Land Of The Midnight Sun

[YukonSloMo]

Hello everyone,

My wife and I are in the midst of researching all about Class B and C motorhomes. Looking to buy 6-8 year old unit, 24ft to 28ft, gas/diesel.

As we live in the Whitehorse,Yukon, the motorhome will be in colder conditions due to elevation and geography. We did our share of truck camping when we were young but now creature comforts beckon . I am looking forward to this site as a resource guide for our pre-purchase journey. I suspect we will purchase in either Alberta or BC (more selection and better pricing).

So...wish us luck....advice always accepted.

 

[Isaac-1]

I would suggest you also consider a smaller class A as they tend to have a much higher cargo carrying capacity than the similar sized class B, B+ and C's.  My 28 ft class a (2002 Safari Trek 2830 on a 17,000 GVWR chassis) has almost 3,000 pounds of cargo carrying capacity with empty water tanks, compare this to something like a 25 ft Sprinter class B on an 11,030 GVWR chassis that may have less than 500 pounds of cargo carrying capacity depending on options.  Class C's are often somewhere in between and are typically built on 13,500 or 14,500 GVWR chassis.

In this case cargo weight means, passengers, pots, pans, bbq grill, chairs, clothes, tool, food, mosquito canopy,  etc.

p.s.  6 to 8 years ago was not a good time for much of the RV industry, lots of companies went out of business after the 2009 economic downturn, and even those that survived cut a  lot of corners in production during those years.

 

[YukonSloMo]

Solid suggestions.

As this purchase is probably going to be more of a?test to see if we like MH? perhaps a 2000 to 2008 might be an alternative....?

Class A.....you say hmmm okay we will give them some thought?

 

[Isaac-1]

If you are looking at the 2000-2008 date range for a smaller gas class A there are a few things to keep in mind.  You will generally be looking at a coach built on either a Workhorse or Ford Chassis, up until about 2006 most people consider the Workhorse W series chassis to be superior to the Ford F53, which had a major redesign in about 2006.  I think Ford introduced the 2 valve 6.8L V10 in the F53 chassis around 2000 or 2001, and it went relatively unchanged until about 2006.

In the same years Workhorse produced their P32 chassis, which was already very long in the tooth when Workhorse bought the rights to Chevy's P series platform in 1999, being first introduced around 1969.  In mid 2001, Workhorse slightly updated the P32 with a wider track front suspension and introduced the 8.1L Vortec V8 engine mated to a 4 speed Chevy Transmission (4L80E or 4L85E after 2003), which replaced the 7.4L Vortec that was used from about 1997-mid 01.  The P32 chassis continued in Production relatively unchanged until 2005.  Starting in 2002 or 2003 Workhorse introduced their heavier W series chassis, ranging from 16,000 pound up to 24,000 pound GVWR in 2,000 pound increments, I think in the larger sizes first, then working down over the next couple of years, these were also powered by the 8.1L Vortec, though they were mated to a 5 speed Allison Transmissions, later 6 speed Allisions (after 06 I think).  You will see a lot of hatred towards the P32 chassis out there, I personally feel this is a bit misplaced, the problem with the P32 was that many manufactures were putting too heavy of a house on it with the added weight of slides that became popular in the late 1990's.  If you stay under 17,000 pounds (maybe 18,0000) and add a few suspension upgrades the P32 can perform reasonably well.

 

[YukonSloMo]

Lots of good stuff information...many thanks!

 

[jackiemac]

Hi and welcome to the forum.  Isaac seems to have given you lots to think about.  Good luck with your search.