We are looking for a quality rig, seems hard to find. We want nicely finished cabinets, enclosed underbelly, double pane windows, and yet not more than 28 feet long. We like to camp sometimes in the cold, but want the lower and upper beds too. All suggestions are appreciated.

My Triple E Regal has Thermo glass. The underside isn't enclosed but has the spray foam under all. I am not sure you will even find one that is fully enclosed. I would think that there would be mold and rot issues with that.Gary Haupt

My first RV was a Citation Supreme (made in BC, in 1987) and had a heated basement. I did not realize how lucky I was to have that feature.

There are quite a few class C's that have enclosed plumbing, including the tanks, without having a continuously enclosed underbelly. If the goal is for it to be usable in cold weather, this is quite sufficient if done properly. It's pretty hard to enclose the underside of a truck chassis and still allow for the drive shaft, axle, exhaust, etc. to go where they need to go (at least without making the unit a lot taller than it otherwise would be). A trailer has a lot fewer odds and ends to worry about, so enclosing the whole underbelly is a good bit easier there.Phoenix Cruiser has nearly everything you want except for the cabover bunk and are quiet well built units.

The Phoenix Cruiser B+ cap is not an upper bunk by default, but can be ordered to be a small one for a child or for bulk storage as pictured in this old 15 year old PC. A new PC would look somewhat different, but this gives you an idea on what to expect. I would request that large finished board be avoided to get max room up inside.Here is a picture early in the manufacturing process showing the size and insulation of an open B+ cap. Note the van roof has been cut away for easy entry from the house, and to open up the interior. With an upper bunk, I would make certain they do NOT cut the roof to maintain best roll-over protection.PCs are designed for cold weather camping. The walls, floor, and ceiling are well insulated. Here is a cut-away of the floor. Note the steel beam and durable protective under-belly plastic shielding.Thermal pane windows are optional. Ordering a PC without an optional slide out will be much warmer than one with a slide out. All PCs come with interior heat-protected plumbing and fresh water tank. The exterior waste tanks are insulated and have large 12V heating pads, similar to that used for heated seats.Our PC-2350 has no slide out and has double pane insulated glass. The only cold of significance we deal with comes from the Ford cab area. We drape an old comforter across the two front seats and tuck it around the outer edges to eliminate low-drafts. It would be easy to completely seal the front cab from the house if we had an upper bunk as pictured above because the van roof would not be cut-away, creating a clean vertical surface to seal well with a comforter from the bunk to the floor.

The best Class C's I have seen for cold weather are the Triple E's. There was a late model with cabover but I have not seen any advertised.They are no longer made but some are around.Look for Triple E GT29T.Built for cold weather, triple slide, heated enclosed basement, double pane windows, heat from engine piped to basement while driving.Overview:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E12T6I23u8wCold weather testing:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vttAv4b-24U

Class C quality with heated underbelly, double pane windows.

pnichols
Explorer II
Dec 12, 2017
memtb wrote:
Autumn Snowbird, If you will be doing any boondocking, fresh water tank capacity is of much importance. I hate (well almost) to keep beating the Bigfoot drum, but... Bigfoot also had the highest capacity fresh tank of the class c’s ( that we researched)!

For comparison purposes, here's the specs on typical 2004 Bigfoot (click on "Specs") Class C motorhomes and current Lazy Daze Class C motorhomes. Note that Lazy Daze tank capacities are right in the ballpark with those of Bigfoot:

http://www.rvweb.com/guides/manufacturers/bigfoot_industries_inc./models/2004_3000_series_motorhome-1083961402961

http://www.lazydaze.com/FEATURES.PDF

(FWIW, our Winnebago Itasca 24 foot Class C capacites are FW=39 gal, GW=29 gal, and BW=39 gal.)
rockhillmanor
Explorer
Dec 11, 2017
For the front an outside bonnet, inside windshield sunshade, and blanket to cover cab opening being sure it goes down past the coach floor to cover all the way to bottom of captains chairs in cab.
rockhillmanor
Explorer
Dec 11, 2017
pianotuna wrote:
Hi Rockhillmanor,

I had Insulbright covers made for all windows, skylights and vents and for a cab separator. Storage becomes an issue pretty quickly.

I found a better way to help insulate side window s in the coach. Van size windshield sun shades just happen to fit perfectly behind the day night shades!! No Velcro no drilling holes. Just slip them behind the shades. And boy do they make a difference keeping the cold out and also the heat out in summer. If window is smaller you just fold one or two panels up.

Best part, the fold up flat. I had all five of mine folded and slipped behind driver's seat. No added storage room needed.
memtb
Explorer
Dec 11, 2017
Autumn Snowbird, If you will be doing any boondocking, fresh water tank capacity is of much importance. I hate (well almost) to keep beating the Bigfoot drum, but... Bigfoot also had the highest capacity fresh tank of the class c’s ( that we researched)!

If you can spend some time on YouTube, you can learn a great deal about many of the class c’s available!
memtb
Explorer
Dec 11, 2017
ctilsie242 wrote:
Triple E was a good class "C" maker, but they are history as of now, as the company is focusing on the (arguably) more lucrative B market.

If I were going for a cold weather "C", I'd look at a Phoenix Cruiser or Nexus RV. Then, I'd also see if they could add custom skirting, to reduce heat loss under the rig.

From my class "C" experience, I would see about making a foldable divider made with a Coroplast core, Reflectix on the cab side, and a thick blanket on the other side, which would go between the cab and the rest of the coach. This not just adds significant insulation, but helps deaden noise. Done right, it is easily moved out of the way, so the cab can be used for storage space.

Not sure about Nexus, but Phoenix did not have enclosed tanks ( I called). Can’t remember exactly, but, I believe that it was “on me” to enclose. Way much easier if designed that way originally!

Trying to keep “ non-enclosed” tanks warm in “cold” weather, is kinda like trying to heat your home with the doors and windows open!
RambleOnNW
Explorer II
Dec 11, 2017
Heated enclosed basements require far less energy to keep the tanks warm. Our rig has single pane windows but we section off the cab and have fitted reflectix panels for all windows that we keep in a roll under the bed. Have only dry camped to 20F with 20 MPH wind with no issues. Went colder on electricity and added a 100W clip lamp to enclosed wet bay which kept things warm.

Here is a current ad for a 2011 28 foot Triple E Regency 28GT which is the non-cabover version of what we were looking for. $73K:

https://www.rvtrader.com/listing/2011-Triple-E-REGENCY-28GT-5000724336

Similar layout to our dual-slide Jayco without the cab-over.
pnichols
Explorer II
Dec 11, 2017
pianotuna wrote:
Hi Phil,

In truly cold weather heating pads cannot keep up with the heat loss. Enclosed tanks are a far better solution. Even so I find I need 250 watts of heat--and I used to use 600 watts.

Don,

For extreme cold, just have double pads installed on the bottom side of each tank. There's plenty of room on each tank bottom for two pads.
pianotuna
Nomad III
Dec 11, 2017
Hi Phil,

In truly cold weather heating pads can not keep up with the heat loss. Enclosed tanks are a far better solution. Even so I find I need 250 watts of heat--and I used to use 600 watts.

pnichols wrote:
heating pads onto any tanks exposed to the outside air temperatures. With heating pads on your tanks, all RV furnace air can be used to keep the inside of the coach warm instead of some of it being used to keep warmth around tanks.
pnichols
Explorer II
Dec 11, 2017
Mike (the OP),

I assume that during cold weather camping you're going to be on hookups or, if cold weather dry camping have a pretty good sized RV battery system and a generator to keep them charged?

If so just look for an RV - or have installed after you buy an RV - 12 volt DC powered (they are available as 120 volt AC powered or 12 volt DC powered) heating pads onto any tanks exposed to the outside air temperatures. With heating pads on your tanks, all RV furnace air can be used to keep the inside of the coach warm instead of some of it being used to keep warmth around tanks. The reason I say have "12 volt DC" pads installed is so you can use them during hookup or non-hookup camping - or when driving down the road without having to run the coach furnace ... which makes for an overall more flexible tank heating system.

The slightly warmed water from the tanks lying against the tank sides of the tank emptying valves keeps the emptying valves from freezing so you can operate the valves for tank emptying during cold weather.

To my thinking, tank heating pads is a superior way to keep your tanks' contents from freezing - over wasting precious coach furnace hot air and propane to keep your tanks from freezing. Besides, electricity is easier to find or make than propane is during either cold or hot weather. Why keep a whole volume around tanks warm with heated air when all that is necessary is to keep the liquid inside from freezing by merely having an area on the tank bottom kept warm via a flat, glued on, tough rubber material, built-in thermostatically controlled ... 12 volt electrical heating pad?
ctilsie242
Explorer II
Dec 11, 2017
Triple E was a good class "C" maker, but they are history as of now, as the company is focusing on the (arguably) more lucrative B market.

If I were going for a cold weather "C", I'd look at a Phoenix Cruiser or Nexus RV. Then, I'd also see if they could add custom skirting, to reduce heat loss under the rig.

From my class "C" experience, I would see about making a foldable divider made with a Coroplast core, Reflectix on the cab side, and a thick blanket on the other side, which would go between the cab and the rest of the coach. This not just adds significant insulation, but helps deaden noise. Done right, it is easily moved out of the way, so the cab can be used for storage space.

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Class C quality with heated underbelly, double pane windows.

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