Did you consider length before purchase?

[HighDesert]

Length was an issue for us, as all the RV's we have had in th past had to be stored outside, plus a lot of NF CG's and other places had a size restriction of around 29 feet, as a rule. we finally downsized from 31' 5th wheel and went with the MBS Sprinter with a rear bedroom slide that makes total length around 27 to 28 feet. Perfect size for about any CG. Also, I can store this in my shop for the times we are not using it and the weather does not beat it to death. We travel with the two of us, small dog and 2 cats. Works out fine.

[JONWisconsin]

My DW would not take anything smaller than or 31' because we spend half of the year in it. If you are not spending much time it might be different. Driving it is no big deal.

[Catalina240]

Originally Posted by SCVJeff

We camp at the beach 99.5% of the time. I needed to fit the coach and a toad in the space available. I also chose the slides on the street side so as not to preclude any patio space whatsoever, and i wanted big windows on the patio side looking at the water. The coach in the sig fit all those requirements. If and when we don’t hit the beach in the future, that may change. But it was bought specifically for this purpose

Its a matter of opinion, really. My 24ft sleeps 6 and my wife and kids were fine through high school. One slept in the overhead and one with the dinette down. They do have ladders for the overhead and it is safe. You still have the same issue with the upper bunk so its no different. Smaller is easier to drive, easier to maintain, and costs less. Id stick with 25ft or under bumper to bumper. As soon as the reach middle school, parents arent as cool hanging out with and you might end up with parents only use sooner than you think. The 22qb does have a ton of under storage for its size. I have a 24ft and would have actually liked a 22 ft even better.

[elite wa]

We have a 32ft bunkhouse and haven’t had any problems finding spots. We do a mixture of parks and private campgrounds. Really I would just search the campgrounds or parks that are on your bucket list. If you can work a bunkhouse that’s what I would get. We have a 5 and 2 year old and they love the side bunks. The extra room is great and you don’t have to tear down and set up a bed each night. Doesn’t seem like a big deal until you do it 7 days in a row.

[JohnBoyToo]

No, we considered floor plan and what we wanted to do with it first...
I started out in tents, went to class b's, class c's, TT's, 5'ers, and now class a...


a live-able floor plan is everything and only you can decide what that means - our needs and wants will have no bearing on it


length is just a function of features you want --- East coast parks are typically smaller and mid or west coast typically larger... good luck on YOUR decision

[HaRVey 74.5]

We always think we're considering size each time.
1st time, I wanted to keep TT to no more than 26' for site access, but wife wanted 32' for storage etc.
2nd time, 29' Class A which was good for most sites, but a little too small for us as we were traveling further and longer.
Finally 34'7" DP and can still fit in all 30' sites we like to visit.
So consider your needs, wants, floorplan, room for growing boys/stuff and where you want to go and for how long, etc. Lots to consider that influence size decisions.
Most RVs are ~1.5-2' longer than their model number indicates, so if a specific total physical length is critical, be sure to measure.
Good luck!

[CyrusL]

Originally Posted by HaRVey 74.5

...

Most RVs are ~1.5-2' longer than their model number indicates, so if a specific total physical length is critical, be sure to measure.
Good luck!

Yeah, we noticed that that's true also.When my wife and I were looking at motorhomes we would bring our tape measure. We have exactly 25 ft 2 inches in our driveway. It was amusing listening to sales people tell us that it was 24 ft when really it was closer to 26.

[ThirdSpaceCO]

Took the DW to a local RV show (a dealership sponsored sale really) and she liked the Jayco Melbourne based on the MB chassis. This is the ideal length for me but not sure it's enough for a growing family of 4. I liked that the cab chairs swiveled around and an extra table is included between them. I wish the Ford chassis based C's had more cab swivel chairs.

[Ron Dittmer]

Originally Posted by ThirdSpaceCO

I wish the Ford chassis based C's had more cab swivel chairs.

They do pending the floorplan.

Our E350 passenger seat swivels.

The driver seat could also swivel if two things were in-place.
1) There is no obstruction directly behind the driver seat (a dinette in our case).
2) You sacrifice the 6-way power driver seat option for a swivel pedestal option.

To get #1 you need a slide out behind the driver seat to open up the space behind it.

That Melbourne 24K is nice. I am not a lover of slide outs, but I do like the rear-protruding bedroom slide out.

[Capt Steve]

5.5 years ago we made the switch from our 22' TT to our 24.5' Class C {Nexus Phantom 23P}. The amenities are remarkably similar and after 50K miles we still could not be happier with our choice. We can sightsee, grocery shop virtually anywhere and if a campground or RV Park only has one site we know we will fit.

For the last few years, I have been towing my motorcycle and even though it is just a 6 X 10" cargo trailer it adds 14' overall to our coach. This necessitates a lot more work to find compatible sites and eliminates many destinations that would easily be open to us without the bike and trailer.

Often we will make the decision to leave the bike and trailer home just to get back to the ease of RV'ing with just our coach. This is particularly true during the dreaded "Snowbird" season here in southern Arizona. From December through April you have to work pretty hard to lock in sites at most of the preferred locations but having an abundance of local knowledge we manage.

Whether or not length will be a big factor depends on where and how you plan to use your rig. Shop for a coach that will best meet your needs "most" of the time
and learn to compromise the rest.

A side note from above, think twice before sacrificing having the 6-way power driver's seat in a Ford chassis in favor of a swiveling seat. The power seat is so comfortable and makes long days on the road a piece of cake. Also if you have a streetside slide it will probably restrict your ability to push the driver's seat back much less recline it as far as you might like.

If you are over 6' tall or the first number when you get on the scale is larger than one you may not be all that comfortable in a Class C that is under 26'.
As always... opinions and YMMV.

[johnl147]

I would look at a lot of them and get the shortest one that fits the family’s needs. The kids will grow fast and love the over cab space. We have a Forest river sunseeker 2500ts and it works great for us. Had 3 before and we just kept “upgrading” to shorter ones every time. They ride and drive so much better in my experience.

[ThirdSpaceCO]

Originally Posted by Capt Steve

5.5 years ago we made the switch from our 22' TT to our 24.5' Class C {Nexus Phantom 23P}. The amenities are remarkably similar and after 50K miles we still could not be happier with our choice. We can sightsee, grocery shop virtually anywhere and if a campground or RV Park only has one site we know we will fit.



For the last few years, I have been towing my motorcycle and even though it is just a 6 X 10" cargo trailer it adds 14' overall to our coach. This necessitates a lot more work to find compatible sites and eliminates many destinations that would easily be open to us without the bike and trailer.



Often we will make the decision to leave the bike and trailer home just to get back to the ease of RV'ing with just our coach. This is particularly true during the dreaded "Snowbird" season here in southern Arizona. From December through April you have to work pretty hard to lock in sites at most of the preferred locations but having an abundance of local knowledge we manage.



Whether or not length will be a big factor depends on where and how you plan to use your rig. Shop for a coach that will best meet your needs "most" of the time

and learn to compromise the rest.



A side note from above, think twice before sacrificing having the 6-way power driver's seat in a Ford chassis in favor of a swiveling seat. The power seat is so comfortable and makes long days on the road a piece of cake. Also if you have a streetside slide it will probably restrict your ability to push the driver's seat back much less recline it as far as you might like.



If you are over 6' tall or the first number when you get on the scale is larger than one you may not be all that comfortable in a Class C that is under 26'.

As always... opinions and YMMV.

Thank you for the feedback and your personal experience. I realize I don't know what I don't know with regards to motorhomes.

Fortunately, we are smaller in stature. I'm 5'7" 140 and my DW is about 5'5". I tell people all the time there are benefits to being a smaller person; especially in RVing.

[Teamfoxy]

Longer Class C's have a lot of rear overhang. It is easy to overload the rear axle, so any class C over 24 feet should be on the E-450 chassis with its higher rear GAWR. We were happy at 24.5 feet in our Itasca Spirit and never had a problem getting a campsite. But we needed more storage and weight capacity for longer travels. We decided to limit the current class A to under 35' for campsite availability and so that we could still store it beside our house. We will be leaving soon for the summer.

[BCam]

When we were looking to move from a 25' TT (no slides) to a MH since my wife's mobility had decreased to the point she was wheelchair dependent, we started looking in the 30' range but stumbled on an Itasca Suncruiser 35U that had a wheelchair lift already installed. In retrospect, had we gone with a 30 footer, it probably wouldn't have had the maneuvering room we need for the wheelchair, particularly in terms of bed access.

The primary reason for our focus on the 30' range was to maximize our national and state park access. We had to give some of that up for accessibility. It's all about priorities and compromise.