For all Motorcoach owners

[gardendame]

Just curious -
DH and I absolutely LUV our hybrid. We upgraded from a popup last year. The plan is/was to keep it for a year or two, then upgrade to a hard-side travel trailer and THEN a big, beautiful motorhome. Well -
DH and I stopped in our local Camping World and ended up walking nextdoor to window shop. DH walked right past the travel trailers and fifth wheels and started checking out the buses
Long story short we didn't see one single motorcoach that had adequate sleeping for our family of five. All of them had one bedroom in the back with Queen sized bed, then one or sometimes two sofa beds. We had just assumed that there would be more floor plans to choose from, with perhaps some bunks or something for the kids
What am I missing? We looked at several different makes and models, but nothing that I would consider a "family" unit.
I know that several of you have huge, absolute beautiful motor homes and you are camping with your families. Where do all of the kids sleep?

 

[tim5055]

From what I have seen through the years, there is a natural progression of camping/RVs:

Tent
Pop UP
TT
Fiver
Coach

As such, most coach builders have historically catered to folks nearing retirement, as that is where they are when they get to that point in the progression.

While most coaches "advertise" that the sleep 6, that usually counts 2 in the bedroom, 2 on the dinette and 2 on a convertible couch. Not my idea of comfort...

The only manufacturer I have seen buck this trend is Tiffin, who now makes a 35' coach with bunk beds as well as the master bedroom.

Check out the Allegro 35 QBA. Granted teh Allegro is their entry level coach, but it is a start. I'm sure if it becomes a big seller other modified sleeping arrangements will creep into other lines.

 

[tlh0726]

There are several manfacturers that have begun to offer bunks in their class A's over the last year or two. We could not find many bunk models up for sale on the used market.

If you are looking to sleep more than 4 without having to use either a coach or dinette than you want to look into a Class C . We fell in love with the SuperNova 6400,(sleeps 6 without touching the couch or dinette) however the ride was the deal breaker for us. So back to the Class A's we went. We purchased a Sportscoach CrossCountry 385DS in January.

 

[motofamily]

This is how WE ROLL and Sleep in our coach.

We travel for 2-3 week trips at a time with of course myself,DW, DD, DD, my mom so I guess DM? My mom cooks and takes care of the kids while my wife and I work. anyway getting to your question my wife and I sleep in the rear bedroom, my mom sleeps on the pull out couch, one daughter slleps on the dinette and the other sleeps on the other couch this has worked great for us but my girls are still small 7 and 5 but i know that in the next few years if we continue to travel for long periods of time we will need something bigger probably one of those race type trucks we wanted one before we bought this but DW says they looked to boxy anyway as of lately that has changed. Another route to look at would be one of those super C motor homes we had a GAS one for about 6 months before we bought our pusher and just used to much gas compared to the diesel but anyway take your time and look around put the beds out and have the kids lay on them to make sure they are comfortable there are alot of good deals out there on used and repo units also so look at those also if you have any questions please PM me I know ALOT of dealers and sales guys willing to make a sale.

 

[devores]

I myself, have not found a Class A (or class C for that matter) that has the accomadations I like. You could sleep 6 in a class A, but where is the privacey.

The class As are geared more for the older crowd who are a couple (no kids) and live in the unit. There is allot of living space, but not much comfort space. Say one of the kids want to goto bed early. Now the whole coach has to accomadate the sleeping child as they are asleep on the couch or dinnet. Not my idea of comfort. Class Cs have more sleeping area but not much in the line of living space, they are kind of cramped for me. To me, the class As are more of a status symbol. They are great for fulltiming in, but not for a family vacation.

You can find a nice TT or fiver for far cheaper and have allot more family space. Take mine for an example. The kids have thier own bunk room, yes thier own room and we have our own room. We also have the common living area. We do not have to take down the dinnete everynight or give up a couch. We can have company over and not worry about if the kids are asleep or not. We all get our privacey as well, if needed (changing cloths, getting ready, etc).

There are also fivers out there that have seperate rooms for the kids and parents. When I get ready to retire, a bus would be nice, but I can get a fiver thats just as nice and have just as much room for a far cheaper price. Plus I will have my own truck for getting around.

I say, save the money and get a good TT or fiver. You will have more sleeping area and just as much room. May not be as fancey as a $100000 coach, but you are camping.

 

[DaveInTN]

We have had our gas coach for 2 1/2 years now and love it. We have an Itasca Sunova 35J (twin to the Winnebago Sightseer 35J). It is a class A bunk model, similar to the Tiffin mentioned by tim5055 above. We have a king bedroom in back, with a pair of bunks across from the bathroom. Typical couch and dinette setup in front. Ours works very well for our family of 6. In fact, we just returned from a 3 week trip in it and had no issues with space.

In addition to the Winnebago and Tiffin models mentioned, most major motorhome manufacturers now offer at least one bunk model. Both Winnie and Tiffin are now also offering bunks in diesels, both front engine and pushers. Fleetwood has a very nice diesel floorplan in the Discovery 40G. Newmar also offers bunks, and there are several others.

Try a search for Class A bunk models on RV.net and you'll find lots of posts describing what is available. It's fun to shop!

 

[cjalphonso]

We went from 19' hybrid to a 30'-no slides-Class A. I have a 5yr old and 3yr old boys. Currently, my boys sleep on the jack-knife sofa together. Later one will sleep on the dinette and the other on the jackknife. We primarily went with the class A because a new TT and Truck to pull it would have been way more expensive than my Motorhome. I must say, for the convenience and fun factor of the Motorhome, I don't think I will ever be going back to the TT, my vacation begins the moment I start the engine now...not after I set up at the campground.

 

[tlh0726]

One more thought.

How far do you plan on traveling in the unit?

Before we bought our first class A, we looked at all units from slide in truck campers up to the class A's. There were beautiful 5ers and TT out there and we also had a heavy duty truck to pull it already. We took a weekend trip using the truck. There was no way I or the kids could handle a long ride crammed in, totally upright and feeling every bump in the road.
That is when we decided to go for a driving unit. We found a used class a locally (1994 fleetwood pace arrow vision) We used this unit for 2 years before we decided to make the commitment to what we have.

Remember, everytime you buy and sell you are losing money. So take your time and make sure that it is exacty what you want. As the saying goes, by your last rig first.

When looking at units, Make sure your entire family is in the motorhome moving around. Going from back to front, sitting around etc. It will really give you a feel as to how much room and how the unit will work out for your needs.

Another plus for the driveable units, no more stopping every so often because someone needs to go to the bathroom. Saves us about 30 minutes per stop. You can also grab drinks, sandwiches, etc without stopping.
My husband loves not having to find an exit and then figure out where they hid the gas station that was on the sign at the exit we took.

 

[Shan-man]

If you want the ultimate in privacy in a class A you can always tow a small travel trailer for the kids. I've seen such a setup a few times at various campgrounds. Theoretically it would not be allowed at FW, but I know for a fact that at least one DISer puts a utility trailer on his site behind the moho and uses it for a bunkhouse.

 

[mdoc]

We don't have a bus-style Class A; we have a big Class C with 4 slides. It sleeps the whole family and then some without any problem, but there really isn't a lot of privacy. We have 3 girls, 15, 12 and 9. DH and I get the private bedroom in the back. There's a cabover bunk that sleeps two and has a privacy curtain (D2 sleeps there). There is a queen size sleeper sofa (D1's spot) and a jackknife sofa that is larger than the norm (D3's spot); both can sleep two adults. We do not have a dinette that makes into a bed, but the dog's crate fits right under the table, so it provides sleeping space for one canine. We can easily bring friends and sleep 8 as long as they're people who are willing to sleep together, and on one trip where we had 9 people, we set up a cot for my youngest D in the living area and still had clear passage from front to back. Storing stuff for 9 is a different issue, of course.

For us this setup works really well. The kids are at an age where they don't go to bed much before we do, each girl has her own bed, and since they're all girls, the lack of privacy in the main area isn't a big problem. For a larger family or one with teenagers of different genders this might not work. Then again, we had the same issue in our prior trailer and fifth wheel. While there was a separate room in those for the kids, those beds didn't sleep adults like ours do now, and you had the same privacy issue if you had boy/girl older kids. I've seen a lot of families with Class A's with tents pitched beside them for some or all of the kids, so I suspect that's how many deal with this. The great thing about a class A or C is the comfort while on the road. We're not all crammed into a crew cab and we have kitchen and bathroom facilities while we go down the road. And we've travelled with 9 people - you can't do that pulling a trailer with a pickup truck. So there's advantages and disadvantages no matter what you choose.

 

[mdoc]

#

 

[Boomer1]

We are faced with the same dilemma. Currently we have a 32ft bunkhouse TT but our tow vehicle (2002 Yukon SLT) needs replacing. We have three children DD-14, DD-13 and DS-10. We really like the Tiffin but our pocketbook just isn't ready. Winnebago has a Class C - Access 31J which has two bunks, a cab over bed and a queen bed in the rear bedroom. If we can get the right price we are considering this option.

 

[Wistful_Thinking]

Standard Joke in the RVing Industry for a Motorhome is: Drinks for 6, Dinner for 4, Sleeps 2.

 

[tim5055]

Standard Joke in the RVing Industry for a Motorhome is: Drinks for 6, Dinner for 4, Sleeps 2.

Very true...

 

[gardendame]

Thanks for all of your great responses. It is great to know that there ARE a few models out there with bunks. I do agree, however, with those who posted about having more sleeping and living room in a big TT or 5er. The initial plan was to move to either one of those. I think the main reason DH skipped over these and began looking at driveable units was the comfort level when taking longer trips, not having to stop as much, etc. We travel from Louisiana to Tennessee and to Texas quite often. The more I think about it, though, I really do not want to have to pull a small car or truck behind us to have a vehicle during our stays.
Decisions, decisions, decisions

 

[kmccain]

DH and I would like to make the transition to a motorhome some day too but not sure when. DS 19 and DD 17 are almost too big for their bunks now.

A couple of years ago at the RV show in Hershey we found a Class A with another couch in a slide in the hall to the back bedroom. The couch made out into a bed and there was tv across from it. I think the bathroom was on the otherside of the wall. I am not sure if it had another bunk above it. I thought this was a great idea! More versitle than just bunks. I have been looking and for the life of me cannot find the model that has this floor plan but if anyone can find it, it might give you the sleeping space you need.

 

[Bluefamily]

Our family of 5 (Kids 3,6,8) has gone through all the stages and have finally ended up with the bunkhouse class "A" and absolutely love it!

We went from:

A pop up-(1 year)
Hybrid-(1 year)
TT (35' ft bunkhouse-1 year)
35' Hurricane 35B (close to 2 years.)

Near the the end, we had a suburban with a payment of $550 and a trailer with a payment of $400. I bought my 35B from RV Direct Loaded for 77K and after putting about 8K down, have a payment of $550 for the RV. (If you try hard enough, you can justify anything!)
I've found we do spend an extra $100 per month on insurance and taxes which was a little steeper than I expected.

Making a long drive is now enjoyable and much easier. 3 kids and two dogs in a Suburban made for a lot of frustration as well "spirited conversations".

Overnights and quick stops are great also, we can be parked and fully set up in less than 5 minutes. I pull in, put it in park, hit a button to level the coach, put the three slides out, and if needed-hook up to electric and water. Thats it.....


The hybrid was my second favorite camper.

 

[ILoveDiz]

We had a great 5th wheel with a bunkhouse and then moved up to a Class A. We have a Coachmen that sleeps 5. One on the table and 2 on a sofa bed and one queen size bedroom. I miss my 5th wheel and wish we never upgraded. The expense of up keep and fees are greatly increased. We traveled across country in a 5th wheel and kids were a bit crowded in the car and it is nice to drive in the coach but while camping coaches are not designed for a family. JUst my opinion.