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Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / RVs / January 2005Why a Class A over a Class C?
Our family has been pop-up camping for quite a while. But now we're thinking of moving to a motorhome for ease of setup. It seems that many people go from tents to Popups to Class C's then to Class A's. While the advantages of moving from a Popup to a Class C are clear to us, why do people move from C's to the Class A? The interiors seems somewhat similar in size and layout. The C has the cab-over-bed which is good for kids, the A's have the panoramic windshield and the rotating captians chairs. So, why do people move from C's to A's?  SignatureAlfred Anderson > Our family has been pop-up camping for quite a while. But now we're > thinking of moving to a motorhome for ease of setup. It seems that many [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > cab-over-bed which is good for kids, the A's have the panoramic windshield > and the rotating captians chairs. So, why do people move from C's to A's? The kids move out. <G> Cs are better for families - more bunk space. (6-8, usually, may be accomodated) As are better for couples - more living space. (2-4, usually, may be accomodated) Cs are, generally, shorter than As both length and internal height. Few Cs exceed 30' while few As are that short. This makes the C a better choice for towing a longer boat/trailer. I've even seen TTs being towed by Cs. (Must have a LARGE family!) As, generally, contain more storage space than Cs. Cs are better suited to rough/off road usage - you can even get 4WD Cs. "Alfred Anderson" anderson_alfred@Charter.Net says >Our family has been pop-up camping for quite a while. But now we're >thinking of moving to a motorhome for ease of setup. It seems that many [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >cab-over-bed which is good for kids, the A's have the panoramic windshield >and the rotating captians chairs. So, why do people move from C's to A's? One reason is a lot of basement storage. :-) Jenny Before emailing, remove Clothes > Our family has been pop-up camping for quite a while. But now we're > thinking of moving to a motorhome for ease of setup. It seems that many > people go from tents to Popups to Class C's then to Class A's. While the > advantages of moving from a Popup to a Class C are clear to us, why do > people move from C's to the Class A? You need to get to a sales lot and take a close look at the differences. Try to find a Class C and a Class A that are near the same size so you are comparing equal sizes. Check out the outside storage space. Check out the inside storage space. Check how many places to sleep are available. What you are going to find upon close inspection is, the A's will have lots more storage. The question then becomes if there is enough sleeping room for your family. Tom J who'd rather have his 35' trailer that sleeps 2 >From: "Alfred Anderson" >Our family has been pop-up camping for quite a while. But now we're >thinking of moving to a motorhome for ease of setup. It seems that many [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >cab-over-bed which is good for kids, the A's have the panoramic windshield >and the rotating captians chairs. So, why do people move from C's to A's? The other responders are trying to be nice. Most of the time it is price difference. Just like your home, you always want bigger and better. Same principle with RV's. C's are cheaper because the chassis is mass produced in bigger quanities. Sure, you have different grades of the living spaces, cabinetry and etc, but they are all basically made out of cheap materials and poor workmanship. A chassis's are mass produced but in smaller quanities, making them more expensive, plus they are bigger. Still, they are made out of cheap material and poor workmanship. Hank <~~~knows of no one who didn't have problems that should've been caught before the first sale. Hank > Hank <~~~knows of no one who didn't have problems that should've been caught > before the first sale. > Hank In my experience, there's always something that has to be fixed one way or another (sigh) no matter the "subject/object"! A long time ago in another USA state a long way away, I lived in a brand-spanking, newly built house in the early 80s, which luckily had a two-year full warranty!!!! Just shy of said warranty's expiration, the sewage/plumbing of the house backed-up making one noisome mess to say the least! The two bathtubs were half-full of very nasty substances! Not to mention the various sinks, aslo! Appararently, it was learned after extenstive diagnoses, that the (sub-)contractor(s) had left a teeny small scrap of 2"X4"(x2") piece of scrap wood in the 4" PVC sewage drain pipeline! It seems it took nearly that length of time (not quite 2 years) before the "system" finally rebelled! The blockage was considerable and required a backhoe of significant size to repair the problem. I'm so grateful the warranty was still valid -- I'd hate to consider the cost of repair(s) otherwise, which wasn't insignificant I'm sure! So, the moral of my post is, not matter what, always "knock on wood" and expect to repair something sometimes, and grin :) Live is wonderful (most of the time). Sky > Our family has been pop-up camping for quite a while. But now we're > thinking of moving to a motorhome for ease of setup. It seems that many [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > cab-over-bed which is good for kids, the A's have the panoramic windshield > and the rotating captians chairs. So, why do people move from C's to A's? More room. Steve We have a 31' class C. The exact same floor plan in a class A cost 25% more. Also, a lot of people that have been in an accident in a class A, now have class C. Bill L >Our family has been pop-up camping for quite a while. But now we're >thinking of moving to a motorhome for ease of setup. It seems that many [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >cab-over-bed which is good for kids, the A's have the panoramic windshield >and the rotating captians chairs. So, why do people move from C's to A's? > We have a 31' class C. The exact same floor plan in a class A cost > 25% more. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > Bill L Why do you say folks who have been in an vehicle accident using/driving a Class A tend to drive a Class C after the accident? Please back up your statement with bone fide facts??? I'd like to reference actual data so I may learn. TIA. Sky hmardis "a h t" uiuc "d...a.u.ght" edu >> We have a 31' class C. The exact same floor plan in a class A cost >> 25% more. [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] >Sky > hmardis "a h t" uiuc "d...a.u.ght" edu Probably due to the insurance companies ripping them off by not paying full value for the wrecked class A, so all they could afford as a replacement was a class C? ;-) >Our family has been pop-up camping for quite a while. But now we're >thinking of moving to a motorhome for ease of setup. It seems that many [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >cab-over-bed which is good for kids, the A's have the panoramic windshield >and the rotating captians chairs. So, why do people move from C's to A's? Class A is built with a real RV frame thus it will handle much better. Class A also has a nice diesel engine (usually) that will turn way more torque than a gas engine in most cases. Diesel engines outlast gas engines by 3 times. >>Our family has been pop-up camping for quite a while. But now we're >>thinking of moving to a motorhome for ease of setup. It seems that many [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > more torque than a gas engine in most cases. Diesel engines outlast > gas engines by 3 times. ====================== A short explanation: http://www.rv.org/10000025.htm Geoff >Class A is built with a real RV frame thus it will handle much better. >Class A also has a nice diesel engine (usually) that will turn way >more torque than a gas engine in most cases. Diesel engines outlast >gas engines by 3 times. Ummmmm!! Most of the Class A's I've seen are built on bread truck chassis. Only a small percentage of those are diesel because of the high initial price. >>Class A is built with a real RV frame thus it will handle much better. >>Class A also has a nice diesel engine (usually) that will turn way [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >Only a small percentage of those are diesel because of the high initial >price. according to an article i saw in the latest edition of 'motor home' nearly 50% of all motor homes that were sold in 2004 were diesel. 73, rich, n9dko >according to an article i saw in the latest edition of 'motor home' >nearly 50% of all motor homes that were sold in 2004 were diesel. I'd like to know where they're hiding them. At the 2004 Cleveland RV show only about 10% of the MH's I saw were diesel. >>according to an article i saw in the latest edition of 'motor home' >>nearly 50% of all motor homes that were sold in 2004 were diesel. > >I'd like to know where they're hiding them. At the 2004 Cleveland RV show >only about 10% of the MH's I saw were diesel. Top End motor coaches that you will never see in a show. Stuff like the Prevost and MCI. A good chunk of the Class As. SignatureFrank Tabor >>>according to an article i saw in the latest edition of 'motor home' >>>nearly 50% of all motor homes that were sold in 2004 were diesel. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] >Top End motor coaches that you will never see in a show. Stuff like >the Prevost and MCI. A good chunk of the Class As. Hi, The Top End motor coaches are all diesel because of the weight. But they are nowhere near a good chunk of the Class A's sold or on the road. Winnebago probably sells more diesel pusher motor homes in a year then all the top end manufacturers combined. Takes months to make top end coach. A week or less to make a under 200K one and not much more for the more expensive non Prevost ones. Take care and Happy Campin... RichA "We Get Too Soon Olde and Too Late Smart" >RichA <richatpa*nospam*@epix.net> wrote: >>>>according to an article i saw in the latest edition of 'motor home' >>>>nearly 50% of all motor homes that were sold in 2004 were diesel. [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] >RichA >"We Get Too Soon Olde and Too Late Smart" You are no doubt correct about Winnebago far outselling the top end manufacturers. BTW, Monaco (including all their brands) sells over 30% of all new diesel pushers each year. I learned in touring the Monaco, Beaver, and Marathon (Prevost) factories that it takes 5-6 weeks to make a $300,000-600,000 diesel pusher, and about five months to make a Prevost conversion. That does not include the time Prevost spent building the chassis, of course. >>RichA <richatpa*nospam*@epix.net> wrote: > [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] >pusher, and about five months to make a Prevost conversion. That does >not include the time Prevost spent building the chassis, of course. Hi, Never been to one of the top end manufacturers. I would like to take a tour of their facilities some day myself. There was just a show on TV last week showing Marathon building a 1.5 and a 2 million dollar coach. Seems it took them 12 weeks from the time the chassis arrived. But these were kind of done for TV thing. I'm sure when one orders one it takes longer, unless you pay to have it done quicker :) I doubt that many of the coach converters have a lot of 350K chassis just sitting around waiting for customers orders. Two different ways of making money. Assembly line and custom built. Take care and Happy Campin... RichA "We Get Too Soon Olde and Too Late Smart" >RichA <richatpa*nospam*@epix.net> wrote: >>I learned in touring the Monaco, Beaver, and Marathon (Prevost) >>factories that it takes 5-6 weeks to make a $300,000-600,000 diesel [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] >RichA >"We Get Too Soon Olde and Too Late Smart" When I went on the Marathon factory tour a couple months ago, they told me that about half of their coaches are customer orders and the rest are built on spec. They had at least one for sale on their lot. There may have been others, but they weren't anxious to have us browsing. They said their two-slide Prevost chassis (the default now) costs $300,000-400,000.They drive it from Canada with nothing but a driver's seat and controls. I wonder what the interior of THAT sounds like on the road. One change that Prevost made to accommodate slideouts was the elimination of the over-the-road air conditioning systems they have had for years. It seems that getting the air flow to all the windows became impractical with slideouts. Those are incredibly complicated machines. The entire rear wall and the under the bed area are covered with wire bundles and black boxes. There is even a modem under the bed that is used to plug the coach in to a telephone line so they can diagnose it remotely. >>RichA <richatpa*nospam*@epix.net> wrote: <snipped> >> I'm sure when one orders one it takes longer, unless you pay to have >>it done quicker :) I doubt that many of the coach converters have a [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] >is even a modem under the bed that is used to plug the coach in to a >telephone line so they can diagnose it remotely. Hi, Amazing complicated machines for sure. Not very practical for *regular* RV'ing though. IMO of course :) Take care and Happy Campin... RichA "We Get Too Soon Olde and Too Late Smart" >>They said their two-slide Prevost chassis (the default now) costs >>$300,000-400,000.They drive it from Canada with nothing but a driver's >>seat and controls. I wonder what the interior of THAT sounds like on the >>road. An echo chamber? >>Those are incredibly complicated machines. The entire rear wall and the >>under the bed area are covered with wire bundles and black boxes. There [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Amazing complicated machines for sure. Not very practical for >*regular* RV'ing though. IMO of course :) What, the ability to change the color of the neon lights running along the edge of the dinette doesn't impress you? ;-( >>>They said their two-slide Prevost chassis (the default now) costs >>>$300,000-400,000.They drive it from Canada with nothing but a driver's [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] >What, the ability to change the color of the neon lights running along >the edge of the dinette doesn't impress you? ;-( Hi, Hay, for that kind of money you have to expect some color. Besides the green and gold that you fork over for one. The 2 million dollar one that they showed being built on the TV show was sold shortly after it was completed. That one had a dinning table hand made of Lexan with hand made sculptured wire legs with built in lighting that you could make change colors. Thought it was a nice touch for just 2 Million ;) If you can afford one and want one then what the heck. Who cares what others think. Mostly music stars, NASCAR drivers and owners and others of the rich and famous who use em on weekends. More power to em. Keeps the economy rolling :) Take care and Happy Campin... RichA "We Get Too Soon Olde and Too Late Smart" > Our family has been pop-up camping for quite a while. But now we're > thinking of moving to a motorhome for ease of setup. It seems that many [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > cab-over-bed which is good for kids, the A's have the panoramic windshield > and the rotating captians chairs. So, why do people move from C's to A's? I have a little experience with the class A and C's, and have determined the way I have chosen, being a 5th wheel is better all around. But if I were to go back to a class A again, I would consider a conversion. They are coaches built with safety requirements and afford the basement storage of normal class A units. They are becoming harder to obtain but not impossible, still plenty of good old Grey Hounds and Trailways out there. BILL P. snipped > I have a little experience with the class A and C's, and have determined > the way I have chosen, being a 5th wheel is better all around. But if I [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > BILL P. I notice Will brought this up as well and though it is a good suggestion, from a safety standpoint, I question whether it makes sense from a practical point of view. A true bus conversion won't have slide-outs and to me, that would be a killer. I don't care how nice the interior is, the space is compromised when compared to new bus type units. I also would be leery of a conversion that compromised the body structure with slide-outs. JMHO HD back in NY...FL > I notice Will brought this up as well and though it is a > good suggestion, from a safety standpoint, I question [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > units. I also would be leery of a conversion that > compromised the body structure with slide-outs. JMHO Once again, you display your ignorance. Prevost shells are available from the factory with slideouts. SignatureD.J., N8DO; FMCA 147762 dj[underscore]osborn at yahoo dot com >>I notice Will brought this up as well and though it is a >>good suggestion, from a safety standpoint, I question [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > Once again, you display your ignorance. Prevost shells are available from > the factory with slideouts. Yo, Bozo, this is what I was responding to, not a reference to NEW conversions; "I have a little experience with the class A and C's, and have determined the way I have chosen, being a 5th wheel is better all around. But if I were to go back to a class A again, I would consider a conversion. They are coaches built with safety requirements and afford the basement storage of normal class A units. They are becoming harder to obtain but not impossible, still plenty of good old Grey Hounds and Trailways out there. BILL P. " That's okay though, guess you like windmills. HD in FL > >>I notice Will brought this up as well and though it is a > >>good suggestion, from a safety standpoint, I question [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > not impossible, still plenty of good old Grey Hounds and > Trailways out there. You wrote, "A true bus conversion won't have slide-outs and to me, that would be a killer." Spin it any way you like, but you still displayed your incredible ignorance. SignatureD.J., N8DO; FMCA 147762 dj[underscore]osborn at yahoo dot com >HD in NY <error@error.com> wrote: >snipped >> I have a little experience with the class A and C's, and have determined [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] >compromised the body structure with slide-outs. JMHO >HD back in NY...FL Just for grins, we went on the factory tour of a big Prevost converter (Marathon). The chassis come from Prevost with two slideouts nowadays, but the storage--both interior and basement--was substantially less than in a normal diesel pusher of the same size. Those conversions are spacious inside, largely because there are virtually no cabinets in the living room and few in the kitchen. The basement storage consisted of one very large pass-through compartment, maybe 4-5 feet wide and 5 feet high, running the width of the coach. That's a fair number of cubic feet, but it would be tough to utilize effectively. The rest of the basement space is taken up with equipment. Those coaches are clearly aimed at a very special market, not at the full-timer, the boondocker, or the family vacationer. (Note: This refers to the luxury coach conversions only.) To carry more water! Evad > Our family has been pop-up camping for quite a while. But now we're > thinking of moving to a motorhome for ease of setup. It seems that many [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > cab-over-bed which is good for kids, the A's have the panoramic windshield > and the rotating captians chairs. So, why do people move from C's to A's? Why not get the best of both? Take a look at the Jayco Senaca. Randy Davis > Our family has been pop-up camping for quite a while. But now we're > thinking of moving to a motorhome for ease of setup. It seems that many [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > cab-over-bed which is good for kids, the A's have the panoramic windshield > and the rotating captians chairs. So, why do people move from C's to A's? OK, I've just completed surveying every person that owns, or has ever owned a motorhome. Half like class A's and half like class C's. Bill L >Our family has been pop-up camping for quite a while. But now we're >thinking of moving to a motorhome for ease of setup. It seems that many [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >cab-over-bed which is good for kids, the A's have the panoramic windshield >and the rotating captians chairs. So, why do people move from C's to A's? I see where Bill Lederer <bill.lederer@verizon.net> contributed: >OK, I've just completed surveying every person that owns, or has ever >owned a motorhome. Half like class A's and half like class C's. And the discriminating 1/3 like class B's. 8-) Will Sill The volume over the driver's head in an A is wasted space; the cabover bed in a C is a HUGE bed or storage area. And C's handle far better, in terms of keeping up with (or passing) the traffic on a twisty 2-lane blacktop. Mike F > The volume over the driver's head in an A is wasted space; the cabover bed > in a C is a HUGE bed or storage area. > And C's handle far better, in terms of keeping up with (or passing) the > traffic on a twisty 2-lane blacktop. > > Mike F Had a demo ride in a '90 Born Free with the President of the company as the driver. He ran that 90,000 mile old C through some wicked paces and we were impressed with the stability of the chassis. He even drove it off pavement and back on without killing any of us, damn impressive especially as he's 78 years old. He's the same guy who rolled one and neither he or his wife got hurt. If we were in the market for a class C, they'd be at the top of our list. We weren't the potential buyers, friends of ours were. They got it for $8,000. Nice interior, well maintained mechanically, all systems worked well including the genset and the driveline is in good shape. Only thing that "spoiled" it was the former owner had done a sloppy job painting the rig and the color was medium yuk blue. The staff referred to it as the "Blue Goose" <g>. HD in FL I toured their factory, test drove one, and was impressed . . . until I realized that I could buy almost 3 comparable Winnies for the same price. Same prob with Chinooks. They all use the same chassis, so there's no advantage there. Mike F > > The volume over the driver's head in an A is wasted space; the cabover bed > > in a C is a HUGE bed or storage area. [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > staff referred to it as the "Blue Goose" <g>. > HD in FL |
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