Class C Size Question

[Camp CA]

After 17 years towing large fifth wheel trailers, we are planning to downsize from our current 41 ft Montana fifth wheel to a 24-26 ft Class C motorhome to enable camping at Elks Clubs, Harvest Hosts and smaller rv parks. They come with a fixed bed like a Thor Four Winds BL or RW or Forest River Sunseeker 2400W and a murphy bed that converts to a couch providing more living space and larger kitchen counter top like the Thor Delando 24FB. Appreciate the feedback on their spaciousness adequacy and whether we should opt for theater seating (my preference) vs. dinette (wife's preference) in the main living area.

https://www.thormotorcoach.com/fourw...r/floor-plans/

https://forestriverinc.com/rvs/class...mbs/2400B/4924

https://www.thormotorcoach.com/delan...or-plans/24fb/

[NLOVNIT]

Hi & welcome to iRV2. Glad to have you.

I'm currently shopping for an under 26ft Class C to fit just me. Having had RV's with dinettes, they are not comfortable for long term sitting. If you get the dinette floorplan, be sure your cockpit seats will swivel & are comfortable enough for that long term sitting. My next RV will have just the theater seats. I'll eat on a bed tray (the kind with foldable legs) - I don't need a fixed table. When I need a fixed table, I'll go outside & use my campsite's picnic table.

I know some like them, but I would not want a murphy or foldable bed of any kind. If I'm traveling & not feeling well, I don't want to have to put out a slide & make up a bed to get in it. What if I happen to overnight in a rest area, WalMart or other place where I can't manage to put out the slide. Trying to get comfortable on an RV couch is not possible. I want a stationary, real bed.

Although you didn't ask, I found anything on the MB Sprinter chassis is low in CCC. Those would also be prone to the DEF issues. Plus it's harder to find service for a MB, IMO. I'm sticking with only RV's on the Ford E450 where none of those issues arise.

[Charles L]

For me they are too small. I have a 30'4'' class C and it seems barely adequate.
definitely go for the theater seating, You will get tired of the dinette. We rarely use our dinette except for storage and piling stuff on it. We do not have a bunk over the cab with our trekker type cabover. Also consider your bed length. A full 80'' length works for me at over 6' tall because I like to stretch out. The couch that turns into a bed most likely is very uncomfortable. Consider storage capability also. The smaller class C rv may not give much room for storage. You must consider towing capacity as well. I always tow my Jeep behind. Best of luck with your rv search.

[Flyer15015]

Just my $ .02, but you can find a small gas class "A' for a lot less money and have several floor plan selections and a whole lot more space.

Mike in Colorado

[fenderworks]

i am also looking for class c, small and easy. so any info will help.
my only must have is a bedroom in the back and a bed over the cab is a must (2 sleeping areas).

Flyer,
never thought about a class A, i will also look into this, thanks

[Gpenny]

My husband just posted about our considerations for a smaller Class C and the models we have considered. It was very informative to get the opinions of others about lounge vs theater seating and the Murphy bed.

Several features make me lean toward the Thor Delano 24 FW or the Navalon 24:

I hate making a bed and keeping it presentable. The Murphy bed would be so easy to tuck back up and then we would have a couch and the rear bath would store our clothes in the closet and I could dress in the bathroom. The bed is functional with the slide only sticking out about a foot. The mattress itself is shorter but there is a bit more upholstery, outside of the mattress where the pillows would go at the head of the bed.

These are the only models with decent counter space. All others were impossible to cook a meal in, much less make a sandwich. Our first fifth wheel was huge but had a tiny kitchen. If you eliminate the kitchen booth seating and table we would have no where to place a platter or a tray of drinks if the stove was being used or cooking.

We have theater seating on our fifth wheel and the recliners were not that comfy. The booth seating had extended footrests and propping up a couple of throw pillows made it extremely comfortable.

Thor and Winnebago had me at the Italian curved cabinetry. I know it is petty to just look at the aesthetics but these rigs were really pretty.

Negatives to these two models are that I wouldn’t feel comfortable towing a vehicle unless we were on the flats. We would be using Uber or renting a car.

The used Thor Delano 24FW that we saw was pretty beat up. The bed mechanism was broken and one of the drawer fronts had come off. It has a beautiful skylight with power shade that was fouled by someone throwing something up there. It was ridden hard and put away wet or the thing is just flimsy. Boy is it a pretty thing though.

We plan to take the Montana down to Palm Springs and Arizona for a couple of months so we can keep looking and keep educating ourselves.

[SergioP]

We had a 99 Tioga 24D, no slide, rear corner bed, cab over bed. It worked very well for the two of us except for the width of the rear bed. Size was 54x74, that was a little too narrow to sleep comfortably together. So my wife slept on the dinette. PITA to make it every time.

So our next rv needed to have a large enough bed for both of us to fit. We have a 60x80 bed now and it works. To get the extra wide bed the rear bath is narrower than the Tioga. We figured you don’t spend hours at one time in the bathroom so the trade off was ok. We also didn’t want a bed on a slide for a couple reasons, can’t put the slide out everywhere, if the slide malfunctions that’s not good, and you need to kinda make the bed after the slide is out. And we liked the 24foot length of the Tioga for ease of parking and driving in town, so we found the 2291s. Going to the rv show let us check out a bunch of models to compare.

Our U dinette is on a slide and it is comfortable enough, but theater seats would be ideal. We use a fold up chair to sit in the isle. The front cab seats swivel, we usually only use the passenger one.

Storage wise is pretty good. We got back from a 2 week trip with my MIL, the 3 of us had plenty of room for our stuff. The over head bed is great to put tubs of food, carry-on bags, etc. We use the bed safety net to keep things from falling from there. We had 2000lbs of spare of cargo capacity before maxing out.

I would really like a Transit 350 AWD for the better fuel economy and steering/ride. I know the Transit will be a little smaller inside and tank wise. They really can’t tow much, but we don’t tow. Right now there are not any options that we like. Maybe in a couple years there will be.

Good luck with your search!

[RangerZ]

We went with a 25 foot corner bed. The dinette is in the slide out. One trip and I came back and tore that dinette out and added 2 recliners. I removed the table top and made a smaller one. It works great for the 2 of us. The corner bed is just ok but I didn’t want to have to put a slide out to use it and can use it on rest stop breaks

[TechWriter]

Originally Posted by Flyer15015

Just my $ .02, but you can find a small gas class "A' for a lot less money and have several floor plan selections and a whole lot more space.

. . . and with levelers, 50A service, two ACs, much better CCC, etc

[NLOVNIT]

Usually, even theater seating in RV's is not all that comfortable for me. The backs are rarely high enough & they don't recline back far enough. In my perfect RV-design world, I'd leave out the OEM theater seating & get a LZB wall-hugger/double reclining loveseat.

[Isaac-1]

GPenny, if you want cooking area in a sub 30 ft coach it is hard (impossible?) to beat the setup we have, its a 2002 Safari Trek 2830 with almost 7 feet of kitchen countertop space total, ours is nearly identical to the one in this youtube video. same year, same model, different accent color on the exterior paint

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ms5xh_36jdY

[Ron Dittmer]

Concerning the topic of "size", I see it boiling down to two basic philosophies.

1) People who spend most daytime hours out hiking and sightseeing, either with a tow vehicle or with the motorhome itself. The motorhome is there primarily to meet "basic" morning & evening meals along with sleeping and showering accommodations.

2) People who hang out at their campsite a lot more often during the day, so more space to enjoy all day naturally becomes a higher priority.

[youracman]

Originally Posted by NLOVNIT

Usually, even theater seating in RV's is not all that comfortable for me. The backs are rarely high enough & they don't recline back far enough. In my perfect RV-design world, I'd leave out the OEM theater seating & get a LZB wall-hugger/double reclining loveseat.

Not to hijack this thread, but just a word of caution on the LazyBoy loveseats made today. (They ain't your grandad's LZB.)

1. I installed one in my rig (can't sleep in a bed anymore and there were very few "full recliners" available that would fit.) I was not happy with the "OSB-type" mat'l used for construction ...... seemed pretty "chintzy" and wiggly. However, I must admit I have been using it for about 6 years now (not a full timer) and it is still holding up fine....knock on wood.

2. Also, it is called a wall hugger, but it does need about 6" clearance behind to operate. For sleeping, I slide it out to the stops on the platform I made and if I need the extra 6" of walkway during the day, I slide it back to the wall.

Just my 'sperience. Not for everyone, of course.

Happy Holidays, all.

ps Clk on the pics to enlarge.

[Rocinante440]

Your smallest class C rigs will likely something from Leisure Travel Vans, the WGO Ekko, or something like that. How small do you want to go?