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Old 06-25-2019, 09:57 AM   #1
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Which Affordable Class C is Dependable?

Hello all!

I’ve been a member for awhile, but have yet to purchase a motorhome. I was waiting a few years when the kids were out of the house to get a class B with solar, lithiums and underhood generator. I was planning on travelling for weeks at a time, so boondocking was important.

However, I am now in a financial position to get an RV much sooner than expected, but I will be using it for weekend travel (two or three nights each week). All of my favorite locations within a 2 hour drive have affordable RV spaces for $15-$25 a night (with the Passport membership). Now, boondocking seems less important since I won’t be paying for a campground every night for weeks on end. I also need the extra beds for the kids. So, a Class C is a better fit.

There are several in my area that have a list price of $55,000 - $60,000 (all brand new). Having all Ultraleather seats would be nice because of the dog hair, but not enough to pay an extra $10,000-$15,000. I can just make seat covers. I saw a NEW 2020 Redhawk 25R (list price $60,000) with an outdoor kitchen, all Ultraleather, and TONS of space that I LOVE, but I think 29 foot would make me very nervous to drive. Also, for the price I am nervous that this model is going to have stuff breaking left and right.

I’ve been in the 20 foot Travato Class B and think I could go up to 24 feet no problem. A nice interior and features would be great, but I’m more concerned about an affordable price. I will have kids and dogs in this thing and they are messy.

I can trade it in for a more luxurious class B in a few years when the kids go to college, but for now I want a cheap and dependable model that I will be using for about 3-4 years. I’ve been looking at the more affordable options: Jayco Redhawk, Thor Daybreak, Freedom Elite, Forest River Sunseeker LE, and Coachman Orion (usually the smallest floor plan of each). Any thoughts on these in terms of dependability and durability?

Also, I don’t quite see the point in a tiny dinette since I don’t spend much time sitting at a table. Do you guys prefer a U-shaped or Dream dinette for lounging and socializing? Thanks in advance to everyone for any thoughts/advice!
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Old 06-25-2019, 10:11 AM   #2
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My wife and I have a Jayco Melbourne 24L. Since it is just the two of us we fit the size very well and find it comfortable but I would hesitate to say the 24ft is big enough for 4 people unless somebody stays outside except to sleep. One rainy day and you would be sure a larger size fits the need for more inside space. Perhaps a small class A would give you the inside space without a high cost.
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Old 06-25-2019, 11:27 AM   #3
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2018 Winnebago NAVION 24V - 25'8" long - after 22,000 miles, pretty reliable - not inexpensive, however. Came with some really nice features, and some great upgrades to older units, and it has some simple features that could have been upgraded but weren't. There's some room for improvement, and many of the things I would have liked to see upgraded in our 2018, are now included in the 2020 View/Navion. The problem with the new one is they're forcing buyers to take their "new and improved" cab over bunk, and we don't want one. It's a show stopper for us.

Overall we're happy with our unit. Not sure how our floor plan would work for someone with kids and dogs, as we have the low profile version, no cab over bunk.
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Old 06-25-2019, 11:41 AM   #4
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I'm inexperienced with RVs, as I've only had this first one for 8 months. In that amount of time, I've spent a ton of time on the forums, though. What I've noticed is that increased purchase price doesn't really reduce headaches, though. I think the simplest unit from a reputable builder is your ticket for low frustration. Jayco will likely do a good job routing the wiring for the outside TV, for instance. But any brand seems to have the same cheap unit. More expensive brands have more features, which doesn't really translate to more reliability of the features it has. For instance, our very basic RV has no wired stereo. That bothered me at first. Then I bought a $100 bluetooth speaker that has enough battery for the weekend. It works every time, and I don't have to worry about how it's wired, which cheap head unit they used, etc. Look at the threads around frustration with stereos, and ask yourself if that's really a feature. The side cameras on my coach were an extra-cost option, and they offer maybe 5% of the utility of the always-included mirrors. It's just something to fail, and was in the very short punchlist of items to fix on my 30-day checkup.

Much of the stuff I added is stuff that typically wouldn't have come in a fancy unit. For instance--a dimmer for the awning light is a necessity, but it cost $10 to add myself. I added a brake controller for my trailer, a scangauge, a TPMS, vent covers, blackout shades, a MaxxFan, painted the wheels (to remove the simulators), added front/rear swaybars, and aligned the thing. Your Jayco would have some of the suspension stuff already. Most of the other stuff would be aftermarket on something that would cost substantially more.

So, I wouldn't worry at all about a cheap unit from a good manufacturer. Figure out what features you really care about, and add them later.

I don't think your 29' unit would be any more difficult to drive than my 26' unit, which is easy after some handling upgrades.
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Old 06-25-2019, 11:37 PM   #5
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My advice for your first RV is to buy used, that way it is further down the depreciation curve and someone else has taking that initial hit, dealt with the initial manufacturing defects, and it will hurt less in a couple of years if you decide to trade it in on the one you should have bought in the first place.


The problem with shopping for your first coach is simply, you don't know what you don't know. There will be features that you think will be important to you when you are shopping, then in a couple of years realize they are things you almost never use, and there will be others things that may have never occurred to you to think about that you find you can't live without.


Everyone is different, and a first RV is a learning tool to find some of these things. Maybe you think you can't live without an outdoor entertainment center, just to find that the campgrounds you like to stay at are not conductive to using them with neighbors 10-15 feet away. Maybe it is dreaded corner bed, that many people find they hate the first time they have to change the sheets, or crawl over their spouse to get to the bathroom in the middle of the night. It is different for everyone, and no matter how much thought you give to buying the right coach the first time around, chances are you will miss some of these things, because simply put, you don't know what you don't know.


p.s. when looking at B's and C's in particular, pay careful attention to the cargo carrying capacity (pounds of stuff you can carry), because they are built on van chassis, many of them have little weight carrying capacity, some of the popular Sprinter based B+ units have under 700 pounds of carrying capacity with empty water tanks (all that junk like food, pots, pans, clothes, BBQ grill, passengers, ... adds up). For perspective 25 gallons of water weighs 208 pounds, water use per person per day is typically at 5 gallons or more for toilet and basic dish rinsing, if you are going to take showers it will be even more, though some hardcore boondockers recycle their shower water for toilet flushing, RV showers typically use 2 gallons of water per minute, as a man I find I can take a quick cleansing shower in under 3 minutes total (I have a digital shower timer that goes off at the 3 minute mark) including turning water off to lather up with the quick cutoff button, by contrast my wife gets mad at me when I remind her that she has been in the shower for 10 minutes.
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Old 07-07-2019, 01:14 PM   #6
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I would agree with buying used in your situation. If you are planning to buy a different one in a couple of years. We looked at 25 to 27ft class C's and ended up with a 31ft. Once you get a few miles under belt the extra few feet is no big deal. We bought ours new but we are empty nesters so we knew we where going to have it for 10 plus years.
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Old 07-07-2019, 03:56 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Spacecadet View Post
Hello all!

I’ve been a member for awhile, but have yet to purchase a motorhome. I was waiting a few years when the kids were out of the house to get a class B with solar, lithiums and underhood generator. I was planning on travelling for weeks at a time, so boondocking was important.

However, I am now in a financial position to get an RV much sooner than expected, but I will be using it for weekend travel (two or three nights each week). All of my favorite locations within a 2 hour drive have affordable RV spaces for $15-$25 a night (with the Passport membership). Now, boondocking seems less important since I won’t be paying for a campground every night for weeks on end. I also need the extra beds for the kids. So, a Class C is a better fit.

There are several in my area that have a list price of $55,000 - $60,000 (all brand new). Having all Ultraleather seats would be nice because of the dog hair, but not enough to pay an extra $10,000-$15,000. I can just make seat covers. I saw a NEW 2020 Redhawk 25R (list price $60,000) with an outdoor kitchen, all Ultraleather, and TONS of space that I LOVE, but I think 29 foot would make me very nervous to drive. Also, for the price I am nervous that this model is going to have stuff breaking left and right.

I’ve been in the 20 foot Travato Class B and think I could go up to 24 feet no problem. A nice interior and features would be great, but I’m more concerned about an affordable price. I will have kids and dogs in this thing and they are messy.

I can trade it in for a more luxurious class B in a few years when the kids go to college, but for now I want a cheap and dependable model that I will be using for about 3-4 years. I’ve been looking at the more affordable options: Jayco Redhawk, Thor Daybreak, Freedom Elite, Forest River Sunseeker LE, and Coachman Orion (usually the smallest floor plan of each). Any thoughts on these in terms of dependability and durability?

Also, I don’t quite see the point in a tiny dinette since I don’t spend much time sitting at a table. Do you guys prefer a U-shaped or Dream dinette for lounging and socializing? Thanks in advance to everyone for any thoughts/advice!

For affordability, reliability, quality construction, and years of support in case of problems or parts or construction documentation ... I'd go with one of these built on the Ford E450 chassis regardless of length: https://winnebagoind.com/products/cl...specifications
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Old 07-07-2019, 05:55 PM   #8
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Winnebago has been building good quality reasonably priced B’s andC’s for along time. I would look at them along with maybe Jayco. Used would be good for the reasons mentioned above.
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Old 07-08-2019, 08:24 AM   #9
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If I were getting a Class C, I would want one that had a fiberglass cap that at least covered the forward seams on the overhead bunk area. Those seams bear the brunt of wind driven rain when driving down the road. Water will be driven into the smallest of cracks in the sealant.

Jayco's have a fiberglass cap that fits the entire nose. Winnebago's Winnie Minnies and Spirits have a partial fiberglass cap that wraps around and covers the forward facing seams. There are other models that have partial caps also.
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Old 07-10-2019, 06:59 PM   #10
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Which Affordable Class C is Dependable?

Used Winnebagos have always been a favorite for me. Why not a Class A? The Winnebago Retro Brave is dependable, modern and versatile with many lengths and floor plans. You can find one used in your price range.
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Old 07-11-2019, 08:20 AM   #11
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Spacecadet,

Please define dependable.
Do you want chassis dependability? or
House dependability? They are two very different things.
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Old 07-11-2019, 05:18 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Spacecadet View Post
Hello all!

I’ve been a member for awhile, but have yet to purchase a motorhome. I was waiting a few years when the kids were out of the house to get a class B with solar, lithiums and underhood generator. I was planning on travelling for weeks at a time, so boondocking was important.

However, I am now in a financial position to get an RV much sooner than expected, but I will be using it for weekend travel (two or three nights each week). All of my favorite locations within a 2 hour drive have affordable RV spaces for $15-$25 a night (with the Passport membership). Now, boondocking seems less important since I won’t be paying for a campground every night for weeks on end. I also need the extra beds for the kids. So, a Class C is a better fit.

There are several in my area that have a list price of $55,000 - $60,000 (all brand new). Having all Ultraleather seats would be nice because of the dog hair, but not enough to pay an extra $10,000-$15,000. I can just make seat covers. I saw a NEW 2020 Redhawk 25R (list price $60,000) with an outdoor kitchen, all Ultraleather, and TONS of space that I LOVE, but I think 29 foot would make me very nervous to drive. Also, for the price I am nervous that this model is going to have stuff breaking left and right.

I’ve been in the 20 foot Travato Class B and think I could go up to 24 feet no problem. A nice interior and features would be great, but I’m more concerned about an affordable price. I will have kids and dogs in this thing and they are messy.

I can trade it in for a more luxurious class B in a few years when the kids go to college, but for now I want a cheap and dependable model that I will be using for about 3-4 years. I’ve been looking at the more affordable options: Jayco Redhawk, Thor Daybreak, Freedom Elite, Forest River Sunseeker LE, and Coachman Orion (usually the smallest floor plan of each). Any thoughts on these in terms of dependability and durability?

Also, I don’t quite see the point in a tiny dinette since I don’t spend much time sitting at a table. Do you guys prefer a U-shaped or Dream dinette for lounging and socializing? Thanks in advance to everyone for any thoughts/advice!

When you stated "dependable" in a Class C forum, did you mean dependable with respect to the coach part, or the chassis part, or overall both parts?


To me the most important part to be and remain dependable is the chassis part ... as it's no fun being stranded somewhere with maybe poor or no cell phone service regardless of how well built the coach part is that you're stranded in.


Just about the most dependable chassis for use here in the U.S. under a Class C motorhome is a Ford E350 or E450 chassis, or a Chevy 3500 or 4500 chassis.


As far as the coach part, affordable dependability is probably right near the top with a new or used Winnebago Class C or a new or used Lazy Daze Class C.


If cost is not object with regards to a dependable U.S. sourced RV with sleeping for a small family, I'd go with a new or used Coach House Platinum 261XL built on the Ford E450 chassis with whatever slideout configuration best suits your family's needs. This choice would provide about the best in dependability ... all around.
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Old 07-11-2019, 05:58 PM   #13
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If the budget allows, you could rent a few RV's from different sources to try out the various floor plans and ford vs chevy vs MB vs . . . chassis. After a couple days in one, you'll know if it has the feel and quality to survive your use.


Then, shop for a gently used example of the chassis and floor plan you prefer.
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