Larry N.
Well-known member
Sometime give a class A a try, perhaps at some dealer's lot- it might surprise you, once behind the wheel.
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Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
So a 30 ft "A" is larger than a 30 ft "C"? I doubt that you meant that. One of the more common misconceptions is that all class A's are 36-45 feet and all Class C's are just little vans.
Ohiosnowbird
Well-known member
I did get in a couple of smaller class As and because there were no doors on the driver and passenger side I felt trapped. If there was an accident how does one get out? How does one survive a collision? Those were my concerns that led us to the Class C. I felt I could drive it for those reasons but also because it felt like a truck, which I have driven before.
Ohiosnowbird
Well-known member
We did look at smaller Class A’s and what I meant the class A being too much for us (me more than us) was what I wrote in the above post #23. It wasn’t until we looked at some larger Class A’s were there the exit doors I was concerned about, and then they were too long for our comfort. The other concern with the class A’s was how close one sits to the dashboard (again me concerned). The Class C had a lot of engine and steel between another vehicle and one of us driving. “Too much” had a lot wrapped up in it, so there it is explained.
Mark_K5LXP
Well-known member
How does one survive a collision?
By being heavier and taller than anything you collide with. You're sitting literally at roof height to most cars. And, the windows on mine are big enough to easily make an unsurreptitious exit. Aside from the linear vs volumetric differences of A vs C something pretty important is payload. "Most" class C's have less payload capacity for a given chassis which could make a big difference if the goal is to carry a bunch of "stuff". With a class A I don't give it a second thought. One argument that might be made for C's is long term sustainability. They tend to share more parts with conventional trucks and might be easier to maintain as they age.
Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM
By being heavier and taller than anything you collide with. You're sitting literally at roof height to most cars. And, the windows on mine are big enough to easily make an unsurreptitious exit. Aside from the linear vs volumetric differences of A vs C something pretty important is payload. "Most" class C's have less payload capacity for a given chassis which could make a big difference if the goal is to carry a bunch of "stuff". With a class A I don't give it a second thought. One argument that might be made for C's is long term sustainability. They tend to share more parts with conventional trucks and might be easier to maintain as they age.
Mark B.
Albuquerque, NM
Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
Having been in a front end collision in a Class A , I think I can answer that. I bumped a knee on the dashboard; my wife didn't get a scratch. I rear-ended two vehicles, one after the other, at roughly 25 mph when the brake pedal failed and I had no way to slow down until I pulled the emergency air brake. A scary ride, to be sure!
Unless you hit something like a bridge abutment, the driver and passenger are well above the primary impact area. And odds are you will substantially outweigh whatever you hit, which changes the momentum & inertia effect dramatically. My 19 ton coach striking a 2 ton car and a 3 ton pickup was little more than a tap from our perspective, even though a lot of our fiberglass disintegrated.
Some people are concerned about the lack of a driver side door in most Class A's. I guess there is no question that two doors offer more exit options than one. But windows are an option too.
Adventurous Traveler
Well-known member
Most Tiffin's have a driver's side door on their smaller class A's.
As far as traveling with two dogs, that will depend only on your honest assessment if they are barkers when absent, or suffer any separation anxiety that would cause them to disturb other campers, or worse yet trash your rig while gone. Most campgrounds are pretty tolerant of pets, and dogs, but again the onus is on you whether or not there'll be any kind of issue with them. That's the problem with many pet (dog) owners.
As I was walking with my dog one time off leash we came upon another hiker and I called out "he won't bother you!", his almost profound response was "Yeah, that's what All you dog owners say before they bite you!" (mine didn't). He was right though, it's the dog owners.
As far as traveling with two dogs, that will depend only on your honest assessment if they are barkers when absent, or suffer any separation anxiety that would cause them to disturb other campers, or worse yet trash your rig while gone. Most campgrounds are pretty tolerant of pets, and dogs, but again the onus is on you whether or not there'll be any kind of issue with them. That's the problem with many pet (dog) owners.
As I was walking with my dog one time off leash we came upon another hiker and I called out "he won't bother you!", his almost profound response was "Yeah, that's what All you dog owners say before they bite you!" (mine didn't). He was right though, it's the dog owners.
Larry N.
Well-known member
Hmmm... Perhaps some of the older ones, but I suspect it's been a few years since that was true.
Adventurous Traveler
Well-known member
Yeah, you're probably right about that Larry. Now that I think about it, you don't see many "smaller" Tiffins on the road nowadays.
UTTransplant
Well-known member
There are some gas Class As that have driver side doors, but most don’t, opting instead for the more common door behind the passenger. And the only way to feel comfortable driving in a Class A is to drive one! Get a class through RVDrivingSchool.com and then put hours on the road under your belt. I was pretty spooked at first with those steering wheels behind me, and I had comfortably driven a 3/4 ton pickup and 30’ trailer. I now have 65,000+ miles under my belt, and I prefer driving the motorhome to driving the car!
Laura & Charles
Well-known member
I know you’ve made up your mind so I’m not going to try to change it. I can echo UTTransplant though; once I became used to driving class A (didn’t take long at all), I prefer driving it to anything else, including the car. One huge plus to a diesel pusher (imo) is how quiet it is… no front engine model, regardless of class, is going to match that, peaceful, scenic experience.
