Which would you choose and why? Class c RV or medium travel trailer

[Freelander]

The Class A of course needs a different class of driver license than class B or C. It's basically a bus. And I have seen a couple Class A's with ebikes or motorcycles on the back. Suppose you could get groceries that way.

In Texas you only need a Non Commercial CDL if it over a certain weight. Normally that is 26001 lbs and up.

 

[SteveSF]

I live in a Class C, for what I gave for it, I couldn't buy a Truck and Trailer for that. Also I dont have to hook and unhook all the time.

I realize there's a little or no stealth value but if you keep it in good repair. What hassles do you get locating free parking/camping? Also have you run into problems with campground saying your rig is too old?

 

[SteveSF]

After many many months of research, and seeing a few RVs, and really asking myself what I would be happy living in, I went with a Class A.... so of course I am going to say class C.. I agree with others that the whole tow . hitch and unhitch is a pain.. so then..in comparing the C to an A, I found that Cs cost more per sqr ft than an A and get similar gas mileage.. an A has way more storage than a C... yes the C has that van front end designed for crash impact, yet if that is what will matter, the stuff that comes flying fwd in a crash that would benefit from the Van front end is kinda pointless. If I was not on SS ( in other words, young and more able) I might go with a more compact arrangement, but being an old fart, if I am giving up the sticks and bricks, I want a few comforts.. I have one shot at getting a decent home on wheels, so I made the best decision I could make for me.

Good luck with your own decision

YMMV IANAL

So If you would answer. Do you use paid only camping / overnight parking? Is your size really limited you that much if you stick to small towns?

 

[Wrknmannavn]

Travel trailers need a tow vehicle. You got one?

Yes. Not a huge truck and my van can tow.

 

[Wrknmannavn]

If you tend to do a lot of travel the C would be more convenient. If you plan to stay in one place for longer periods (14 days+) then the trailer might be a better choice.

I’m leaning towards buying an acre to have a place to park for extended periods of time. Maybe eventually building a simple cabin/tiny house later on. I like the idea of mobility But a trailer would be much cheaper. Idk…decisions lol

 

[Freelander]

I realize there's a little or no stealth value but if you keep it in good repair. What hassles do you get locating free parking/camping? Also have you run into problems with campground saying your rig is too old?

I prefer to boondock as much as I can, I have solar on the roof, and a tow a small car behind me. I dont normally do campgrounds. To me it doesnt make any sense to pay somebody just so I can sleep in my own bed. I use Walmart, Cracker Barrel, Road Side rest areas, and places that allow free over night camping. When I need water or sewer dump I can find those.

 

[aytee]

What persuaded me towards pulling a travel trailer was the fact that with a class A or C (which requires a second vehicle) one now has two engines, only one of which is being used at any one time. The maintenance and insurance of both will still need to be ongoing.

 

[Freelander]

What persuaded me towards pulling a travel trailer was the fact that with a class A or C (which requires a second vehicle) one now has two engines, only one of which is being used at any one time. The maintenance and insurance of both will still need to be ongoing.

The insurance on my RV and Car combined was less than my house insurance. Also if one breaks down I have backup to drive.

 

[Cammalu]

There are some private campgrounds that will whine if your vehicle is over ten years old but there are plenty of state and Corps of Engineers and other campgrounds that won’t bat an eye.

I don’t like to pay for any campgrounds myself. I’m too much of a tightwad really to park somewhere and sleep for $50 or more. Traveling through I just use Walmarts or truck stops. Final destination is usually BLM.

 

[Jon Donahue]

So i have an opportunity to go from van living to class c rv or a medium travel trailer. Im stumped at what i should choose. So im posting this question here in hopes of your opinions showing me which direction to go. Thank you for your help

A Class C... The smaller the better. Many of our older national and state parks can’t handle anything larger than 25’.... my ‘91 Lazy Daze, at 23’, barely fits in the parking spaces at Chiricahua National Park, here in Cochise County, Arizona. Class C's are much stronger, being built on light truck commercial chassis. Many trailers, particularly new ones, are poorly made... way too much weight on way too light a Lippert-made frame. In either case, don't let your attraction to all the glitzy options overcome your desire for strength and durability. More— try to find something with aluminum walls and roof, to avoid delamination problems. And avoid slideouts. Stuck slideouts are sending many RV mechanics into retirement with lots of money!
edit — I'd add that if you want to do a lot of offroad camping, like on BLM or State land, that a van might be better. In the southwest, you don't need 4WD on our mostly flat dirt roads. But smaller is better, as long as it's something you can stand up in. I'd probably buy a used high top Nissan 2500, or a high top Ford Transit, and make my own interior with junk from thrift stores...

 

[Freelander]

My Class C is built on a Chevy Express Van 3500 chassis and is about 25' long, with the car on the back I am about 43' total length.

 

[grumpygrizzly]

Ding!!

After juggling all the options, I went with an eBike. I would have prefer a 125/250 cc motorcycle ( not scooter) .. akin to what you would see in greater southeast Asia.. but in the US, those bikes are not available... low cc bikes aren't murkin enough.. no POWER.. lol...

So a folding eBike... .. and admittedly, it is a compromise.. but that can be said for any choice you could make.. a towable mean more tires, handling and parking issues.. yadda yadda... and C's mean this and As mean that, and a van or box-truck means the other...

The OP should read a few thousand posts and a couple of hundred videos.

I asked in here once ( only once) "What did you do or not do that you wish you had done or not done, with x,y,z?" .. the answers I got were by and large "What do you want or need?"... someohow they didn;t get it..

You need to broaden your search a bit more for low cc motorcycles. I've got two Honda Trail 90's under the lean-to on my shop and those are some of the best scooters ever made.

There's a lot of other options available if you really want to have a small 2 wheeler. Look into the scooter market. I think Honda is making something called a Rupp these days and it has great writeups.

As for my RV, I have a 27' Class C with a Ford 460 motor under the hood. I get 10mpg whether I'm towing my Jeep or not. It has room for 8 people to sleep in there but, yeah, that's not gonna happen. It's me, the missus, 2 small dogs, 2 cats, and 2 parekeets in their own cage. Still got tons of room.

As for backing up?? I don't back up. I'll stop alongside the road near a park I want to stay at, get out and walk through to see the vacancies and the ways in and out so I don't have to try and back out of a dead end spot.

You don't need to watch a ton of videos or go through 15 different combinations of camping vehicles to know what you want to live in. Find what you like and make it your own.

One VERY important thing to consider: There are a LOT of RV Parks that cater mainly to the full timers that plan to stay for an extended period of time and if you pull in there looking for a site for the night or a couple of nights, you WILL be turned down if your RV is older than about 5 years. I kid you not, my wife and I drove our RV from Anchorage to Portland, OR and we were turned down by an RV village that was supposed to be pretty highly rated because our RV was "Not in good shape.".. I said "Really, I ust towed a 19' travel trailer from Anchorage, AK behind this 18' Class B and never had a problem, I'd say that's pretty good shape to me." The next day the park owner came out and told me we had to leave. I sat on a picnic bench and started calling other parks to see if they had any openings. The manager came back over 5 minutes later and said "I told you, you need to leave!" I told him I was trying to find a place I could go to and he said he didn't care where I went and that if I wasn't out of there in 10 minutes, he was calling the cops.

 

[DannyB1954]

Right now you are towing. so the question is what do you want to tow. I prefer to tow something that gives me more space and comfort, or more room for toys. Towing a car is harder than towing a trailer, (backing up in particular).

For me my 1 ton Dually gives the most options. Shell, slide in camper, bumper pull trailer, 5th wheel trailer. Camper and pull a trailer. Last trip I used a slide in camper and pulled a 16' tandem landscape trailer. Trip before a 22' toy hauler trailer and a shell on the truck to keep things like batteries, tools, generators. If I leave a trailer somewhere, I want the expensive things in the back of the truck. If I am not traveling I can use the pickup to haul all sorts of things. I decide I want a different trailer or camper, I keep the truck so no added expense for a different drivetrain.
No matter what you have, there will be a situation where something else would have worked better.

 

[Jon Donahue]

There are some private campgrounds that will whine if your vehicle is over ten years old but there are plenty of state and Corps of Engineers and other campgrounds that won’t bat an eye.

I don’t like to pay for any campgrounds myself. I’m too much of a tightwad really to park somewhere and sleep for $50 or more. Traveling through I just use Walmarts or truck stops. Final destination is usually BLM.

Cam — that ten-year rule is so weird. To the uninitiated, all RVs look the same, with the newer ones having different graphics. But hey, it's a box on a truck, or it's a van. Go figure. I'm with you on public land... so many beautiful options! Plus peace and quiet. If we are trying to get away from the jam-packed stress of city and suburban life, why would we want to move into a jam-packed RV park? Maybe once in awhile to dump tanks, I guess...
edit — I joined the Elks Club because they have 4,000 lodges that have overnight RV parking... free, or $10-$20. What a treat when you're going through a mega-costly place like Santa Barbara!