Class C choices around 24'

[ScottD]

I'm in the market for a class C motorhome for my wife and I. We've had a travel trailer and a slide-in truck camper but I think we're ready to step up to a motorhome. I'd appreciate any opinions on these 3 makes and models:

Winnebago Minnie Winnie 22M. It's 24'2" in length. 158" wheel base and ford E450 chassis. It has a slide out for the bed (bed is 60" x 75")

Jayco Redhawk 22J. It's 24'8" in length. 158" wheel base and ford E450 chassis. It has a slide out for the queen bed. (Layout is very similar to the Winnie 22M)


Forest River Forester 2251SLE. It's 23'10" in length. 158" wheel base and ford E450 chassis. It has a slide out for the queen bed. (Very close layout to the Jayco 22J)


Forest River Forester 2291S. It's 24'6" in length. 158" wheel base and ford E450 chassis. It has a slide out for the dining area.


The reason for these smaller motorhome layouts is because my thinking is that a lot of the time we're using it, we would be towing our 21' boat and when parking the motorhome/boat trailer it is going to be taking up a lot of space. I'm also thinking the ford chassis due to the higher tow rating than Chevy.

I'm leaning toward the Forester 2291s.

I'm probably going to scratch the Winnie off the list because of the smaller bed size. It looks like a queen bed isn't available until stepping up to a 27' Minnie Winnie. I'm thinking the shorter wheelbase is going to be better for turning and getting positioned down a boat launch (any thoughts on this?)

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Scott

[ScottD]

Phil, the subject was hashed out over on another forum. Check out post #8:
http://www.forestriverforums.com/forums/f18/towing-capacity-and-frame-design-57904.html

I realize it is not an official endorsement from the manufacturer for simply replacing the factory hitch with a higher class but I'm fairly confident now. I still may try to see if forest river can tell me if they changed anything other than the hitch from 2013 to 2014.

[Lumpty]

Forest River has an optional hitch of that capacity. Also, if the frame was extended per the Ford QVM procedures, the original chassis ratings are preserved. For an E450, those are pretty stout numbers.

[pnichols]

Remember that hitches are attached to frame extensions that, I believe, are usually welded by the coach manufacturers to the OEM chassis frame members.

I'm curious, where did you get info that one could merely change out a 5000 lb. rated hitch to a 7500 lb. hitch on an already-welded-on frame extension? (I'd want this in writing from the coach builder.)

[S1njin]

Nice choice !

[ScottD]

Well, since I started this thread and just bought a class C today, I thought I should give an update.

Ended up with a Sunseeker 2450s (27'). It was a model that I hadn't even considered. The ad listed it as a 24' so it caught my eye, since I was really wanting to keep it to 25' max.

I wanted to get a used motorhome with the E450 chassis but the Sunseeker and Forest River models we liked the best in the 25' and under range did not come with E450's. 2018 model years have E450 but earlier models have E350's.

Funny thing about the one we got, is the hitch is only rated at 5,000 lb but I can easily swap that out for a 7,500 lb hitch. It is a 2013 with less than 7,000 miles and loaded with every option including upgraded paint.

[gmctoyman]

Kinda true, but not totally. The LD uses (or did on my '04 & '06) particle board in the floor. There have been incidents of the black tank pulling the mount bolts thru the floor on certain models.. Of course this will only happen if to have a full tank. Cause is related to the water tank & pump being sources of leaks being located above the floor over the black tank.

tjfogelberg wrote:
Both Lazy Daze and Nexus use plywood ...Nexus for the bed platform. The entire shell of a Lazy Daze is plywood including the bottom of the storage bays.

[resucami]

ron.dittmer wrote:
We special ordered our Phoenix Cruiser ...

This is pretty much my dream RV. Congratulations. There is a used Phoenix Cruiser for sale in my area but it has a slide out, and I also would prefer to have an RV without that.

[Cider]

ScottD wrote:

tjfogelberg wrote:
Make sure your mattress doesn’t have to be folded up to bring in the slide.

That's a great suggestion. I think I'll scratch the first 3 models off my list because of that.

The folding mattress is not a big deal. It opens and closes by itself, if you do not have a bunch of blankets on it when operating the slide. We have this on our MBS 2400R and find it simple, comfortable and no big deal. I would not use this as a factor to eliminate several class C models from consideration.

[tjfogelberg]

Both Lazy Daze and Nexus use plywood ...Nexus for the bed platform. The entire shell of a Lazy Daze is plywood including the bottom of the storage bays.

[Desert_Captain]

Phil,

Once again we are back on the same page and sort of returning to the topic when it comes to our Class C's. One of the things we enjoy the most with our little 24ish C is its ability to keep us comfortable in just about any weather and still accommodate the occasional guests. My buddy has a top of the line Winnabago diesel pusher that at 40+ feet sleeps two comfortably and in warm weather resembles a sauna...

The folks with small diesel C's don't have the option we V-10 folks {and lesser gassers} have of running the dash AC as a back up in extreme heat as diesels don't take to extended idling all that well. Don't use this option often {last time was in the cornfields of Illinois dodging tornados}, but it is nice to know we can. When it comes to cold temps the 35,000 BTU furnace always gets the job done quickly and efficiently.

When the trucks on I-10 are doing 80+ setting the cruise control at 83 actually works pretty well as you can really make good time on a long boring ride. Our Solara Coupe {poor mans Lexus} is a great road car when you just need to get someplace to start having fun. We cruise the coach at 63 - 65 unless I'm towing my Harley and then I back it down a tad.

But really... the panhandle in August? Seriously? :S

LMAO.

:B

[pnichols]

Desert Captain wrote:
Come on now Phil, Texas panhandle in August, seriously?

We took the car because we had a limited window for the trip and RV parking in our friend's subdivision is prohibited. To take the C we would have been cruising at 63 to 65 {vs a steady 80 to 83} adding at least a day to our travel time, burning 3 times the fuel and then would have had to pay for a site in an RV park across town instead of staying with our hosts.

Nice pic but I defy you to find anywhere in west Texas {between El Paso and San Antonio} that looks like that shot. I-10 between El Paso and SA is a great road and you can really make good time {in a car} but not much to see.

Somewhat back on topic: Yep ... the Texas Panhandle in August .... practicing what I preach -> after spending all that money for self-containment, our rig better be able to keep us in complete comfort anywhere anytime. That's the beauty of a SMALL Class C -> it's heating and cooling systems have way less coach volume to deal with, so they do a much better job of it.

Definitely back off topic: The DW was navigating and I was the driving robot, but ... I think where we were in the Panhandle was Lake Meredith, north of Amarillo. We had it to ourselves probably because of the ludicrous heat. We were in the area due to a couple of reasons, 1) the rockhounding, and 2) Edes Custom Meats. 😉

P.S. Wow, "a steady 80 to 83"! We don't ever come close to that ... even when tripping in our Lexus LS430. We like 57 to 60 in the RV ... however I don't like some of the symbols people flash at us as they pass us. :B

[Desert_Captain]

Staying off topic {misdemeanor thread drift}...

Come on now Phil, Texas panhandle in August, seriously? :S

We took the car because we had a limited window for the trip and RV parking in our friend's subdivision is prohibited. To take the C we would have been cruising at 63 to 65 {vs a steady 80 to 83} adding at least a day to our travel time, burning 3 times the fuel and then would have had to pay for a site in an RV park across town instead of staying with our hosts.

Nice pic but I defy you to find anywhere in west Texas {between El Paso and San Antonio} that looks like that shot. I-10 between El Paso and SA is a great road and you can really make good time {in a car} but not much to see.

We average 10,000 miles a year in our coach {often much more} and some trips simply make more sense without it.

:B

[pnichols]

Desert Captain wrote:
... just got back from an 1,800 mile round trip {in the car} to visit friends in San Antonio. SA was fun but West Texas was a tad boring.

This is a bit off-topic, except that it shows the OP where a small Class C motorhome can go to get away from it all and "speaking of Texas"... here's us somewhere in the Texas Panhandle in August in the searing heat rockhounding. We had the place all to ourselves and had to run both A/C's (coach plus cab) to cool down for lunch. To us, this kind of RV tripping is anything but boring:

[Dusty_R]

We had a 2002 Itasca 24 V. It had all the options, rear dinette & sofa/couch w/2 small tables. Really liked it but health & age caught up with us.\

Dusty