Picking up a 24' Class C

[ybconway]

So we are purchasing a 2018 Forest River Class C 24' on the Ford 450 chassis.
This was a Canadream unit which will have about 70,000 klm on it.
This will be our first experience with RV ownership but we have rented a Sprinter Van conversion in South America and a Fiat front drive platformed C class in NZ so we are completely green. I know the only way I'm going to get good gas mileage is to lie about it.
Anyways we pick it up next Thursday and I have taken a couple of weeks off for our initial drive.
We don't have a destination as yet and haven't booked any campgrounds I have purchased the Harvest Host membership, I figured for the money it was worth the gamble. Is the a camping ap that people can recommend or have I exceeded the rules by asking in my first post.
Anyways please say hello. I'm in Hamilton Ontario by the way.

[pnichols]

lhenry8113 wrote:
We have a 24ft Class C(2017) on a Chevy 450 chassis-V8 gas engine-bought it used from a Dealer w/6500 miles on it. Had 2 fifth wheels before this one. Love the size-we can take it everywhere we want to go-don't need a toad. But, if need be-we can get Uber or rent a car. Like the fact that my wife will drive now. And, so much easier and quicker to set up than the 5,vr. We are members of Good Sam& KOA-get 10%off at Good Sam campgrounds. We average 9-9.6 MPG., with a 55 gal. tank.

You may have been fortunate to locate a used 24ft Class C built on the heavy duty Chevy 4500 van chassis. Way to go!!

By the way, your gas tank may be a 57 gallon one. Some, or all, Chevy van chassis had gas tanks with 2 more gallons of capacity than the usual Ford 55 gallon one.

[lhenry8113]

We have a 24ft Class C(2017) on a Chevy 450 chassis-V8 gas engine-bought it used from a Dealer w/6500 miles on it. Had 2 fifth wheels before this one. Love the size-we can take it everywhere we want to go-don't need a toad. But, if need be-we can get Uber or rent a car. Like the fact that my wife will drive now. And, so much easier and quicker to set up than the 5,vr. We are members of Good Sam& KOA-get 10%off at Good Sam campgrounds. We average 9-9.6 MPG., with a 55 gal. tank.

[PartyOf_Five]

Welcome! It's helpful (especially with per litre pricing) to get fuel discount cards from Petro and Husky, and perhaps others. In the US we use Pilot, Fuel Rewards, and a couple others. Those few cents per gallon add up fast!
Also depending on how handy you are, or how well you can follow instructions on YouTube :-), there are a lot of small repairs and maintenance that can be done yourself. This will save you significant time waiting for a shop spot to open up, and also surprising amount of money. For example an oil change will usually set you back $90 here, but takes 20 minutes to do and you can control what you put in.

[pianotuna]

welcome to the wonderful world of rv'ing.

I use the trip planner at https://freecampsites.net/

[ybconway]

Teacher's Pet wrote:
We've owned Ford class C's and B's of the 1980's in the past and at present have a 21' 2004 R-Vision B+ along with our lass A Tiffin. When we purchased the B+ for a trip to Alaska, my wife insisted on a Chevrolet 3500 Chassis, due to leg room on the passenger side, I felt at the time it didn't make any difference. She's 5' and I'm 6'-2" tall. After renting a 20' Ford F450 Penske box van for a 1500 mile move to Florida, in which she did 90% of the driving due to me wrenching my leg, I wouldn't have the current Ford RV Chassis, way to tight for leg room for me. This was after traveling in our B+ towing a 14' trailer, a month before over the route, again with here doing most of the driving after the 1st day.

Funny you should say that. The Sprinter conversion that we rented for me had an uncomfortable seating position for me. Had to stack folded towels under the seat to prop me up.

[IB853347201]

ybconway wrote:
So we are purchasing a 2018 Forest River Class C 24' on the Ford 450 chassis.
This was a Canadream unit which will have about 70,000 km on it.
This will be our first experience with RV ownership. Is the a camping ap that people can recommend.
Anyways please say hello. I'm in Hamilton Ontario by the way.

Greetings from Eastern Ontario and welcome to the RVing world.
Regarding your App question, we frequently camp at private parks, usually a full hook up site, so the Apps that work best for us are the Good Sam Club app, the KOA app, and the RVParky App. Both Good Sam and KOA are membership based and require an annual membership purchase for which you get discounts on camping fees and gas in the US. RVParky is a great app that simply shows every campground in your area, state, provincial, federal and private. All of these apps have a map view so you can plan ahead and see what's in the area your headed to.
Wishing you many years of funfilled RV travel ahead!

[MDKMDK]

ybconway wrote:
I know the only way I'm going to get good gas mileage is to lie about it.

I thought you said you were newbies? That's a veteran's mainstay on fuel economy.
Why not take a run up Hwy 10 or 6 (or both) to the Bruce Peninsula and Tobermory? It's a nice relaxing drive, once you clear Misissauga or Guelph, but don't do it on a Friday or Sunday. It's a well serviced route with most of the basic amenities along the way. You might even luck out and find a vacant campsite along the way. There's a website called Camp Alert that will check participating campgrounds for you, based on user defined criteria. It actually found one for me up there when I tried it. It's a pay per use site, but you might get a "first time user" free locate.
Or, do like we usually do and take pot luck. Sometimes it works, sometimes not.
Enjoy your new rig.
p.s. If you can make it up the mountain without blowing up the engine or transmission, you got a keeper.

[Teacher_s_Pet]

We've owned Ford class C's and B's of the 1980's in the past and at present have a 21' 2004 R-Vision B+ along with our lass A Tiffin. When we purchased the B+ for a trip to Alaska, my wife insisted on a Chevrolet 3500 Chassis, due to leg room on the passenger side, I felt at the time it didn't make any difference. She's 5' and I'm 6'-2" tall. After renting a 20' Ford F450 Penske box van for a 1500 mile move to Florida, in which she did 90% of the driving due to me wrenching my leg, I wouldn't have the current Ford RV Chassis, way to tight for leg room for me. This was after traveling in our B+ towing a 14' trailer, a month before over the route, again with here doing most of the driving after the 1st day.

[IAMICHABOD]

ybconway wrote:
So we are purchasing a 2018 Forest River Class C 24' on the Ford 450 chassis.
This was a Canadream unit which will have about 70,000 klm on it.

ybconway,Welcome to the Forum! That sounds terrific.Being new here you may not have seen the thread on Buying a Former Rental once you get it please swing by and give us your impression and thoughts on buying a Former Rental.

There have not been many Canadians that have contributed to the thread,it would be nice to hear from some more.

Ah Hamilton I have been thru there many times on the 403 on my way to Toronto.I'm retired OTR driver we would pass thru there almost monthly from the west coast to our plant in Toronto.

Again welcome and happy camping in that RV.

[ybconway]

pnichols wrote:

ybconway wrote:
So we are purchasing a 2018 Forest River Class C 24' on the Ford 450 chassis.
This was a Canadream unit which will have about 70,000 klm on it.
This will be our first experience with RV ownership but we have rented a Sprinter Van conversion in South America and a Fiat front drive platformed C class in NZ so we are completely green. I know the only way I'm going to get good gas mileage is to lie about it.
Anyways we pick it up next Thursday and I have taken a couple of weeks off for our initial drive.
We don't have a destination as yet and haven't booked any campgrounds I have purchased the Harvest Host membership, I figured for the money it was worth the gamble. Is the a camping ap that people can recommend or have I exceeded the rules by asking in my first post.
Anyways please say hello. I'm in Hamilton Ontario by the way.

Note that your 24' Class C on the Ford E450 chassis is on an "overkill" chassis - from the perspective of being able to carry considerably more pounds than what the fully loaded coach will weigh. This means that the ride in the rear of your motorhome most likely will be a bit harsh due to the overly-stiff leaf springs in the rear.

We have the same situation with our 24' Class C on a Ford E450. I softened it's ride in the rear by replacing it's rear shocks with Koni FSD (Frequency Selective Damping) shocks. Our front shocks I left as stock.

However, having to replace the rear shocks is well worth the solid and stable handling that you'll probably experience by having a "heavy duty" chassis under the coach ... as compared to small Class C motorhomes usually built on the Ford E350 chassis.

Thanks, I remember a friend had a One ton Jeep PU and the ride was awful
Anyone thought about converting to bags. I suppose with leaf spring it would not be cheap.

[cbigham]

Good luck. I have a thor 23u. Also on e450 chassis. I wanted all the truck I could get. Always full of water, kayaks, gear, extra water, solar panels, dry foods, gear and 400lbs motorcyle on back hitch. Occasional tow jeep or trailer

[pnichols]

ybconway wrote:
So we are purchasing a 2018 Forest River Class C 24' on the Ford 450 chassis.
This was a Canadream unit which will have about 70,000 klm on it.
This will be our first experience with RV ownership but we have rented a Sprinter Van conversion in South America and a Fiat front drive platformed C class in NZ so we are completely green. I know the only way I'm going to get good gas mileage is to lie about it.
Anyways we pick it up next Thursday and I have taken a couple of weeks off for our initial drive.
We don't have a destination as yet and haven't booked any campgrounds I have purchased the Harvest Host membership, I figured for the money it was worth the gamble. Is the a camping ap that people can recommend or have I exceeded the rules by asking in my first post.
Anyways please say hello. I'm in Hamilton Ontario by the way.

Note that your 24' Class C on the Ford E450 chassis is on an "overkill" chassis - from the perspective of being able to carry considerably more pounds than what the fully loaded coach will weigh. This means that the ride in the rear of your motorhome most likely will be a bit harsh due to the overly-stiff leaf springs in the rear.

We have the same situation with our 24' Class C on a Ford E450. I softened it's ride in the rear by replacing it's rear shocks with Koni FSD (Frequency Selective Damping) shocks. Our front shocks I left as stock.

However, having to replace the rear shocks is well worth the solid and stable handling that you'll probably experience by having a "heavy duty" chassis under the coach ... as compared to small Class C motorhomes usually built on the Ford E350 chassis.