Advice for older couple

[Grangrey4]

Newbie here. Buying used. Recently retired. 40K to 45K budget leaves a used class c. How old is too old? Thought about 2011 and newer if possible. Lots of small 23 footers out there in price range. Would that be too small for us and three grandchildren or would we go nuts. Are slides a problem on the older units of 8 years or so? Also are small units any more prone to problems? Ideal would be 27 or 28 foot bumper to bumper, however not many out there. Any advice is welcome and helpful.
Thanks.

[ron_dittmer]

Grangrey4,

Our mattress needed to get replaced this year. My wife and I found that a Hometics 6" mattress from Walmart was a very good replacement. We removed it's zippered cover, un-stitched one end of the inner fire barrier material, and cut the foam mattress with integrated memory foam top to the size needed.

You can read and view pictures of our project by CLICKING HERE

[Grangrey4]

I think a topper would probably fix it. But mattress is already high for 5'1" gal!

[Bordercollie]

If you or your wife have arthritis or other problems climbing over each other and climbing down a ladder, in the dark, in bare feet, to go to the bathroom, you'll need at least a 27 foot long Class C with a rear bedroom that has an "RV Queen" size bed. A few rigs are designed with a small slide that provides access on both sides of the bed and at the foot. This makes possible getting out of bed and back into bed without waking your partner. Four grand kids can sleep on a convertible dinette bed or jackknife sofa and in the overhead bed. A Ford E-450 V-10 gas engine is quite standard. Most class C's use the same appliances, furnaces water heaters, air conditioners, awnings, generators and plumbing. Our appliances started to need replacement at about 10 years, so I advise beginners to buy 3-5 year old rigs if they can afford them. Make sure that you and wife really want to take on the RV hobby including costs of ownership, and effort of packing, driving, setup and stowing and unpacking after trips. It's a good idea to have a professional truck mechanic and RV expert inspect and test a potential "buy" and get a written estimate of what it needs in repairs or upgrades before you sign the papers. Get all promises by dealers in writing on the sales contract before you sign.

[ctim]

We have a 2016 Thor 22E, which is 25 ft., purchased new. It's cozy, but my husband and I have taken several trips up to 2 weeks and done fine. On a couple of short trips we've had the 2 of us, adult daughter, adult son and preschool granddaughter. It was tight, but OK for the few days. We spent a lot of time outside anyway. It doesn't have slides. So depends on how much you'll use it, if the kids are with you all the time, and how big they are.

[pnichols]

Your 96 inch width is the next common Class C width down from our 101 inches.

I wish ours was 96 inches. This slightly smaller width would probably be of very little actual outside physical size advantage ... but it sure might give me a bit more "width confidence" at times when parking or traveling in narrow situations!

However, I'll pass on slides and stay with our strong, and reliable widebody design.

[Harvey51]

The house is 96 inches. Mirrors extra. Yes, it does feel wide on city streets and doesn’t quite fit city parking places.

[pnichols]

Harvey51,

How wide is your slide-less 20 footer?

We sometimes wish our slideless 24 footer was just a bit narrower for getting into some spots, going down some dirt roads with brush/trees, and passing through Men Working road zones.

Our Itasca has a slideless "widebody" coach at 101 inches. Great for inside roominess for just the two of us ... but sometimes not so great on the outside when in motion.

[Harvey51]

I’ll make the case for short. We decided to get a class C after many years using a tent trailer and envying motorhomers. The first one we looked at was a new 26 footer with a reasonable price due to spending several years on the dealers lot. I test drove it, even backing up to turn it around in a small city. DW wife wouldn’t try driving it. It just looked too big. Next we tried a 4 year old 20 foot former rental priced at $25 000 Canadian (2008 was a good year to buy). We both drove it, DW backing into a campsite. It is pretty small - when MIL was living with us she had the dinette bed while DW and I took the cabover bed, which we really like (big, mostly out of sight). With just the two of us, it is perfect. Easy to drive, easy to park, can get into all our favourite boondocking places without trouble, leveling is usually just trying a couple times to find the right place in a campsite. Looks modest and sensible in our driveway and while on trips.

It has not been a money pit at all. In 12 years it has only been in garages for tires and brakes. I fixed some leaks, a broken sink drain pipe and I improved the electrical system including installing a solar panel and battery monitor. If you are willing to learn and do maintenance a motorhome can be owned at modest cost.

[DrewE]

Grangrey4 wrote:
Update. Bought a 2015 Winnebago with 9800 miles on it on budget. So far so good. No long trips yet but test trips close by. We like it. A lot to buy to put in it. Mattress absolutely is a bed of nails. It will be the only thing I hope has to go. Does have 4 seatbelts for grand kids. Made offer and dealer took it. Thanks for advice and help!!!

A memory foam mattress topper can sometimes completely transform the mattress from horrible to comfy...at least it did for mine. If you have a "short queen" or other oddball size mattress, they're not at all hard to cut down to size with an electric carving knife or (slightly slower) a normal bread knife.

[Grangrey4]

Update. Bought a 2015 Winnebago with 9800 miles on it on budget. So far so good. No long trips yet but test trips close by. We like it. A lot to buy to put in it. Mattress absolutely is a bed of nails. It will be the only thing I hope has to go. Does have 4 seatbelts for grand kids. Made offer and dealer took it. Thanks for advice and help!!!

[Cider]

I tend to agree with most of the OP's - don't buy just to satisfy the grandkids. Look for a size that you are comfortable with, both in living and driving and maneuvering around small roads, campgrounds, parking lots, etc. Most smaller class C's only have 2 seat belts for the dinette or sofa due to weight capacity of unit. Larger C;lass C's with V-10's have more capacity. If it just going to be you and wife 80% of the time, go with the smaller rig, if that is your preference. Bad weather can be dealt with inside, although after two days, I'd probably move somewhere else to find better weather. We travel in a 24' class C, wife and I, small dog and 2 cats. Getting ready to leave on a 4 - 5 week trip in a few days, so I suppose if this is doable, then grandkids would be too, for a fe days. Good luck,

[2edgesword]

Grangrey4 wrote:
Newbie here. Buying used. Recently retired. 40K to 45K budget leaves a used class c. How old is too old? Thought about 2011 and newer if possible. Lots of small 23 footers out there in price range. Would that be too small for us and three grandchildren or would we go nuts. Are slides a problem on the older units of 8 years or so? Also are small units any more prone to problems? Ideal would be 27 or 28 foot bumper to bumper, however not many out there. Any advice is welcome and helpful.
Thanks.

Based on my experience of having a 23' travel trailer for six years, two adults and three kids in a 23' class C is going to be very tight if the trips are more than a couple of days. Doable but not a very pleasant living experience. On a rainy day where you're stuck on the inside especially so.

The corner bed is a hassle as another poster said. If one of you is a light sleeper and/or has a hard time falling asleep after begin woken the getting in and out of bed once or twice a night for a bathroom run by the person sleeping on the inside is a problem. Getting a walk around bed was one of my wife's "must haves" when we decide to get a new trailer.

[Jayco-noslide]

Love the grand kids but they can go from loving it to wanting no part of it in a period of months.

[Bea_PA]

We downsized to a 24 foot 2012 Winnebago former rental with 14,000 miles on it for less than 35,000. It is the same as the Winnebago Access. 6 seat belts Queen plus size cab over which we use for storage when we don't have kids. 2 little kids on booth, 2 adults or kids above. With no slide is tight but when it rains kids play on the cab over. We went to the smaller rig so we don't have to tow and I am comfortable driving it. We can tow our SUV with the E350 and have but 24 is easy to park anywhere. Depends on what you want to do.