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Old 08-10-2019, 04:01 PM   #1
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Trying to understand class C choice

Why did you choose to tow a toad, instead of hauling a trailer behind a pickup ?
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Old 08-10-2019, 04:24 PM   #2
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Once you get into a motorhome and turn the key, the vacation starts. A trailer vacation doesn't start till you get to your destination.
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Old 08-10-2019, 05:37 PM   #3
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When you drive a motorhome the DW becomes the “ flight attendant “ ( with an attitude ) fetching Dr Pepper & snacks - if we stop in the rain I only have to go outside to plug shore power ( or not at all if at Wallyworld ) the rest can be done after the rain stops Les
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Old 08-10-2019, 07:35 PM   #4
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I’ve been a motorhome guy for awhile but today I traded down from my C to a Travel trailer.

For me we wanted less complexity, less expense, and more useable space for the size of the box.

Plus the Rockwood I chose was perfect for my family.
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Old 08-10-2019, 08:07 PM   #5
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Originally Posted by homer1959 View Post
Why did you choose to tow a toad, instead of hauling a trailer behind a pickup ?
I did neither. I bought a shorter Class C, which I can take and drive into anywhere, so no need for a toad.

And like two other posters stated above, the vacation starts when we pull out of the driveway and wifey can wander around all she wants (and fetch me snacks) at any time.
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Old 08-10-2019, 08:18 PM   #6
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I’ll be honest, I am sure I would have a difficult time backing a trailer into tight camp spaces. Backing my class c is like backing a car only a little bigger. I have always been a motorhome guy and I am to old to change now. I also agree with reasons the other guys noted before me.
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Old 08-10-2019, 08:29 PM   #7
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Ok i get it .... its all about lunch LOL



on a more serious note i was curious to learn a bit more about it and why peoples are choosing a smaller cab a bit less comfy than a pick up , a smaller floor plan than a trailer for lots of money on one rig only .


Peoples are not stupid, they makes choice for some reason important to them. Im not sure that would be for me but I am always willing to learn :-)
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Old 08-10-2019, 08:37 PM   #8
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on a more serious note i was curious to learn a bit more about it and why peoples are choosing a smaller cab a bit less comfy than a pick up , a smaller floor plan than a trailer for lots of money on one rig only .
OK, I'll bite on that one too..

We looked at everything from trailers up to Class A buses, and weighed pros and cons on each. Originally thinking of a trailer, but that got nixed due to the fact that wifey would be trapped in the front seat of the truck, and could only get up when we stopped.... I don't like to stop...

Second, buying a trailer that we liked meant I'd have to buy a new truck, as my current truck couldn't pull that size trailer.

Also, the cost of a new truck and the cost of the new trailer put me in the same range as the Class C and I love my current truck, so now I have both. Win, win.

Third, we would need a bigger space to park both the trailer and TV, and anyone who came along with us, including the dog, would be trapped in the truck until the next stop...

Did I mention I don't like to stop?
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Old 08-10-2019, 09:04 PM   #9
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I have a couple of comments...may or may not be relevant.

1) My kids just bought a new trailer and truck to pull it. After traveling 3K miles with us, they are regretting the trailer/truck decision as they much preferred how quickly we were set up when we reached our destination, our power leveling jacks, and that they did not have access to their Jeep.

2) I want my "adventure" after I arrive and that is hiking, jeeping and such. Having a pickup may or may not meet that requirement. But I love unhooking my jeep and going to explore. My Cherokee will tow a small trailer, but then it gets the same gas mileage as towing it behind the motorhome.

Room is really a discussion between an A or a C, but I have never really felt any less room in the C versus a travel trailer. It is likely a real fact (no dispute) but I just doin't feel it.

Manuevering a C with a toad is a big negative at some gas stations since you can't back up much....points to to trailer/truck on that one.
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Old 08-11-2019, 06:28 AM   #10
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Started out in a Class C (very 1st RV), used it for about 2 yrs. Spent 30 days in FL during the winter time, and the seating arrangement in our C did not fit our desires/needs for comfy seating on rainy days or at night for watching TV. Traded in our C for a new rear living model TT, traded in a good PU not capable of pulling the TT for a new one that can with ease, and are satisfied/happy with the situation. I would not consider going from a MH/Class C to a TT as a move "down" but it really depends on what you end up with.
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Old 08-11-2019, 07:45 AM   #11
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OK, I'll bite on that one too..

We looked at everything from trailers up to Class A buses, and weighed pros and cons on each. Originally thinking of a trailer, but that got nixed due to the fact that wifey would be trapped in the front seat of the truck, and could only get up when we stopped.... I don't like to stop...

Second, buying a trailer that we liked meant I'd have to buy a new truck, as my current truck couldn't pull that size trailer.

Also, the cost of a new truck and the cost of the new trailer put me in the same range as the Class C and I love my current truck, so now I have both. Win, win.

Third, we would need a bigger space to park both the trailer and TV, and anyone who came along with us, including the dog, would be trapped in the truck until the next stop...

Did I mention I don't like to stop?

I like it when you bite... I educate myself and practice my French Canadien frenchglish :-)





You made the right choice then !!! happy for you !!
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Old 08-11-2019, 02:29 PM   #12
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We went from a 35' bumper pull to the Class C and I can't believe we didn't do it sooner..... I don't even break a sweat setting everything up. We bought the Jayco Greyhawk 30X and on our first trip out we took it everywhere we needed to go. Everything is so much easier. Just my 2 cents
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Old 08-11-2019, 02:57 PM   #13
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Our first thoughts were 5er and diesel truck. Decided I didn't want a diesel truck for my daily commuter. This is our third MH and it's been the right route for us. Quick and easy setup.
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Old 08-12-2019, 05:50 AM   #14
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Most of our travels center around 1.5 inch scale ride on scale model trains, both 12 volt electric and live steam. Our "toad" is a Chevy Silverado 4x4 Crew Cab 1500 with a camper shell. We call it our box trailer with comfortable seats and air conditioning. It tows very well and allows us to get from the campsite to the railroads we are visiting. It also provides me a work space on the tailgate and storage for all the parts that go with the trains. It tows so easy, we don't even realize its behind us, except for seeing it in the rear camera.

The reason for the option of a "toad" over a trailer, is that the trailer has to be stored at home and at a campsite. Many times the Seneca is at a campsite and we may be many miles from the destination railroad.

Yes, a bigger box trailer that could hold a vehicle, plus the trains would work, but then I'd have to rely on the Seneca getting in to tight spots, poor roads and grass fields without 4 wheel drive.

It works for us, your results may differ.
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Old 08-12-2019, 07:10 AM   #15
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We just made the change this year and couldn't be more pleased. We do not have a TOAD, but plan to have one for next year. This will allow a little more freedom, but we haven't been limited as of yet.

Our 28 BHBE was just about 32' bumper to tongue and our MH is 32'. So we are shorter overall. Turning, parking, and maneuvering are much easier with the MH when compared, but I got pretty good with the TT.

Having the ability for the kids to ride more comfortably, having food readily available, and the wife being up to roam a little has made our travels much more enjoyable.

Having the ability to run the generator if needed as well as parking anywhere allowed for a night gives us more freedom to roam the great US.

Everyone is different, but we don't go somewhere for a week anymore. 2-3 days at the most and we are moving somewhere else. Having a MH gives us the freedom we like.
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Old 08-12-2019, 08:22 AM   #16
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Having the ability to run the generator if needed as well as parking anywhere allowed for a night gives us more freedom to roam the great US.

Everyone is different, but we don't go somewhere for a week anymore. 2-3 days at the most and we are moving somewhere else. Having a MH gives us the freedom we like.
This was another big reason for us to get the shorter MH. We like to play tourist when we get into a new area, and see the sights. So in the MH, we can hit a bunch of places during the day, then pull into the CG in the afternoon to spend the night. Next morning, we're back sightseeing again.

We never felt we would pull into the CG, and park it for multiple days. So far, the longest we spent in one CG was two nights, but we got in late the first night.

I plan our trips in a circular pattern, where we hit different areas and sights and different CGs every night.
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Old 08-12-2019, 08:34 AM   #17
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why I choose "C"

Had a class A pusher, 400 cummins, 36ft, pulled a Jeep...loved it BUT the cost of maint. was crazy. In addition, and the biggest negative for me was where I could go with it...length limits for how I like to camp were a big negative.
SO sold class A and bought a 2017 Ford F250 Powerstroke, thinking I would get trailer, only to find AFTER I purchased the truck it was not rated for anything I was looking at...I mean nothing. Do your research (I dropped ball here), read the towing threads on this forum and others and you will quickly discover you need a 350 or up to be legal. I did not want a dually so that was out. In addition, FOR ME, and I am using Yellowstone as an example...parking a dually in Yellowstone would be a nightmare for some of the attractions....it is just to big. When I was there with my little two door Jeep I could whip that thing around, easy parking, great visibility, there were times when my bud (who had the same jeep) and I could park both in one parking spot.
I looked for over two years for trailers..then one day my wife came in computer room and saw me searching....I happened to have a Greyhawk pulled up...she just got a big smile on her face, and said she loved it, she said she was hoping I would get another MH because she did not like the idea of towing a trailer, not being able to move about if she wanted to, to make a sandwich, lie down, and she also said as others have already it felt more like being on vacation in the motorhome. SO I have the Greyhawk now...and love it. Not nearly as complicated as my pusher was...traded in the Ford for a 4 door Jeep...so have an awesome toad which will let me go just about anywhere, and the RV is just right, comfortable and quality is FOR ME ...above many of the current trailers out there, so I am content and so is, more importantly, the wife! YMMV
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Old 08-12-2019, 09:34 AM   #18
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We started out looking at small trailers. Quickly discovered they were not for us. We simply wanted more space. We couldn't afford (or at least weren't willing) to buy a MH on our first go-round, but we borrowed 2 different ones and had a good time with them before we bought the trailer.

DW picked out a 28BHBE and fell in love with it (for a trailer). At the time my truck could tow it. Not great, but it got the job done. Then junior came along and with all that, I wanted a bigger truck so I didn't have to worry about weight any more. Bought a Ram 2500 4x4 Tradesman 6.4 Hemi, and LOVED it. DW hated it. It had way more capacity than we needed, and towed like a champ, and it did all the "other stuff" I needed it to do. DW said it rode like a "bathtub on casters"; she just isn't used to riding in trucks, it rode AWESOME for a big truck...

To DW it was like a prison while traveling, but she sucked it up. I'm like a lot of the other folks on here in that I don't like to stop once we get going. I'm not a "stop and smell the roses" kind of driver when I'm towing. We toyed with the idea of moving into a MH for a couple years, but never really got up to pulling the trigger.

Then the straw that broke the camel's back finally landed. Stuck in traffic, junior has to potty, no way we're getting anywhere close to a safe place to pull over any time soon. DW hops in the back of the truck with a bottle to help relieve him. HUGE mess. DW gets back to front seat, plops down with a huff and says "we need a motor home".

There's the obvious advantage of having everything you need at your fingertips at all times. That includes "facilities", snacks, meals, games, TV, etc... DW often will make us lunch while driving down the road. If either of them need to "go", then they just go. If either of them need to sleep, they do, comfortably. It's a lot easier to entertain a 4YO when you have all the options. I usually will only run the tank down to 1/2 or so, which is a solid 200 miles which is a great stopping interval for me. AND it gives me the option to push it further if I need to.

Of course, access to all major facilities (sleeping areas, bathroom, fridge, etc.) was a SIGNIFICANT factor in evaluating our decision on both our trailer and our MH. I wanted to make sure that if we needed to, we could just pull over (or not in the case of the MH) and have full access to everything we needed without putting out slides. When we're on long journeys, stopping at a rest stop or WM parking lot makes getting some rest SUPER easy and convenient. With the truck and trailer, I had to plug in the generator and get that running and try to cool the rig down (which was SUPER hot after being on the road all day) and try to get to sleep while waiting sometimes more than an hour for the rig to cool down enough to be remotely comfortable.

When we get to camp, the rig is already cooled down, if it's raining we don't have to go outside to setup in most cases. We tow a Grand Cherokee that can go anywhere I'm willing with the whole family riding in comfort. The toad is about the only "downside"; it takes a bit more planning to maneuver, and if we show up and it's raining, I will probably have to go out to disco the toad to park the rig. But then I can always wait "on the side" until the weather improves if I need to.

Our trailer was fantastic. I LOVED my truck too. We made some memories in that rig. But our trips in the MH are even more enjoyable now...
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Old 08-12-2019, 11:30 AM   #19
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One thing that was landed on in several places but I want to emphasize is that the cost factor in many (not all) cases will favor a class C.

Over a Class A, the same V10 Ford and length is perhaps $30-50K more. Diesel...$50K and up.

Over a Pickup and Trailer....New pickup is $45-50K or more, plus $20-25K for a trailer of minimal quality and length. That equals my C.

The other factor is that a Class C IN MY OPINION ONLY is the easier to sell RV. There are lots of them out there, but there is a larger buyer pool too. Maybe not so much as travel trailers, but certainly Class A.
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Old 08-12-2019, 11:56 AM   #20
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I can find a lot of faults w/ some of the above considerations. And this speaking from owning 4 Class 'C' motorhomes.

I don't buy the cost savings. There is none at all whatsoever. These are RVs and they depreciate like a rock. A motorhome in particular as the percentage depreciation is over a significantly higher price tag. In addition, since your motorhome isn't doing split duty as your daily driver, you are essentially maintaining another vehicle. There is no way on God's green earth a motorhome is somehow cheaper. Much like a boat, it is a moving money pit.

Bathroom breaks and what not - I get that. Until you end up in a unit with either no carrying capacity to speak of (porky Greyhawks I'm looking at you), or poor weight distribution relative to the wheelbase of the coach. Those of you with yellow sticker weights south of 1800 pounds should go weigh in at a CAT scale (actually everybody should but I digress). I bet most of you will be surprised with what you learn. My 26Y had 2100 pounds of cargo - I thought I was sitting pretty; that's pretty good for a Greyhawk. Rolled it over the scales w/ a full tank of gas on the way to Disney - Houston we have problems. Overall 700 under my max GVWR, but 480 pounds over the rear axle !!! Looking at my floorplan, there was really no way to shift anything meaningful around to make a dent. We ended up emptying the 10 gallons of freshwater out, shifted some gear around, and weighed in again. Still didn't make the cut. Dumped the little bit of grey, moved the mattress topper off the bed in the back to the overhead in the front - tossed some firestarters in the trash, etc. Cleared by 50 pounds on my third weigh. My family weighs in at 575 pounds, so subtracting my people weight from my cargo capacity I wasn't loaded 'heavy'. And that was before I dumped the 10 gallons of water.

So much for using the bathroom. Empty freshwater tank, and the black and grey tanks hung aft of the rear axle. Anything in those two tanks went directly against my rear axle weight - which barely made it as it is. Also, my gas tank was off the rear axle, but closer to the axle then the grey and black tanks. My coach got happier the further it got down the road.

Maybe Jayco could have sprung the extra few bucks and stretched the wheelbase a little more to make the rear overhang a little shorter in order to spread the weight a little better? There was absolutely NOWHERE else to put any interior items to shift the bias more forward.

Regarding being less complicated - again in my experience you're not getting simpler w/ a motorhome you're getting more complicated. Welcome to hydraulic levelers (mine failed), multiple slide outs (I still couldn't find the manual retract on some of mine), house/chassis issues (jacks don't realize your parking brake is engaged even though you've applied said brake multiple times? Hrm ....). In a trailer you have scissor jacks. If they get stuck and you can ape them into motion or just take it off. My slideout has a crank to bring it in, etc.

Finally - I don't care if its a Winnebago, Forester, Greyhawk w/ J-Ride, etc. Any enhancements to the suspension and steering only accomplish one thing - help it track straight. All those potholes and road imperfections hit like a hammer no matter what. That and the noise level - well you get used to it but I wouldn't call it a bonus by any stretch.

No RV is perfect, and they all have downsides. I have to deal w/ the dreaded backing up the trailer now. And a host of other considerations I previously did not have but will learn soon. However my overall financial exposure to this hobby is significantly less, my complexity is significantly less, and my payment is significantly less. For me, it was time to punt.

I bring up the above points in the interest of honesty and clarity for those reading this thread. When somebody finds the perfect RV please let me know - I'd truly love to see it.
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