Why so few class C's with bunk under 23 feet these days?

[wanderso]

I seem to only find Born free's Jewel as fitting the bill and include a side couch.

Under 23 used to be common.

The reason I need that length? Wife is handicapped and this allows us to do day trips otherwise not possible (parking stall size)

[Murf2u]

IMHO you don't see bunks much in a Class C because there's already so much sleeping capacity, standard bed for two, dinette for two more, cabover for two more, and if it has a jackknife sofa there's room for another two more.

[wanderso]

Sorry - my wording wasn't very clear, although I did have a friend with a '78 Tioga that had rear side bunks, rear restroom, cabover, and dinette.

Some call my chinook a class c despite not having a cabover bunk and I was avoiding that debate about B+. What I'm meaning is that it would be awesome to have more class C's with a cabover bunk and under 23 feet actual length max (22 preferred) in the following configuration:

Cabover bunk
Side sofa
Dinette or sofa opposite the side sofa
Rear bath
Or side bath and rear kitchen.

Some used to also offer a rear lounge but that is also uncommon now in a short length.

Most of shorter length only offer a dinette due to where they install the water heater, furnace, etc. Although my current rig is evidence that it can be designed to accommodate these.

There are several benefits for being shorter length, especially for day trips where parking at venues is a premium and the typical single parking spot is 22 feet max.

[Murf2u]

Your wish list brings to mind the old saying, 'trying to put 10 pounds of potatoes in a 5 pound bag.

There's only so much real estate to work with and so the options are very limited. Then on top of that, the manufacturers want to offer the most popular floor plan options.

I think the only way you're going to find a sofa in a unit that small is one that has no dinette.

[nothermark]

No dinette, hardly any kitchen and not much bathroom. Ditto tanks and batteries. Try drawing up a floor plan with what you want. If you can get it on paper you may be able to find a custom shop to do the work.

[brobox]

I remember years ago and why probably many aren't made anymore. they were overloaded when they left the factory. Rear kitchens are too much weight behind the axles on a small truck chassis.

[Mich F]

I had the layout you're looking for in a 24' 1997 Coachmen 220RK. It is/was a very popular floor plan. I could always find somewhere to park.
It had the cabover bunk with a side jack-knife sofa, dinette opposite the sofa, with a rear kitchen, with bath in the driver's side rear corner.
Looking at new class C offerings from a number of manufacturers, I haven't found that floorplan. Most of the shorter MHs seem to have the corner bed. The shorter ones are getting longer also. In 1995 I had a rear corner bed in a 22' Four Winds.

[wanderso]

Actually, one manufacturer is doing one: Born Free. http://www.bornfreerv.com

This is available on the E350 or 450 chassis. (I would pick the 450)

The Jewell model is under 22 feet actual length. It has a bathroom that is decent size and they have a floor plan (not shown on the website) that has 2 incline sofas (powered) and this sleeping option per a call to the manufacturer:

The cab over bed is 66” wide X 83” Long. The sofa bed is 48” wide X 60” long but it is intended to use (2) sofas across from each other & when they are both down against each other you have a queen bed measuring 60” wide x 96’ long.

I just toured their Freedom model that is 23 feet 9 inches. For both the kitchen is on the driver's side near the rear. The closet, bathroom and shower are across the back of the RV.

The only notable difference between the Freedom in this layout and the Jewel is the length of the sofas. (They are longer than the figure above and there are added floor plan options)

The catch? The Jewel is a new model and while the build quality and durability of materials are awesome, the price is also well north of 6 figures as a result. Seems that Nexus or others could accomplish the same thing as they have the same Ford chassis available to them. While my situation may be more unique, I get a lot of comments from others on the appeal of the length of our current Chinook Concourse and it's park ability for smaller camping areas and day trips.

Our current Chinook has a side dinette and jackknife sofa. They also offered a 2 twin bed configuration or jackknife sofa and 2 chairs in the "club lounge" layout. In the dinette+sofa configuration I have, the two combine to make a larger sleeping area. The gotcha on the dinette is that in my case it is 68" long and I'm 72" tall. That works fine for the couch because it is just long enough at 73". Once my son reaches my height, he will need to sleep outside in a tent. Wait - maybe that is a good thing! . It is doable for now for the family of 4 to sleep on the wide bed but an added sleeping area would be a nice bonus, especially if there is rain.

The particular Born Free I looked at had an entertainment center in the cabover but of course that can also be the bunk. Here are a few photos that I took. (Didn't get a picture of the good sized shower) Sorry I didn't have a long lens to do a wide angle view.

[wanderso]

To clarify, the dinette and sofa sleeping area in a Chinook Concourse when folded down is 68x86 . (Couch is 73x50, dinette is 68x36 - 5 more inches available in the couch area depending if you sleep across the RV width wise vs front to back).

[wanderso]

It appears that Europe has a lot more experience than us in building RVs that are fuel efficient and maximize space. Here is one such example that has both C's and B's that are under 23 feet. Slovenia - Adria Mobil

They even have a Class B that can sleep 5 (2 double beds, 1 single).

The transition in the market towards vans that have been produced in Europe for decades (Ford Transit, Ducato (Ram Promaster), etc. that are more efficient but also have less weight carrying capacity will likely further move the market significantly in the next 5 years. This will also open up a more youthful market for this lifestyle, which is good for the market overall.

There are some things about the European design that I certainly don't like such as cassette toilets being common instead of black water tanks (no thanks!) but part of that is more due to infrastructure in countries than weight and space issues. (they still have decent sized grey tanks). Here are some video walk-arounds. European Motorhome Review - for the American RV Traveler

Perhaps I'm just too far ahead of the market in the US, but one has to think the change is coming. The Winnebago Trend and Dynamax Rev get close, but are a foot too long. The Born Free Jewel fits the bill length wise but @ 10 MPG with the Ford V10 and is a price premium (but great quality)

These aren't for everyone, but for those that want a vehicle that:

1) Can be used for day trips and park in a standard parking space (<23 feet)
2) Can park in a standard driveway
3) Can sleep up to 4 people in 2 or more sleeping areas
4) Obtain up to 20 MPG using gasoline (as a B; 16 MPG as a C) rather than paying the premium per gallon cost for diesel
5) Can serve as a 2nd or 3rd family vehicle on occasion / as needed
6) Require no toad/ towed vehicle for day excursions while @ camp and are affordable to drive around for the day.
7) Great for tailgating
8) May be allowed to be parked in neighborhoods with code covenants and restrictions (CC&Rs)

These of course don't replace the need in the market for larger RVs that folks full time in, or if where you live means camping often in the rain (and the 'cramped' feel that brings if in a smaller space).

[nothermark]

The Europeans have specialized in small for many years because their tax structure makes large prohibitively expensive. Much of their stuff has extensive fold out and other canvas to compensate. We do not have their space constraints or their tax structure. Many of us stopped tenting because we no longer deal well with canvas and the setup and tear down. The only advantage of those euroboxes is that the are small thus fuel efficient. Everything else on the check list is a negative including the inability to take a towed so I do not need to tear down camp to go to the grocery store or sight seeing.