Gloria here. What a wonderful site! My husband and I are just starting our search for a new Class C motorhome. We were both campers in our "prior" life, but never a Class C. He was a seasonal (never towed) and my family had a pull behind 33' bunkhouse trailer. We have no clue what we're doing. lol. My husband is retiring in a few weeks after 42 years with the same company. We want a Class C and have a budget of $90,000 (less would be great!). Our plan is to drive cross country and just go and do whatever we want, when we want for the most part. Eventually. Right now, I work, but have the ability to work from "home" occasionally. We want a private bedroom and a bunk over. We would like to keep it at 32 feet or less. Most of the time it will be just him and I and a few large dogs (we have 3 but one is 14 and has cancer :( ) So if this was your budget and situation, what would you get? What would you stay away from? We are not very handy (at all) and don't really know anything about the "best" roof type, what is good construction vs bad etc. We are open to any and all suggestions and guidance because we do not have a clue. So far we went to one dealership that sold Jayco's and we liked the Jayco Blackhawk 29MV. We also looked at a DS. The DS floor plan felt "choppy" to me when looking at the 29 MV which seemed to have a lot of open floor space.Thanks in advance for suggestions and help!!

You may want to look at Lazy Daze and a few others that are considered best in quality of house box construction. Bear n mind that costs of owning a motor home are original purchase price including taxes and DMV fees, insurance and emergency road assistance coverage as well as recurring maintenance and DMV fees.Don't be overawed by the length and size of motorhomes. I recommend at least a 27 foot class C with rear bedroom and overhead bed (for kids). Short Class C's generally don't have much storage space and elbow room and are just as tall as longer floor plans. Slides are nice but can have electro-mechanical problems and when retracted, limit access to things on the road. Don't overlook Winnebago and Fleetwood, etc. which may satisfy your desires/needs. Each brand has more and less expensive model lines. Your going to get a lot of advice!!

New is not really wise for a first timer. If you absolutely hate it the financial hit you take on a MH might be hard to swallow. Look for a 2 to three year old coach. Let the previous owner take the hit. Now, class C, why? Generally speaking many Cs can be right up at their chassis limits before adding much stuff. Are you planning to tow a toad? Again many Cs have no room left over for a toad. Personally I think a gently used class A might be a better option in the long run.

I should've stated that we do not intend on towing a car. We chose Class C because we feel it is easier to find a place for repairs when it needs them. We prefer the ease of driving (from what we hear) of a Class C over a Class A. I want to be able to drive also and am not sure I would be comfortable driving an A.

That is a preceived notion, not an actual one. Class A seating is more up front, better frontal visability, better over the traffic visability. While driving a C might seem more van like, the downsides are hard to access the living area without going outside, overhead you can possibly hit with your head, cramped feeling driving area. I tought my wife to drive our class A in about 15 minutes on I5 in southern California years ago. I dont advocate it, but when traveling to the eadt coast years ago we were able to switch drivers without sropping. Something you can never do in a class C

get one with either an aluminum or fiberglass roof. not rubber or TPO.JMHObumpy

Help! Newbie (sort of) What to buy | Good Sam Community

Bordercollie
Explorer
Feb 21, 2016
You may want to look at Lazy Daze and a few others that are considered best in quality of house box construction.
Bear n mind that costs of owning a motor home are original purchase price including taxes and DMV fees, insurance and emergency road assistance coverage as well as recurring maintenance and DMV fees.

Don't be overawed by the length and size of motorhomes. I recommend at least a 27 foot class C with rear bedroom and overhead bed (for kids). Short Class C's generally don't have much storage space and elbow room and are just as tall as longer floor plans. Slides are nice but can have electro-mechanical problems and when retracted, limit access to things on the road. Don't overlook Winnebago and Fleetwood, etc. which may satisfy your desires/needs. Each brand has more and less expensive model lines. Your going to get a lot of advice!!
donn0128
Explorer II
Feb 21, 2016
New is not really wise for a first timer. If you absolutely hate it the financial hit you take on a MH might be hard to swallow. Look for a 2 to three year old coach. Let the previous owner take the hit. Now, class C, why? Generally speaking many Cs can be right up at their chassis limits before adding much stuff. Are you planning to tow a toad? Again many Cs have no room left over for a toad. Personally I think a gently used class A might be a better option in the long run.
gandb26
Explorer
Feb 21, 2016
I should've stated that we do not intend on towing a car. We chose Class C because we feel it is easier to find a place for repairs when it needs them. We prefer the ease of driving (from what we hear) of a Class C over a Class A. I want to be able to drive also and am not sure I would be comfortable driving an A.
donn0128
Explorer II
Feb 21, 2016
That is a preceived notion, not an actual one. Class A seating is more up front, better frontal visability, better over the traffic visability. While driving a C might seem more van like, the downsides are hard to access the living area without going outside, overhead you can possibly hit with your head, cramped feeling driving area. I tought my wife to drive our class A in about 15 minutes on I5 in southern California years ago.
I dont advocate it, but when traveling to the eadt coast years ago we were able to switch drivers without sropping. Something you can never do in a class C
Bumpyroad
Explorer
Feb 21, 2016
get one with either an aluminum or fiberglass roof. not rubber or TPO.
JMHO
bumpy
The_Logans
Explorer
Feb 21, 2016
Hi and welcome!

1. Find floor-plans that you like within your budget.
2. Narrow it down to 2 or 3 that you really like.
3. Talk to other owners, visit the factories if you can, and test drive your favorites.
4. Compare warranties for your favorites, and go with the one with the longest warranty (there are a lot of things that can go bad, and the longer the warranty the better).

Happy and safe camping!
Steeljag
Explorer
Feb 21, 2016
May want to check out Forest River Forester models ( 3011 and 3051).

......and yeah, if you can't risk your lives, or the lives of other families by changing drivers while rolling down the highway........stay away from a C.....LOL !
toedtoes
Explorer III
Feb 21, 2016
If you look in the Class C section, there is a post about buying ex-rentals. Might be a really good option for you (see the post for pros and cons).

Meanwhile, definitely go look at every one you can. Sit in them and walk through your morning ablutions, cooking, eating, etc. That will help you determine points of "bottlenecking" with various layouts.

If you can, rent one for a weekend and get a feel for it. That will help you determine if you'll have the "hard to move around" complaint that some folks have with Cs. It will also help you determine at what length of rig you will be comfortable without a toad - for some people, 32ft without a toad is fine, for others it's not doable.

Think about your traveling and how you'll be doing it:
When you're not sightseeing, how do you plan on spending your time? Will you be sitting outside as much as possible? Will you be inside watching TV or on the computer?
Will you be cooking and/or eating outside whenever possible?
Do you have hobbies/activities that you want to take with you? If so, how much room do you need for those hobbies/activities?
Do you want to see cities or just national parks, etc., or both? Would you be OK renting a car if needed to get around a city?
Do much time do you spend in the same room at home? Can you read while he watches his TV shows, etc.? Does one of you get fidgity and find it hard to sit still for long periods of time?

What breeds are your dogs? Many RV parks have breed bans, so that could affect your ability to travel (some also have size limits, so that's a concern).
Do you want to always have hookups, or do you want to dry camp or boondock? (Dry camping is staying in a developed campground but not having water, electrical, or sewer hookups; boondocking is dry camping but not in a developed campground.)

Questions like that will help determine exactly what is best for you - both as to type of RV, as well as the layout and size.

As you'll have time between your husband's retirement and yours, you might look for a "basic home repair" course at your local community college for him. Having some basic knowledge of electrical and plumbing will be useful - even if you're not handy, the knowledge will help you determine the cause of a problem while out on the road so you know what type of help you need (and hopefully be able to sense if an unscrupulous repair place is taking you for a ride).
IAMICHABOD
Explorer II
Feb 21, 2016
toedtoes wrote:
If you look in the Class C section, there is a post about buying ex-rentals. Might be a really good option for you (see the post for pros and cons).

That is another option.
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Bordercollie
Explorer
Feb 22, 2016
To Tow or Not to Tow: Some have to have a small car, some rent a car or take shuttle, tour or city buses etc. in RV-unfriendy cities like Boston. Try motorhoming without a towed vehicle, talk to those who tow and decide later. I takes a few minutes to disconnect from RV camp electrical and water to take a run into town or to a tourist attraction, and you have your food, restroom, etc. with you.