On the fence need help on which to get

[Curiosity]

In my 2nd day with salesmen on the purchase of a Class A. Been looking at Class A and Cs I found a 27 foot Class A and it is really nice but will it fit the way I plan to camp.
I do plan on stopping along the way to see the sites but what do you do with something that big. I have no toad at this time and hope to boondock as much as possible. I love Class B but way to small for me.
have you had a problem with the size of your A or C and how did you work around it. I thin I will be doing a lot of walking but that IS a good think. LOL
Just today on the way back from the RV show I saw a nice place to pull off to watch the sun set. Great if I had a Class B or my car but what about a 27 or 31 foot Class A or C.

Thanks for your help.

[Itasca66]

Ok heres my 2 cents . My parents camped and traveled like your talking with a 21 foot Itasca sundancer 1978 100,000 plus miles. Class C . The point your raising is why they make a 23 foot class A. But with a 27foot you could change habits and pull a car . So you camp in center of where you want to site see and drive car around or rent a car.
I have a 27ft now and there is no way I would drive places my parents went . They drive that class c thru road to the sun in glacier . Logan's Pass. And number of very small state parks. They could park and go anywhere. With 20footer class C . If I was site seeing the whole country. With only 2 people . And wanted to cover serious miles I would need to either pull car or rent a car. With 27ft or class C 20ft or class A. 23 ft this really comes down to wheel base . Just my opinion.
There is a place for the 20 and 23 ft rigs . Couples wanting to get everywhere without pulling a car.

Itasca66

Others opinions may very.

[Ramblingpair]

I (having owned one) would definitely look at the class c on the Mercedes sprinter diesel chassis. They can turn on a dime and drive like a car. You can park in most parking lots and tow a vehicle if you so choose. The class c also gives you the ability to boondock as well. You should test drive one of these units before doing anything.

[twogypsies]

A 27' foot is really not considered big and you will fit in campgrounds easily. We did with our 40'. We also boondocked in great remote places traveling on forest service and BLM roads.

However, I think you're problem is that you will not be towing a car and thus, you'll need to find space for routine shopping or if you want to go to a diner in town. It could also be problematic for parking at popular attractions although some places have spots for big rigs and you may luck out on getting one of those.

Personally, perhaps we sitesee in different ways from most folks but we could never RV without a car for getting around. Once we park the RV we'll travel 50 miles or so in either direction to explore the area and those might not be all on paved roads, especially in the West. Even a Class B won't have the road clearance to go some of the places we have. That's why we towed a Jeep. We had great fun with it.

I guess it just depends on the kind of things you'll do as you're traveling.

[twinboat]

Road test a Class A and a Class C.

Not around the block, but up on the highway, with passing trucks.

I loved the handling of the 23 ft diesel Sprinter B+ ? To small for us.

Couldn't keep the 30 ft Class A going straight down the highway. It was an older one with 50,000 miles. Felt like a truck.

The Class C handled almost as good as the B+ and was less expensive. Felt like a heavy loaded Van.

I bought the C and did a bit of handling improvements and now it handles like the B+, only longer and roomy.

Test Drive, Test Drive.

[Itasca66]

Parents rig 143,000 miles from 1982-2002 covered most of the USA.
It's a 1978 Itasca sundancer .👍😁 This related to my last post.

Itasca66

Mom made a clock she's in her 80s👍

[Hgrace56]

Originally Posted by Curiosity

In my 2nd day with salesmen on the purchase of a Class A. Been looking at Class A and Cs I found a 27 foot Class A and it is really nice but will it fit the way I plan to camp.
I do plan on stopping along the way to see the sites but what do you do with something that big. I have no toad at this time and hope to boondock as much as possible. I love Class B but way to small for me.
have you had a problem with the size of your A or C and how did you work around it. I thin I will be doing a lot of walking but that IS a good think. LOL
Just today on the way back from the RV show I saw a nice place to pull off to watch the sun set. Great if I had a Class B or my car but what about a 27 or 31 foot Class A or C.

Thanks for your help.

We have a 'Crossover' Fleetwood Terra SE 33s 2015.
Ford F53 chassis. We love it. Was around 102k out the door with Directv Travelr and full Rosdmaster anti sway Safety Plus and Track Bar.
We tow a 2007 Saturn Vue Hybrid.
No regrets. We go to 30 foot State parks in California where we are told by rangers "oh those length restrictions are old" if you can fit you can stay.
We also hit some high end RV resorts where we are surrounded by 600k rigs but we don't feel out of place.
Been to Colorado 75 mph nearly all the way. Very happy.
We are considering a DP but are not in a hurry because we enjoy our coach so much.
Good luck. Don't go too small. We will go 37 to 40 feet if we move up.

[TonyDi]

If your planning to boondock, getting around without a toad will be an issue. You can't always walk everywhere. Consider a bike on a rack. Or better yet a scooter like a Vespa. Easy to carry, not much weight, and fun to get around with.

[Isaac-1]

I have a 28 ft Class A, and it can be a bit limiting getting in and out of places, but it really is not all that bad, I can generally fit in anywhere that has 2 standard parking spaces end to end, although it is tight and I may intrude into neighboring parking spaces pulling out. Still I can fit in most mid size grocery store parking lots without a problem, and big box stores are downright easy, although I tend to stick to the outer reaches of the lots. Height limits are probably the biggest problem overhanging trees in parking lots, etc. and I don't even think about trying fast food places unless they are in front of a big box store.

[momdoc]

We ended up with a 25 foot Class C MBS after looking at B, B+ and C. Or original plan was not to tow a car with it. However we found after a month or so that even with the ability to take it almost anywhere and we always found parking for it at different locations when sightseeing it became a PIA to "break" camp every time we wanted to "explore". The solution was to get a small tow vehicle and we are very happy with that decision.


momdoc

[hohenwald48]

I have had 7 motorhomes from a 23'C to a 40'DP. My favorite was a 25'C. With both the 23C and the 25C I could generally park in just about any parking lot as long as I could find 2 adjacent spots. I have always pulled a Jeep Wrangler so that helps too. The 23C didn't have a fulltime bed and making the couch into a bed every night got to be a pain.

Small motorhomes are small and you won't find a big little motorhome.

I've heard nothing but bad things about the Sprinter chassis so I'd stay away from that. Seems they spend a good bit of time in the shop. I'm sure some don't but I like the tried and true Ford frames. If the extra fuel mileage of a Sprinter is a requirement then you are probably cutting it close on the travel budget in the first place.

A lot depends on how you plan to travel. Someone said their parents drove a class C across "Going To The Sun". Must have been a long time ago. They won't even let a dually pickup on that road now. You'll run into some restrictions like that with larger units but very few. All rigs are a compromise and only you can decide what you have to have and what you can live without.

[Itasca66]

Originally Posted by hohenwald48

I have had 7 motorhomes from a 23'C to a 40'DP. My favorite was a 25'C. With both the 23C and the 25C I could generally park in just about any parking lot as long as I could find 2 adjacent spots. I have always pulled a Jeep Wrangler so that helps too. The 23C didn't have a fulltime bed and making the couch into a bed every night got to be a pain.

Small motorhomes are small and you won't find a big little motorhome.

I've heard nothing but bad things about the Sprinter chassis so I'd stay away from that. Seems they spend a good bit of time in the shop. I'm sure some don't but I like the tried and true Ford frames. If the extra fuel mileage of a Sprinter is a requirement then you are probably cutting it close on the travel budget in the first place.

A lot depends on how you plan to travel. Someone said their parents drove a class C across "Going To The Sun". Must have been a long time ago. They won't even let a dually pickup on that road now. You'll run into some restrictions like that with larger units but very few. All rigs are a compromise and only you can decide what you have to have and what you can live without.

Yes they were out there 4 times and drove it thru. In the 80s and early 90s I was on top it was a awesome veiw. 1978 Itasca 21foot sundancer. 👍 Now you would have to ride in there site seeing buses they have. Logan's Pass ( road to the sun highway ) another one in the 80s was bear toothpass it's been changed alot now but that was a hairy ride no rails on side of road and drop offs that make your heart skip a beat.

Itasca66

[WendyG]

If you are willing to find two end to end spaces in the back of a big parking lot, you likely will be fine. Watch that tuning radius and rear end swing; you do not want to come back to find you cannot leave because others parked legally around you make it impossible for you to maneuver out. Our 33 foot class a fits within two end to end spots, but I try to plan my exit before I commit to a parking spot.

Without a toad might make it hard to sight see. Do you like to walk a lot? Or maybe you are happy on a bike? Or some places Uber or such?

[Podivin]

As suggested, rack or platform on the back to carry a bike or scooter is a good idea.
My wife and I have a platform on the back to carry our two adult trikes. We just spent a few days on Tybee Island with nothing but the bikes to get around with, no car. It was fine, we enjoy traveling that way.
But, if you're REALLY going to be boondocking (as opposed to parking in a Walmart parking lot), then you may find yourself a good bit farther from 'stuff' than we were. So you'll want to keep that in mind. Try it without a toad, if you find that you need one you can always get one along the way.