Need advice on motorhome for touring band

[elderberries]

Hello, everybody! I know this gets asked a lot, but I'm having a hard time making decisions, and I'd love to get some input from RV-educated people!

I'm looking at buying something for a touring band. Our budget says travel trailer, our gear says toy hauler, and our 7.5 hour drives between back-to-back gigs say Class C motorhome. I'm leaning towards the motorhome. Much love in advance to anyone who gives any input on where I should focus my searches. ❤️

Budget:
We're musicians. Need I say more? We have about $6K down, and need to stay around $400/month on payments. Assuming used is my only option...?

Uses:
Traveling comfortably between gigs, sleeping at rest stops. No long-term living situations expected.

Size:
We'll need to be able to get to bars on city streets, and hopefully park *somewhere* within a mile of the venue, so the smaller, the better. I feel like we could squeeze into a 25-26' if we find the right floorpan that emphasizes sleeping space. Width is important too, as you never know when city streets will get narrow.

Sleeping needs:
8 people minimum! That can include throwing a roll-up foam mattress on the floor, or sleeping in a reclined captains chair, so it doesn't have to be all beds, but space *somewhere* for 8 minimum. Bunk beds a BIG plus.

Kitchen needs:
Honestly, would prefer no oven if there are models without it. Seems like wasted space given that we'd be subsisting on cold cuts and microwaved food.

Bathroom needs:
Smaller is better. Again, would trade a separate shower for an extra bunk bed.

Driving needs:
I'm an avid seatbelt user, and I really don't think I'd be comfortable without them. I've seen newer Winnebagos offering seat belts on dinette and couch seats, but not the older ones. Is this an option in many older MHs? I would hate to see my bass player fly through a window. 😕

Storage needs:
This one's a big deal! We need to carry amps, an upright bass, two 5' lighting trusses, a drum set, guitars, etc - and still have storage for 8 peoples' suitcases for a cross country trip. This is why I lean towards toy hauler, since that ramp would be amazing, but that seems to really take away sleeping space.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions or comments on where I should be focusing my research on Class C motorhomes!

[burlmart]

i would look at comfort and parking logistics a bit, and it would help you a lot to do a sharp pencil cost comparison of the way you get along now vs RVing.

i am ballpark guessing $150/nite/2 comfortable roomswithlonghotshowersandnicebeds vs very comprimised living quarters in an RV and 8 tired folks. motorhome financing may demand high insurance w/ 8 occupants (maybe over $1000/yr) - but not for a trailer. in either case where can you park rv in town (and run AC)?, you may find locals tiring of seeing 'squatters" over the months you do repeat gigs and so you are forced to some RV campground at $40+/nite.

just rough thoughts

[elderberries]

The $6K was the down payment. I could finance considerably more than that. 🙂 We've been talking more today, and it does sound like the toy hauler is the direction we'll go. We'll give up the convenience of being able to pee while continuing to drive, but it'll just make more sense, being able to unload, park far away, then drive the smaller van back to venues, etc.

Thanks to everyone for their quick input!

[Bordercollie]

For $6000 you can maybe find an old Class C motorhome in need of six $300 tires (tires go bad just sitting parked), engine cooling system and brake work, and maybe a new fridge, etc. Maybe you could find an old already converted bus but even then, $6K doesn't sound like enough for reliable, safe transportation. If you had, say 20K, you might find two 22-24 foot older motorhomes capable of accommodating 8 people and somewhat easier to park than a school bus sized vehicle.

[BurbMan]

Here is a bus that's already been converted.

Going the school bus route doesn't mean that you have to do the work yourself...the one listed above is a diesel with only 200k miles and at $7500 within your budget with NO payment. I would look for more listings like this, this is going to be your best bet to sleep 8, carry gear, and stay within your budget.

And if you ever stop touring you would probably get 90% of your money back out of it.

Check also the Sell-a-Bus website, lots of older buses with lots of mechanical life left in them that have been camping-converted by the previous owners. Look for one with the most bunks...

[elderberries]

Lol! Cheap hotel rooms, not sheep hotel rooms. Iphone dictation rocks. 🙂

[elderberries]

Great responses here, thank you so much. We would happily do a school bus, but we are not very mechanically minded people, and I worry that the upkeep and conversion needs on an old bus might be more than we bargained for. Currently we own a Nissan NV 3500 passenger van that seats 12, and we have a crappy little 4 x 6 enclosed trailer. These suit our passenger and gear needs, but we're hoping to upgrade to something more comfortable, and to eliminate the need for hotels. We have a short tour coming up next month, and with eight people, we'll need at least 2 hotel rooms a night - and even in sheep hotel rooms, that adds up quickly! Not to mention getting out of gigs at 2:30 or 3 AM, it'll be hard for us to find rooms that will let us stay in them long enough to actually get any sleep.

If we got the motorhome, we would sell the Nissan and just get a little used minivan for our family, since the motorhome would fit the band needs. The savings on the Nissan payments would cover the motorhome payments. Then again, we have also considered keeping the Nissan and just getting a toy hauler trailer, which would satisfy the hotel needs and the gear needs. But the Nissan payments are huge, and if we keep the Nissan, we would just be adding the trailer payments to it - which, ironically, would be harder on our budget than just selling the Nissan and getting a motorhome.

All that said, though, it's starting to sound like the toy hauler might really be our best bet, if we can find a short one with tons of bunks, since the Nissan really does take care of passenger traveling space just fine. Thanks again to everyone for being my sounding board. 🙂

[rjstractor]

I'm in the bus conversion crowd, preferably a bus with large storage bays for your gear. A class C that can sleep eight generally will not even have the weight capacity for eight adult passengers, let alone gear. Your amps and the bass drum probably wouldn't even fit through the entry door.

A consideration, and possible downside to a bus or even a motorhome over 26000 pounds, is that since the vehicle is for commercial use, the driver needs a CDL and is subject to commercial driving rules.

[EMD360]

You might also combine suggestions--perhaps a passenger van and a toy hauler? Then you could park temporarily near the venue to load and unload and take the passenger van back to park closely. The cool thing about toy haulers is the bunks they have in the back. Otherwise I like the class C with a couch, a sofa and bunks in the back. Financing a new something is easier than an old assuming you have the backing.
I've also seen Class A toy haulers but they are $$$$.

[mgirardo]

I think your best bet is to follow sdianel's experience and Jiggy_85 advice. You aren't going to find a small Class C that can comfortably sleep 8, carry 8 and haul all your gear. Class Cs do not have a a lot of carrying capacity to begin with.

Another option would be to buy an old school bus and convert it to a motorhome. There are lots of resources online for doing it. Rip everything out and build it the way you want it.

-Michael

[JaxDad]

Some wise words above.

The absolute best bang for your buck is NOT going to be a motorhome, it will be a recently decommissioned school bus. Just be sure to get a 'county' bus and not a 'city' bus. County busses are geared higher and designed to run at highway speed. City buses are geared deeper for stop & go city driving and pretty much max out at 50 mph.

10 times the storage space of any Class C, built on a rugged truck chassis, easily customizable interior. The rear emergency exit door makes a great cargo loading point. A few sets of bunks down the sides and a few more comfortable seats and you're off.

School buses are cheap because they're an odd duck that there's very limited use for after they're retired.

[Jiggy_85]

Older moving truck would work best. You can find them cheaper and build out the inside to your liking. Just as Consumeratlagre said. Easy to build out and so you would have half for gear and have for living. Then the cheapest would really be a old dodge 21 passengers van. You could keep some benchs in for seating and remove the other for slipping area. Put a roof rack on it the van for all your personal gear. Then the trailer would carry all your gear.

[tatest]

Carrying and sleeping eight people, you are not likely to have room for what you say you need to carry, in a C. But a C could haul a small cargo trailer, though long rear overhang and big turning circle can make backing a problem. There have been some C toyhaulers made in the 30-38 foot range, on medium duty trucks, but seating is sparse and sleeping depends on using bunks in the cargo hold (you may have to build them to get enough).

Anything with the space you want will be close to max legal width, 8 to 8 1/2 feet. 10 to 11 mirror to mirror. Even at 26 foot length you will be looking for big rig parking, which most theaters can handle (ours will take a couple of 45 foot coaches even when we have two 53 foot trailers at the dock), but playing bars in urban settings, parking is not always nearby.

Except for budget and need for commercial driver, band and crew coaches fit the need, but will not serve alternate use as RV. Even well used, these million dollar coaches don't come down to $400 a month payments.

Have you thought about a schoolie, converting it yourself? Seating, some bunks, storage space can all be worked into an empty schoolbus, when the interior is not cluttered with RV fittings like kitchens, bathrooms, closets and cupboards, plumbing and heating systems. Lengths 24-45 feet, weights 10,000 to 36,000 pounds available, most limited to eight foot width or less for urban use. This is a fairly common starting point for a low budget band bus. Look at the film "Honeysuckle Rose" (though you can be sure that band is in commercial entertainer coaches today).

[consumeratlarge]

I've done what you're talking about for many years. We used a 35' bus, which would do everything you're talking about, but be harder to park in town. Also, we privately rented a class A, about 34 feet, and it needed a trailer for the equipment, but very nice inside. And we went the most miles with a converted truck. It was a 24' straight truck (plus cab length) with a hard wall 7 feet back, sort of like a toy hauler. The front half was accessed by crawling through the former back window opening of the cab. We had 6 bunks, the middle ones folded down during the day to make the back rests of two opposing couches. A relief tube, air conditioner, lights, and an escape hatch out the roof. Would cost about the same as an old rv, and be very heavy duty. The entire compartment was also insulated. You could make more bunks and a small lav/toilet by using more space of the truck, since you don't have a large equipment setup.

It's VERY hard for bands to travel with overnight drives if they can't afford a tour bus with a dedicated driver. Passenger van pulling a 4x6 trailer is the cheapest solution. Thick pads on the floor, one sleeping on each bench seat, each floor space, and 2 in captain's chairs in front. Good luck.

One other option is having a travel day, or later load in, after having your most stressed out member drive all night (won't fall asleep at the wheel). That's also what we did for years, with me being the stressed out all nighter. I would sleep while they set up and sound checked without me sometimes.

[kendall69]

Look at a Class C with a Garage, or with a toy hauler back. Plenty of room for gear and plenty of sleeping space.


http://www.rvingplanet.com/brands/jayco/seneca-zx/motor-home-class-c-toy-hauler/