The better ones are Born Free and Lazy Daze, but they are not as easily found (new or used) as the models that come from the larger manufacturing concerns. Of the more common makes, Winnebago/Itasca is the one that I would recommend.
You might look at the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter-based RV's suggested above. Winnebago and Itasca have these (the View and Navion, respectively). They run about 24.5 to 25 feet long, and come in many floorplans. They have a larger front cab area, and have a more quiet and comfortable ride than similarly-priced versions from the other two manufacturers.
I would agree with the person above about making sure you consider the ease of using a cabover bed, but only if you think you might use it as a bed. Our Winnebago View has the cabover bed, but we do not use it as a bed. That great amount of space is extremely useful as a storage area, and is much more useful to us than an entertainment area where the TV is too for our liking in the first place. Even if your small C only has the cabover bed as the only designated bed, you will stil be able to use the couch and dinette as beds too. Our View does not have a full-time bed in the back, which means that we have both a sofa and a dinette, and therefore much more daytime space.
If you need the larger engine of a Ford or Chevy, then definitely look at the BF's and the LD's, or the Winnebago Access. Also, you might even look at the small class A's built on the Sprinter chassis as well.....
ReadyToGo wrote: I don't know how old you are, but really think twice about the bed over the cab. We have a 25 ft unit with the bed down. The knees don't like that climbing up and down in the middle of the night.
Having a bed down is a trade off for day time floor space. We perfer the floor space. We live in ours for more than 3 months in the winter. We are both now 70 and rather climb the ladder, it would be nice not to, than give up the floor space.
We wound up with a 2005 Itasca (by Winnebago) 24 foot Class C with both a cabover queen bed and a full time queen corner bed in the rear (plus a dinette area that makes into a full bed), which we love. The last year it was made was 2006 ... but called a Winnebago "Outlook" that final year. Ours has a crowned (not flat) one piece fiberglass roof. After 2006, Winnebago no longer offers a crowned one piece fiberglass roof in a 24 foot Class C (they now offer it only in Class C lengths over 24 feet).
Be carefull in buying aClass C on the Ford E350 or E450 chassis earlier than 2005. Earlier than that and you don't get Ford's superb 5-speed (6 speeds internally - under computer control on two of them) computer controlled transmission.
When shopping be careful to look at tank (propane, fresh water, black water, grey water) capacities and outside storage capacities in the models you see. Many folks don't pay much attention to this at first and wish later that they had after purchasing. We considered Lazy Daze and Born Free. Outside storage and some other capacities were marginal in their models at that time. Lazy Daze does not offer a 23/24 foot model with a permanent rear corner bed. Our 24 foot Itasca has one large outside storage area and six other smaller outside storage areas with two of those being for long items such as fishing poles, beach umbrellas, and shovels. All seven of our outside storage compartments are steel walled, with six of them being lined with commercial grade carpeting - not fiber glass walled cabinets like some have. Look for 40 gallons or more of fresh water capacity and around 70 gallons of black + grey water combined capacity (i.e. ours is 45 gallons fresh, 40 gallons black, and 30 gallons grey). Grey tank contents can be off-loaded into the black tank, so it's their combined capacity that is important. Propane capacity should be at least 18 gallons.
I'm 6'2" tall and headroom was not enough in Lazy Daze and Born Free at the time, so watch out for this if you're tall ... including full stand-up height in the shower.
Watch that all cabinet drawers run on steel runners and that all cabinet drawers are gravity-locked so they can never fly open when traveling - with no latches to wear out over time. All cabinets should be mounted with screws into steel, aluminum, or structural hardwood members contined within the internal wall framing. We also looked for all steel or aluminum internal wall framing ... this may be a personal preference ... as some manufacturers use wood and claim that this is not an issue.
Also make sure that a battery disconnect switched solenoid is available and that it's switch is easy to get to. Also make sure that a coach-chassis battery interconnect solenoid is available for automatic charging of the coach battery(ies) when traveling and for boosting either battery set for starting of the chassis engine or built-in coach generator. (Don't buy a Class C without a working built-in generator ... and one properly installed so as to be quiet when running!)
IMHO, don't buy a Class C without at least two coach batteries.
Also, look for a propane furnace with several adjustable ducts throughout the coach and look for an air conditioning system with several adjustable ducts throughout the coach's ceiling area.
Good luck shopping ... it can be very enjoyable finding just the right rig.
Regarding the cabover: I don't usually sleep in my cabover but on the pull-out sofa. But the cabover is a great place to store bedding, extra clothes, coats, etc. The only downside to a cabover is that it's hard to clean the underside of the exterior and it gets a lot of bugs in transit.
2000 Born Free 24RB Class C
6.8L Ford V-10 Engine, E450 Chassis
2002 Honda CR-V toad
Roadmaster Sterling A/T towbar
VIP braking system
Eddyline Merlin kayak
I don't know if you have heard of Triple E in Winkler, Canada, which has merged with Leisure Travel. They make a great quality 24 foot Class C unit on the Ford E-450 chassis with a slide,the Regency GT24MB (Grand Touring 24 foot Murphy Bed),that we just purchased Sept.6,2011. If you are looking for a smaller unit with ample daytime floor space this unit might be something you might want to look at. It comes without carpet in the main floor area, too!!
The Regency has a queen size Murphy bed that you pull down for sleeping. We have the U-shaped dinette and love all the extra space the Murphy bed gives us, plus it has a large very nice shower and bath area. It does have a small slide as well.
We are also super pleased with the quality of workmanship. The beautiful fit and finish is supurb, and we didn't even find a speck of sawdust when our unit arrived in Van City. It's considered an all weather unit with extra insulation, enclosed and heated tanks, dual pane windows, which help in the heat of summer as well as the cold.
We have toured the factory and were very impressed with the whole operation and their attention to details, plus their wanting to please and listen to their customers. We have also owned a Born Free, a Pleasureway Class B Van, and now consider the Regency to be the best quality RV we have ever owned. We just wish we had found a Murphy Bed unit several years ago and saved ourselves $$ in the hunt for the perfect unit for us.
Here is a link to the Regency GT24MB.
http://www.tripleerv.com/gt24/index.html
ClassBGirl, Hubby, and "Bogie" the Basset Hound
2012 Triple E Regency - GT24MB (Grand Touring - 24 ft. - Murphy Bed)
Ford E450 Chassis with 6.8L EFl V-10 Triton
ClassBGirl wrote: I don't know if you have heard of Triple E in Winkler, Canada, which has merged with Leisure Travel. They make a great quality 24 foot Class C unit on the Ford E-450 chassis with a slide,the Regency GT24MB (Grand Touring 24 foot Murphy Bed),that we just purchased Sept.6,2011. If you are looking for a smaller unit with ample daytime floor space this unit might be something you might want to look at. It comes without carpet in the main floor area, too!!
The Regency has a queen size Murphy bed that you pull down for sleeping. We have the U-shaped dinette and love all the extra space the Murphy bed gives us, plus it has a large very nice shower and bath area. It does have a small slide as well.
We are also super pleased with the quality of workmanship. The beautiful fit and finish is supurb, and we didn't even find a speck of sawdust when our unit arrived in Van City. It's considered an all weather unit with extra insulation, enclosed and heated tanks, dual pane windows, which help in the heat of summer as well as the cold.
We have toured the factory and were very impressed with the whole operation and their attention to details, plus their wanting to please and listen to their customers. We have also owned a Born Free, a Pleasureway Class B Van, and now consider the Regency to be the best quality RV we have ever owned. We just wish we had found a Murphy Bed unit several years ago and saved ourselves $$ in the hunt for the perfect unit for us.
Unfortunately, neither the TripleE Regency nor Coachhouse offer a cab-over. (The Murphy Bed is cool though, and with the addition of a cab-over would be really nice for a family.)
Born Free and Lazy Daze are good quality and have smaller models.
Another option that no one has mentioned yet is the ProVan Tiger.
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