sunseeker 2350 by FR , 24 ft. Ford E450.
Being that it has a 14,500 gvwr and rolls down the road loaded at approx 12,500 expect it to ride hard until you load it up with full water etc.
** ‘They need to be properly aligned with a positive caster‘ .
I needed to install suspension upgrades to handle crosswinds and bow waves better but i would wait on those until the warranty expires and to really see if you need to do that.
Optional - Shocks, rear track bar, H. duty F and R sway bars .

I have a large storage area in the rear.
I dont like those plastic bins they use to hold gear. Keep an eye on all of them as you load them and use them. I don't trust them to carry too much weight.
I added oak cross members on top of bins which are supported by the solid wood edges that surround the bins. I placed wood planks on the cross supports that now holds my gear. The bins carry light stuff, they only use small screws and caulk to support those bins. Kind of flimsy.

Its had s 158” wb. which has a long rear overhang. The rear hitch has safety tabs welded onto it that act as scrapers to protect the rear overhang. I have to pull in forward into my driveway bc i scrape those tabs across my sidewalk if i back in. You need to know if you have clearance to park unless your street and driveway are relatively flat.

Good info. Is it common for a 24 ft to be built on a 450 Chassis? I have only seen the 350 so far. I was thinking of just storing bikes, my rubber raft and fishing stuff in the rear bin. Do most 24ft C's have a 158 in WB? Were your suspension upgrades because of the length/WB or common to most C's. It seems most A owners with the F-53 chassis complain of the handling. I would not have thought about the rear over hang being an issue.

[bobndot]

I have a 2018 Sunseeker 2350 by FR , 24 ft. Ford E450.
Being that it has a 14,500 gvwr and rolls down the road loaded at approx 12,500 expect it to ride hard until you load it up with full water etc.
** ‘They need to be properly aligned with a positive caster‘ .
I needed to install suspension upgrades to handle crosswinds and bow waves better but i would wait on those until the warranty expires and to really see if you need to do that.
Optional - Shocks, rear track bar, H. duty F and R sway bars .

I have a large storage area in the rear.
I dont like those plastic bins they use to hold gear. Keep an eye on all of them as you load them and use them. I don't trust them to carry too much weight.
I added oak cross members on top of bins which are supported by the solid wood edges that surround the bins. I placed wood planks on the cross supports that now holds my gear. The bins carry light stuff, they only use small screws and caulk to support those bins. Kind of flimsy.


Its had s 158” wb. which has a long rear overhang. The rear hitch has safety tabs welded onto it that act as scrapers to protect the rear overhang. I have to pull in forward into my driveway bc i scrape those tabs across my sidewalk if i back in. You need to know if you have clearance to park unless your street and driveway are relatively flat.

[BFL13]

Cs apparently are built so they max out the rear gross weight rating before you put anything in them! So adding weight towards the rear is a big issue. (towing with much of a hitch weight can make this worse of course.)

Ours has air bags to keep it level, but that does nothing for the weight on the back tires. I just pretend this is not happening and keep the back tires at a higher pressure. That makes them happy but we are still over the gross rating for the back.

A 24 might be better for that than our 28 with the overhang behind the rear axle. There is a ratio thing for the overhang wrt the wheel base.

[Bumpyroad]

my biggest issue with Cs is the potential for water intrusion. in my opinion a class c either has leaked, is leaking or will leak.
I don't know if a B+ (which doesn't actually exist) is any better.

bumpy