Need advice on motorhome for touring band

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. <3

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!

Class C

burlmart
Explorer
Mar 26, 2015
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
Explorer
Mar 25, 2015
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
Explorer
Mar 25, 2015
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
Explorer II
Mar 25, 2015
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
Explorer
Mar 25, 2015
Lol! Cheap hotel rooms, not sheep hotel rooms. Iphone dictation rocks. :)
elderberries
Explorer
Mar 25, 2015
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
Nomad
Mar 25, 2015
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
Explorer
Mar 25, 2015
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
Explorer
Mar 25, 2015
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
Explorer III
Mar 25, 2015
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.