Shortest Class C Recommendations

[wanderlust1966]

Hi,

I am hoping to buy a used Class C to full time in, and need recommendations. I feel like a Class B would be too cramped for me plus they are too expensive 😕

I want a short Class C (nothing over 24') so I will be able to park it easily. I am hoping for nothing older than 2004 but need it to be relatively inexpensive but with lower miles and reliable (I realize I maybe asking for too much lol). If I have to take out a small loan, I'm OK with that too. I want an oven and both a couch and dinette. I don't necessarily need a bedroom as I'm fine with sleeping in an overhead bunk.

I want to boondock a lot, so am hoping to outfit it with solar panels and a composting toilet (or even a portable toilet) and am assuming I'd need a generator and inverter?

Can anyone give me any suggestions? TIA!

[wanderlust1966]

You guys might be right---now looking at the 21' Coachman Leprechaun---has a queen bed in the back, and a little more room than the 19'. I will not tow so need something I can tour around in---I plan on getting solar and portapotty/composting toilet so I can boondock easier. 21' shouldn't be too hard to back into campsites, right? I plan to get a back up camera but I'm still nervous about backing. It will only be me doing this so don't need room for 2 people.

[pnichols]

I agree completely with what Ron said above about living in a small Class C.

The DW, myself, and our small dog's longest trip has only been 10 weeks and around 9,000 miles, but we all were still speaking to each other when we arrived home and could have kept on going. We like small and intimate and consider a larger RV as being counter to the flexibility we need when traveling and camping with the RV. The only additional capabilities I wish we had are four wheel drive and a satellite phone. With our little rig we're equally at home in Washington D.C. or Dubinky Wells.

However, our 24 foot Class C is of a "basement type design", so it's slightly taller exterior storage areas - plus using some non-food-or-clothing interior storage areas, in combination - hold an amazing amount of equipment with nothing strapped on the outside, or on the roof, or stacked in the shower stall ... such as:

- 4 outside lawn chairs
- 2 outsde lounge chairs
- several fishing poles
- portable BBQ
- beach umbrella
- full size shovel
- air compressor
- a portable generator (this is in addition to the built-in one)
- a full size outdoor propane fire pit
- outside carpet
- flat tire tire repair equipment
- a full sized spare tire (underneath in between the frame members ... just like on a PU truck)
- tire chains
- a propane tank for the fire pit
- propane bottles for the BBQ
- an outside single burner propane stove
- spare engine fluids and parts
- fluids for the built-in and portable generators
- fluids for the V10 engine
- five sets of 3-step wooden leveling blocks
- various pieces of wood for additional leveling problems or getting-unstuck-situations
- a high lift 12 ton hydraulic jack
- a saw for tree branches
- spare water filters
- gasline can for the portable generator
- motorhomme leak repair supplies
- a battery charger (this is in addition to the built-in one)
- a five gallon bucket for rock collecting
- an array of rock hounding tools
- an outside shower
- an outside entertainment center
- a complete spare sewer drain expandable hose (in addition to the regular one)
- 100 feet of fresh water hose
- a 50 foot shore power extension cable (in addition to the regular 30 foot one)
- spare sewer drain valves and parts
- a complete array of regular tools

The above stuff is in addition to a full size outside foldup table that we carry up high inside at the foot of the cabover bed. We use the shower and bathroom facilities fully (I'm 6'2''), and we prefer them to campground facilities. Inside, we carrry a lot of additional equipment in addition to clothing and food.

[ron_dittmer]

I feel our rig HERE is ideal full-timing for a single person who lives with basic needs. It might also work with a small pet but could be a bit of a stretch. I would not recommend full-timing with two people.

It measures 23'-8" end-to-end, 93" wide, 9'-10" over-all height, is fully equipped including a dry bath, two batteries, whole house inverter, large tanks of every type, 4000 watt generator, all practical-use house features & appliances like a big deep sink, fridge with separate freezer, decent stove...none are novelty features, a full time main floor double bed, huge outdoor storage (under the double bed), lots of interior storage, a practical dinette with a decent table & gobs of storage, an easy chair, a well place television and sound system, spare tire, awnings, well insulated, solid construction, and-on-and-on...

As soon as you get below that length, many such features quickly loose their practical usefulness. You often end up with things like a tiny bar sink, a tiny fridge, the toilet inside the shower, a conversion bed.....things like that which will get quite annoying to work with on a full-time basis.

[Bordercollie]

Full timing in a short class C ,for ease of parking, doesn't make sense to me. If you mean frequent parking on city streets and parking lots, it makes some sense. However, from personal experience, think that lack of storage and cabinet space, discomfort sleeping in the overhead or making or unmaking jackknife couch or dinette cushions, and lack of elbow room with another person would drive me bonkers after a month or so. I recommend a 27 foot rig with a rear bedroom and RV queen bed, preferably with access on both sides. Think it over, it's expensive to buy a short rig and later decide to buy a longer one.

[Bordercollie]

Full timing in a short class C ,for ease of parking, doesn't make sense to me. If you mean frequent parking on city streets and parking lots, it makes some sense. However, from personal experience, think that lack of storage and cabinet space, discomfort sleeping in the overhead or making or unmaking jackknife couch or dinette cushions, and lack of elbow room with another person would drive me bonkers after a month or so. I recommend a 27 foot rig with a rear bedroom and RV queen bed, preferably with access on both sides. Think it over, it's expensive to buy a short rig and later decide to buy a longer one.

[wanderlust1966]

I'm zeroing in on the 19' rentals but they're very hard to find. Next would be the 21' I will not tow, so i need something small.

[Snowman9000]

I am pretty convinced that a used rental is likely to be less trouble than a used one from a dealer or private owner. Now of course, if you can find a rare cream puff that a knowledgeable, handy owner with OCD is selling, that's different. Class C's are entry level RVs and used ones can have a lot of hidden flaws.

An inspection would be great. After you buy it, if you could budget say $1000 for a self employed RV repair guy to do preventative maintenance on all of the appliances and exterior seams, I think it would be money well spent. Probably won't cost that much, but I'm saying it as a budget.

Also do a search on tire date codes. The general idea is if the codes show the tires are over 5 years old, figure on replacing them regardless of how they look. On a C it is not a huge cost, but probably $700 and up depending on tire brand, sale prices, etc. You could also have a truck mechanic do a thorough check and maintenance of the chassis. I think with the ex-rentals, a lot of this is already done.

[Photomike]

wanderlust1966 wrote:
IAMICHABOD, I am about halfway through that thread and it is convincing me that buying a rental is the only way to go for me. I wish there was someone who could go through the inspection with me as I am a novice (haven't owned a motorhome in 10 years and my ex did most of the operating of the different systems, etc.).

I will have to fly out to one of the dealerships as I currently live in WI, but my plan is to hang around the area for a couple weeks to make sure everything is operating as it should.

TY so much for steering me in this direction---there's no way I could afford what I want unless I get a rental. How many miles can I expect to get from say a Ford 350? I plan on fulltiming in the rig for at least a year, so will be putting quite a few miles on it.

Pick a city that you are going to buy at and call an RV mechanic and ask them to inspect it for you. May cost some money but an independent person may save you some money. Post on here and see if anyone will recommend a tech in that area.

[IAMICHABOD]

Wanderlust,I have seen forum members that have 200000 or more miles on them,they seem to go on for ever. Many shuttle company's and paramedics put that and more on the E 350 chassis.With little or no problems. I am sure that someone will come along and say the same.

If you are flying out to buy remember that they have a fly and drive promotion that will take the price of one-way ticket off the price of the motor home,be sure to ask about it.

Good Luck and if there is anything that would help you out just ask or send me a PM(private message)

[wanderlust1966]

IAMICHABOD, I am about halfway through that thread and it is convincing me that buying a rental is the only way to go for me. I wish there was someone who could go through the inspection with me as I am a novice (haven't owned a motorhome in 10 years and my ex did most of the operating of the different systems, etc.).

I will have to fly out to one of the dealerships as I currently live in WI, but my plan is to hang around the area for a couple weeks to make sure everything is operating as it should.

TY so much for steering me in this direction---there's no way I could afford what I want unless I get a rental. How many miles can I expect to get from say a Ford 350? I plan on fulltiming in the rig for at least a year, so will be putting quite a few miles on it.

[IAMICHABOD]

wanderlust1966 wrote:
IAMICHABOD, TY for the link----this place didn't come up in my search. There are some definite possibilities there! They don't mention mileage which I assume must be quite high. How much of a concern is this? I inquired on a 2011 Four Winds Chateau 23A----the price is right and the floorplan is OK.

Most have 100000 miles or more but that is not such a concern because they get proper
Maintainence . Most newer vehicles come with long warranties,there is a reason for that,they are designed for a longer life with proper care which you get with a Former Rrental.
In the Rental thread that I put up there are almost 90 happy owners.And so far none have had a problem.
I know the thread is long but there are a lot of good stories on how well everyone is doing with their RV.
Good luck and if there any questions just ask on the rental thread there are a lot of owners that will be happy to help,including me

[Photomike]

Re Majestic RVs

I hear the comment a lot that it is surprising that Majestic does not sell their units to the public and here is what I have found out.

Cruise America, Cruise Canada and some smaller rental places have an agreement with Majestic that they will buy a set number of units per year to replace the units that have run up the required mileage (and they know this number down to a science). With this agreement Majestic has a guarantee each year to sell X number of units all without retailing anything. This also builds a demand for the units and Majestic is not completing with the rental companies to sell and lowering the ability of them to sell to finance new purchases.

When you think about it this is a really smart business idea as Majestic cuts out all the middle men, they are able to schedule production based on a set demand that they know years before and they will never be stuck with surplus stock. The only thing that could change this is if the rental companies switched suppliers but I have heard that there is a ownership tie in between two of the rental companies and Majestic.

Once in awhile low mileage units come on the market because of an accident or a close out sale but that is all I have ever seen.

[Horizon170]

I think I posted this somewhere but my 22' is actually 25'10" O/A.
It has 17' of flat floor space before dropping down (Approx 8")to the cab floor. Twin beds in rear and plenty of storage inside and out.
Perfect for these two old geezers.:)
It is the 2200TB.
Clicky

[pnichols]

That little 19G has always looked interesting to me, but maybe best for only one adult due to the restrictive overhead cab bed. It would work for two adults OK if the dinette also made into a full bed.

I've always wondered why that wasn't made available for sale new to the retail RV market. It would really have been a sweet little rig in 4X4 configuration ... similar in use and function to a Tiger RV, but on a van chassis.

DRW on a retail version would have been nice for one particular reason - since loading on the rear duals would be so light - a flat in one of them would not necessitate stopping ASAP to repair it. You could drive for miles and repair the flat rear tire in a real safe or convenient location (i.e. the next town) because the remaining good tire in the dual set could carry the extra load without being dangerously over-loaded. This "rear tire redundancy" would add to overall RV trip reliability ... just like the situation with a dually pickup when carrying only a moderate load in it's bed.

[Snowman9000]

geeman53 wrote:

Snowman9000 wrote:
Look at the Cruise America Majestic 19G. It is just what you are looking for. One member here says there is not lot of room for solar panels, but maybe you can use smaller panels.

SWR on the 19G,-not good .

Depends on your application. One or two people, no toad, good to go.