is there a class C that is small enough to not need a toad ?

[luberhill]

We are thinking of many options, a motorhome, fifth wheel, etc but is there a small enough mh with slide outs that we could still drive around w/o a toad easy ?

[winnietrey]

One thing you might also consider, are you a national forest, state park type camper or would you prefer more the commerical type campgrounds?.

Reason for asking is commerical campgrounds tend to have much larger spaces. Many of our state and national parks were built in the 50's and 60's, so the pad size is smaller. Although many have been upgraded and have many larger sites, as well.

But in general the smaller the rig the more campsite choices you have. The magic number is about 27ft, and no toad. Which is espically important if you do not make reservations. Sometimes only a site or two is left, and you can bet they won't be the big ones

[Bordercollie]

Nobody really needs a toed vehicle unless you can't sit still, are social group campers, or use a very long rig. We never have had a problem finding parking spaces in malls, at restaurants, theme parks, airshows, etc., with our 27-foot rig. Towing adds expense, wear and tear to the rig and towed vehicle, reduces gas mileage, is often inconvenient in pulling through gas stations, parking 3n-route, can't back up, can affect handling in turbulent winds, etc. You can usually get a rental car or use shuttle and tour buses for exploring places like NYC, Boston, San Fran, etc. Try it without, talk to those who tow, and decide whether and how to do it.

[Pop-Pop_C]

There is couple from upstate NY. That winter on S.Padre Is.,Tx. For 3 mos.
They are in they are in there lower 70's. they have a 23' class C. With no TOAD..
They take the MH to tone when they need groceries or out to eat in the eve.
It can work.

[winnietrey]

We have a 24ft, and have never towed. In fact a toad would really screw up our road tripping. Many many times I have gone places that we never woud have if we were towing. For fear of being able to turn around, and or park.

The flip side is, if one tends to stay in one place for more that 3 or 4 days then a toad would be nice. So road tripper no toad, Camper and stay toad.

[ron_dittmer]

stevekk wrote:
We have a 2011 Born Free Class C 23 foot / BF called it 22 feet.

Yes, you have to watch this if every inch counts like it does with our garage depth & height.

FWIW: Phoenix Cruiser dimensions are true to posted specs.

[bsinmich]

We had a 21' for our first MH. DW goes to bed a lot earlier than the rest of us so she tried to make the table into the bed. There was no space for anything else to be done inside. 2nd. MH was 27' and had a rear bedroom. That worked OK for us. Daughter always got the cabover because her folks don't do ladders. We do not use the public facilities in a CG. We want the large tanis for water & holding so we need a larger MH for our purposes. It appears you have no RV experience. Before dumpinig alot of oney into something you are unsure about I would suggest renting or going with a friend who has an RV, or anything else to get the feel of living and driving an RV. Actually driving all of those I can say there is no real difference in the driving by length. If the front goes the rest follows. If nothing else take a lot of test drives on different sizes. Each of my 4 motorhomes has been longer and heavier than the previous one and each one has gotten better fuel mileage than the previous ones.

[stevekk]

We have a 2011 Born Free Class C 23 foot / BF called it 22 feet.
Drive it everywhere. Park it just about anywhere.
10 1/2 mpg.

What ever you chose.... you want bang for buck length wise.
Thats why pick something with the OH BED ABOVE THE CAB.

[Les_Balty]

We used a 30' Class C without a toad for years. Occasionally, we pulled a motorcycle trailer, but mostly just used the C - No Problem. Blessings.

[Harvey51]

Our 20 foot C seems luxurious compared to the tent trailer we camped in for many years and is pretty easy to get around in. We have all the kitchen stuff, shower not so good as it wets the whole bathroom. We sleep over the cab. No wish for a towed.

I have seen significantly smaller Cs or Bs around in the last year or two, mostly rentals. They must be around 16 feet.

[wbwood]

luberhill wrote:
That way the fuel mileage would be a little better

Better than what? A little bigger C? Not much. If you want small and save gas, then you need to be ready to spend some money and get something like a sprinter with a Mercedes deisel engine. That's the only thing that is going to give you a significant savings in gas mileage. You could still get a small c and tow a small car (my Toyota yaris weighs less than 3000 lbs and is towable) wouldn't be much to tow and you can use it do all your driving around. Instead of driving the C all over the place at about 8mpg, my yaris does 37mpg highway.

[ron_dittmer]

The general rule of thumb is anything under 22 feet in over-all length. Also the narrower the better, the lower the better. I personally endorse This One for a fully featured rig with practical capacities for water and waste, fuel & propane. The only thing lacking is a permanent bed. It comes with or without a slideout.

I think it is so much better than any straight "B" out there.....and cheaper too. Same or shorter than some "Bs" at 21-2", but you get all the real home stuff. Nothing resembles an airplane bathroom.

[luberhill]

yea we have been thinking alot of different things BUT...I think a small C to start would be fine for wife and me and dog 🙂 That way the fuel mileage would be a little better and if it had a slide out we would be fine for room...if we were going south for a month or more I would probably rent a room or house when we got there but still use the C to travel there and back...
Just make it eaiser with the dog i would think...
I may try to go to Camping World tomorrow and look at some..thx for all the good info !

[mlts22]

You have to decide where the sweet spot is for parking versus amenities. On one hand, you have the Roadtrek 170 Versatile which can park anywhere except a parking garage. However, you will have to get used to the aisle shower, opening a closet to get to the toilet, and sleeping width-wise. On the other hand comes the 45' DPs that have everything known to man.

If I were getting a "C", I'd probably start out looking at a 24' Nexus, a Sunseeker 2450, Phoenix Cruiser, or a Forest River Solera. If those are too big, there are shorter models as previously mentioned. One Solera plan has a rear slide which is nice to add an island queen, but the downside is that the bed isn't usable when on the road.

[sask66]

First and so far only motorhome we have owned is a 2006 Aspect 26a. One slide, all the things we need with a corner bed. We have never pulled a toad and have not suffered. I think it also depends on the type of travel you do. We are on the move, maybe 2 days most at a park. If we drive out to explore, I just unhook water and electric. So far it's working for us.