Looking for Our Next RV

[DaveInAL]

It’s been a while since I've posted here, but I'm in need of some advice or recommendations. About 8 months ago, we sold our Forest River MB Cruiser and moved from north Alabama to the Alabama gulf coast. We are settled now and ready to travel again, but need to find a suitable vehicle.

We managed well in the MB Cruiser for 8 years. It was affordable, we liked how it drove and the large windows. We didn't like the reliability (3 major failures) and lack of dealer network. The combination propane generator and small tank was a problem. We also yearned for a bit more room.

We like a B for the convenience of parking in the driveway and maneuverability in town, but might like a small C for the room. We would also consider a recent used vehicle for affordability. We recently looked at the Travato. The layout seemed cramped and not much storage. I looked at a RT Ranger at my N. AL dealer before we moved and it seemed like a good candidate although no hitch and a bit claustrophobic (I'd like another look though). I know that anything will be a compromise, the MB Cruiser was, but we enjoyed it while we had it.

The problem as many of you know, is the inability to look at potential vehicles without driving 500 or more miles. I would like to hear any comments, recommendations, or just words of encouragement to help us with our search.

[LadyOfTheLake]

A'hem... my new class B (being built now) DOES have a FULL DRY BATH/SEPARATE SHOWER. No longer just a Class A & C feature. It's a 2015 Free Spirit SS. Presently, 10 yrs class B Sportsmobile,tiny wet bath, prior to that 6 yrs class A, had one full dry master bath and one half galley bath. In today's world, having a decent private bath is SO important. Been into any of these quick stops lately? I don't need to go THAT bad!

[Sebtown]

I go to the RV shows and peruse the classifieds but so far I've decide to love the one I'm with. I like the concept of B-ness envy and will share it with my wife and others when the time is right!

[Fastpaddler]

The Pursuit 22ft version is just fine in my view. I can now sleep at night knowing that My Pleasure-way Plateau TS is not only a B Class RV but is also considered a VAN Conversion. I had a 22ft Traillite on a E350 chassis. It was in no way comparable to the Pursuit. So many choices, so many choices.
Now, what am I really going to buy next--I am still searching...

AL

[rvit]

B-ness envy? My wife wouldn't even get in a B. If they didn't make the Pursuit or something like it, I'd be driving a class A and wouldn't be able to park anywhere.

I'm sure there are places my tiny C won't go but I've already been in several parking spaces where a 24' B wouldn't fit. A parking space is 96" wide and I'm 90" and all I have to do is pull my mirrors in.

The are aspects of a B that the tiny C can't compete with. The ability to be a second vehicle and a daily driver with potentially much better gas mileage. But in a livability comparison there really is no comparison. And all I had to give up was some road I'm never going to.

[stan909]

I remember taking the Going to the Sun road as a kid in my parents class C. It was pretty small but my mom did not enjoy that drive up (cliff). My dad did not enjoy it coming down(rock overhangs. Lots of crossing over the line).That was in 1974. I'm not sure the rangers would allow it today. We took that 300 some mile detour in 2000 with our 31ft class A. Someday we will go back in a B. Just my wife and I.

[RayUSMC]

That's why I think twins are valuable. Upright as a sofa they can have seat belts for the extra seating and then be used as beds at night. Kids can sleep on the dinette bed or in a small tent outside.

The vacation's not going to last long if you can't carry extra clothing and giving up a closet for a seat is not the best solution. Wife would not be very happy about that. It's time that rvs are made more modular like some of our military equipment is. A design re-think is in order to accommodate more preferences.

AsheGuy wrote:

rvit wrote:
Yes, every time we saw a B with that 3rd seat we thought what a waste of space for 2 people.

You just confirm that people have all kind of priorities and hence the variety of Class B configurations offered.

The third seat offered by LTV in 2005 was THE deciding feature that tipped the scale to the LTV for us over Pleasure-Way that didn't offer one at the time. We are a couple but have a passel of grandkids and wanted the option of sleeping a third person. It has worked out fine for us. And in the LTV floor plan, it just used up open floor space and a small corner shelf by the kitchen sink.

We also have evolved to often using the front bed and the back sofa only slightly lowered to give us two separate beds to simplify the nighttime conversion. Works for us as a twin bed alternative, but then we are not big people.

[Davydd]

Fastpaddler,

You are overthinking it. Your Plateau is a Class B RV. It was "built as one unit in a factory." Just keep it simple. Class B started as a van, period, no matter how it was subsequently built.

For those with Class Cs (or B+ if you must) thinking they have a lot in common with Bs, just remember they have larger tanks, dry baths, lots of outside storage, different non-steel bodies, mirrors that overhang a standard 9 ft. wide parking stall and can't go where Bs can go no matter their length. As I said before, it is B-ness envy without the commitment and a lot of rationalization. Or put it another way, a B+ could try and follow me across the Going to the Sun Road in Glacier National Park from Browning, MT to Whitefish, MT a distance of 93 miles or save themselves the grief of shearing off their roof by going around 315 miles. To explain there is a 10 foot height limit which is critical going west with the rock overhang. Length is arbitrary there as they use 24 ft. Sprinter passenger vans for shuttles in the park. It is actually not that difficult of a road to drive.

[Fastpaddler]

Arizona Kid wrote:

Fastpaddler wrote:

Arizona Kid wrote:
The only problem is with you facts.
The PW Excel is not built on a cut-away chassis, it started out as a van, so it is a Class B.

OK. It started out as a van but from the bulkhead back it is fiberglas over frame and wider than the VAN Sprinter, in it's uncut version. It isnt much different than the cutaway design of the pursuit in fact. The classical definition of a B or a C rv become a cloudy point of contention when you have a B rv from under 20 ft to 24ft in both a cutaway Winnebago ERA or a lwb GWV Legend for example.
B+ term is a commercial term and actually means a C.
My first rv was a Traillite 22 ft --dare I say it? C Class!!!
Heh. Enjoy what you can afford and works!!

It's not cloudy at all. If it started off as a van then it's a Class B, if it started as a cut-away chassis then it's a Class C. The vin numbers will reflect this also.

A few years ago a manufactures started calling small Class C's B+'s. Because at the time Class B's were really hot sellers, and Class C's weren't selling very well, so they though they could sell more if they attached "B" to the name.
There are 35' so called B+'s, so the line has to be drawn somewhere otherwise the CVC, and the Class C forum would be a mess. RV.net uses the RIVA Types to keep the two forums from becoming disorganized, and to make searching the archives easier.

The insurance companies define it this way:
Class B Motorhomes

Class B motorhomes are the smallest, lightest, most fuel efficient, and easiest to maneuver. They are built on the chassis of minivans or full-size vans. The language professionals use is a difference between a “Class B” and a “Conversion Van” – though they are considered to be in the same class, the two terms are not interchangeable. Class B means that the entire motorhome was designed and built as one unit in a factory. Conversion vans started out as normal work vans but had the interiors made suitable for living in.


Oh dear. I dont think that some of those 24 ft B class 'uncut' vans are so manoeuvreable. And now i find that my PW Plateau TS is a Conversion Van and NOT a Class B RV. Hmm.
As for the Excel TS/TD: they are not uncut vans but cutaways and conversions as they have a fiberglas shell out back.

I give up on all this.

AL

[Sebtown]

I have never found a problem finding parking on a street or open air lot in my 22' Sprinter. It's the parking structures that are prohibited.

[stan909]

"Let it B" "Let it B" "Let it B" "Let it B" "There will be an answer. Let it Be Eeee"

[gerrym51]

rvit wrote:
I absolutely love the sleeping bag idea. We'll have to see what the wife thinks. We compromise on everything. Once she wanted a cat and I didn't want a cat, so we compromised, and got a cat.

That idea comes from the ingenuity required to live in a B. The chance that I would have heard that idea over in the C forum is slim.

That is why I'm here instead of the C forum. My questions, concerns, and the answers to them are here. If I want ideas on where to park my 22 footer at a particular destination, the C forum is not likely to offer the creative ideas that this one will.

It shouldn't turn into a B/C debate every time I post, I certainly am not trying to cause that. I'm not trying to be a B, just trying to live like one.

Travasak

linky

[rvit]

I absolutely love the sleeping bag idea. We'll have to see what the wife thinks. We compromise on everything. Once she wanted a cat and I didn't want a cat, so we compromised, and got a cat.

That idea comes from the ingenuity required to live in a B. The chance that I would have heard that idea over in the C forum is slim.

That is why I'm here instead of the C forum. My questions, concerns, and the answers to them are here. If I want ideas on where to park my 22 footer at a particular destination, the C forum is not likely to offer the creative ideas that this one will.

It shouldn't turn into a B/C debate every time I post, I certainly am not trying to cause that. I'm not trying to be a B, just trying to live like one.

[My_Roadtrek]

I was the first Moderator of this forum, and did the job for several years. What AZ Kid is saying is true.
This is the Class B forum, and size of the RV is irrelevant when it comes to what is a Class B.
There is nothing wrong with discussing/comparing different sizes of RVs, but specific posts that are about a Class C (B+) need to be made in the Class C forum, or they will be moved there.
I own a 19' TT that is smaller than most B's but Im happy to post in the TT forum, even though most of the TT there are much larger. Just like posting about a small C in the C forum.

[Arizona_Kid]

One other thing, there is a annual RV.Net Class B Rally every year, and is only open to Class B's. If anyone is interested in attending the rally info can be found in the Rally forum, or the sticky at the top of CVC 's first page.