First boating trip with the Class C

[WakeGirl]

I read this thread and all I hear is Cousin Eddie.

Eddie: "Oh, that uh, that there's an RV. Yeah, yeah, I borrowed it off a buddy of mine. He took my house, I took the RV. It's a good looking vehicle, ain't it?"

Clark: "Yeah, it looks so nice parked in the driveway."

Eddie: "Yeah, it sure does. But, don't you go falling in love with it now, because, we're taking it with us when we leave here next month."

It's funny that you mention that, we actually named it Eddie in honor of Cousin Eddie. When you become a dad, you'll understand why we do these things.

Tracie,

Thanks for all the great information. We're still in the very early shopping phase, though I'd like to have one before my next sabbatical, which means maybe by end of next year.

I have realized that I may have to buy one of those ford things, though Shannon (always one to sell me up) leans towards the workhorse chassis.. I'll definitely have to pay more attention to the total vehicle weight etc.. I had never considered that, so thank you for pointing it out.

Appreciate all the insight - thanks!

I have a very special feeling for the ford van snout, and an equally special face to go along with it when Troy mentions it.... I figure 18 more months of that face and I'll have him sold on the Kodiak chassis. If there's one thing I know how to do, it's sell Troy up. Besides, if he wants to stick me in a box with 5 kids for unheard of stretches of time (including his 2 months of sabatical), then he can at least get me what I want.

I have never heard of the heated basement thing though, Tracie. That would be awesome in the snow! Now next time, take some pictures!

Not sure, but I think that I've seen mention of the Kodiak chassis available on the standard Class C. They're hard to find though, even more rare than the Chevy chassis.

As far as sticking you in a van with 5 kids for long periods, I have the solution for you. It's called a 26" flat screen with full surround sound (including sub). I had a bunch of stereo gear sitting in the garage & found an open box deal at Best Buy on the LCD....end of story.

[stewart]

Troy,

Here you go....

Four Winds Majestic 28A

We looked into a CruiseAmerica Purchase awhile back. Pretty good bang for the buck. You can rent 2 weeks, if you like they credit the rental and mileage towards the purchase. They also have a minimum buy back guarantee (at least when we were looking a few years back).

[WakeGirl]

That's almost exactly the layout of our coach. The floor is higher though because of the basement, that one doesn't have that.

[SacRiverRat]

Yup - that is pretty much what we're lookin' at, though I can't help but think that *THIS* is what Shannon has in mind..

[kb3]

Yup - that is pretty much what we're lookin' at, though I can't help but think that *THIS* is what Shannon has in mind..

Nothing wrong with setting your goals high. I hope she was smart enough to marry for money!

[spaznoook]

Yup - that is pretty much what we're lookin' at, though I can't help but think that *THIS* is what Shannon has in mind..

Uhhh..... pretty much what you're lookin at! But at least you know what I have in mind. And believe you me, I am all too familiar in the ways of pouting and other wifely ways of holding out til I get what I want.

Edited June 18, 2008 by shannoook

[Malibudude]

Yup - that is pretty much what we're lookin' at, though I can't help but think that *THIS* is what Shannon has in mind..

You want the Jayco Seneca, includes an 8k towing hitch, Allision tranny and the Duramax

I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss the Workhorse frames. I read that they actually handle better than the Fords and the Class C chassis handle as much weight capacity. They just upgraded the frame w/ major improvements for '08. The 8.1 is a killer beast in these, after test driving it man it kills the 6.8L Ford. Though for used riggs I'd have to say the F-450 chassis is been a proven model as well but If I was considering a '04 model and newer then the Workhorse would be a good alternative. Currently they have a 20% market share small but up 5% from last year. IIRC the Denali can't be used as a toad.

Stay away from Four Winds everyone we looked at was just poorly constructed.

[SacRiverRat]

Justin,

We've been looking at models like that :-) maybe I just need a giant car trailer to haul the denali as a Toad

[Malibudude]

Justin,

We've been looking at models like that :-) maybe I just need a giant car trailer to haul the denali as a Toad

Can I be adopted.... They make a version that's a toy hauler too. You can't just take the car either...lol

Something like this?

[stewart]

Troy,

I can get you a killer deal on a Class A diesel Motor Coach

[CTSunsetter]

We had a 2001 28' Four Winns class C for a few years. I towed the Sunsetter with it on a trip from Connecticut to central Vermont one time with no issues (I've been looking for a picture of the boat hooked to the camper for a few days and can't find any). Pulling the boat felt no different than pulling our VW on a car dolly. Another couple was coming up the next day and if we couldn't launch the boat with the camper the plan was to use their SUV. I wanted to say I launched with the camper so I did it. The mirrors weren’t enough and I absolutely needed someone back there guiding me and I don’t think a rearview camera would have helped much because the launch was tight. The only other glitch is I always put the drain plug in the truck so I needed to buy one before I could launch. I now carry a spare in the boat for such an occasion.

Our camper was from a dealer's rental fleet and it had less than 10k on it when we got it. There were a few perks besides price (which was equivalent to a Ford Explorer's MSRP). They included a decent service contract in the price, the awning was brand new because they didn't have them installed while they are rental units and a few other things. It was purpose bought for a 3 1/2 week cross country trip we took in 2002 and I knew we wouldn't own it forever and I knew we wouldn't know what we really wanted in a coach until we had one. We owned it shorter than I thought because the Mrs wanted a new kitchen and I said "camper, boat, kitchen, choose two". After 15K miles, we sold it in 2004 for $3K less than what we paid. The only issue was I had to replace the tires in the spring of ‘04 - not because the tread was worn out but because they started cracking. I don't know what the quality is like now but ours held up pretty good even though I’d consider it to be the bayliner of campers.

One thing for sure is I would take rear ground clearance much more seriously. We (ok I) got the thing stuck twice on the rear end - one I got out of on my own and the other took a pickup truck. I also found ours to be very noisy inside on the road. If there is a next time I’ll go with a 32’ class C or more likely class A.

[NvBoarder]

Glad to see you finally got out with the new toy, I think when the time comes that will be the only way for us also, but I am holding out until they make a class C with a diesel in it. Fuel injection in something that big just doesn't make since. They can make a jetta with a diesel and trucks like mine but not a Class C RV, I don't get it.

Anyway congrats and I can't wait to see it.

[Malibudude]

Glad to see you finally got out with the new toy, I think when the time comes that will be the only way for us also, but I am holding out until they make a class C with a diesel in it. Fuel injection in something that big just doesn't make since. They can make a jetta with a diesel and trucks like mine but not a Class C RV, I don't get it.

Anyway congrats and I can't wait to see it.

They do the Jayco Seneca, you just can't afford it.

[NvBoarder]

Glad to see you finally got out with the new toy, I think when the time comes that will be the only way for us also, but I am holding out until they make a class C with a diesel in it. Fuel injection in something that big just doesn't make since. They can make a jetta with a diesel and trucks like mine but not a Class C RV, I don't get it.

Anyway congrats and I can't wait to see it.

They do the Jayco Seneca, you just can't afford it.

Okay a normal size RV, that I can pull a boat with in CA

[bigD]

My Wife and I where looking at class C in 2006, we looked at a Duramax Seneca.Freaking NICE! She really liked it. I already knew how much they where$$ but I told Her lets buy it, then she asked the salesmen the price It was pretty funny, It would've been around $100kOTD. Pocket change.

We did make an offer on a slightly used 05 Tioga 31-w super slide V10 with the sic upgraded over head entertainment center, we offered $62k they wanted 68k. I walked,and seeing how much the prices have dropped I'm glad I did.

Still want one though, but we just recently started paying $500mo for day care Thats gonna dig into my fun money.

[Malibudude]

My Wife and I where looking at class C in 2006, we looked at a Duramax Seneca.Freaking NICE! She really liked it. I already knew how much they where$ but I told Her lets buy it, then she asked the salesmen the price It was pretty funny, It would've been around $100kOTD. Pocket change.

We did make an offer on a slightly used 05 Tioga 31-w super slide V10 with the sic upgraded over head entertainment center, we offered $62k they wanted 68k. I walked,and seeing how much the prices have dropped I'm glad I did.

Still want one though, but we just recently started paying $500mo for day care Thats gonna dig into my fun money.

That's cheap, we pay more than that for part-time. Oh and welcome to the club.

[spaznoook]

My Wife and I where looking at class C in 2006, we looked at a Duramax Seneca.Freaking NICE! She really liked it. I already knew how much they where$ but I told Her lets buy it, then she asked the salesmen the price It was pretty funny, It would've been around $100kOTD. Pocket change.

We did make an offer on a slightly used 05 Tioga 31-w super slide V10 with the sic upgraded over head entertainment center, we offered $62k they wanted 68k. I walked,and seeing how much the prices have dropped I'm glad I did.

Still want one though, but we just recently started paying $500mo for day care Thats gonna dig into my fun money.

That's cheap, we pay more than that for part-time. Oh and welcome to the club.

Exactly why I quit working to go back to school. When you realize the day care eats up so much that you may actually be paying to go to work, it's time to change the plan. We paid a fortune in day care & pre-post school care before I started staying home. Free day care at my school kicks a$$!

[WakeGirl]

We looked at the bigger coaches that you can get with a diesel. They're nice & you don't have to do nearly as much to make them tow-worthy, but at the end of the day we just couldn't get our minds around spending that much on one. We've got less than $1000 into the hitch upgrades (including the air bags), & the power mods won't be too bad unless we decide to supercharge it. But really it comes down to what you're comfortable with spending.

One thing that the previous owner did....he was an avid snow skier & he put new tires on it that are really good in the snow, & he had them siped. It's really not bad at all driving in those conditions, although we haven't given it a hard test on that one yet (it's all been on cleared packed snow & ice).

[Malibudude]

We looked at the bigger coaches that you can get with a diesel. They're nice & you don't have to do nearly as much to make them tow-worthy, but at the end of the day we just couldn't get our minds around spending that much on one. We've got less than $1000 into the hitch upgrades (including the air bags), & the power mods won't be too bad unless we decide to supercharge it. But really it comes down to what you're comfortable with spending.

One thing that the previous owner did....he was an avid snow skier & he put new tires on it that are really good in the snow, & he had them siped. It's really not bad at all driving in those conditions, although we haven't given it a hard test on that one yet (it's all been on cleared packed snow & ice).

Ya not so much a problem here rather, taxes and the third world roadways are...