From a big B to a small C......observations

[PSW]

OK, I finally did it. We have had three Bs over the years including a Horizon (little brother of the Falcon), a 1996 190 Dodge RT Popular, a 2007 Chevy 210 RT Popular. Like many on this forum, we think and wonder if something a wee bit bigger might be more appropriate for us. Finally, I pounced. I found a 2013 Phoenix Cruiser for sale by an individual and it was three miles from our home. 7400 miles and fully loaded including wood floors, sound system, full body paint, etc.

Now that I am retired, we intend/hope to spend more time boondocking and thought a little more room would be very nice. The PC has a slide, a dry bath, a bed, a recliner and an articulated couch which makes a bed and also can serve as two recliners. We bought this unit a few months ago and, so far, have been able to take only one trip in it. Here are a few comparison observations for those of you that have been tempted.

1. Our Roadtrek fits in a garage at our home and the garage has HVAC. The Cruiser is winterized and in storage until probably late March. Advantage: Roadtrek!

2. The dry bath in the Cruiser is a blessing! Advantage: Cruiser

3. Storage: the winner hands down is Roadtrek. Exterior storage is much greater on the RT, particularly with our configuration of twin beds. That is a big area under those beds when accessed from the rear doors. Inside, since we have an armoire, the RT simply has more useable storage for our stuff. No question about it. In terms of square feet of storage, they probably are similar but usage wise, Roadtrek is superior IMO.

4. Ease of driving: The Cruiser is a truck. A 350 Ford truck. It drives very, very well and is comfortable and easy to drive. The RT is a van and is much easier to drive into parking lots and tight spaces. Going down the road there is no difference.

5. Sleeping: a dedicated bed sure is nice. The luxury of having a bed in the back and REAL seats up front is advantage Cruiser, no question.

6. Cost of operation: Cruiser uses about 50% more gas than the RT.

7. Kitchen space: advantage cruiser..maybe. Storage for pots and pans is better on the RT. Big sink on the Cruiser is great.

8. Quality of construction: Roadtrek wins. Now, I must say this is comparing a 2007 RT and a new Cruiser. I have looked at new RTs and don't feel their quality is as good as our 2007 as far as finish is concerned. Maybe just my prejudice being a woodworker. Where RT uses grommets, Cruiser drills a hole. Still, the Cruiser is considered a kind of upper grade C (they call them B+ but I know better than to use that term here and incur the wrath of correction, I am just reporting what they call them. Yes, I have corrected them to no avail on their forum, so the wars continue).

Size wise, the RT is about a foot shorter, 13 inches lower and 5 inches more narrow. Tank wise, clear advantage Cruiser (important to us boondocking). Fresh water about the same. I think the LP is actually slightly larger on the RT as I recall.

Which do we overall prefer? Verdict is still out. OK, I confess, I am so stupid that I now own two RVs. My wife insisted (correctly) that we not sell the RT until we were really sure about the Cruiser. We bought it under conditions that would allow us to come out OK if we sold it and our RT now has only 36000 miles and is like new since it was always stored indoors and HVAC controlled, so we have allowed ourselves until mid summer to make up our mind.

I hope these comments may be helpful to someone else in the facing the same quandary: B or small C? The jury, in our case, is still out and deadlock may be in place:)

[wincrasher65]

Enjoy your PC for a bit longer and take a look again at the B's when there are more offerings with the Promaster and Transit chassis. You may want to come back. Having the high top roof makes all the difference in a B.

[Davydd]

I look at it this way. I am not going to sacrifice what I find to be the best for some unfounded long odds fear. I've driven the 90 mile "On Top of the World" gravel highway from the Alaskan border to Dawson City in the Yukon. That is about as remote as one can get other than some ice road trucker routes to the Arctic circle. I can guarantee you if you break down there you will be at a much greater disadvantage with your small C than a Sprinter and your odds of breaking down are probably greater with that small Ford C. Why else would you need so many service centers? 😉

[AsheGuy]

PSW wrote:
I know most love them (Sprinters), but maybe they just don't go as far off the beaten path as we enjoy.

First half of sentence describes us, not the second part. 🙂

[PSW]

Three months later and just back from a 1500 mile journey in the Phoenix Cruiser, I still have mixed emotions about the B vs C thing. First of all, the additional space was great. We were boondocking in the mountains of Northern New Mexico and the slide, full bed, recliners etc. were marvelous. A 35 gallon black tank was a real positive.

Still, pulling a Jeep Trailhawk behind the Class C was a new experience and went well BUT we were really challenged on the passes. With our Roadtrek, we just went over them thar hills and kept on going. The Ford E350 was tasked on the passes, fine on the regular roads. Also, going down the interstates at 60 instead of 70 was new to us. Hello, 9 mpg.

All in all, we saw several Bs at various times and thought how easy it was for them! A few RTs, PleasureWays and one Westy. The guy with the Westy couldn't believe we had given up our RT 210 P. He was traveling alone, we are a couple with a good sized dog and that also makes a difference.

One thing we have concluded definitely is that we do not want a Sprinter because of lack of service availability out in the boonies. Where we were, the nearest authorized service was Denver or Albuquerque, 250 miles north or south of us. We talked to a guy in a
Sprinter B about that and he said he had broken down in Great Bend, Kansas and had to be towed to Kansas City last year.......a distance of two hundred miles. I know most love them, but maybe they just don't go as far off the beaten path as we enjoy.

The end of my report on the B vs small C: hung jury.

PSW

[PSW]

Thanks, AL. That youtube pretty well shows the unit. Ours is very similar except has cherry interior with a maple wood floor (which really lightens up the dark cherry considerably) and full body paint. That's an option I never would have ordered because of the cost. By the way, that articulated couch is just like two lounge chairs and makes into a terrific bed.

Phoenix Cruiser has B roots. The guys that started PC were formally with Intervec, the company that made the Horizon and Falcon Class Bs in the 80s and early 90s. I owned a Horizon for many years and it was a great little B built on a Dodge. We traveled all over in that baby and it was what really got us interested in rving and Bs in particular. So, I may now have a C, but that critter has B heritage, just like me.

Paul

[Fastpaddler]

PSW wrote:
Well, the deed is done. I took the Roadtrek to PPL on Tuesday, March 11. It sold on Friday, March 14. I am now, for the first time in a very long time, not an owner of a Class B. Our new (to us) 2013 Phoenix Cruiser 2350 will be something new to experience and enjoy. If it serves us as well as our Roadtrek 210 P served us, we will be blessed.

As has often been stated on these forums, as your life style changes your type of RV changes as well.

I still will follow this B forum because our love of Bs (we have had three of them) has not faded, but our need for something a little different and bigger for this stage of our life and the type of boondocking we enjoy may give way in future years to a need for the convenience and mobility of a B. In the meantime, we are hooking a Jeep Cherokee Trail Hawk behind our C and trying new experiences.

Paul

Paul,
Congratulations. I watched a Youtube video on a 2013 like yours which had leather inside, recliner, couch and rear bed, wood floors and maple cabinetry. Really top quality materials and I am sure you will have lots of fun travelling and camping with it. It IS bigger than a typical B but so well finished. Not available in Canada.

AL

[Fastpaddler]

Best wishes PSW and enjoy your outings.
AL

[newBera]

And keep posting about your experience. Sometimes I wonder if I should have bought a View instead of an Era...

[Jim_Carolyn]

Have fun with the new rig, Paul. I'm sure you'll love it.

[PSW]

Well, the deed is done. I took the Roadtrek to PPL on Tuesday, March 11. It sold on Friday, March 14. I am now, for the first time in a very long time, not an owner of a Class B. Our new (to us) 2013 Phoenix Cruiser 2350 will be something new to experience and enjoy. If it serves us as well as our Roadtrek 210 P served us, we will be blessed.

As has often been stated on these forums, as your life style changes your type of RV changes as well.

I still will follow this B forum because our love of Bs (we have had three of them) has not faded, but our need for something a little different and bigger for this stage of our life and the type of boondocking we enjoy may give way in future years to a need for the convenience and mobility of a B. In the meantime, we are hooking a Jeep Cherokee Trail Hawk behind our C and trying new experiences.

Paul

[Heapie]

Hi Folks,

How I found my CLASS B RV.

I started about 5 years ago looking and thinking what I would buy. I first made a decision to purchase a CLASS B for two main reasons. Cost of gas. There was no way any CLASS C could match the efficiency of a CLASS B. Gas CLASS A's and CLASS C's were just to expensive to operate. My desire to purchase a CLASS B came also from what I was going to use it for, traveling the USA. I wanted to see my country. I am basically an explorer. The second reason, which came from owning a VW VANAGON CAMPER twenty years ago. I discovered that one can hide a VW CAMPER in the middle of a city if you left the top down and the windows covered. Also today my RV PARK of choice is WALLMARTS.

I also made the decision that I would have to inspect any RV I decided to buy. Also it had to be used. I explored the internet and asked questions on CLASS B sites and blogs. The RV had to be located in New England but could be no more than 300 miles from Hingham, MA, my home town. This cut down a lot of RV's located all over the country. I was also had to be aware on being ripped off. The best source was GRAIGS LIST and E-BAY. In fact, I came across a site that listed both E-BAY and GRAIGS LIST by state.

From the information I got on the internet, I was able to calculate the average going price of CLASS B's By the date of manufacturing and the mileage. (Old low milaage was bad. new high mileage was bad.) For instance, a used CLASS B built before 2000 with over 100,000 miles could be had for between $5,000.00 and $10,000.00 about in my price range.

For CLASS B's, I liked ROADTREK's best, with a close second on the PLEASUREWAY and older COACH HOUSE. I liked the layouts and the other stuff that they had.

With all this stuff in my head, one day I saw an ad for an RV dealer in Southern New Hampshire. I picked up the phone and called them, and they had a 2002 ROADTREK for sale. Next day I took a ride up there, and bought it for a good price. It had 74,000 miles on it and was in good condition.

Moral to this story. You have to decide what you want, with some flexibility, how much you want to pay, and if things have to be done to it, what it will cost and whether you can do it.

Another thing I did was to take it to a shop that fixed RV's, hired a man who took me through the whole RV and showed me how to run everything, and made sure it was working well. That one act will safe money over time. Hiring labor to fix things can add up.

Happy Hunting,

Heapie

[2112]

PSW wrote:
Any B experiences with PPL in Houston or New Braunfels??

I will say that some B's don't sit on the lot for long while others will be there for months and months.

PSW, I sent you a PM

[PSW]

I agree with you Fastpeddler about RV dealers. PPL is not an rv dealer. They are consignment only, sell over a hundred units a month and are located in the middle of Houston on a freeway and thus lots of exposure. Dealers are in competition between their own inventory and you as the guy consigning. No question about that.

Jim, normally I would do exactly as you suggest, but we have some personal family stuff going on now that causes me to just want to move on and pay someone else a fee to sell my Roadtrek.

[Fastpaddler]

PSW wrote:
Well, if you read my original post on this thread you will find our situation: we love Bs, have had several but recently bought a small C and have been trying to determine which to keep.

We have pretty well made up our minds to sell the Roadtrek and so off we go. I would be very interested if anyone has had any B specific purchases or sales at PPL in Houston. I know they sell a lot of units and are consignment only, but I would appreciate any comments regarding them and Bs only.

We hate to give up our RT, but can't have both it and a Phoenix Cruiser. Given the market for Bs right now and spring on its way (hopefully! It was 17 in OKC this morning!)it is time to move on this sale.

Any B experiences with PPL in Houston or New Braunfels??

From my past experiences trading in 2 C class rigs I will NEVER again use an RV consignment option. I will put up with the inconvenience and sell it privately. Lost too much in retrospect by paying RV dealer lots of commission.
AL