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What is a Class C Motorhome (With Pictures!)

Published on December 14th, 2018 by Camper Report

The terms used by veteran RV users can get very confusing; in particular, motorhomes can be class A, B, or C. What does that even mean? Well, to help you have a leg up on your RV lingo, I’ll explain Class C motorhomes.

What is a class C motorhome? A class C motorhome is the middle point in size between the Class A and B motorhomes. This means they are fairly easy to maneuver but also have room for your personal amenities. This allows for room for sleeping inside the motorhome while also have ease of travel and maneuverability.

The beauty of a Class C Motorhome is in its flexibility. It can sometimes be hard to convince yourself that taking a Class A motorhome out is worth it, but a Class C is never really a problem.

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If you are having a big family picnic use it as a van. Need an extra room for some guests use the Class C. Taking a vacation, then it can serve as both a van and a place to sleep. Overall, a Class C motorhome is a way to travel more while keeping the comfort of indoors.

Advantages of a Class C Motorhome

Class C motorhomes have several amenities that make it stand out in the RV world. Mainly these strengths come from the nature of it being in between the luxurious class A and the efficient but less comfortable class B motorhomes.

Generally, the advantages of a Class C motorhome fall into the following categories: High sleeping capacity, easy navigation, safe construction, accessible living space to the driver, good gas mileage, and easy engine access. 

High Sleeping Capacity

A Class C motorhome will often have the highest sleeping capacity of any of the classes of motorhomes. This is because of the cot over the driver that is so often used as an extra bed. 

The benefit here is clear if you need extra sleeping space for your family then you may want to look into a class C. Although of recent there have been a few Class A models that have been adding the over cab cot because of its usefulness and popularity among Class C motorhomes.  

Generally, you are looking at 6 to 8 people that can sleep in a Class C motorhome. There are ways to increase this, through floor plans with bunk beds, or having sofas that can double as beds. 

For more information or options on motorhomes with large sleeping capacity check out my other article  8 awesome motorhomes with bunk beds.

Easy Navigation

When it comes to navigating a motorhome the size difference between a class A and a class C can be pretty significant. Class A motorhomes can be 40 feet long, whereas, class C motorhomes generally get cut at around 28 feet. 

This twelve-foot difference can be pretty massive as there is not much need to worry about turning corners at 28 feet but that’s a different story at 40 feet. Further benefits to the mobility of a class C motorhome come with how low to the ground they are when compared to a class A motorhome. 

Having a larger height means the motorhome will have an increased chance in toppling over when you are struck by a gust of wind. These gusts of wind can often cause motorhome drivers to overcorrect and result in accidents or the toppling of the vehicle.

Overall, being shorter is a benefit here. To learn more about driving motorhomes, feel free to click here.

Safe Construction

Speaking of the construction of the Class C being safe, it’s short height isn’t the only benefit to the safety of class c motorhome passengers. 

The low location allows ease of access to entrances and exits something that can be very difficult to work with when considering older passengers. Additionally, the construction of the cockpit of Class C motorhomes have airbags.

Class A’s do not have that. As a result, should you get in an accident, you are much safer in the collision with a class C motorhome than a class A motorhome. 

Finally, Class A motorhomes have the driving pedals skewed to the right of the driver. As such the first half dozen or so times that you are driving a class A you have to check to see if your foot is on the right pedal or not. 

Accessible Living Space

One of the annoyances to non-motorhome RVs such as travel trailers and fifth wheels is that the driver is isolated from the passengers and living space.

That is not a problem in a class C motorhome while often separated by a curtain or something you can easily interact with the back of the motorhome. 

This means that you can have someone slip in and out of the passenger seat to provide you with some conversation while not locking them into the situation.

Additionally, you can get a meal that was prepared in the back to drive without having to stop moving. This means you don’t have to stop for a meal every couple of hours instead the food can be brought to you and you can keep on driving. 

Good Gas Mileage

Class C motorhomes get much better gas mileage than class A motorhomes. This advantage has been increased by the likes of class C+ motorhomes which often diesel-powered which grants a greater pull load as well as grants better fuel efficiency.  

Easy Engine Access

Several RVs have complicated placement and rigging set around the engine of the vehicle. This makes them really difficult to fix, and can even lead to mechanics being unwilling to work on your RV. This can frequently be the case with class A motorhomes but not class C motorhomes. 

Similar to the truck-like design of the cockpit the engine, the truck that the Class C motorhome is designed after that way you or your mechanic can flip the hood and see what you would generally see for any other truck.

This is a hassle that you will want to avoid especially if you plan on looking into mechanical repairs yourself as it is a nightmare otherwise. 

For more reasons to pick a Class C RV check out this Camper Report article, 19 Reasons to Get a Class C RV.

Disadvantages of a Class C Motorhome

To fully reflect on the disadvantages of the Class C motorhome you need to understand the Class C motorhomes direct competition. Class A and B motorhomes.

Class A motorhomes are like luxury buses. While they are much larger than Class C motorhomes they are much more luxurious and are often the choice of longtime campers and RV vacationers.

Put simply, they are expensive but are considerably larger and fancier to match that expense. If you want to learn more about Class A motorhomes, check out this article What is a Class A Motorhome?

Class B is the opposite these are close to the family van. They aren’t built for a large number of people, but rather fit a small group for comfortable travel and then experiencing the great outdoors when you stop.

They are much smaller than Class C or A and are considerably easier to maneuver and store. 

The disadvantages of class c motorhomes come for its inability to do something as effective as the other options. As such the categories for class C motorhome disadvantages are: not so smooth drive, requires a toad car for easy maneuverability, and limited exterior storage.

Not so Smooth Driving

While a Class C is safe and comfortable to sleep in the driving experience itself is not always the smoothest. Class B motorhomes have a focus in particular on making the travel nice and smooth.

Class A motorhomes are not to bad either so Class C homes often fall into a category of unrest here.

Either of the other options can be better than a class C in this regard but you have to give up somethin in order to get smoother travel. Additionally, there are some class c motorhomes that do fix this problem but that’s an extra expense. 

Requires a Toad

A toad is a car that you are towing behind your RV. This is a problem that a class B motorhome fixes easily. A class B motorhome can be taken anywhere you would take a car. It’s pretty simple but you can’t really live in a class B. 

The class A motorhome has the opposite problem it is even harder to bring a class A to certain places, they are large and hard to store. So you may want a toad for a class A as well. 

Class C motorhomes often have a hitch at the back which you can attach a car to but this will give you closer to the maneuverability of a class A motorhome in regard to your length and caution when taking turns.  

Limited Exterior Storage

One advantage that class A motorhomes have is its exterior storage capabilities. Exterior storage is super useful for those items that you are going to use at the location but not as you are traveling. 

Skis, golf clubs, surf boards, etc all fall into this category. Since these are so awkwardly shaped you will often need to have them take up living space within a class C motorhome. Class A  as well as not motorhome RV options often have external storage that will eradicate this problem.

Non-Motorhome Options

If you are looking for an RV but the above motorhome options just don’t seem to be clicking for you then you may want to try some of the non-motorhome RV options out there. 

Travel Trailer 

The travel trailer attaches to the hitch at the back of your car or truck. This provides a separate space for you to have passengers in while you drive from the vehicle that is towing the travel trailer. These are generally cheaper and have the added benefit of leaving the truck bed open for storage if needed. 

Disadvantages to this RV is that the driver is separate from the passengers. Using the back hitch on your truck or car isn’t the most secure way to attach an RV so you’ll want to carefully navigate the truck to allow for the travel trailer to move smoothly.

Finally, you need to make sure that your car/truck can handle pulling the travel trailer that you have selected.

For more information on travel trailers check out this Camper Report article Motorhomes vs Travel Trailers: 10 Pros and Cons.

Fifth Wheel

A fifth wheel is similar to a travel trailer except the fifth wheel attaches to the bed of the truck rather than the hitch at the end of it. This provides for more stability in turning and often provides an extra sleeping area above the bed of the truck similar to the cot above the cabin in a class C motorhome. Fifth wheels are the largest RV options for storage and living space. 

Fifth wheels are heavy so you will need to be sure that your truck can cart around the fifth wheel. Fifth wheels get locked into the bed of the truck which means you need a truck to use a fifth wheel, and that you won’t be able to use the truck bed for anything else. 

Additionally, fifth wheels separate the driver from the passengers as a travel trailer does. 

For more information on fifth wheels follow this link to the Camper Report article: What is a Fifth Wheel?

Toyhauler

Toyhaulers are RVs that hold your smaller off-roading vehicles in them. Since it isn’t always possible to travel long distances in an off-roading vehicle you often need some way of transporting them to the most optimal off-roading locations. That is where the Toyhauler comes in. 

Toyhaulers can often be part of another form of RV such as a fifth wheel. But when they are on there own they can be similar to a travel trailer.

Toy haulers are heavy because you have both an extra trailer behind you as well as a whole other vehicle within the RV behind you. So check your truck’s carrying capacity.  

If you are looking for a good toy hauler or ways to cart more than one of your toy’s around check out the camper report article,Toy Haulers That can Fit Two Side-by-Sides.

Pop-up

If you are concerned about how much weight your truck will be able to carry than worry no more. Pop-ups are a lightweight option that can generally be well condensed.

The result is something that can sleep 4 to 6 people. Overall a great option for those of you with lighter towing capabilities. 

For more information on Pop-ups check out the Camper Report articles How Much Do Pop-Up Campers Weigh (and other considerations) and 9 of Our Favorite Pop Up Campers.

Truck Camper

Perfect for hunting truck campers are designed to sit in the bed of your truck. nothing is towed behind you and you are able to have the comfort of a small dining area, bathroom, and sofa all on the back of your truck.

It’s not going to sleep much more than 1 or 2 people, so not something for the whole family, but if you like hunting or fishing on your own than you may have the perfect option in the truck camper. 

For more information on truck campers check out these Camper Report articles How Much Does a Truck Camper Cost?  and What is a Truck Camper? 

Cost of Class C Motorhomes

The typical cost of a Class C motorhome is between $50,000 and $80,000. This is without any special amenities and keeping to preprepared models. For more complicated designs and extra options to add to the interior and exterior ammenities, the price is going to increase. 

For more extravagant designs expect to pay from $85,000 to $125,000. These types of designs would include the C+ class models and have options like diesel engines and more slide out for you to have greater use of space and sleeping quarters within the motorhome. 

For more price information check out car cost helper’s article on Class C motorhomes.

Related Questions

How difficult is it to drive a class C motorhome? A class C motorhome is not difficult at all to drive. It only range to be about 26 feet at its longest which isn’t anything to terrible for you to turn corners with.

Attaching something that you will tow will make this more difficult but overall a Class C motorhome is easy to drive. Class A motorhomes are much more difficult. 

Can you use a class C motorhome to tow a car? Yes, you can tow a car with a class C motorhome. It is even suggested to do so just for the convenience that it provides when traveling.

Overall, you will want to be more cautious about how you travel with a towed car, but a class C motorhome will have the option to tow another vehicle. 

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