Good C Class RVs?

[RvNaut]

When I started looking I made a list of everything I wanted and everything I didn't want. And I started down the list.

I did this... I started in June of 2020.... What I found is that I needed to be flexible in what I put on my list and what I found out there...

I started with 24-28' w. 158" wheelbase... and started poking about... I soon came down to wanting a Safari Trek ... and after doign more research came down to a '96-'00 models...

..and then I went to see one. I am 6'3".  The Trek has a "bed in the ceiling" rig directly behind the driver/pass seats that lowers down, and at its highest it is about 6'....  I am not particularly fluffy, but I still felt closed in  in this 2002 model...

The reality is that this is going to be my home. I need to feel good in it. Compromises had to be made. The trek was continued through '08 after Monaco took over, and while it was generally accepted that overall quality went down, but in some ways things got better. The newer models were slightly taller , but the bed only gained 2 inches.... However, that also added... slides, and I was right there at first "no damn slides".. and yet... I felt I needed the elbow room. In '03 they started making a longer version of the Trek, and they put the living room area in the back, with the bed still in the ceiling.. however, any time spent back there will be sitting or laying down, but not standing... meanwhile the entire front has a higher ceiling. I compromised on several items on my initial *must have* list.... I am now retired and collecting SSI, but it isn't a ton.. certainly no enough to keep my home. Through the sale I am starting out with a decent rig and a small nest egg... more the Bob's suggested $5k, but less than I am paying for the RV...

I am lucky.. while in a way I am being forces into this... it is a choice.. I good chose to downsize into a mobile home and sit there and rot... I think being mobile and not having to shovel snow again is a much better way to go ...


Do research, then do more research, then ask a crap-ton of questions.. watch a few hundred hours of  RV videos....

YMMV IANAL

 

[Freelander]

Yes its nice to start with those 'Million Dollar Mobile Mansions' and work your way down. One thing I didn't want was one with a 2 piece mattress. I looked as a Sunseeker and the bed was a 2 piece one on a slide.

Mine should have had a Queen Size bed but the pervious owners cut a walkway down the middle of the bed platform. I covered over the walkway with a piece of 1/4" plywood and bought a normal Full size bed for it. The factory queenside was an odd size and would have been hard to find sheets for.

I do wish I had auto levelers but its not a deal breaker, I can get by with out them.

 

[Browneye]

I have never been inside one but Lazy Daze class c’s seemed to be built nicer then others. I’d prefer a class C without a slide(simplicity) but that might be hard to find.

This^^
LazyDaze FTW. BY FAR.

 

[Cajunwolf]

Find a good used one for cash where you don't have to go into debt. Owning it outright is the only way to go. I found a 1988 28-foot Mallard on an E350 chassis with only 63,000 miles back in May for $4k cash. Everything worked. It has aluminum siding and a one-piece aluminum roof. She needed minor work and a minor ding by the temporary owner who I bought it from, but I'm in the process of "customizing modernization." Once refreshed, she will boast a solar system able to provide 30 amp service with 9600AH of battery bank at 24-volts. I've put in a new A/C along with a smaller window A/C in the rear. I've also replaced the antique 12-volt/propane refrigerator for a 10.0 cu. ft. apartment-sized inverter unit, and I'm adding backup cameras, a GPS display unit, LCD TVs, and various other gadgets. So far, I'm still under $7500; I have a budget of 10k, including the purchase price. You have to be patient and look in places where everybody else is not; too many people drive up the prices. In my example, I found this one 120 miles North Northeast of Houston on a lake area where everyone buys a lot and puts a towable on it. No one around there was looking for a motor home, and especially a 32-year-old one. No one in Houston wants to drive 120 miles on a maybe. There are thousands all around them for sale. Right now, used RVs of any type are hotter than a 3-dollar pistol bought in a border town, but deals still exist. I've been offered $13.5k for mine as it sets; no way. I couldn't replace it. The lady I bought it from bought it for $5k back in January then realized she was too scared to drive it. I had been on the market since I made my offer, she snatched it up. I was happy, and she was pleased; it was a good deal. Have your CASH in your pocket and be diligent, and you too will find one.