length of rig

[todsoutoftown]

We are new to this site and will be purchasing a Class C MH in the very near future.  One item that has come up is the lenght of the MH we will be looking at.  We wish to be able to take the MH "pretty much anywhere" and do not want to be held back from a desirable site due to having a MH that won't be allowed in certain areas.  We have been getting different views on this topic and I now place the question in the capable hands and minds of the kind folks here!  Thanks for the help. 

 

[Tom]

This question is asked a lot and is the subject of much debate. Use the Advanced search feature above and you'll find prior discussions on this topic.

For sure, there's a tradeoff. We don't even think about taking our 38' coach to places we frequented with our prior 29' motorhome. California state parks have length limits, although they'll allow some degree of overhang. Many state parks in Oregon and some I've visited in Utah have huge sites with easy access. Many National Forest campgrounds are out of the question for us. A class C is unlikely to be 38', so you'd have a much wider choice of places to camp.

Even with private campgrounds, the issue for us is sometimes the length of available sites and sometimes an issue of trees that make it tough to get to and through a campground. Sometimes it's both. Again, you'd be unlikely to have a problem with a class C.

Coincidentally, a friend called me a couple of nights ago and asked if they'd be able to get into state parks if they bought a 38' motorhome. My candid reply was "if getting into CA state parks is one of your criteria, buy a van". That was a bit of an extreme response, but vans and shorter motorhomes rarely have difficulty getting into places I wouldn't consider going to.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

What Tom said...

The only real answer is that the shorter you are, the more choices you will have. Few Class C's are more than 31 feet, so if you are in that range you should have few problems on length as far as campgrounds are concerned. However, I know of some wilderness Forest Service campgrounds where anything over 25 feet will be problematic and a few where 21 feet is about the limit.

If "pretty much anywhere" includes parking on city streets, in small business parking lots and fast food drive thru's, then even 31 feet is going to be too much.  Stick with 21-24 feet if that is your goal.

 

[todsoutoftown]

We are considering something in the range of 23 to 26 feet and will most likely be looking to camp in areas where we have used a pup-up in years past.

 

[tswms]

We have camped all over the country in our 26ft C, and never had a problem with length. One thing to keep in mind if you go below 24 0r 25 ft you will probably loose your separate. Our 26 without slides has a corner bed.

 

[gasbag]

We have a 38 footer and tow a Ford Explorer.  We have never found an rv park that cannot accommodate us.  However we do not do the state park thing.  We try to find the nicest rv park we can.  I guess you could say we try to rough it gently....... ;D

 

[todsoutoftown]

Well now it just got more complicated.  We went to an RV show and wound up looking at CLASS A rigs!  Several sales people have assured us that a 29 foot rig would be allowed anywhere.  Now, I'm sure they would not want to give us the wrong information on that one, now would they?  However, on the off-chance that this is the correct information, does anyone have any feedback on a Fleetwood Terra, Class A 29' rig?  It has a Ford chassis and a v-10 engine, self-levelling jacks, 1 slide-out for the dinette and refrigerator.  This is a 2007 model, still new, and price was about $60,000; discounted from about $81,000.

 

[MollysMom]

I had to laugh, you sound like me !!  I started out wanting a class C - then wanted a class A - then a 5th wheel - then back to class A - now I'm back to wanting the 5th wheel !! 
I have no advise, just want to say good luck  ;D

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

I think a Class A is a better choice than a C - generally has more storage underneath and is built on a sturdier, motorhome specific chassis rather than a chassis borrowed from a van or pick-up truck. You also get more usable space inside because the driving area is a functional part of the floor plan rather than a separate cockpit.  The Terra is a popular small Class A - there are several Terra owners here and hopefully one of them will see your post and respond.

From the "allowed in" perspective, 29 feet is 29 feet, whether an A or  a C. Sometimes an A is a bit taller, though, so watch for low hanging branches.

 

[scottydl]

Funny is right, welcome to the C-to-A club!  I too came to this forum, darn sure I would be buying a 25-29' Class C for our first motorhome.  You'll see from my signature what I ended up with - a 35' Class A!  And love every foot of it.    There are a lot of happy Class C owners, but in the numerous "Class A vs. Class C" threads posted here (probably one every month on average) the Class A recommendations always seem to win out.  I was convinced once I set foot inside a Class A and looked around, and I'd imagine that was your experience too. 

FWIW, Illinois state parks around here can accomodate our 35' with no problems.

 

[Cricketdaddy]

As Gary said...

the driving area is a functional part of the floor plan rather than a separate cockpit.

That was the deciding factor for us in buying an A instead of a C. Specifically, my wife loves the enormous view from the 2-acres of windshield. It really is nice if you're looking at the ocean or a mountain meadow. (Not so great if you're just looking at a line of rigs and sewer hoses.) But there is one problem I didn't anticipate. When driving that huge windshield puts the sun in my eyes an hour or two earlier and the sun visor is woefully tiny and inadequate.

We're still happy we chose an A but we're trying to decide how to afford one of those nifty electronic curtains that can be lowered to block the sun from the upper portion of the windshield.

 

[scottydl]

We're still happy we chose an A but we're trying to decide how to afford one of those nifty electronic curtains that can be lowered to block the sun from the upper portion of the windshield.

I'm thinking of applying a strip of self-stick window tint material to help with this.  Should be legal in most states as long as it doesn't come down too far.

 

[Cricketdaddy]

Well, that's fine for driving but unless that tinting material is removable you've blown your fabulous view of the Mendocino Headlands or wherever.

 

[Wendy]

We looked at a small Terra before buying our 28-foot Winnebago Class A, and really liked it. Your dealer was stretching it a bit when he said you could go "anywhere" with a 29-footer. We have been in state and federal parks where we just fit and that's with no toad. I can also remember staying in forest service campgrounds back in our VW Vanagon days where there was absolutely no way anything bigger than a van would fit in any of the campsites. So it depends on where you're going to stay but 29-foot will fit "most" places.

BTW, we had a 24-foot Class C before the Winnie and we loved it. But we like the Class A a lot more.

Enjoy
Wendy

 

[hopefulllyrollin]

You should also take into consideration what amount of time you'll be spending in your rig.  Me, personally, I have a husband, 2 kids and a labrador.  We have a 40 foot class A.  We  couldn't tolerate one bit less space inside to live in or one bit more space to haul around while driving.  Given our differences in size, I can't be much more help than to encourage you to consider the amount of time you'll actually be in it.  You might want to make a list of some of the spots you'd like to go and see on the internet what they can accomodate, and then make a realistic compromise between what you can live with while you are not driving and what you can pare it down to while you are.

 

[todsoutoftown]

After taking a test drive, my initial concerns were well-founded.  The rig we were considering made a great deal of noise on the inside--cabinets squeeking, frame creaking, etc.  That was before we got on the freeway.  The rig definitely did not feel well-constructed.  Whether this is particular to the brand, the chassis or my sensitivity, I felt that we were being led down the river by the salesman who said the noise was normal.  Once on the freeway, the wind-noise was surprising, even accounting for the lack of aerodynamics.  I asked around several of our friends and based on my descriptions it sounds like this is more than what would be expected. In addition, there was a distressing noise from under the chassis when going over small bumps-almost like a bad shoc absorber or something like that.  Again, salesman said it was no big deal.  I feel much better now having passed on it!!!!  We will be doing more research as time goes on.  Also, with the cooling economy, we may be able to pick and choose from what may be a growing number of used rigs.  Thanks for all the input!!!

 

[Karl]

I feel much better now having passed on it!!!!

Wise decision. It doesn't matter one bit what the salesman says is normal. If you noticed it on a short test drive, think of how annoyed you'd be after a few hundred miles! He doesn't have to live with it; you do.

 

[Ron]

Good choice to pass on that one.  One thing to remmeber is that saleman do not have a reputation of telling the truth.  Keep looking there will be one that you are very happy with.