Class A or B

[mountainkowboy]

We've run the gambit on RV's and will be going full-time soon and just can't decide what way to go. We were initially going with a "couples" TT but after going and looking at them they just seemed to small for endless months of leisurely travel. We are strongly considering going motorized again, but this time with something smaller than 36' dual slide basement behemoth. It appears that a 28-30 footer with a walk around queen will work. We will be towing a Ford Ranger with a Harley in it, so I'll need to be able to tow 5K behind it...lean towards B. I would also like to be able to use the coach with any slides in...lean towards A. We also like the titch more room in the A with the cab seats being able to be used when parked. Then there's the shorter profile of the B and better mpg from the more aero design of the nose.

quandry

[mountainkowboy]

Atlee wrote:
All of those are Class C's. The term B+ is strictly a marketing term.

They only come up under class B on the popular RV sales sites, so

[Bumpyroad]

gee, and I always thought the road treks were B vans.
bumpy

[D_E_Bishop]

As has been said many times in the past, if you find, and you will, a rig that allows you to tow yout truck and MC, and has the right floor plam, nothing else matters. At least for now:).

I have found since we bought the Adventurer, the RV is bigger than I am. DW won't drive it and I am tired of doing everything
I need to do to keep it like new. It does have so many more features than we need now but wanted 5, 10, or 15 years ago, plus the $175 a month storage fees we didn't have with a smaller rig.

There are Bs out there that are good for a 10K mile trip and "A"s that are over the top for us but may fit your needs. It really is hard to say what will work for you.

Set your priorities and look, look, look. There is one out there for yoyu.

[Atlee]

All of those are Class C's. The term B+ is strictly a marketing term.

mountainkowboy wrote:
I'm not talking about conversion vans, maybe its a B+? I've seen many class B's that run the E450 chassis, BT Touring, Lexingtons, and the such, that are easily capable of towing 5K.

[Atlee]

You aren't talking about a B. A Class B is a RV that is built on a van chassis. What you are talking about is a Class C. I know that some manufacturers talk about a B+ RV. This is just a marketing term. A B+ is just a smaller Class C.

mountainkowboy wrote:
We've run the gambit on RV's and will be going full-time soon and just can't decide what way to go. We were initially going with a "couples" TT but after going and looking at them they just seemed to small for endless months of leisurely travel. We are strongly considering going motorized again, but this time with something smaller than 36' dual slide basement behemoth. It appears that a 28-30 footer with a walk around queen will work. We will be towing a Ford Ranger with a Harley in it, so I'll need to be able to tow 5K behind it...lean towards B. I would also like to be able to use the coach with any slides in...lean towards A. We also like the titch more room in the A with the cab seats being able to be used when parked. Then there's the shorter profile of the B and better mpg from the more aero design of the nose.

quandry

[Bumpyroad]

LVJJJ wrote:

old guy wrote:
You must mean a class C not a class B. a class B will not tow a ford ranger with a harley in it very well.

Yes it will, if it's a Roadtrek based on the Chevy Express 2500 van with the 6.0 engine. With our 8,000 lb '05 Roadtrek we hauled our Chevy Corsica on a U haul car trailer from Las Vegas to Bellingham, could go as fast as we wanted. Then towed a 5,500 lb. travel trailer for years with it. Took most mountain passes at speed. Got 11 mpg.

years back when I was looking at them the 2500 had a 10,000 lb. hitch on it and had about 8,000 lbs. of towing capacity.
bumpy

[LVJJJ]

old guy wrote:
You must mean a class C not a class B. a class B will not tow a ford ranger with a harley in it very well.

Yes it will, if it's a Roadtrek based on the Chevy Express 2500 van with the 6.0 engine. With our 8,000 lb '05 Roadtrek we hauled our Chevy Corsica on a U haul car trailer from Las Vegas to Bellingham, could go as fast as we wanted. Then towed a 5,500 lb. travel trailer for years with it. Took most mountain passes at speed. Got 11 mpg.

[mountainkowboy]

ncrowley wrote:

GCWR - GVWR = weight you can pull

Actually GCWR is the only figure that matters. For example...if you have a GVWR of 22K and a GCWR of 26K but only gross out at 20,500 that gives you 1,500 more that can be towed as long as your hitch will handle it.

[mountainkowboy]

PartyOf Five wrote:

If I was FT, I would pull a trailer fill of toys, or drive a toy hauler, not pull my bike out of my truck every time I wanted to use it.

It would only be in the truck for travel and isn't a problem for me.

[DrewE]

mountainkowboy wrote:
I'm not talking about conversion vans, maybe its a B+? I've seen many class B's that run the E450 chassis, BT Touring, Lexingtons, and the such, that are easily capable of towing 5K.

Those are advertised as B+'s and are technically class C's.

The classes mean nothing more than what sort of a chassis was used to build the motorhome. A class A is built on a bare chassis or a custom chassis, with the coach builder supplying the entire bodywork. A class C is built on a cutaway (or cab and chassis), with the cab area being from the chassis maker and the rest of the body from the coach builder. A class B is built inside a van, often with the roof raised up, but with the walls of the body coming from the chassis maker.

A class B+ is generally just a comparatively small class C without a cabover bunk. They like to sell them that way I suspect because B+ sounds better than C-, and because it's easier to justify a higher price tag when you are attempting to be at the top of the scale rather than the bottom of the scale. Probably it's also to try to avoid the "stigma" that class C's are mainly for families while class B's are mainly for couples (with people who are looking for the latter).

[mountainkowboy]

I'm not talking about conversion vans, maybe its a B+? I've seen many class B's that run the E450 chassis, BT Touring, Lexingtons, and the such, that are easily capable of towing 5K.

[ncrowley]

Getting a smaller motorized RV that can truly pull 5000 pounds is difficult. They have 5K hitches but they cannot realistically pull 5K. You need to get the numbers and figure it out yourself - do not rely on the sales people.

GCWR - GVWR = weight you can pull

[Ivylog]

FT = bigger tanks unless you want to go from FHU to FHU...$$$
FT = going longer with more slides is cheaper than a divorce...see next one.
FT = twice the husband on half the income, in 1/10th the space of you go A...1/15th if in a C.
FT = spending your kids inheritance...they did not earn the $$$$
FT= spending more time in one place so MPG is not important.
I think you can figure what my recommendation is and if in doubt look at my profile and we are only half Timers. It is not true that you cannot get into Public CGs with a big rig as we mainly stay in USFS CGs.

[PghBob]

Much will depend on the chassis of the RV you choose. Make sure the chassis is rated for the kind of weight you are talking about, towing capacity, and Occupant & Cargo Carrying Capacity (OCCC). You may even need to modify the hitch. This factor alone may weed out rigs that can't do the job you are looking for it to do.