Escargot
California
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Joined: 10/05/2009
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jjson775 wrote:When we first got our PW Excel, I used to hook up the water hose but found it wasn't necessary. We do stow or hide the power cable when we leave for the day, just to be on the safe side. Then you will enjoy a big advantage of Class B travel, you have the convenience of an RV with you all day long! Bathroom, food, extra clothes, sporting goods, etc. It is much nicer visiting a national park, for example, in a B where you don't have to pack the car or pickup for a day's outing. Good luck.
Jim
X2
2003 PleasureWay Excel TD, Dodge chassis
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1775
NY
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Joined: 09/30/2009
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We do exactly this on every trip - it is no big deal at all. On our Roadtrek we use the on board fresh water tanks and that eliminates one hook up. When we come back from a day of touring (usually we are back at night) we pull out the electric cord from the underside storage and our portable power protector and plug it into the campground pedestal. The cable for the TV comes out as well and we plug that in to the pedestal. That is it - it takes about fifteen minutes. In the morning we unhook, get the electric cable back into the storage compartment -it takes a bit to snake it back through the hole in the back of the storage compartment (not sure how other Class Bs have their cord) and unhook the cable for the TV and throw that into the storage compartment. A quick check around the RV, inside and out to make sure all is secured for driving and we are off (maybe 20 to 25 minutes in the morning). Now, if we were hooking up a fresh water hose to the campground water every night and then taking that off every morning it would add more time - especially in the morning when I would want to drain the hose before putting it away.
Our RT has a macerator built in so we can't hook up to a sewer connection and just dump every three or four days - either at night when we return or on a morning when we are not in a hurry to get going. With the macerator dumping the tanks is very quick.
The Class B makes it easy to go touring - more so in rural areas than in cities. As long as you have outdoor parking you can park in any lot - sometimes we need to take up two spaces front to back depending on the parking lot- my Roadtrek is 20 feet long. It fits in one space in most lots but if it is close I don't want to stick out into the aisle. It handles like any van but because of the added height you have to be aware of low clearances and also pay extra attention when driving in the wind. The other advantage for us is we can park it all year on our driveway. It also can be used as a second day to day vehicle.
Roadtrek 190 Popular 2011
Meryl and Me Hit the Road
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NCWriter
North Carolina
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No hassle. We tend to keep loose objects stowed in their assigned places anyway, because when you are living in a small space, you can't leave things all over the place like at home.
So it's really quick to depart for touring and a very easy hook up when we get back. Usually just electric and maybe cable. We only hook up water hose when the tank needs refilling.
The nimble simplicity is a big benefit of a class B when you are traveling to see sights as we do.
2006 Leisure Travel Van Free Spirit 210B Sprinter
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scarpi
Phoenix
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Joined: 08/07/2007
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For me it only takes a few minutes to unplug the electrical and water connections and store them. We don't connect the sewer until dumping. The only other connection is if you plug in the cable tv, but all the connections are near each other on the side of our PW Excel. And we love having a bathroom when we are visiting scenic spots during the day where other people may have to use an outhouse or a public restroom. Then it's nice having your food and dining area. Many times we may be parked next to a lake or some other scenic spot where there are no picnic tables and it's nice to have the convenience of eating our lunch in our dinette while enjoying the view. We also enjoy driving our class B on the forest roads and many times just pull off under a grove of trees in the forest and have lunch! We love our class B.
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jjson775
Texas
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There are other advantages to a Class B not obvious to others. For example, we get better campsites. At Big Bend, Rocky Mountain and Sequoia NP's we were allowed to camp in the tent areas which are better than being shoe-horned in between 2 big trailers or motor homes in the RV campground. Same for Fort Wilderness at Disney World, the tent/van CG is better than the big rig CG. Also,when we are in a cool city like Savannah, Charleston, Santa Fe, Halifax, etc., we stay in hotels, not very practical with other RV's. You have to watch out for overhead clearance, though, and can't get into a parking garage. We call ahead and tell the hotel we have a "high top van" and they usually have a remote parking lot nearby.
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high_pockets
Kingwood,Tx
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Thanks to all for your responses. Having owned literaly all types of RV's over the years except the Class B, we felt that it now could best fit our needs as a second vehicle at home and a tour and camping vehicle on the road. You all have confirmed that--now to just find one that "fits" 
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benfrench
Bedford, Massachusetts
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Joined: 06/18/2012
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Does anyone still tow a dingy behind a class B? I can think of situations where it would be easier to have the dingy versus the B for out and about.
1992 Intervec Falcon 190
US Army 2002-2010
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Davydd
Minnesota
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benfrench wrote:Does anyone still tow a dingy behind a class B? I can think of situations where it would be easier to have the dingy versus the B for out and about.
If there were such a situation such as say being a snowbird and wintering over in the south then in my mind it would be time for getting a bigger RV. Towing to me is a cross purpose. You buy a B for the ability to get out and about.
I suppose if you were going to something like a Jeep rally you would have a purpose to tow. There are special cases but would make no sense most of the time to sacrifice a B's main advantage.
Davydd
2011 Great West Van Legend Sprinter B Camper Van
Visited states in an RV
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1775
NY
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benfrench wrote:Does anyone still tow a dingy behind a class B? I can think of situations where it would be easier to have the dingy versus the B for out and about.
I am sure that there are - and I can see why. We have found a number of places that we would like to visit - all in cities - that have only indoor garage parking - and most Class Bs are too tall to go into an indoor parking lot. Not all of these places have access to public transportation, so we can't visit them. If we towed a small car we could.
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ennajean
Wisconsin
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Joined: 05/19/2006
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This past weekend saw a B pulling a smart car. If going to a large city might work out to rent a car for a few days while there.
Anne and Dick
DABEE a 2006 Ford Sportsmobile Penthouse top.
States we've camped in.
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