Thinking about downsizing from Class A to a Class C

[miller2540]

We are thinking about downsizing from a Class A to a Class C. We love the floor plan of both of the Minnie Winnie 31K and the Coachmen Leprechaun 319DSF but there are certain things about each that we do not like. If we go with Winnebago we would miss the closet space of our present coach that is found in the Coachmen and if we go with the Coachmen, the membrane roof is a concern. The swivel front seats and outdoor TV are plusses for the Coachmen but so is the fiberglass roof on the Minnie Winnie. There are also posts elsewhere about leaking front caps in the Coachmen. Do any of you out there have ideas on how to overcome smaller closets of the Winnebago or the membrane roof of the Coachmen?

[derh2o]

Have you thought about a B+. Most of them have a fiberglass front, and some of them are in the 30' range. We have a Monaco Montclair.

[Skid_Row_Joe]

miller2540 wrote:
Thank you for all of the advice. We have been to the Winnebago Rally in Forest City and toured the factory and recently to the Coachmen factory. Both were impressive, especially the size of Winnebago. At the Coachmen factory they are now soaking each new coach with a shower for several minutes to check for leaks. Our kids now have families and have/plan to get RV's. Consequently we can downsize but still want room to carry crafting materials, music instruments, dogs, and also have room for some of the grandkids. We also go on volunteer missions for NOMADS and need room for tools. Both Class C's would work. We have no specific time line and plan to test drive each coach. Since we are on the road for long periods of time a larger closet is a must.

Born Free also had the marketing schpeel of a two hour or somesuch water spray room too. They must've missed my Born Free's numerous water leak prone roof and siding.

The size and manueverability of the Class C I own is perfect for my RV needs. However, aside from the generous closet, the storage on my unit is severely lacking, as is the construction, quality, and customer service at the factory of my brand.

[NWnative]

I am one of the Leprechaun owners that has NOT had any leaks or a single problem with my coach. I have followed the recent string with the front cap leak issue and have inspected my unit multiple times as a result. Dry as a bone! I live in Western Washington State and this unit sees plenty of rain when in use and for the first 6 months that I owned it. It's now in covered storage. When it's at home, it sits in my driveway with the nose pointed downhill and still no leaks. As other's have said, all brands will have issues from time to time including the Winnebago. Find the chassis and floor plan that meets your needs, buy from a reputable dealer, and enjoy! I chose the 319DS specifically for the floor plan and exterior amenities. As long as you perform the required routine maintenance, just about any coach should do a nice job for you. I will keep a close eye on the trouble spots a few other owners have had with the Leprechaun to prevent any issues.

[DaHose]

There have been multiple posts of people with brand new Leprechauns leaking at the front cap somewhere. Buyer beware.

Jose

[John_M1]

When we downsized we went with the Leprechaun.
We too have had leaking problems with both the roof and plumbing. The build quality is not what we had hoped for.

[Dick_B]

What is/are the reason/reasons for downsizing? Surely it is not for better mileage!

[miller2540]

Thank you for all of the advice. We have been to the Winnebago Rally in Forest City and toured the factory and recently to the Coachmen factory. Both were impressive, especially the size of Winnebago. At the Coachmen factory they are now soaking each new coach with a shower for several minutes to check for leaks. Our kids now have families and have/plan to get RV's. Consequently we can downsize but still want room to carry crafting materials, music instruments, dogs, and also have room for some of the grandkids. We also go on volunteer missions for NOMADS and need room for tools. Both Class C's would work. We have no specific time line and plan to test drive each coach. Since we are on the road for long periods of time a larger closet is a must.

[Snowman9000]

What's your budget and how long do you think you'll own it?
For approximately $4000 or so, you can have the Coachmen roof re-done with Rhino Liner. I think it would outlast the coach.

Although I'd live with the membrane roof, myself. Heck, I made a small tear in one on my fiver with a tree branch. I patched it with Eternabond tape and went on my way. In the scheme of things, it's an unlikely event and easily dealt with. Now, the water leak in Leprechauns, that would concern me. If you can satisfy yourself that they have solved the problem on new builds coming out of the factory today, go for it.

There aren't that many brands of C's, really.

[Skid_Row_Joe]

miller2540 wrote:
We are thinking about downsizing from a Class A to a Class C. We love the floor plan of both of the Minnie Winnie 31K and the Coachmen Leprechaun 319DSF but there are certain things about each that we do not like. If we go with Winnebago we would miss the closet space of our present coach that is found in the Coachmen and if we go with the Coachmen, the membrane roof is a concern. The swivel front seats and outdoor TV are plusses for the Coachmen but so is the fiberglass roof on the Minnie Winnie. There are also posts elsewhere about leaking front caps in the Coachmen. Do any of you out there have ideas on how to overcome smaller closets of the Winnebago or the membrane roof of the Coachmen?

Personally, I would look at more of the Winnebago product offerings as pertains closet space. You can probably have them engineer one for you by special ordering it. I would buy a Winnebago with no reservations. I would steer clear of the boutique brands like Nexus. Far too possible the company may fold in this day and age of business. Just because you buy a high-line Class C, does not mean you will not have major problems with it. I paid a large amount of money for my Class C, a Born Free brand, and it has been nothing but a lot of problems since buying it. Many of the problems have now happened twice within 10 years of gentle care too. Roof leaks? I think there's been at least (6) major leaks from rainwater and permanent water damage into various parts of the coach. I will never buy another Born Free after the poor response of the factory that It was basically not their fault for any of it's numerous problems. For this reason, I would be very interested in a Winnebago brand. I too, downsized from a high-line Class A to a much more problematic Class C Born Free that I thought that I wanted.

[CT51]

My first MH was a Minnie 31K (or might have been a C" then). Floorplan was a little different then. Had a CRT TV over the fridge, but the rest was about the same. The biggest thing we didn't like was the shower that is basically in the hall.

I now have a 2014 Leprechaun 319DSF. I have had a water leak, as have others, but as of now it is fixed. It is not hard to fix if you have a dry garage to work in, but I understand that not everyone wants to or can do this type of work. I do believe if you ordered a new unit, you would not have a leak problem, as the factory has made great efforts to eliminate this problem. I looked at the Minnie but there were just too many things about the Leprechaun that I liked better.

The main things I like about the Leprechaun:
1. Shower is not in the hall, like Winnie, Jayco, and Sunseeker. It is in the bedroom, angled at 45 degrees towards the bed. You have a separate pocket door that closes off the entire bath/bedroom. So, one person can be taking a shower, and another in the toilet/sink room with that door closed. All the others require you to swing the toilet door open to close off the bedroom shower area, so the person in the toilet room has no privacy.
2. Coachmen has no external step. For the way we camp, this is great. No noisy step that you have to wait to come down, or makes noise when you use it, or you might leave down when you pull off. Just step into the coach.
3. The 40" TV coming up out of the counter is at the perfect level for watching from the couch. Plus it's big.
4. The 32" TV on the outside is in the perfect location as well. It is just really nice to be sitting under a 21" awning with such a nice TV arrangement available outside.
5. The fireplace. The ambiance of the fireplace at night is fantastic. It also will heat the coach down to around 45 degrees outside. So, little or no furnace coming on while you're trying to sleep.
6. To me, appearance matters. The interior treatments, colors, wood, ultraleather, solid surface countertops, etc are the best looking there is in the available class C's.

Even after having a leak, I still am glad I bought my Leprechaun.
For the reasons above, plus others (like what I think is the best looking full paint), I just don't want the others. Each buyer has their own list of needs/wants, and for me nothing else excited me like the Leprechaun.

Regarding downsizing, I have had 4 class A motorhomes. Things I like about C's:
1. Lower roof height. The Leprechaun is 10'10". There's almost nowhere it won't go.
2. 16" wheels. You can change your own tire on the road, and have your tires balanced by any good tire shop.
3. The cab is all Ford engineered. Doors on both sides for ease of getting in and out, especially when arriving and setting up camp, gas stations, rest stops etc. Both front windows go down. Really nice when driving around a campground, state park etc. Safety equipment, such as airbags crush zones etc all Ford engineered. I like the cabover. This is where you can throw jackets, packages etc.
4. The sun is always in your eyes in a Class A, so they put shades on the side windows and huge sun visors on the front. The cabover is like a giant baseball cap-keeps the sun out of your eyes.

Anyway, that's my opinion. By the way, other than the one water leak which I had no problem fixing, my coach has been completely trouble free.

CT51

[SooperDaddy]

Unless you are married to the Winnie and Coachmen Class C...and since they aparently don't have have you want...look at some of the other brands.

Membrane roofs should not be a negative factor in considering a new RV. So you shouldn't automatically disqualify a Class C brand because of the membrane roofs. And Fiberglass roofs like Winnebago uses aren't maintenance free either.

Winnabago uses a thin sheet of filon fiberglass bonded to foam just like most RV's walls. You still have to recaulk them just like membrane roofs, and tree branches can also punch holes in it just like Membrane Covered roofs.

The newest RV Roofing membrane materials are rugged, long lasting and almost completely maintenance free (aside from routine recaulking the edges and roof vents).

Jayco and Forest River uses the new Alpha Systems vinyl roofing material. Unlike older roofing systems, it doesn't break down like the tpo/rubber roof membrane did, it has a golf-ball like stippling like texture to it.

Look at the Forest River Forester Class C's, the Forest River Lexingtons (Forest River is owned by Billionaire Warren Buffet his trendous buying power means better quality and actual quality name brand stuff used in making one!).

Jayco Greyhawks and Redhawk (they all have 100% high pressure laminated construction) 10 times less likely to delaminate than the walls that the Winnebago's has.

Jayco's also have a 2 year bumper to bumper warranty, in business (same family) since 1967 and Jayco has double the edge seals as other brands which also helps keep leaks away.

Spend time researching online AND looking at dealership and RV Shows.

Lazy Daze is excellant quality and basically hand made to your order here in Southern California by a 57 Year old company...roomy and open floorplans, and considering this level of good stuff are still priced reasonably...but NOT available with slideouts.

Good luck!

[dicknellen]

How big of A do you have? Going to a 31-32' C isn't what I would call downsizing. JMHO I would stick with a A your happy with. Dick

[Desert_Captain]

GENECOP wrote:
Check out Nexus, or Triple E, lastly Lazy Daze....these three are better quality than Winn or Coach..

X2
I admit to being biased but when you get lucky enough to find a nice Nexus...
I would not buy any coach that didn't have a one piece fiberglass roof, solid one piece end caps and all of the other quality features that our Nexus came with.:C

[GENECOP]

Check out Nexus, or Triple E, lastly Lazy Daze....these three are better quality than Winn or Coach..