A V/S C

[CDK]

Due to age / health my tt is becoming a bit much for me with the hookup and setup. Thinking of a motor home rather than quitting.
Has any one done a pros and con comparison between As and Cs of the same length ? Does one have the advantage over the other?
Thanks
Cal

[RckyMtnVia]

I am in a similar situation and while still healthy, I am looking for "simple and easy". As you can see we have a Fleetwood Expedition and tow a Jeep Liberty. We love this setup, but would prefer to not tow and have an rv the DW feels comfortable driving. Based upon our needs/preferences this means a Mercedes Sprinter in the A or C/B+ model. After you have read all the replies, done your research and visited dealers, you should be able to narrow down what length, width, floorplan, and tow/not tow you need. We have spent months looking at the options and the Thor ACE was one we looked at, but we decided that the 25' length and 90" width of the Sprinter was what we wanted. There are also some nice B+/Cs out there in the 25 to 30' range that even have 3 slides. In our situation we shall probably not tow for most of our trips, but with the Sprinter, we have the option to tow if required.

We defined downsizing as the Sprinter based rvs, but you need to decide what is the right length, width and floorplan for your interior comfort/storage and exterior comfort/storage. Good luck.

[John_S_]

I have both and can choose to take the one that is easiest. I have 38k on the class c and have put on over 100k on the class A in the same time period. If this. Surgery i am having goes ok i will probably sell the C. A is easier all the way. If steps are an issue they make alift for the front door. I can carry my scooter in the lower bay too.

[rgatijnet1]

Right now I do not have any physical limitations as my back was bolted together a few years ago. That said the DW and I are both getting older and we appreciate the convenience of our Class A. Since we travel a lot and very seldom sit in one location for more than a day or two, hook-ups are pretty basic. I plug into the electric and ONLY hook up fresh water to fill my tank, or sewer to empty my waste. Water, sewer and waste hook-ups only happen once a week or so. I can level the coach from the driver's seat, do not have to chock the wheels, and can push a button to raise my satellite antenna. The slides also require only a push of the button. If it is raining outside, we can spend the night without ever having to go outside.
In a class A, the DW can easily get up and go back for a drink or something to eat, while we are heading down the highway. Naturally some people feel this is dangerous, but that is their opinion. My DW makes her own decisions.
The view out our large windshield certainly makes the drive safer and more enjoyable when we are on a scenic road. The fact that we are sitting a few feet higher than in a class C, plus the much larger windshield, makes it easier to monitor what is going on in front of us on the highway.
After having a B and a C, we feel that the A has so many advantages that the extra step or two to get in is a minor problem. Naturally the obvious plus is that for the exact same overall length, the A will have more interior floor space than the C.

[mike_brez]

If you are going to tow a vehicle with a class A you will have to bend over to hook up. A couple of pins,safety cables and lights. Setting up you will still have cable,water,sewer,power so none of that will change. Leveling can be done with one push of a button. I have had a 5er, class C and now a class A. I like the A the best.

[CallThisCamping]

I find the long rear overhang of most long Cs to be problematic. Even the slightest dip or driveway causes the back end to hit the pavement. Also, I suspect a lot of those safety stanchions are dinged by people sharply turning away from gas pumps in a class C. When I moved up to the A, those problems disappeared for me.

[jwmII]

I don't know whether you will do any better with a motorhome than a trailer. I am faced with much the same situation you are except that I have a motorhome. What I spend a lot of time on is looking at everything I have to do to set this thing up from the tow vehicle to the camp setup and breakdown. It has been fun to comeup with different setups for everything from a flag pole holder to modifying the window covers with magnets so they can be slapped up with a stick and a ladder doesn't have to be drug out. Some things are more difficult to simplify and may need to be discontinued. You will determine that. The goal tho is to make everything easier. A challenge to say the least.

[havasu]

To put it in a nutshell as to how I have seen A vs C vs Fiver

An A is all about the journey, a C/Fiver is all about the destination.

[CDK]

Thanks for all the brain fodder. Other than tires what makes an A so much more expensive to operate and maintain?

[demoon]

This issue is all in the eyes of the beholder. What works for one does not for another. I suggest you might want to try renting one of each for a try. Then go with what feels right to you.

Adding my personal input - I moved from a 31' C to a 34' A. There is not a day goes by that I do not want my C back. I think the thing I miss the most are the front doors in the C. They are not just useful for getting gas. I have gotten in and out several times getting into a tough site. Those doors make it a whole lot easier.

Good luck with your decision.

[shadowpup]

I have had 3 class A last one was a 38 DP,and now have a C. I wanted to go smaller. Wish I had gone to a short A, better use of interior room.

[eabc5454]

Hi:

I know where you are coming from. Although I am 51, several back surgeries for me and a knee replacement for DW have caused us physical limitations on some activities.

We started talking about getting a C in the spring of 2012. I was off work for five months after rupturing three disks and tearing a hole in my spinal canal lifting a patient (I was a volunteer EMT). The recovery was hard, and combined with DW's knee replacement, we had to re-think how we could continue to travel and camp. We knew that the class A of our dreams was out of reach for us financially. We are both working full time, high-stress careers and we would like to retire some day, so the budget has to be a consideration.

Then, while watching a TV show on RVs, we saw the Thor ACE (A/C Evolution). That was Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. On Sunday, we went to see one. The dealer had two - both 30.1 models. We drove the one we liked and then talked. Drove a class C and talked. Drove a class A and talked. And then we bought the ACE. It has many of the features of an A, the drivability of the C and all of the features we knew were important to us. Over the last three years we'd been making notes on what we loved about our TT and what we knew we wanted in another camper someday. We got retail blue book on our trades and a huge discount from the dealer.

So, here we are month and a half later, and we love our ACE. We've been on five trips, have had a great deal of fun and no issues at all.

It used to take us an hour to hitch up and load and an hour to unhitch and set up camp. Now, we pull in, set the brake, push a button to level, chock the wheels, two minutes for hookups, push buttons for slides and awning, put out chairs and we're ready to camp. Five minutes tops from pull in to camping time.

Have a look. It might work for you. It works for us, and the budget is happy. We bought a new Honda CR-V to tow, and we still stayed within our budget.

Happy camping,
Elizabeth

[BarbaraOK]

D.E.Bishop wrote:
I would add one thing to what wildtoad said, Class C's Drivability is better.

By that I mean, it feels more like driving a car or SUV and generally women feel more at ease driving a C.

Personally, I like the busdriver point of view and feel.

We've had both, I prefer the visibility when driving our Class A. So no, not all women prefer the Class Cs. I did like using the Class C for short vacations/weekends and learning how to do things on it - made the transition to a Class A just a little bit easier.

And since it is a diesel we can use truck lanes at truck stops for fueling, straight in and out. I like the bigger tanks - means we can go longer without dumping. Also our tanks are in heated bays - one less thing to worry about in the winter months.

Barb

[CDK]

D.E.Bishop wrote:
I would add one thing to what wildtoad said, Class C's Drivability is better.

By that I mean, it feels more like driving a car or SUV and generally women feel more at ease driving a C.

Interesting! Yesterday a salesman said equal length the A was better handling and turned tighter better on curvy mt. roads. He was trying to us either as he had both. Didn't think he had a dog in that fight.

[bsinmich]

I would take an A over a C any day. Unless you get a class C with a one piece fiberglass shell you are just waiting until the leaks start in the over cab bed. If you are thinking of using that as a bed I would seriously give that a thought. If I need a ladder to get into bed I am going to sleep in the chair. I use a walker to get around and have very little problem getting hooked up in CGs. To hook up the toad is just the bars to the toad, plug in the electric cable, put the breakaway plug in that switch, put the car in neutral and flip the switch in the glove box. I did that to avoid pulling a fuse that we had to use all sorts of contortions to reinstall. It takes a few minutes to set up or get under way. Since DW has had 3 knee replacements and I have had spinal fusion we had a problem getting up the 6 steps. Thanks to the solid construction of Newmar I was able to put in a hand rail that we are both able to use to put our weight on for getting in the MH. We have had 2 Cs and 2 As over the years so that is our experience.