I need Help!

[stppearson26]

So me, my twins (26) and my mother 83 are buying a class C, selling everything and going on the road. We are looking at the Jayco's and I need some advice. The models I am looking at are the ones with the bunk beds because we are buying new and are buying an 8 sleeper because I have grandbabies that occasionally we will pickup and travel with us during there summer breaks. So I have no idea what I am doing, although I am good at taking care of our cars...my dad was a mechanic....so I am not a total idiot when it comes to car maintenance but as far as this...I am sure I have no clue...so I really need some imput. I am looking at around at 26 to 30 ft. which I am not even sure I can handle driving. I have a Ford Expedition I drive now which I love. How hard are these to drive and to handle..Please lay it all out there ...the good bad and the ugly...If you have any suggestions on the best type of C Class out there. I have heard to stay away from the Thors and the lots are flooded with them so that was my first clue on those. So let me have it!!!!

[Bordercollie]

We have talked to people who sold their home and tried full timing in an RV and wished they hadn't. The wife was a home body and longed to return to her home town and a house but now they could not afford to do it. Take your time learning about buying and maintaining an RV, living in one day after day and cabin fever/getting along with family and clutter in close quarters.Driving an RV safely is a learning process. Using mirrors when changing lanes in traffic, safe following and stopping distance, using gears and brakes when mountain driving, etc. are all part of operating a motor home. When you are well informed, rent an RV with length and floorplan that seems a good fit and try RV'ing for a couple of weeks. Renting is expensive but try before you buy. Make sure that everybody really want's to do it full time. I compare buying, operating, maintaining and living in a motorhome to doing the same in a cabin cruiser boat.

[dicknellen]

2oldman wrote:
We see posts like this from time to time, but for the most part the OP never returns.

X 2

[tatest]

In my 30 foot class C which has bed space for 6 people, 8 if some of them are small children who will bunk together, we've made six short trips (2-3 weeks) with four adults, three of those with two children, toddlers at first, the last with them children age 12 or so. Four adults for any length of time was crowded in the sense of people always being in each others' way, and regular daily activities had to be carefully scheduled. It was something we could do, having grown up with a family eight in a 800 sq ft 3 bedroom - 1 bath house, moving into one larger as we expanded to ten. So how well it works is going to depend on how well this collection of people can live together in crowded conditions.

But there is another factor, that being the carrying capacity of a Class C. Every time we traveled with 3-4 adults plus children, the motorhome was overloaded by at least a few hundred pounds, mostly because of the amount of clothing and personal items each person considered necessary for 2-3 weeks survival.

What you want to do would be better done in something closer to forty feet in length, on a chassis that can handle 22,000 to 26,000 pounds (or even better, 45 feet and 36,000 to 45,000 pounds, i.e. the size of a commercial motorcoach). Most of these larger RVs are built for full-time living for two people, but there are a few family oriented models out there.

[mgirardo]

We owned a Jayco Greyhawk 31FS, sounds like the model you are talking about, for 8 years. We liked it because of the bunks for our kids, which were 8 and 6 when we bought the Motorhome in 2009. After a few years, both kids complained that the bunks were too narrow and that they'd hit the wall whenever they moved around. I believe they were 28" x 70". A normal twin bed is 38" x 74".

Eventually, I widened the bottom bunk so it was as wide as a normal twin bed. I couldn't really do anything with the top bunk. Our daughter moved to the cab over bed and our son used the newly expanded bottom bunk.

We no longer have the Motorhome as it was too small for us for long term camping. We camp seasonally now and we just didn't have the room. I work out of the camper, so I was always taking up the dinette with my laptop and other work stuff, so the only place for the wife and kids to "hang out" was the beds or the sofa.

I could not imagine living long term with as many people as you are talking about in any RV. Going camping for a weekend, sure, you can make due. Long term, I think it would be a hardship. We traded in our Motorhome for a 40' Destination Travel Trailer with a bunk house and 4 slides. The bunk house has 4 bunks and a trundle under each set of bunks and can sleep 6. However, the top bunks and the trundles are narrow. The bottom bunks are almost as wide as a twin bed and our kids are happy with them. They have had 3 of their cousins camp with us and all 5 where in the bunk house. It was a little cramped with their bags, but it worked. Again, I couldn't imagine that many adults even in our larger TT living long term. There is a half bath in the bunk house, but the hot water heater is only 10 gallons and after the 4 of us shower, there's pretty much no more hot water. I couldn't imagine if up to 8 adults needed to take a shower one after the other.

We estimated our Motorhome was about 240 sq ft, with both slides open and counting the cab over in square footage. We estimate our travel trailer is about 400 sq ft with all 4 slides open. Our garage at our house is 400 sq ft (20x20). Less than half the smallest single wide Mobile Home I've ever seen.

I would seriously suggest renting the Motorhome you are interested in buying first for a few weeks and live in it like you plan to do and see how it goes. When we first started camping longer term, we decided to start with a month and see if it would work out. It did, so then we tried 6 weeks before finally going for 4-5 months. After the first year of living in the Motorhome for 4.5 months we knew we needed something larger. Unfortunately, the TT that we bought last year was sold out at local dealers and it would be at least 8 weeks before Jayco could make another. So we waited until last year to buy.

Good luck.

-Michael

[jcsb]

We have a Jayco Melbourne 30 ft. There was 1 time my wife's sister and husband stayed with us for 3 days. They never asked for a second stay.

We took a 90 day trip to Alaska and back. Every available space for storage was used. Fantastic trip for 2, not reasonable for more, in my opinion. On that trip we carried minimal fresh water, dumped tanks as often as possible. Packed as light as we could.

Coach has 9 seat belts, max ever used was when I took 3 of the grandkids for a ride.

Cooking and feeding more than 3 or 4 only using inside is tight.

Our coach only has 1 bed since front overhang is an entertainment ctr and storage.

If I were to consider a coach for 4 adult full time it would be a Class A. Much more storage available and more floor plan options.

As others have mentioned check out siting, laying, bath room use etc.

Since you are in Louisville, go to the RV show there and walk thru as many as you can. Make up your mind without input from the dealers, until you are ready to buy.

Good luck, safe travels.

[Rick_Jay]

stppearson26,

With 4 adults plus occasional grandchildren, I think you need to be looking at units no shorter than 36’, either Super-C, or to be honest, I’d look at Class A’s. Instead of new, I’d look for a recent vintage unit which has already taken a good part of the depreciation hit. Plus, most of the bugs have been worked out so you don’t have to become a slave to your dealer/manufacturer. You WILL have to do frequent maintenance. Probably more on the coach part of the motorhome than the chassis. So, if you’re handy around your sticks & bricks house, then that’s a good start.

As others have said, you need a lot of space for the “stuff” of 4 adults. When you say “grand babies”, are these “babies” in the sense of needing playpen/strollers etc.? If so, you’ll need space to store these items.

Someone also mentioned weight issues. With 4 adults and packing for full-time use, you will need at least 3,000 lbs. of available cargo carrying capacity for people, food, water, clothes & stuff. You’ll want a unit with at least one main slide in the living area. You might also want to investigate 1 1/2 bath units, as well.

Larger rigs will have larger fresh water and holding tanks. For a larger crew, that’s definitely important.

Your mom may not be comfortable travelling in a motorhome. Depending upon the floor plan, some only have 2 forward facing seats: driver & passenger. Since you’ll be driving, she might have to be your co-pilot, but that might be optimal for you while driving. You also want to make sure your rig has a seat belt in each seated position. Some units, even 36’ long or longer units, only have 4 or 5 seatbelts. Our rig has 12, but that’s a bit unusual (3 on each sofa, 4 on dinette, driver & passenger). I did install seatbelts across our bed and when we traveled at night when the kids were young, we had them tucked into the bed with the seatbelts to keep them from rolling off onto the floor should the ride get a bit rough or if I had to hit the brakes hard. It worked. Not sure how they slept though. I tried it once while wifey was driving. It was loud and bumpy. Not sure if that was what kept me awake or just the fact that wifey was driving. It was probably the latter. 🙂

I will say that you’ve come to the right place for information. You’ll get opinions from a lot of people. I think your plan may be realistic, but not with such a small motorhome. Our 36’ in our signature was our first RV of any type. Driving it IS a learning experience, but usually it’s width & height that is more of a concern than length. Generally, when navigating side streets, you don’t want to start turning the wheel until the rear wheels have passed the point where you want the rig to turn. Turn like you would your car, and you’ll be in trouble. For most, though, you learn that pretty quickly.

Anyway, I hope you’re not too discouraged by some of the comments here. I think you need to set your sights a bit “bigger” and your plan could be doable and ENJOYABLE. But take your time and ask LOTS of questions here on the forums. In general, DO NOT BELIEVE what most RV salespeople say. The majority of them have never spent a day in their life camping, let alone camping in a motorhome.

Good Luck in your search,

~Rick

[2oldman]

We see posts like this from time to time, but for the most part the OP never returns.

[kerrlakeRoo]

Lots of potential issues here,
83yr old mother, even if spry makes me wonder, DW's mom wanted us to buy another C because she thought she could lay down and sleep all day while we drove. Trying to lay on a bed in a moving vehicle is not easy. Climbing in and out of the rig also will become a strain. Also everything else takes longer, and with 4 adults and one very small bathroom thats going to get tough too.
You can be a close knit family when you start, but its going to be a major strain trying to make this work.

[evanrem]

I have never commented about another users post here before until I read this

I also wonder why you are making this scary plan?

Do you or your twin 26 year olds plan to work while on the road?

I think it is a bad idea.

We have no idea what the circumstances are that lead them to this decision. Maybe they won the lottery, maybe they want to spend time as a family and experience life. Maybe someone has a year to live and they want to get the most out of it. Maybe It was a dream they talked about for years and now they are going to give it a try.
What is scary about the plan, that she is taking her mother? That she is taking her two adult kids? That she is going all in?
It may not be the norm but who are we to say or judge. If its such a bad idea at least explain why so the point has some validity.

[toedtoes]

I agree with most of the above.

Sleeping arrangements - class Cs that length usually have a dedicated cabover bed and a dedicated queen bed. Add 2-4 bunk beds that may or may not be full size, and you are pushing it for sleeping 4 grown adults full-time. Add in additional people part-time and you've used your dinette and/or couch for sleeping too. That is going to be very crowded and confining.

Storage - full-time gear for 4 adults is going to take up a lot of space. With the bunk beds, you will lose valuable storage space. Add gear for the part-timers and you're going to be extremely packed.

GVWR - when you add water, 4 adults, all their full-time gear, you are going to be closing in on your numbers. Add the part-timers and their gear and you are looking at even tighter numbers.

Practicality - when your mom wants a mid-afternoon nap, what are the rest of you going to do? You will be stuck at the RV parked. What about the grandkids? Mom won't be able to "go to her room" and get away from the noise? What about when someone gets sick? You will be in very close quarters with a lot of people. In addition, you will all have to agree with everything - when you go shopping, sightseeing, staying at camp, etc. Because your vehicle is also your home, if the twins want to go shopping, you and mom have to go along.

Do you plan on towing a car? That will affect your GVWR, etc. It will give you more versatility as to splitting up for activities, etc.

If you are realy serious about this, I would consider 2 RVs. That puts 2 people in each full-time. If you do trailers instead of class Cs, then you can set up the trailers and use the tow vehicles to get around. That would allow some people to stay "home" and relax while others go sightseeing, shopping, etc. Of course it will double the cost for the most part - but I think the ability for each person to have more independence will be well worth it.

[klutchdust]

lawrosa wrote:
Dynamax diesel is the only way to go. If your in this long term..

Its 4x4, like driving a dodge, has bunks, and overhead cab bed.

Can be had for a bit of 100K..

Best out there IMO.

If you go gasser and plan on driving alot you will not be happy. Go diesel, buy once...

http://dynamaxcorp.com/product-details.aspx?LineID=329&Image=12937&ModelID=2280#Main

If you can drive bigger and have about 180K then go with the force.. But those are big..

The V-10 ford will easily go 300K miles without rebuild. The diesel offers no advantages for the basic class C. Super C of course.

[Tiger4x4RV]

My favorite RV family travel movie of all time: "Rolling Family" Grandma decides entire family should travel together to a distant wedding.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTyPyrclycs

[klutchdust]

dicknellen wrote:

2oldman wrote:
Why you doin' this?

I also wonder why you are making this scary plan?

Do you or your twin 26 year olds plan to work while on the road?

I think it is a bad idea.

I was thinking the same thing but it's not my place to question other peoples motives or plans. I think planning is the key.

So my thoughts again. Have everyone start making a list of things they can't live without then go look at how much storage you have. Water. My coach holds 38 gallons. I can take a shower using 2 gallons of water, and a clean one,even after being at the race track working on a race car all day. Take a one gallon container into your shower and time it. Storage. Just because it fits inside the rig doesn't mean that you are within the legal limits the vehicle can carry. There is a gross vehicle weight rating on the door. You cannot safely carry more than that weight. You must include the weight of all passengers.
Add their gear, food. Water in tank@ 7 pounds per gallon.
Driving. i have driven anything that moves on the interstate up to 80 feet long. Driving a "c" requires attention . They don't like the wind, passing big rigs or entering some driveways because the rear overhang drags. They are tall and can hit limbs and overhangs. Basically you need to be alert. Mine doesn't go over 65 mph.
Mileage, expect 8mpg. 9 if going downhill. i tracked my mileage for the past 35K miles it averages out to 8.5. Sometimes down to 5 in a heavy nose wind.
Repairs. My rig requires something to be tightened,adjusted,glued or checked each and every trip. If it's a brand new rig expect it to be in the shop a lot waiting for warranty work, where will you live when that happens.
Extended warranties, overpriced and not worth it,period. period. Too many exclusions, hire a mobile mechanic.

Ok for now, I'll think of something else.

[lawrosa]

Video...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eE7FfT23fcw