Rented a Class A...NEVER again.

[Bubtoofat]

We crossed over to the dark side temporarily.....or are truck campers the dark side? I forget. Spent 2 weeks in a "very popular brand" class A that we rented from a local dealer here in Michigan. My mom has always wanted to travel in a class A so we bit the bullet and shelled out lots of cash for a trip that was enlightening to say the least.

I get the feeling that my mother's expectations far exceeded the realities in this case. And my wife and I were actually looking at class A coaches at the last camper show since we plan on full timing when we retire. That ain't happening now. I'd rather have a TT or 5th wheel.

This was a 1 year old coach, Ford chassis, V-10, with 19,000 miles on the ODO.

Likes:

#1. We didn't have to exit the vehicle to get into the camper like we do with our TC.

#2. The coach had incredible fuel range. We never stopped between our home in Michigan, all the way to North Carolina. Even then we didn't really have to stop for gas. It still had 1/4 tank.

#3. GREAT views out that HUGE windshield. It was like an IMAX theater.

#4. HUGE holding tanks.

#5. Uh....did I mention that we didn't have to exit the vehicle to get into.... oh yes, I already did.

Well that pretty much sums it up.


Dislikes:

#1. Very noisy. Squeaks, rattles, banging, something in the undercarriage sounded like a dog barking with every bump, dash rattling and bouncing, steering wheel rattling and bouncing, slide out rattling and squawking, OYE! It was deafening. Plus, what sounded like a bad U-joint was making so much noise people would stop and stare at us slowly rolling by in the campgrounds.

#2. Stoopid big. It was worse than when we had our TT. VERY limited as to where we could take this beast. Maybe we are just used to our awesome TC that goes nearly anywhere.

#3. No gravity filling of the fresh water tank. You had to hook up the hose to a pressurized spigot and turn on the coach pump to fill the tank.

#4. The windshield washer reservoir was only 1/2 gallon despite there being enough room for a 5 gallon tank.

#5. The headlights were so bad I would have been better off with two candles taped to the front bumper. And the high beams were no better.

#6. The Ford V-10 dipstick had so much rust on it I was afraid to pull it out.

#7. The steering was terrible. It followed every little groove and rut in the road. Wandering has a whole new meaning for me now.

I could go on but I won't. All in all we had lots of fun in the Smoky Mountains and Pigeon Forge. And boy am I glad we tried one out before buying one. I feel like I dodged a bullet. We have a lot of laughs about it now that it's over.

My wife told the rental manager when we took it back that renting something like that should entice you into buying one. Then she told him that she would never even consider one now. He was very candid with us and said that we wouldn't believe how many people buy a class A and a year later trade it in on something else.

So just a word of advice. Try it before you buy it. Especially if the price tag is around $100,000. As for my wife and I? We'll stick with our TC for years to come. Who knows? Maybe full timing in a TC isn't so crazy.

Mike

[whizbang]

A diesel pusher is a "Class A" and much, much better than a gasser "Class A". The heavy engine in front of a gasser messes up the suspension and steering just as you've discovered.

We traveled full time in a 38 foot Dutch Star DP that I could drive with one finger on the wheel all day long. A completely different animal than what you rented.

I'm sorry you had such a poor experience, but am not surprised.

[JumboJet]

HMS Beagle wrote:
One problem with pretty much all the class As are that they are RVs. RVs are built only in prototype quantities, not enough to build tooling, test things, etc. This shows up very glaringly in the cab, which is a cobbled together, rattly affair of dime store gages in even the most expensive units. A good successful run is what, 200 units? Ford or Chevy builds at least 5 times that many just to test. Dashboards, doors, controls, etc are all fully tooled parts. They go on to build many millions of each, Class As are basically built in a garage out of spare parts and stuff from Home Depot.

BS! Chassis are delivered to the body builders. The chassis contains the gauges, controls, etc. The Ford F53 I own has a Ford dash, etc. Not the finest on the market maybe, but didn't come from Home Depot.

My refrigerator, toilet, stove, fans, air conditioners are all identical between my Hurricane and my Lance. My Expedition has upgraded refrigerator, toilet, etc.

Go sit in your TC while it is being driven down the rough highway and listen to all the sounds.

Ford F53 Nude Chassis

[GMandJM]

Thanks for the link, Ed and Deb. That's a really awesome restoration project.

Hard to believe it started out looking like this:



Amazing!

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

Deb and Ed M wrote:

GMandJM wrote:

free radical wrote:

Something like this maybe, :B

Wow! What is that? Looks like something out of a Pixar movie.

The scale is wonky. Just a toy?

It's GM's "Futurliner" - which was a rolling showcase of their advanced technology back in the 50's I believe? One of them was fully restored here in SW Michigan, and is the one we've seen up close and personal, and then again as we came home from camping this past weekend! (On a trailer - it's far too precious to risk driving on the roads) They are also HUGE - I think the driver sits 10' in the air? Goes up a ladder to the driver's seat.

Futureliner restoration

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

GMandJM wrote:

free radical wrote:

Something like this maybe, :B

Wow! What is that? Looks like something out of a Pixar movie.

The scale is wonky. Just a toy?

It's GM's "Futurliner" - which was a rolling showcase of their advanced technology back in the 50's I believe? One of them we fully restored here in SW Michigan, and is the one we've seen up close and personal, and then again as we came home from camping this past weekend! (On a trailer - it's far too precious to risk driving on the roads)

Futureliner restoration

[HMS_Beagle]

One problem with pretty much all the class As are that they are RVs. RVs are built only in prototype quantities, not enough to build tooling, test things, etc. This shows up very glaringly in the cab, which is a cobbled together, rattly affair of dime store gages in even the most expensive units. A good successful run is what, 200 units? Ford or Chevy builds at least 5 times that many just to test. Dashboards, doors, controls, etc are all fully tooled parts. They go on to build many millions of each, Class As are basically built in a garage out of spare parts and stuff from Home Depot.

If you say you can take your class A anywhere you can take your TC you are not being very adventurous - at all - with your TC. The class A I had exhibited near zero off road ability, even badly maintained secondary highways were a challenge if you valued the coach or its contents.

One great advantage of the class A not mentioned is the storage. We traveled with huge empty compartments, just couldn't think of enough stuff to put in them.

[bighatnohorse]

I was warned about the Ford F53 chassis, which is what you were driving. Apparently, it is a common complaint about road wobble.

[GMandJM]

free radical wrote:

Something like this maybe, :B

Wow! What is that? Looks like something out of a Pixar movie.

The scale is wonky. Just a toy?

[free_radical]

Bubtoofat wrote:
We crossed over to the dark side temporarily.....or are truck campers the dark side? I forget. Spent 2 weeks in a "very popular brand" class A that we rented from a local dealer here in Michigan. My mom has always wanted to travel in a class A so we bit the bullet and shelled out lots of cash for a trip that was enlightening to say the least.

I get the feeling that my mother's expectations far exceeded the realities in this case. And my wife and I were actually looking at class A coaches at the last camper show since we plan on full timing when we retire. That ain't happening now. I'd rather have a TT or 5th wheel.

This was a 1 year old coach, Ford chassis, V-10, with 19,000 miles on the ODO.

Likes:

#1. We didn't have to exit the vehicle to get into the camper like we do with our TC.

#2. The coach had incredible fuel range. We never stopped between our home in Michigan, all the way to North Carolina. Even then we didn't really have to stop for gas. It still had 1/4 tank.

#3. GREAT views out that HUGE windshield. It was like an IMAX theater.

#4. HUGE holding tanks.

#5. Uh....did I mention that we didn't have to exit the vehicle to get into.... oh yes, I already did.

Well that pretty much sums it up.


Dislikes:

#1. Very noisy. Squeaks, rattles, banging, something in the undercarriage sounded like a dog barking with every bump, dash rattling and bouncing, steering wheel rattling and bouncing, slide out rattling and squawking, OYE! It was deafening. Plus, what sounded like a bad U-joint was making so much noise people would stop and stare at us slowly rolling by in the campgrounds.

#2. Stoopid big. It was worse than when we had our TT. VERY limited as to where we could take this beast. Maybe we are just used to our awesome TC that goes nearly anywhere.

#3. No gravity filling of the fresh water tank. You had to hook up the hose to a pressurized spigot and turn on the coach pump to fill the tank.

#4. The windshield washer reservoir was only 1/2 gallon despite there being enough room for a 5 gallon tank.

#5. The headlights were so bad I would have been better off with two candles taped to the front bumper. And the high beams were no better.

#6. The Ford V-10 dipstick had so much rust on it I was afraid to pull it out.

#7. The steering was terrible. It followed every little groove and rut in the road. Wandering has a whole new meaning for me now.

I could go on but I won't. All in all we had lots of fun in the Smoky Mountains and Pigeon Forge. And boy am I glad we tried one out before buying one. I feel like I dodged a bullet. We have a lot of laughs about it now that it's over.

My wife told the rental manager when we took it back that renting something like that should entice you into buying one. Then she told him that she would never even consider one now. He was very candid with us and said that we wouldn't believe how many people buy a class A and a year later trade it in on something else.

So just a word of advice. Try it before you buy it. Especially if the price tag is around $100,000. As for my wife and I? We'll stick with our TC for years to come. Who knows? Maybe full timing in a TC isn't so crazy.

Mike

I think you should test drive several different motor homes preferably brand new and not a rental unit that's been beat up on and maybe not maintained properly..

I couldn't full time in a TC if you paid me,,used to do short stints over summer to save money on rent when working out in Alberta,,but for full timing I like to be comfortable..

I'm considering small class A also,,but so far haven't seen anything aerodynamic enough to appeal to me..I refuse to drive a square box that guzzles fuel like an alcoholic.Will probably have to make my own design again like I did with my TC..

Something like this maybe, :B

[cameronpatentla]

24' Class B on the MB Sprinter chassis was the perfect compromise for us. Looks great, drives well, maneuverable, 17mpg and priced right. Has some minor warranty issues, but they all do, so I'm told. Best, Mike

[JumboJet]

Kayteg1 wrote:
I think gasoline ClassA is the worse sample of RV
-death traps as I think all of them has 0 rollover rating
-gas guzzlers
-noisy
-heat coming from the engine under driver feet.
-V10 famous for plug spitting.
Would I go back to front engine coach, that would be Super C or nothing else.

Death traps - well maybe pretty close - but we all are going to die at some point.

Gas guzzlers - hold on there - my 2000 Hurricane just finished a 2,400 mile trip and averaged 11 mpg. My RAM 3500 with my Lance 1050S can barely beat that and only then if the wind is in the right direction. The Hurricane weighs 8,000 lbs. more than the RAM/Lance combo.

Noisy - I agree - came home and bought a 35' diesel pusher because the V-10 sucking air through the cold air filter system was loud. I told the wife she needs to do something with the flatware in the drawer too.

Heat - no didn't have any heat - well insulated and cold dash air took care of that.

V-10 plug spitting - that was fixed around 2001-2002.

Front engine coach - No, me either. The rear engine and the air ride on the diesel pusher is awesome. The Onan Quiet Diesel generator up front vs. underneath the bed (Hurricane) is nice too.

[sleepy]

In 1963 the Interstate highway construction came through the Kanawha Valley as I-64.... the valley was never the same again. Janet and I lived onMontrose Drive in South Charleston (WV)

There was a booming house trailer business.... we moved from a large 3 story house into a 10' x 50' trailer with two tip outs.... one in the kitchen, one in the Living room.

Thank goodness that it didn't have an engine.... we didn't have enough room as it was.

The trailer parks had about 10 feet between trailers.... of course people called them Mobilhomes... HA Ha!

We moved to Tennessee to get away from the cremped up housing and the lack of available good housing.... the best land was under I-64 and still is.

We like our completely self contained truck camper... we are very mobil.... and have never spent a night in a place we didn't want to be.... if we don't pay for parking and hookups we don't feel the necessity to stay just because we paid in advance for a horrible experience in a RV trailer park...

A side note:

We have been all over North America.... we have never passed a transmission shop that didn't have at least one Class a or C motorhome in the bay or in tha parking lot.



After seeing the transmission problems that MH's seem to have... A question please; when your MH breaks down where do you stay while it is being repaired? If my truck should break down I would just buy another truck and put our truck camper on it and keep traveling...

Just things to think about...


Chet

[lizzie]

When my father died I inherited his beautiful Class A. We had a TC at the time. We took one short trip in the A just for fun, but we always knew we would not keep it, just not our style. We have a 24'TT now and love it. Different strokes for different folks. lizzie

[805gregg]

I've had 2 class A motorhomes, we always come back to TC, it seems many people are too lazy to walk around to the back of a camper to pee.