Christopher Hodapp - RVs & Campers For Dummies

RVers refer to their towed cars as a toad or dinghy. We talk all about towing your toad in Chapter 19.

There is an enormous price spread when it comes to shopping for a new Class A motorhome. Class As have a reputation for costing in excess of $200,000 for a high-quality, well-appointed rig. But in recent years, Class A builders have developed lower-priced rigs to appeal to a wider group of shoppers. Depending on market conditions, options, and manufacturers, you’ll encounter prices from as low as $65,000 to over a million dollars. But the overwhelming majority of new Class As range from $80,000 to $150,000.

Full-size, commercial, cross-country passenger buses (the kind with the Greyhound logo painted on the side) are made by specialty manufacturers like Prevost. These are also the starting place for the most expensive, top-end, rock-’n-roll-band tour buses, and other million-dollar dream machine motorhomes.

If you wonder how the billionaire tech moguls at Burning Man manage to cope with the deprivation of desert life far from civilization for a week every year, this is it. Quite literally anything that can fit into 45 feet of metal and fiberglass can be had, if money is no object. Typically, bus conversions have massive water holding tanks, high-wattage electrical generators, and 100+-gallon fuel tanks to power every conceivable appliance for extended periods of time. The latest in onboard electronics and communication technology stays constantly connected to the world. These rigs have custom everything — waterbeds, Jacuzzis, gourmet kitchens, TV screens in every conceivable location, rooftop party decks, giant aquarium tanks… . You name it — anything’s available for a price.

When you get into this sky-high price range, these are not assembly-line, mass-market vehicles. It’s not uncommon for a custom, luxury RV builder to make only a handful of units every year. And it’s likely that fewer than a hundred of these top-end RVs are made in any given year by all the customizers combined.

For the not-quite billionaires out there in search of a price deal, some of the larger customizing companies do make a few off-the-shelf, non-customized models that still have the most requested top-end features. And because personal fortunes can rise and fall overnight, along with the bored desire to have something new and shiny every year, there’s a fairly good-size used market for these royal barges. Just be aware of the problems you’ll be taking on, with specialty service and a killer cost of upkeep. Maintenance will be anything but routine.

If you buy one of the larger diesel-pusher Class As, you’re literally driving what is a giant commercial truck or bus under the floorboards. Consequently, they’re among the most expensive RVs on the road to operate, maintain, and have repaired. Just changing a flat tire on one of the larger rigs is a major undertaking, and you can’t do it yourself. One single tire on the biggest Class A motorhome can cost you more than a set of four tires plus a spare for your Toyota. Class As must be serviced at RV dealerships or commercial truck centers.

In Chapter 5, we talk about doing your homework before you buy. If you’re seriously talking yourself into buying a low-priced Class A motorhome — new or used — make sure you read reviews from other owners and ask questions on Internet RV forums before plunking down your money. Cheap motorhomes can turn into hair-pulling, spouse-blaming, buses full of headaches and repair costs. They’re cheap for a reason, and they won’t have anything approaching the level of quality, workmanship, and reliability found in a more expensive unit.

Class B motorhomes (like the one in Figure 2-3) are the opposite of the big Class As in size — they’re the smallest self-contained coaches on the road. Some people still use the ’70s term van conversions to refer to these, because Class Bs are basically heavily modified delivery or passenger vans.

Manufacturers typically buy Ford Transit (gas or diesel), Chevy Express (gas), RAM ProMaster (gas), or Mercedes Sprinter (diesel) vehicles to build them, and they range in size from about 17 to 28 feet in length. Because of their limited size, Class Bs are best suited for a single person or a couple. Some claim to have sleeping space for up to four people, but that’s really only practical if the other two passengers are young children.

On the inside, Class Bs manage to cram lots of living amenities into a tiny space. They have a kitchen with a stovetop and microwave, a TV, a bed that folds away (usually into a couch) when it’s not needed, heating and air conditioning, and a little bit of storage space for clothes. They also have a small bathroom with a toilet, shower, and onboard water tanks so you never have to use a porta-potty at an outdoor fair again. And they have a built-in generator to create your own electricity when you want to stay in the great outdoors, far from the closest electrical hookup.

Photograph courtesy of Christopher Hodapp

FIGURE 2-3:A Class B motorhome.

But make no mistake: Unless you’re a minimalist loner or an experienced champion of the tiny-house movement, a Class B motorhome really isn’t suitable for full-time living. Class Bs are great for the weekend camper and the impromptu trip. They’re popular for tailgating parties, as well as corporate owners. We’ve also met lots of Class B camper couples who were newlyweds and honeymooners, if you know what we mean.

Class Bs are so versatile that they can double as a second family car. A Class B will usually fit into an ordinary parking space, with a great go-anywhere style. Some even come equipped with four-wheel-drive options. And, depending on the design, if you have a grim, unyielding homeowners’ association (HOA) governing your neighborhood that forbids parking RVs in driveways, most Class Bs look like a regular van on the outside. (Just be aware that they’re too tall to fit in an average garage.)

Because of their smaller size and lighter weight, Class Bs get far better mileage than any other motorhome. They’re easier to drive and maneuver, and their engines and vehicle systems can all be serviced at your local car dealership or service center. Like their bigger motorhome cousins, the back-end living space is accessible from the front seats, even when you’re on the road. Just don’t come looking for lots of excess space. If you’re trying to camp, you’re going to run out of room for gear fast, but you can easily tow a storage trailer for longer trips.

Some standard Class Bs may have a lower ceiling than a bigger motorhome or trailer, so if you’re tall, make sure you can deal with it. Before you buy, tour as many as you can find, walk around inside and make sure you won’t whack your head on a low-hanging air-conditioner or constantly trip over a recessed floor in the bathroom.

In recent years, manufacturers have pushed the limits of Class B sizes to make them bigger and add more amenities. These Super Bs or B+ motorhomes are still regular vans underneath, but they’re taller and longer, with more room — typically, they’re 30 to 32 feet in length. Unlike a standard Class B, the manufacturers cut away everything but the van’s front cab and add their own fiberglass body behind it. The biggest ones can sleep as many as four very friendly people, as long as you all keep the word snug in mind.