Super C vs Class A

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steph

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Joined
Aug 8, 2006
Posts
121
We have a Class C right now.  We are thinking about getting something with a little more room.  I have noticed more and more of these Super Cs at some of the dealerships and wondering what the advantage/disadvantage would be?  Maybe there isn't one at all?
Just wanted to see if anyone had any input on the matter.
We have a 31' Coachmen Freelander.  Have looked at Fleetwood Terra LX (Class A) and Gulfstream Endura (Super C) 31-36' range.
I have just noticed price wise some of the Super Cs are just as much money if not more than the Class As we have looked at. 
Thanks.
 
I agree with Ron  and sure wouldn't consider a Gulfstream regarless if A or C or Super.  I know of 2 dealers closing them out, due to quality and warranty problems.  That alone would scare me.  1 in St Louis and 1 in Florida, so it's not a regional thing. 
 
steph said:
Have looked at Fleetwood Terra LX (Class A) and Gulfstream Endura (Super C) 31-36' range.
I have just noticed price wise some of the Super Cs are just as much money if not more than the Class As we have looked at. 
Thanks.

  We bought a Fleetwood Fiesta LX 34N in Jacksonville, Fl in December and couldn't be happier with it.  The Fiesta line and the Terra line are *exactly* the same except for colors.  Some dealers carry one, and some the other.  If you're anywhere near Jacksonville please let me know and I'll give you the name of an honest and dependable dealer (hard to find sometimes) that you can trust.

Irv
 
Thanks Ron & Shayne.  That is good to know about Gulfstream.  I had no idea. That is why I love these boards.  There is so much knowledge here.
I am not sure what size we would end up going with.  We like the 31' we have now.  I would just like more room and there is just more room in the same size of the Class A.  We may not go much bigger.

Thanks irvsiegel.  We are in VA.  One dealership we looked at had them both but we haven't had a chance to go inside those yet.  I have just looked online.  Thanks for letting me know the only difference in them is the paint. 

What is your opinion on dealerships?  I have heard plenty of horror tales.  Some people say just shop around for the best price and don't worry about service cause the dealers won't stand behind stuff and service it.  We haven't had any experience with that because we have not (knock on wood) had any trouble with ours.  I always felt it would be good to get something somewhat close by so you could take it back.  Around our area we just don't have a lot of options. 

Thanks again guys!

 
 
We just recently purchased a new Gulf Stream Endura 6340 and have received excellent service from Gulf Stream and our dealer on warranty repairs. I have noticed that in the last couple of months that there have been several changes with respect to the Gulf Streams support Reps. To date we have had all warranty problems fixed in a timely and responsive manner. With respect to contacting Gulf Stream directly I have done so on 2 occasions and receive timely responses. Hopefully they have or are fixing the problems that they had in the past with QA and service.

With that being said. The decision to go with the Super C was two fold for us.

First we needed a unit that could tow our boat. Most of the class C's  did not have the towing capacity on the hitch. With only 350 lbs tongue weight and 5000 lbs towing capacity plus smaller engines/chassis. They met the towing capacity but didn't meet the tongue weight, since our boat-trailer is 400lbs tongue weight and 3900lbs total weight (this is dry weight before fuel and equipment). I also contacted several of the manufactures, dealers and friends the have the C and Super C  chassis for recommendations. I was told that the issues were with the extended frame and not the Hitch (this is where the manufacture extends the chassis frame to fit the motor home). I was also told that I would not be happy with the performance while towing, Especially with the Chevy chassis. So we needed to go with a Super C or Class A if we wanted to tow our boat without problems. Since the Endura 6340 has a GVWR of 19,500lbs a GCWR of 26,000lbs and a hitch that is rated at 10,000lbs this would give us 6,500lbs towing capacity.

Second and final decision to go to the Super C over an A was dictated by our family size. We are a family of 4, Me, my wife, a son and a daughter. With my son being 6'2" and only 15 years old we need a sleeping area that would accommodate him. Since class A motor homes are usually geared to primarily sleeping 2 people and usually with only a J couch and/or sofa sleeper for additional sleeping accomodations there was just not enough sleeping areas for us or specifically him.

So with the decision made to go with a Super C. The decision to go with the Gulf Stream Endura was made because of the options, price point and location of our dealer. We had already purchased the boat, and a new pop-up camper (several years ago) from them and had really had great support. The Endura had many items as standard equipment that were optional or not available on other Super C's. The only options that we did not get on our Endura was the Full Paint package and Diesel Package. To me it was not worth the additional $8k for Paint and $16k for diesel. The cost difference between our Endura and the other Super C's was minimum. To us it was getting a Class C MH With many of the options and features of a class A MH.

So I would take the following into consideration: Family size (Sleeping needs), Towing/cargo capability (If you plan on towing anything) and what options you want.
 
Thanks robfogle.  It is nice to hear from someone who made the choice between the two.  As far as sleeping arrangements for us it is no problem.  It is just my husband, myself and our dog.  We just wanted a little more space.  An extra slide in the bedroom besides the one in the living area.  I would like a bigger fridge and a little more room in the kitchen.
I feel really comfortable in our Class C and when we sit in a Class A (to drive) it just feels so, I don't know, big I guess is how it feels.  Just not that comfy feeling that I have now but I suppose that would be something we would get use to also.  So that made me start looking at the Super C. 
 
The Super C's I have driven, Endura and the Fun Mover, have been very truck like.  ClasA MH's, and I have driven many many of these, have a nicer ride.  On thhe Terra, the full body paint option is one to seriously consider, the long term maintenance is way easier, and after 5 years look much better. 

The 34N is a nice layout to cnsider.

 
Regardless of what you look at in the way of a Class C, check the length of the overhang in the rear.  Look at the wheelbase relative to the overhang length.  Some of them are really long - nearly half the entire coach length!  A too-long overhang can be problematic; for example, in cases where you have to enter a parking lot that has an upward angle from the street and you have to make sure you can approach it without scraping.  One nice thing about a Class A is the ability to get an air system whereby you can raise the coach for such dips.  We use that feature more than we ever thought we would!  Also, a very long overhang has to be taken into account when you turn corners because the rear of the coach can swing wide into the next lane.

ArdraF
 
PancakeBill said:
The Super C's I have driven, Endura and the Fun Mover, have been very truck like.  ClasA MH's, and I have driven many many of these, have a nicer ride.  On thhe Terra, the full body paint option is one to seriously consider, the long term maintenance is way easier, and after 5 years look much better. 

The 34N is a nice layout to cnsider.

Thanks.  We haven't actually driven one of the Class As yet.  We haven't really found one that we are very serious about.  Although we may be getting close with the Terra LX. 
I am sure just like anything else we would get use to it.  It is more me getting use to it the my husband.  ;D
 
ArdraF said:
Regardless of what you look at in the way of a Class C, check the length of the overhang in the rear.  Look at the wheelbase relative to the overhang length.  Some of them are really long - nearly half the entire coach length!  A too-long overhang can be problematic; for example, in cases where you have to enter a parking lot that has an upward angle from the street and you have to make sure you can approach it without scraping.  One nice thing about a Class A is the ability to get an air system whereby you can raise the coach for such dips.  We use that feature more than we ever thought we would!  Also, a very long overhang has to be taken into account when you turn corners because the rear of the coach can swing wide into the next lane.

ArdraF

Thanks ArdraF.  I never really thought of that.  That is a nice feature on the Class A.  Do most of them come standard with that or is that an option you add on afterwards?
 
We bought a new 2006 Gulf Stream Ultra Super-C last Fall.  Our model is ~32 feet long.  We got ours for the same price as a "normal" Class C because it had been sitting on the dealer's lot for a long time.  The very small list of warranty work that we have had done on it was handled promptly by our dealer.

We've been out about 35 nights and have put about 2500 miles on it towing a car.  We have really been enjoying it.  I particularly like the maneuverability of the Kodiak chassis.
 
KodiakRV said:
We bought a new 2006 Gulf Stream Ultra Super-C last Fall.  Our model is ~32 feet long.  We got ours for the same price as a "normal" Class C because it had been sitting on the dealer's lot for a long time.  The very small list of warranty work that we have had done on it was handled promptly by our dealer.

We've been out about 35 nights and have put about 2500 miles on it towing a car.  We have really been enjoying it.  I particularly like the maneuverability of the Kodiak chassis.

Thanks KodiakRV.  I will check out them as well.
 
Do most of them come standard with that or is that an option you add on afterwards?

It's a feature of the very high end diesel models only. No gas chassis motorhome will have air suspension, adjustable or fixed height. Neither will a low end diesel chassis - they use leaf springs rather than air.
 
RV Roamer said:
It's a feature of the very high end diesel models only. No gas chassis motorhome will have air suspension, adjustable or fixed height. Neither will a low end diesel chassis - they use leaf springs rather than air.

Would it be possible to add after market Air bags to the rear for the strict use of giving the MH that extra height instead of having to drag the the hitch?  :eek: This would be not to add extra capacity just to get the back-end up to clear obstacles. If so what type would be recommended? Would there be any cons with doing this?
 
It is possible but that is not Air Suspension  Lot of differences,
 
RV Roamer said:
It's a feature of the very high end diesel models only. No gas chassis motorhome will have air suspension, adjustable or fixed height. Neither will a low end diesel chassis - they use leaf springs rather than air.

Thanks.  We definitely can't afford a high end diesel  :eek:.  I will be happy if we can afford to get into a Class A with a little more room. 
 
Do most of them come standard with that or is that an option you add on afterwards?

Steph, it is an option and you have to order it because it's added during manufacturing.  I know Monaco and Country Coach have air suspension and I'm sure others do too, but I don't know which ones.

One of our Class C motorhomes had a long overhang and we were able to add some small wheels at the rear.  We know they worked because they had wear marks.  ;)

ArdraF
 
Big thing is how much you intend to spend.  You can buy a very nice used Discovery, Monaco,  Allegro, or American for under $100K  You'd pay over over 70K for a New class C and still not have a decent unit in comparison.  JMHO
 
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