Considering buying a Class B or C

[brianm142@hotmail.com]

Originally Posted by GaiaGoddess

Sounds awesome!! Very inspiring!

I Have owned 2 fifth wheel trailers (30 Feet & 36 Ft), and a Class B. Our experience was that with more room in the 5th wheels we just ended up taking more "stuff", it was much more complicated getting into gas stations, shopping centres, parking lots and generally maneuvering around cities and towns. The friends who got us interested in RVing are still using a 5th wheel but they like to camp wherever they stop for a few days t a time whereas we like to travel more. We can also literally jump into our "B" any day and go to the beach, for a picnic, out for dinner and to a show and then if we are an hour or two from home and we are in our "B" we can usually find a spot nearby to stay for the night and go home in the morning. As far as service/repairs are concerned on those very few occasions when we have needed some kind of service on either the "B" or the 5th wheels it has usually meant leaving the unit for at least an overnight. When we bought out "B" we deliberately did not buy a diesel after talking to several Mercedes diesel owners whose complaint was that virtually all servicing had to be done by a "Mercedes" dealer/service centre to maintain their warranty and this could be a real inconvenience if you were not located near one (the nearest one to our home was 2 hours away), whereas our Ford engine can be serviced by any mechanic including a Ford dealer. Yes owning a "B" initially may be challenging when you first staart going away, but very quickly you learn to adjust and realize tht at lot of what you thin you need you can actually get away without, both husband and wife can drive confidently (my wife hated driving the diesel truck and 5th wheel), can stop and park pretty much anywhere, and have a much greater choice of camping and boon docking spots.
2013 PleasureWay EXCEL TS
2012 Chevrolet Silverado Crew Cab

[GaiaGoddess]

Originally Posted by michaelingp

I have never had a trailer, and never worry about my motorhome breaking down. Cell phones have changed everything and modern vehicles are very reliable. If they do breakdown, there are mechanics everywhere, just because there are trucks everywhere. So, most likely the worse that happens is you grab a toothbrush and change of clothes and stay over night in a hotel while they wait for a part. I think that would be the same if your tow vehicle broke down. There are extreme examples, I'm sure, but they are so rare they are not worth worrying about.

So Rv's breaking down on the road is rare? This is the first I've heard of that, lol I even just watched a video on YouTube yesterday where they said motorhomes need repairing WAY more than travel trailers. I guess my biggest worry is that I would need a ride somewhere and taxis and ubers aren't everywhere. I don't worry about this much right now because my tow vehicle has never left me stranded in the 10 years I've owned it and I've put 100,000 miles on it so i guess I trust it. but if I were to buy a used motorhome I wouldn't trust it as much as my car, so that's where my worry is coming from.

Ironically, in my experience you're better off breaking down in a small town than in a large city. We had brake problems one time in a small town on a weekend, and it was as if the entire town wanted to help us. Someone knew someone who knew someone, and eventually they got a mechanic to open his garage to fix our vehicle while we waited.

This is good news for me, I hate driving in big cities and will most likely never be driving through one, maybe temporarily but not regularly or for very long.

[GaiaGoddess]

Originally Posted by femike99

We had a tiny teardrop, then we got a puppy because we didn't want her sleeping outside even though we had a side tent. We went to a larger teardrop (T@B), but I didn't enjoy towing with a SUV, but decided against going to a bigger vehicle like a pick-up to improve the towing experience.

So, we purchased a Class B. After a little over a year, we've spend 4 weeks, 4 weeks, and 6 weeks and several weekends with it. After the first 4 week trip, we realized that we had way too much stuff (clothing, camping gear, cooking gear) which only caused us time to pack and unpack and complexity while traveling. Most of the stuff we carried at first was as a result of having stuff in the trailer and even more stuff in the SUV.

After some analysis (and a couple of Walmart trips), we now travel very light, knowing that in most pay campgrounds you can get a laundry. We're not looking back!

Class C's are cool, and sometimes having a little more space would be nice, but for the 3 of us (my wife, myself, and our puppy), our Class B far outweighs our experiences with our teardrops and is perfect 98% of the time (the other 2% it would be nice to have a Class C, but in those cases, we'll go to a hotel for a night).

That's what I have, a T@B! I love it but it's just me sleeping in it so I can see where with another person and a dog it would be too small! The size of the T@B isn't my problem really, mainly for me I am just sick of having issues with hooking up and unhooking and backing up.

[GaiaGoddess]

Originally Posted by Pam G

Just thought I'd add another "what if" situation. If your tow vehicle should break down while you're out on the road, and there's no campground nearby, you'd have to have both your tow vehicle and your trailer towed to a repair shop. What if they allow you to stay in your trailer at the repair shop, but it's really hot outside and you have no option to plug in to electricity? Would you want to camp outside a repair shop or go to a motel?

If I was far away from home, yeah that would be an issue! So far I have only taken my camper less than 2 hours from home, and my plan was if my car broke down, I would have my brother or a friend come get my camper and tow it to my mom's house.

When I was young, my dad bought a travel trailer, and back then, I thought that was the best way to go, particularly if you're going on a vacation, so you can set up camp and then go sight seeing. My dad did all the driving though and hitching up and unhitching the trailer, so I didn't get any experience with that. Twelve years ago, when I decided to get an RV to make it easier to go to dog shows, I decided to go with a Class B. I didn't want the hassle of hitching and unhitching since I travel alone. It is SO easy to drive and park the Class B, and it's been really useful to have a generator on many occasions. I've been using Class B's for the past 12 years. While I think it'd be nice to have a Class C for the extra floor space, storage, and bigger bathroom, etc., I really like the better gas mileage and ease of parking a Class B. A Class B can be towed with a regular tow truck too. It doesn't require the bigger tow truck that a Class C would need. In 12 years, I've had to be towed out of mud a couple of times, and I've had a couple of tires blow out, so I had to have roadside assistance come and put the spare tire on. I've traveled as far as from Iowa to Vermont, been to Georgia and the Smokies, drive from Iowa to Indiana for Christmas each year, and, fortunately, I've never had a time when I've had to stay in a motel. Obviously that will probably change when I start full-timing, but I will probably just stay in a motel if the RV needs repairs. I did read a great suggestion about keeping a tent in case repairs are needed sometime, but that would be difficult since that would take up storage space in a Class B.

Yeah the more I think about it, the more I think a Class B would be better for me. I just have my heart set on this Class C right now that has the perfect layout that I can't find in a B, and there's one for sale in my state, so I REALLY want to get that one. But the more I hear about Class B's the more I think they would be better for me.

[GaiaGoddess]

Originally Posted by vfernandez

The only way I would a travel trailer is if I was going to stay in a location for a period of time.. I use my B as a daily driver and live in Key West where I need to travel hours when I need something done. I either wait in the lobby with my dogs, usually u can stay in it overnight or u can rent a car. It’s a trade off!

Yeah that makes sense. Right now, 99% of the time I am camping, it is as a music festival where once I get there, I am there for 3 or 4 days without leaving. So it would work out perfect to have a Class B.

[GaiaGoddess]

Originally Posted by oclisa

GaiaGoddess, I have your same concerns. I also hemmed and hawed about a B or a C. Ultimately, I went for the B because of it's easy maneuverability, easy parking, all that. Plus B's are usually better constructed than C's. I am getting ready to take off full-time in my older Pleasure-Way with a dog and a cat. I have spent countless hours on the internet trying to figure out what full-timers do when their house breaks down. Seems a lot of them actually are allowed to stay at the mechanics shop even for multiple overnights. There are all sorts of inconveniences that can come with that but it's only for a short while so I'll deal with it .... when, and if, the time comes. Travelling with my pets makes it more difficult, of course. Yeah, maybe I could stay in a motel but then I have to find one that will accept a dog and cat and then on top of that, those types of motels do not allow you to leave your pets inside alone. Plus car rental companies do not allow you to have pets in their cars. You can see how this can be overthought, even if the scenarios are realistic. So, as for myself, I decided to not worry about it. After all, it isn't a reality, it's just anxiety. Lots of B&C full-timers manage when their house breaks down; I've seen some Youtubers get through major breakdowns that left their rig in the shop for even a week or two.

Whew, I'm glad I don't have a pet! That anxiety would keep me from going at all, lol I like hearing people say the Class B's are easy to drive, that is one factor that is important to me. I have only been towing my trailer for a year so i'm still a newbie and have trouble almost every time with some aspect of backing up or unhooking/hooking up.

[GaiaGoddess]

Originally Posted by Mfturner

I had a travel trailer when the kids were little and we needed more bed space, and a B suits us more now that the kids are mostly grown and it is mostly just the two of us. I think a breakdown scenario is similar either way, neither happens often or is convenient, and you just deal with it when it happens. I think a better approach is to ask yourself how you use the camper, whether you like creating a base camp for several days at a time or like to relocate every day. Towing wasn't the end of the world for me, but we don't sit still long and go cross country once a year so how the unit drives became my priority. You need to find your priorities.

That is what I am finding out now, after having a trailer for a year now. It was great at first until I got to a whole year of doing it and still having issues. I see people camped next to me with their vans where the hardest part for them is setting up their canopy next to the van, lol and there I am struggling to get my camper backed in straight and going around to all the corners cranking the stabilizers down. Yeah I've pretty much decided I am done with the trailer, although i want to keep it to use as a rental for extra cash. That way I can still take it on a trip if it's a place where I'll need my car to make quick trips around town.

[GaiaGoddess]

Originally Posted by davedutah

We used to have a travel trailer. Just the hitching and unhitching process made me decide against that this time. I think B's are the way to go. Everything you need in a tight package. My wife nixed the "tight package" part, though, so we ended up with a B+ (Trend 23L instead of Travato 59g). I'm very pleased, even though it doesn't completely fit in most parking spots. Setup takes 0-2 minutes, depending on if we are level already. I thought that dragging the B+ around on day trips would be a drawback, but instead it's a boon. I love having all of our stuff with us--cold drinks, snacks, bathroom, a place to relax. We can eat lunch whenever is convenient, instead of needed to plan a trip "back to camp" or locating a place to eat out (and spending the extra money). I can't see myself ever going back to a trailer and tow vehicle. Besides, our three year old Trend cost less than a good tow vehicle.

Wow, I just googled the Trend you have and that is amazing! That is a very similar floor plan to what I like. It is bigger than the Class C I have my eye on though (a 2000 Shasta Sprite), also I can't afford $50,000 so I would definitely need to find an older one, what year did they start making B+'s? I had never even heard of them until about a month ago.

[GaiaGoddess]

Originally Posted by brianm142@hotmail.com

I Have owned 2 fifth wheel trailers (30 Feet & 36 Ft), and a Class B. Our experience was that with more room in the 5th wheels we just ended up taking more "stuff", it was much more complicated getting into gas stations, shopping centres, parking lots and generally maneuvering around cities and towns. The friends who got us interested in RVing are still using a 5th wheel but they like to camp wherever they stop for a few days t a time whereas we like to travel more. We can also literally jump into our "B" any day and go to the beach, for a picnic, out for dinner and to a show and then if we are an hour or two from home and we are in our "B" we can usually find a spot nearby to stay for the night and go home in the morning. As far as service/repairs are concerned on those very few occasions when we have needed some kind of service on either the "B" or the 5th wheels it has usually meant leaving the unit for at least an overnight. When we bought out "B" we deliberately did not buy a diesel after talking to several Mercedes diesel owners whose complaint was that virtually all servicing had to be done by a "Mercedes" dealer/service centre to maintain their warranty and this could be a real inconvenience if you were not located near one (the nearest one to our home was 2 hours away), whereas our Ford engine can be serviced by any mechanic including a Ford dealer. Yes owning a "B" initially may be challenging when you first staart going away, but very quickly you learn to adjust and realize tht at lot of what you thin you need you can actually get away without, both husband and wife can drive confidently (my wife hated driving the diesel truck and 5th wheel), can stop and park pretty much anywhere, and have a much greater choice of camping and boon docking spots.
2013 PleasureWay EXCEL TS
2012 Chevrolet Silverado Crew Cab

I considered a fifth wheel before I bought my travel trailer but didn't want to spend the extra money on buying a pickup too (I have a Ford Escape). I love the layout of the fifth wheels (bed up on top). That is literally the ONLY thing i don't like about the Class B's is that the bed is out in the open and I am a light sleeper who needs total darkness, so i am drawn to the Class C's that have a bed back in the corner so you can draw the curtain around you. So that is really the only thing keeping me from jumping on this right now. Do I go for one that is more practical to drive or do I go for one i can get good sleep in? Hmmm gotta think some more.