Buying New Class C Motorhome

[James Jake]

"James Jake" I see that you are a new member, with 48 posts. As I look at your comment, I can't help but think that it looks like it was posted by someone connected to the industry, just copying and pasting a huge list of options.
Also seems odd that you do not list a city or state.
If I am wrong , I apologize....but could you at least post your location.

I hope you dont gamble. If you would have rad my post I was responding to another reply that suggested that Thor lacks "Options" when it does not so I replied with an example of "Options" one could get with a Thor coach and that is all I was doing.

And I do not work at ALL for anyone and especially the RV industry, also, I guess I didnt put a place of residence in my bio which I thought I did but does it matter?

I am living in So. Cal. and hating the freaking crowds like you cant believe, LOL. I am in the process of buying a Thor Quantum Class C so that is why I know that they have all the options of any other manufacture if one would like it.

From what I have learned by lurking around here for the past few months and participating in various threads of Class Cs I find that fact to be very, very, true as one brand might have something whereas the other brand might not.

[garbonz]

We have looked at many class c and b mh's and settled on a Winnebago fuse class c on a Ford Transit chassis with a 3.2 l diesel. Several mfg are using these cab chassis unit which have great fuel economy are very quiet and in many ways superior to their gas powered counterparts. I recommend including them in you search and test drive them.

[Kraken]

If you get a sizable rig, the E450 chassis is really nice. I spent months looking and finally went with Jayco. I really like the J-ride with the Hellwig springs and Bilstein shocks. It's beautiful riding down the highway. But brand aside, if you get a long rig, I think it a good idea to get 2 air conditioners. A lot of folks have buyers remorse that first hot summer without it, and some folk admit to trading their rig for that very reason. Someone on here mentioned tow/haul. Now that I'm use to it I love it. On my old rig there was just the good old overdrive lockout, but tow/haul is so much better with it's automatic downshifting.

[rvtime2]

Originally Posted by Kraken

If you get a sizable rig, the E450 chassis is really nice. I spent months looking and finally went with Jayco. I really like the J-ride with the Hellwig springs and Bilstein shocks. It's beautiful riding down the highway. But brand aside, if you get a long rig, I think it a good idea to get 2 air conditioners. A lot of folks have buyers remorse that first hot summer without it, and some folk admit to trading their rig for that very reason. Someone on here mentioned tow/haul. Now that I'm use to it I love it. On my old rig there was just the good old overdrive lockout, but tow/haul is so much better with it's automatic downshifting.

Enjoy, wish ours had two ac units for reason you mentioned, but haven't had problem so far.

[cbigham]

Jacksonjack,
Sounds like your conundrum isn't unique. We too are looking for a new or newer class c. We have a fun mover 39c big 40 ft diesel toy hauler and a 21 ft starflyte but want to slim down to 1. We carry a rzr, a plated dirt bike, sometimes the Harley and tow a Jeep. Wife's neck picking up some arthritis making her rzr days limited. This summer the star of the show was that little starflyte, I hung a dual sport ktm off the back, got my motorcycle fix, and we used the starflyte as a van to see the sights, hit hike trails, etc.

Our dilemma:
Big or small.. slides or no. Slides is more stuff to leak, break, had that experience so know no matter what is said by sales staff, it will happen again on new. So far of the new we like the sun seeker the best. It has heated tanks, dump valve in a compartment away from the mud, muck. They seem decently built, the azdel siding taking some fear of delamination away. Nice set ups. Like to get a 2300 but those on 450 are rare, so maybe 2290 or if I gotta please momma, 2500ts . Winnebago 26a is nice too if spartan. We'll need to tow the jeep on occasion or a cargo trailer, so there is that, and a longer wheelbase like the 2500 has would be more controllable.

[KD0MOA]

Just bought 2018 Sunseeker, 3010 model, this has more ammenities than our 36' class A. Getting 7 mpg pulling 2013 F150, only has 1550 miles on it. Very comfortable.
John

[marjoa]

Originally Posted by TourNut

We are looking at Minnie Winnie 31K , hitch rating in brochures & on-line say 7500 lb hitch instead of 5000 lb. Local dealer was telling me 5000 lb until I corrected him , he looked it up at dealership info and it was indeed 7500 lb !

To everyone that's paying particular attention to the "hitch rating" part of this thread, let's be clear so some aren't mislead. Just because an RV hitch is rated for 7,500 lbs. or 5,000 lbs.—or whatever lbs.—doesn't mean that's what you can tow. You actually have to do a proper—ready to travel—RV weigh, then do the proper GVWR, GAWR, GCWR math to find out what you CAN actually tow. Lot's of threads on this subject.

As far as choice of Class C's...IMO Winnebago over Thor. Period!

[Montana170]

Also check the owners manual for allowable tongue weight if you are considering pulling a trailer. It may have a 5000lb hitch but in my case the mh manual states the tongue weight is limited to 200lb.

[23U_2016]

Originally Posted by Montana170

Also check the owners manual for allowable tongue weight if you are considering pulling a trailer. It may have a 5000lb hitch but in my case the mh manual states the tongue weight is limited to 200lb.

Very good advice. I bought a new 2016 Thor Four Winds 23U with an E450 chassis and Triton V10 motor (love that V10) partly based on the brochure which advertised 8,000 lb. hitch which made it a class IV rated hitch. Sure enough it was a class IV hitch but due to the way it was mounted, it had been de-rated down to a 500 lb. tongue weight. The experts say you need 10 to 15 percent of the trailer weight to be on the tongue to prevent trailer sway and achieve safe towing. Of course this does not apply to flat towing where the tongue weight is less. So I spent around a $1,000 for a local RV welding and frame expert to bring the hitch up to a true class IV rating of 1,200 lb. or more as my welder says. Now I easily carry my motorcycles on a hitch based carrier. Yes, I do occasionally carry two motorcycles. I carried my 1971 SL350 Honda and my 1971 CT90 Honda to Vintage Motorcycle Days at Mid-Ohio this past summer. Also worthy of note is that my 23' Class C is perfect for the wife and I. It is so easy to get around in we use it for RV dates at places like the Olive Garden. Just call the order in on the way down and it is ready when we get there. We park on the back of the lot and chill out with our new cocker spaniel. No slide outs so parking is simple-turn the key off.

[Capt Steve]

23U 2016,

I like the way you beefed up your hitch but I think you have overlooked one crucial factor... Putting several hundred pounds on the rear of a 23' C has to take a lot of weight off of your front axle and quite possibly overloads your rear. I suggest a trip to the CAT scale with your bikes loaded.... I think you're in for a rude surprise. Good luck.

[Montana170]

Originally Posted by Capt Steve

23U 2016,

I like the way you beefed up your hitch but I think you have overlooked one crucial factor... Putting several hundred pounds on the rear of a 23' C has to take a lot of weight off of your front axle and quite possibly overloads your rear. I suggest a trip to the CAT scale with your bikes loaded.... I think you're in for a rude surprise. Good luck.

Exactly the problem.

[23U_2016]

Originally Posted by Capt Steve

23U 2016,

I like the way you beefed up your hitch but I think you have overlooked one crucial factor... Putting several hundred pounds on the rear of a 23' C has to take a lot of weight off of your front axle and quite possibly overloads your rear. I suggest a trip to the CAT scale with your bikes loaded.... I think you're in for a rude surprise. Good luck.

Been there done that.
No rude surprise. Front weight is fine. RV drives and tracks great.
The issue is simple physics and the structural engineering of a cantilever.
The 23U is so short that there is almost no cantilever beyond the E450 factory frame.
It is you guys with the long class C that may have this problem.

[Capt Steve]

Originally Posted by 23U_2016

Been there done that.
No rude surprise. Front weight is fine. RV drives and tracks great.
The issue is simple physics and the structural engineering of a cantilever.
The 23U is so short that there is almost no cantilever beyond the E450 factory frame.
It is you guys with the long class C that may have this problem.

I am really curious as to what your weights were, care to share? I have a Nexus Phantom 23P, nose to tail it is 24'6" and there is no way I could ever put that kind of weight on the rear and maintain the recommended 33% on the front axle.

This inquiring mind really would like to know.

[ltcboyd73]

Hi everyone;

We are in the process also of finalizing our pick for a Class C unit. We have narrowed our search down to either a Jayco Jayhawk 31DS or a WBO Aspect 30J unit. We like the Jayhawk floor plan the best and the possible price options. Many of the blogs say the WBO has a higher end quality but we do not see that much difference between the two units we are considering. We are planning on purchasing in the spring of 2018 and take a look at the 2019 units before settling on the unit.

Any opinions and recommendations on these two units would be most appreciated to help understand the RV selection process.