New Class C ( what should I know)

[Waynep117]

Hello everyone....
Hope you guys had a great Christmas, and a Happy New year.
Just to give a little update on where I am with our RV. We're looking to purchase our new RV- motorhome around early March- May of 019. With all the home work I have done, I thought I was pretty much pre-pared with our first RV ever. Until the other day!
When I found out some motorhomes, especially new? Don't come fully set up with auto leveling. For example, it looks like Jayco in paticualar only come PREPED on the lot, and you have to have the JACKS added. which will add around $4000 to the total price. IS this normal with most companies? And does that price sound accurate?
Please take the time to talk about that (anyone)-
And anything else I should know to make the unit ready for camping "besides" electrical connections/water hoses/ Sewer hoses, etc...

We're also considering, Winnebago, Coachman and Thor along with Jayco.

Thanks!

[Contrarian]

Many (most?) class C types don’t have leveling systems for the sake of $ and weight savings.

AFAIK the new ones are pretty much ready to go. As mentioned you will have to get your hook up hoses and such.

[Harvard]

Ford ships the E350/E450 with +3 to +4 degrees of caster which is OK for city driving BUT you need to have +5 to +6 degrees of caster for highway speeds, OTHERWISE:

POPULAR MECHANICS MAY 1973:
START QUOTE:
If too little caster exists, the car will wander and weave,
thus necessitating constant corrections in steering.
END QUOTE:

[Waynep117]

Originally Posted by Harvard

Ford ships the E350/E450 with +3 to +4 degrees of caster which is OK for city driving BUT you need to have +5 to +6 degrees of caster for highway speeds, OTHERWISE:

POPULAR MECHANICS MAY 1973:
START QUOTE:
If too little caster exists, the car will wander and weave,
thus necessitating constant corrections in steering.
END QUOTE:

I am lost here, can you go into more detail

[joet19711]

Originally Posted by Waynep117

Hello everyone....
Hope you guys had a great Christmas, and a Happy New year.
Just to give a little update on where I am with our RV. We're looking to purchase our new RV- motorhome around early March- May of 019. With all the home work I have done, I thought I was pretty much pre-pared with our first RV ever. Until the other day!
When I found out some motorhomes, especially new? Don't come fully set up with auto leveling. For example, it looks like Jayco in paticualar only come PREPED on the lot, and you have to have the JACKS added. which will add around $4000 to the total price. IS this normal with most companies? And does that price sound accurate?
Please take the time to talk about that (anyone)-
And anything else I should know to make the unit ready for camping "besides" electrical connections/water hoses/ Sewer hoses, etc...

We're also considering, Winnebago, Coachman and Thor along with Jayco.

Thanks!

Take a look at the Dynamax Line of Class C's

[Contrarian]

Originally Posted by Waynep117

I am lost here, can you go into more detail

I your new class C is on a Ford E450 chassis you may notice it is a chore to steer it down the road due to having to make constant steering corrections.

This is easily remedied by having the front end aligned.
Insist on maximum caster. ( one of the adjustable angles in the front end geometry)

Easy fix. Inherent in most new E450 machines.

[Myrons31]

At the very least you will probably need to upgrade the coach battery size or add more batteries if you plan on any time camping without hookups. Most units come with just a single coach battery if I am not mistaken, and that will probably be a size 27. And that won't last you long in run time.

I can't say too much about what comes standard or optional on new units. But camping ready could mean a whole lot of things.

Here are a couple of accessories that are pretty much needed: Vent covers for any time you want vents open in the rain. Surge protection, either hard wired or portable. Maybe an inverter, if not so equipped. An Extend a Stay kit to hook up any propane fueled cooking units you may plan on using.

[LOG]

Features/Options that should be considered(If offered):
Auto Levelers
Battery upgrade to two or more batteries
AC/DC Inverter
Features/Options that are nice to have:
Electric/Gas water heater
MCD Roller Shades
Auto generator switch over
Battery disconnect switch

[Waynep117]

Originally Posted by Contrarian

I your new class C is on a Ford E450 chassis you may notice it is a chore to steer it down the road due to having to make constant steering corrections.

This is easily remedied by having the front end aligned.
Insist on maximum caster. ( one of the adjustable angles in the front end geometry)

Easy fix. Inherent in most new E450 machines.

Ever heard of Safe T plus steering control; Does this help with it- or would you recommend both...or either.

[Harvard]

Originally Posted by Waynep117

Ever heard of Safe T plus steering control; Does this help with it- or would you recommend both...or either.

Caster makes the steering want to track straight as opposed to using springs to force the steering to track straight. Your choice.

[tbillet]

Originally Posted by

When I found out some motorhomes, especially new? [B

Don't come fully set up with auto leveling.[/B] For example, it looks like Jayco in paticualar only come PREPED on the lot, and you have to have the JACKS added. which will add around $4000 to the total price. IS this normal with most companies? And does that price sound accurate?

Please take the time to talk about that (anyone)-

And anything else I should know to make the unit ready for camping "besides" electrical connections/water hoses/ Sewer hoses, etc...



We're also considering, Winnebago, Coachman and Thor along with Jayco.



Thanks!

Not sure what Jayco class C you’re looking at but all the ones we saw had auto-level jacks standard.

[tbillet]

Originally Posted by Harvard

Ford ships the E350/E450 with +3 to +4 degrees of caster which is OK for city driving BUT you need to have +5 to +6 degrees of caster for highway speeds, OTHERWISE:

POPULAR MECHANICS MAY 1973:
START QUOTE:
If too little caster exists, the car will wander and weave,
thus necessitating constant corrections in steering.
END QUOTE:

Our 2018 alignment:



Caster was actually better than what I expected from factory.

[Steverino]

As with any motorhome, please take a careful look at the GCVWR, GVWR, and GAWR numbers. There are lots of threads on here about weight issues. Main thing is to be sure you have enough weight capacity for what (and whom) you want to carry, as well as anything you want to tow.

Our class C was a large coach on the E450 chassis, and while we had lots of storage, the chassis was closer to being maxed out than I would have liked. No way we could have traveled with any significant water / waste in our tanks.

Best wishes in your search!

[Contrarian]

Originally Posted by tbillet

Not sure what Jayco class C you’re looking at but all the ones we saw had auto-level jacks standard.

Red hawk standard equipment is auto level jack PREP.
Greyhawk standard equipment is auto level jacks