sclaudius said:
I live in Northern California (Sonoma County) and plan on buying a used class C in the very near future. Any advice on good or bad experiences with specific dealers, brands, models, and features would be appreciated.
Thanks and happy camping!
My PMB is in the Rocklin area of NCall. I owned a Tioga 29 foot Class C for a number of years. Here are some of my thoughts:
o If you go over 24 feet, find one with a heavy duty chassis (mine was on a Ford 450).
o If you find one with a slide, note the GVWR. Earlier models on lighter chassis had only 5/600 pounds carrying weight after having to deduct around 1500 for the slide. You should find that info on the inside of one of the cabinet doors. Mine was in a bedroom closet.
o Would imagine and hear that the rear corner bed would get old pretty quickly -- though you will find it a very popular model, especially with rental agencies.
o Try to get new enough to get a Ford V10 -- I think they started with Fleetwood in '98. That's the year of the one I had and I loved that engine in that rig.
o A rental agency that I was well acquainted with told me that they only rented Winnebago Class C's. That was because they held up better than others under the heavy strain imposed by renters.
o Try to rent a few weekends to get used to living in a Class C for awhile. The longer time you spend in one, the more confined you might feel. Some rental agencies will apply rental fees to the unit you buy from them. Happy Daze on West El Camino in Sacto has a large rental fleet that you might want to check out. Some rental agencies take better care of their fleet than a private owner would.
o Last item -- I grew to "hate" the rubber roof on my Tioga.
Good luck and please keep us informed as you look at different units.