Newbies looking at Class B

[KITF]

My husband and I are looking at used Class B Grand Tour motorhomes for the past few months. And not sure if we are asking the right questions. We have never traveled in a motorhome but think the Class B is the right length for us.

Does anyone have a reference or guidebook of considerations?

So far, we've looked and driven a few Grand Tour ones from dealers. We open up everything but actually, we don't know what we are looking at. And alot of the jargon is very confusing.

Any suggestions ?? Most gratefull

[Meeks]

My standard piece of advice is always the same . Rent before you purchase. Then you will know if the make/model is right for you or not. There is a website called Outdoorsy.com where folks rent out their RVs. We had a great experience renting!

[KITF]

thanks

[uncle_bob]

Hi

The whole class this / class that jargon can be a bit "exciting" to decode. With any choice like this, I would suggest looking at something a bit bigger and (if possible) something a bit smaller. There is no way anybody can work this out from internet information. Since we all have different objectives, my pick probably will not be your pick.

Bigger is likely to give you more "days of comfort" on the road. Does this matter to you? Smaller will mean greater ease dealing with urban environments. Again, how does the impact you?

If you have a target use ( or several uses ) for the MH, do you have experience doing this or that? Some folks go camping in a MH, they have decades of experience in tents. That can help a bit sorting some issues out. A trial run in a rental is a very good idea if all of this is new to you.

Understand that the market for used trucks / cars / boats / homes / RV's is a bit insane right now. In most markets you *will* pay a fairly significant premium for a used this or that over what they normally sell for. This is not to say you should not buy one. The point is that you should understand you are paying a premium.

These days YouTube is your friend for coming up to speed on this or that jargon and this or that gizmo. In many ways it has replaced books about this or that. Spend some time watching and digging there. This forum is also a great place to learn this or that.

Bob

[coasttocoast]

You can park a Sprinter just about anywhere, and you can go places- lots of places. Ours is a two person van- no kids or pets. We don't cook in it. We try to avoid places that are above 65 degrees and we only use a campground when we need to dump, need 30 amp, or have no other choice. Keep it simple and don't load it up too much. The key ingredient to making for a pleasurable adventure is lots of lithium and solar. Pick a target- let's say 600 watts of solar and 600 amp hours of lithium. If you're not plugged in, you are the Grid. Happy Trails.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

Next layer to this, since you mentioned a "used MH".....

Airstream trailers can last for a *long* time. Looking out the window here, I can see a range of then going back 70 years. It took some work to keep them in shape, but they are here in use.

Motor homes, like it or not, have a vehicle buried down under there somewhere. It's like any truck or car. You are running it heavily loaded when you are on the road. Stuff *does* wear out. It wears out faster than on a lightly loaded vehicle. Getting this or that fixed on any MH is more of a hassle for the service folks that fixing the typical passenger car. That is reflected in the prices charged.

Will this or that model "do fine" for 30K, 60K, 120K, 240K , 480K miles? Who knows. It often depends a lot on what you call doing fine. Is replacing the entire drive trail twice "fine"? For some it is. What is certain is that there *will* be maintenance on the "truck" part of things.

If you are buying a used MH, have somebody go over the "truck" part and give you a guess about what you are in for over the next year or so. It will only be a guess, but it's better than nothing.

Does this mean a used car, truck, MH is a bad thing to buy? Of course not. You should save a chunk of money buying used. Some portion of that can go to "fix up's" and you still can save quite a bit. The only point is that you get a rough idea what the bill *might* be.

Bob

[KITF]

We’ve borrowed friends 19’ MH and its just too small. Now are trying 23-24’ Sprinters - and think this will work. I also found an inspector close by through the National RV Inspector association with level 2 certificate and will have whatever we buy throughly inspected.

Greatly appreciate all the advice and the different forums. Thanks! K

[Bob Peahl]

Originally Posted by KITF

My husband and I are looking at used Class B Grand Tour motorhomes for the past few months. And not sure if we are asking the right questions. We have never traveled in a motorhome but think the Class B is the right length for us.

Does anyone have a reference or guidebook of considerations?

So far, we've looked and driven a few Grand Tour ones from dealers. We open up everything but actually, we don't know what we are looking at. And alot of the jargon is very confusing.

Any suggestions ?? Most gratefull

Your post doesn't indicate your general experience with camping.
Generally, you should determine how you plan to use the rv and more particularly, what your lifestyle will be.

Understand how to actually use the items included with the RV. For example, many rigs have showers, but some are a PITA to use.

Same with storage. The rig might have many storage bins, but consider how you will store the items you plan to take with you and the machinations that are needed to get to the items when you want them-focus on items you use on a daily basis.

Are you nappers? and if so, how will that work if the bed needs assembly each day?

Tank sizes matter -understand how the fresh, gray and black water tanks support your intended lifestyle.

Determine how the fully loaded rig handles on the road, compared to the empty rig at the dealership.

This is why renting is a good idea- it gives you an opportunity to explore the practicality of the rig for your needs.

[uncle_bob]

Originally Posted by KITF

We’ve borrowed friends 19’ MH and its just too small. Now are trying 23-24’ Sprinters - and think this will work. I also found an inspector close by through the National RV Inspector association with level 2 certificate and will have whatever we buy throughly inspected.

Greatly appreciate all the advice and the different forums. Thanks! K

Hi

While RV inspectors are often quite good, a mechanic who is familiar with this or that truck chassis likely will do a better job spotting things (if they are truck related). In some cases this might involve pulling a wheel or other "maneuvers" that an inspector would not do. It also can be more than a seller will let you do pre-sale. If so, get it done after you buy the MH.

I will not argue with the 19' vs 24' decision. It's the same one we just made. All I would say is that looking at the next step up is probably a good idea as well ... We've looked at the Atlas multiple times over the last 4 years. It does have some nice points. ( ... and it's bigger when it's time to park .... )

Next layer to the onion:

Some things on an RV simply wear out. They should be an expected thing and are no reason to panic if they show up on an inspection report:

First is batteries. If you get 4 years, that's doing well. A lot depends on how they where used. It's quite possible to kill them in less than 4 years.

Next tires: Some (but not all) RV's don't see the sort of road miles a passenger car sees. The tires wear out from age rather than tread life. This is *highly* variable. Tires past about 5 years old should be looked at carefully. Some would suggest replacing them at this point.

There are other items like shocks and brakes that you would expect from owning any car or truck.

Bob

[Vagabonds_2]

Originally Posted by KITF

My husband and I are looking at used Class B Grand Tour motorhomes for the past few months. And not sure if we are asking the right questions. We have never traveled in a motorhome but think the Class B is the right length for us.

Does anyone have a reference or guidebook of considerations?

So far, we've looked and driven a few Grand Tour ones from dealers. We open up everything but actually, we don't know what we are looking at. And alot of the jargon is very confusing.

Any suggestions ?? Most gratefull

You may want to join the Atlas FB group if interested/looking. They talk about joys, lack of quality, how to fix this or that, and some about the joyful experiences they have had. A great source.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

In any market, a "good deal" on an RV (any of them ...) is something that's likely to come on the market and then sell very quickly. This seems to very much be the case right now. Will it continue into the winter? Who knows. Anything that hangs around for months probably has issues. That's not to say it *does* only that it is a possibility.

The net result is that once you decide on what you want, you need to be ready to move very quickly. A couple weeks of this can put you out of the running on a good deal. You also may find that this deal is a *long* way from home ....

The alternative is to buy new / pay a new price / wait a *while* for delivery. There are some very obvious issues there as well. A new one will come with a warranty for a while. That may or may not outweigh those issues.

Bob

[LilPeanut]

I have both a 30' Classic and a 25' Airstream Atlas Class B motorhome. THe Atlas is similar to the GT but the Atlas has a slide (about 15") that houses a murphy bed that lays 'east/west' so you aren't sleeping on the seats. It also has a nice bathroom, nicer and larger than our Classic.

In any Airstream, you will have to dance around each other. 2 people don't fit anywhere, sort of like an airplane aisle. ALL Airstreams are that way. I would think about how you go about your day from beginning to end.

In the morning is one up earlier than the other by an hour? When the bed takes up most of the house before it is put away, that is tricky. What about cooking. Pretend you are chopping an onion. Do you have space for that (and chopping over the sink is not always practical - half a sink is OK, leaving it open is what I like). Think about where you would store things (no towels hanging over the stove even though it is a nice open space). Are the driver/passenger chairs really necessary for you to 'live comfortable' or do you have somewhere else to sit (they are not always the most convenient to turn around for use)? Do you watch TV at night and is it going to be comfortable enough to sit and watch on a rainy day?

We love our Atlas. It is only 25' long (plus the bike rack). We can drive it to dinner downtown. We can 'stealth' camp in places we couldn't even get the Classic into. Exploring urban areas, more constant moving (for us) is when we take it vs. the Classic. The Classic is when we are gone for 4 months cross country and stay a week at a time visiting people - it is more luxurious living due to the space. But a TT and a motorhome are completely different animals.

Our classic has lots of solar and lithium batteries. We can run the AC for a few hours when we stop for lunch but not all night without a generator. The Atlas has a built in generator and we run it driving down the road. We can stay longer in the Classic without hookups due to bigger tanks, but not much - electric for the AC is our limiting factor in the summer. We need hookups for quiet AC in both.

Power management in the Atlas is completely different than the Classic. It sheds loads vs. 'boosting' from the batteries.

I would go back and pretend you are doing your everyday living. Stand in the shower and try to stick your elbows out. Think about where you will store the toaster, blender, coffee, etc. The Atlas has much more storage than our Classic, by a giant amount. But with the Classic, we have an F250 to store things in (chairs, tables, etc) but both will feel like small space living. It is the living part you need to test out. Where do you want to go and how do you want to feel while you are living in it. Don't worry about how I feel or where I want to go, you need to consider what you want. It is hard to substitute for 'a day in the life'.

[uncle_bob]

Hi

The current Airstream lineup stops at the Atlas. There ... umm ... are larger motor homes on the market than the Atlas. Some are slightly larger. Others are a *lot* larger. There will always be a compromise between how much room you have "inside" and the size of the overall vehicle.

The "Class B" ( = a van body with the RV gizmos stuffed inside ) is commonly looked at as the "tightest" of the MH designs in terms of internal space. The Interstate 19, 24GT, 24GL, and X are all true class B motor homes.

Only you the buyer can work out the tradeoff between size and "comfort". It's not anything somebody else will look at quite the same way. Thus the need to look at as many examples as you possibly can ...

Bob